Archive for August, 2013
Aug 28
Saturday Seminar Round-Up
This past Saturday about 100 of us came together for three hours in the morning to become better students of Scripture. Using Philippians as an example, Ryan, Ron, and Trent each spent an hour teaching on how to read and interpret the New Testament letters. In case you missed it, the audio for this Saturday Seminar, How to Study the Bible: Epistles, is now available, along with the seminar notes.
Here are links to each session, with a selection of the resources mentioned during the seminar. See the notes for more resources and an explanation how to use them.
Session 1: “Basics, Genre, Melodic Line, an Resources,” by Ryan Kelly
Hard Copy Resources for Purchase
- Westminster Online BookstoreÂ
- DSC’s Book Recommendations
- The Bible Speaks Today commentary series
Free Online Bibles and Study Resources
- ESV Study Bible (online version is free with the purchase of a hardcopy ESVSB)
- Blue Letter Bible
- Bible Gateway
- Bible.org
- Bible Study Tools (also, see the library for other resources)
- Dr. Constable’s Expository Notes
Session 2: “Asking Questions of a Text,” by Ron Giese
- How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
- How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading, by Mortimer J. Adler
- Opening Paul’s Letters: A Reader’s Guide to Genre and Interpretation, by Gray Patrick
Session 3: “Tracing the Flow of Thought,” by Trent Hunter
- Screen presentation for Session 3
- Interpreting the Pauline Epistles, by Thomas R. Schreiner. Much of the material for this session was derived from this book, and specifically the chapter, “Tracing the Argument.” A Pdf copy of Schreiner’s chapter, “Tracing the Argument,†is available for free online at Schreiner’s SBTS faculty page here.
Previous Saturday Seminars
We titled this post, “Saturday Seminar Round-Up,” for a reason. Here’s a list of previous Saturday Seminars.
- The Reliability of the Bible, Ryan Kelly (2004)
- Modesty, Ryan Kelly (2005)
- Prayer, Ryan Kelly (2005)
- Biblical Theology, Ryan Kelly (2005)
- Biblical Leadership, Alexander Strauch (2006)
- Depression, Ryan Kelly (2006)
- Psychology, Self-Esteem, and Scripture, Ryan Kelly (2006)
- Worship: Together for the Glory of God, Ryan Kelly (2006)
- The Gospel for Christians, Ryan Kelly (2007)
- What Has Then to Do with Now?, Carl Trueman (2007)
- Song of Solomon, Dave Bruskas, Ron Giese, Ryan Kelly (2008)
As a reminder, you can always access these and other past messages on the Messages page by clicking, “Series.”
Aug 22
This Saturday: A Seminar on How to Study New Testament Letters
Our Saturday Seminar, “How to Study the Bible: Epistles,” is this Saturday, from 9AM – 12PM. If you haven’t registered, you can do so here.
We should read the Bible, meditate on the Bible, and memorize Scripture. We should also study Scripture. This seminar will help you do that with the letters of the New Testament.
Here’s the outline for how we’ll spend out time together:
9:00 AM – 9:50 AMÂ Ryan Kelly will introduce the genre of New Testament letters (using Philippians) and demonstrate online tools for studying the Bible.
10:00 AM – 10:50 AMÂ Ron Giese will facