May 31, 2014

Little Rock Catholic Study Bible


While leading round table discussions in one of my favorite Bible study groups, I became familiar with the excellent study materials provided by the Little Rock Bible Study series, edited by Catherine Upchurch. So when I saw she also edited the Little Rock Catholic Study Bible, I immediately requested a review copy, which she graciously sent right away.

For some reason I thought Little Rock might produce all of the supplemental materials in this edition, so I was surprised to discover the extensive footnotes and introductions to each book were the same ones found in the Catholic study Bible from Oxford I reviewed a couple of years ago. However, the more I leafed through the pleasantly smooth, bright white pages of the Little Rock edition, the more I saw unique aspects that encourage Bible study and reading.

First of all, the quality paperback binding allows the book to lay flat, so you’re not constantly trying to keep pages from closing like an elevator door. This especially matters to me when I’m interacting with a Bible, jotting thoughts and notes in the margins, which the cross-referencing columns with lots of white space in this edition nicely allow me to do.

As the first four pages point out, other unique features include quick summaries of each book, author, content, and characters with definitions and descriptions interspersed for clarification and interest. For instance, you'll find helpful "Archaeological insights," "Social justice teachings," "Prayer starters," "Liturgical use of Scripture," "Cultural Connections," and "Photographs."

Interestingly, these features also provided a visually appealing layout. Opening the pages to Matthew 5, for example, lightly colored insets separate helpful mini-comments and definitions from the biblical text. As one note tells us, “The Beatitudes recorded in Matthew have an ageless quality that has fascinated every generation of Christians. The church has variously seen them as signs of the kingdom of God, ideals to be striven after, or unique virtues meant primarily for Jesus’ followers.” So, in #1716, “The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the Beatitudes ‘the heart of Jesus’ preaching’.”

Then, beneath a clear, concise definition of a beatitude, we see a sidebar on “Applying the Beatitudes” that says, “The U.S. bishops noted the importance of the Beatitudes in implementing economic justice for all people in their pastoral letter on the topic,” which the note goes on to quote:

“We write to share our teaching, to raise questions, to challenge one another to live our faith in the world. We write as heirs of the biblical prophets who summon us ‘to do the right and to love goodness and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8). We write as followers of Jesus who told us in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are the meek… Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness….’ These words challenge us not only as believers but also as consumers, citizens, workers, and owners.” Therefore, “The challenge for us is to discover in our own place and time what it means to be ‘poor in spirit’ and ‘the salt of the earth’ and what it means to serve ‘the least among us’ and to ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’.”

If one were to prayerfully read every word, every sidebar, every note in this highly recommended edition, perhaps we could begin to meet that challenge, with God's help, individually and as the church Body of Christ alive in the world and empowered in Jesus’ Name.

© 2014, Mary Sayler, poet, writer, lifelong Bible lover, and reviewer


Little Rock Catholic Study Bible, paperback



May 27, 2014

Bible study resources


When several job transfers necessitated a number of moves around the country, my family and I had the opportunity to become active members of many church denominations. In each, a sweet spirit, strong faith, and love for Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior quickly became apparent, and we also discovered excellent Bible study resources throughout the Body of Christ.

For instance, in a Southern Baptist Church, our pastor led a Bible study class with materials from the forerunner of the Explore the Bible Series now published by Lifeway Christian Resources.

In the Roman Catholic Church, we discovered the Little Rock Scripture Study series published in partnership with Liturgical Press that allowed round table discussions with video accompaniment.

When I began to lead Bible studies, I wanted to encourage lots of group discussion, so I found materials on all sorts of Bible topics in the LifeGuide ® Bible Studies produced by Intervarsity Press and various Bible Study Guides published by Abington.

I highly recommend all of those materials and now want to add to the list a new series of five books by Nancy Guthrie: Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, published by Crossway.

Lord willing, this summer I’ll be studying in depth two of the topics I need to absorb slowly: the wisdom books of the Bible and the biblical books of prophecy. But, for now, I’ll give you an idea of the first three books in this series, which cover the Pentateuch aka first five books of the Torah.

Looking through each of the books in this series, Nancy Guthrie consistently uses an engaging style, fresh insight, and a flexible format that can be adapted to your specific needs. For instance, if you want to study the Bible in-depth by yourself, this series makes an excellent choice. Or, if you want to do a Bible lecture class with material provided for you, this works very well for that too, with or without supplemental DVDs you can purchase from the publisher or Amazon. If you want a family study at home or a Bible study discussion group, the series will also accommodate those needs.

As you’ve surely surmised from the title, the purpose of this study is to help you see Jesus in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation and beyond. For example, when you think of the story of Noah and the ark, you’ll begin to see the ark as foreshadowing the grace and refuge found in Jesus Christ. You’ll also see how the reference to Noah in Matthew 24:39 shows that the next coming of Christ won’t necessarily cause believers to suddenly disappear as often thought but that unbelievers may be swept away, as they were in the days of Noah. Also, in book one, The Promised One, you’ll hear how God promised Abraham a great nation and a great name, but “he was not told to do something to earn this. God’s promise of blessing was a sheer gift of grace.”

In book 2, The Lamb of God: Seeing Jesus in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy, the author’s relevant examples and personal style encourage study and clearly show what Jesus meant in John 5, when He said, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” The Exodus from Egypt, the Passover, the sacrificial lamb, and even the Ten Commandments take on even more depth and meaning when seen in Christ.

For example, the commandment to have no graven images reflects new light when we see Jesus as the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15.) And, keeping the Sabbath holy “points us to Christ in whom we find ultimate and eternal rest.”

Similarly, book 3, The Son of David: Seeing Jesus in the Historical Books, shows that “The kingdom established in the Promised Land of Canaan has much to reveal to us in shadow form about the larger kingdom that God is bringing and the greater king who sits on its throne.” For example, “In Joshua, as we witness Moses’s successor lead the people of God into rest in the land that God gave to them, we’ll see how the greater Joshua, Jesus, leads his people into rest.”

How? “Jesus came telling us exactly how we should respond to his kingdom at hand.” And, as the historical books of the Bible remind us, “There is only one kingdom that proves true, one kingdom that will last forever, one kingdom with a King on the throne worthy of worship and able to reign over this world and to reign in our hearts in true righteousness.” That King, of course, is Jesus Christ to Whom the entire Bible points as this series beautifully shows.

© 2014, Mary Sayler, reviewer


The Promised One: Seeing Jesus in Genesis, paperback



The Lamb of God: Seeing Jesus in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy, paperback



The Son of David: Seeing Jesus in the Historical Books, paperback





May 23, 2014

Creeds, Councils, and Confessions in Christ and the church


In Know the Creeds and Councils published by Zondervan, author Justin S. Holcomb, a professor of theology and Episcopal priest, gives a concise, well-balanced overview of church creeds and councils that arose for various reasons over many centuries.

As explained in the Introduction, the “English word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin word credo, which means ‘I believe’,” with creeds "developed by early Christians to defend against subtle pagan influences and to establish key beliefs.” For example, the opening lines of the Nicene Creed, established in 325 A.D., clearly state:

I believe in God,
The Father Almighty
Maker of Heaven and Earth
Of all that is seen and unseen….

In the early church, “creeds were meant to be used by groups – not just a summary of what everyone in the room agrees upon but a promise made and kept as a group. Creeds were initially used in baptism, during which the baptismal candidate recited a formula or responded to questions, thereby publicly confessing belief in Jesus Christ." Eventually, easy-to-learn creeds gave converts the basic elements of the Christian faith and "were also used in church liturgies ... uniting the congregation in common confession. Far from being a device of the ivory tower, creeds were the way that ordinary” people “could learn about and pledge their lives to the God of the Bible.”

Confessions, however, differ in that they “often define a particular group’s belief in secondary issues such as infant baptism, the end times, predestination, the Lord’s Supper, and the order of salvation.” So, while creeds aimed to preserve the Christian faith for all peoples, places, and times, “confessions tried to apply the faith to the here and now.” Since this often came about because of a theological debate, “the issues emphasized in any particular confession may say more about cross-denominational arguments than anything else….”

Interestingly though, a study of confessions, creeds, catechisms, and councils can draw us closer together in the church Body of Christ as we begin to see and respect differing points of view and various possibilities for interpretation. Such approaches have biblical precedence too. For instance Acts 15 tells us of the first recorded church council, which occurred in Jerusalem to address the issue of “how Jewish and Gentile Christians would relate to one another on a daily basis.”

Even in modern times, “Councils bring together Christians from all over the world – not just the best and brightest thinkers, the flashiest preachers, or the most fervent activists but a cross section of informed Christian leaders. Ideally, the diversity that a council brings – both in the origins of the attendees and in their viewpoints – ensures that all viewpoints are fairly represented. Having asked the Spirit to guide their decisions, these Christians then try to work out a solution to the questions at hand that is best in line with Scripture.”

Although that ideal does not always go as hoped, each chapter of this book takes us through problems and purposes the church has addressed, giving us an informed approach to issues that concern us today. Or, as Dr. Holcomb puts it: “Learning how Christians through history have wrestled with the tough questions of our faith gives us a valuable perspective that deepens our understanding of the Christian faith, increases our dependence on God’s revelation in Jesus Christ and Holy Scriptures, fuels our worship of God, increases our love for each other, and motivates mission to the world.”

For those who believe in ecumenism and the need for church unity – not to make us uniformly alike, but to unite us as One in the One Body of Christ at work in the world today, this book comes highly recommended.

© 2014, Mary Harwell Sayler, reviewer


Know the Creeds and Councils, paperback





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May 9, 2014

The One Year Book of Psalms


As a Christian poet, I’m naturally (and, most likely, supernaturally) drawn to the biblical Psalms. Over the years I’ve collected a number of books that approach these prayer-poems from various angles, ranging from poetic retellings to lengthy discussions about as dry as parchment left out in the sun. However, The One Year Book of Psalms brings another perspective by placing a lively New Living Translation of each Psalm on one page with a related word or reading on the page adjacent.

Published by Tyndale House, this highly recommended book gives us entry into “exquisite poetry, crisp theology, and stirring history,” but, as the Preface goes on to say, Psalms “are far more than all that. Most of all, they are intensely personal. The Psalms meet us where we are, and they take us to where we ought to be. You don’t have to dress up for the Psalms. Come as you are.”

We’re free to bring our real selves to these biblical writings mainly because the Psalmists did! Their honest responses to life and their vulnerability in laying themselves open before God (and us too) give credibility to their faith whether they're expressing their fears, worries, laments, thanksgivings, or praise. We, too, have been there, working through our doubts and bouncing along our up and down emotions, so I felt stunned when I heard someone admit, “I don’t like reading Psalms! I just don’t get them.”

Frankly, this could mean low esteem of God or high expectations for ourselves, straining to “be good,” in which cases, the Psalms might seem shocking. For most of us though, Psalms can become remote whenever the customs, situations, or surroundings seem too distant from our own experiences or background for us to connect well. But, that’s where the readings accompanying each Psalm in this book come to our rescue!

For example, Psalm 24 “may have been written in honor of the Ark coming at last to Mount Zion (I Chronicles 13:8), but that’s only part of the story…. As it approached the city, the gates were commanded to open. The Ark came in, and King David came in," then David’s call to “Open up, ancient gates” not only spoke to that present moment, but also prophetically to the coming of the King of Glory, Jesus Christ.

Many Psalms and, indeed, the whole Bible point to Jesus, so when we read Psalm 68 and see “The Psalmist’s View of the World” where “The kings of all the other nations are coming to pay tribute to the Lord in Jerusalem," we have hope for the future as peoples everywhere return to God.

Besides helping us to envision the situations, scenes, or prophetic possibilities in many Psalms, the adjacent readings in this book also give us a glimpse of some ways the Psalms have spoken to and through social reformers, historical and political leaders, hymn writers, and poets, each of whom brings new insights.

For example, Isaac “Watts had written his first hymn in his teenage years as a protest to his father, a minister. Watts had complained about singing from the old psalter that had been around for over a hundred years, and his father told him, ‘If you don’t like these hymns, write better ones.’ So he did.” Watts then “wrote metrical versions of all the Psalms” with his timeless rendering of Psalm 98 coming to us as “Joy to the World.” Later, George Frideric Handel, who was partially paralyzed and recovering from “bankruptcy after several musical failures,” produced the music for Watts’ poem in the gorgeous masterpiece known as Handel’s’ Messiah.

Lord willing, these blessed prayer-poems and the readings about them will continue to uplift, inspire, and empower us for the work we've been given to do in Jesus' Name.


© 2014, Mary Sayler, reviewer


The One Year Book of Psalms, paperback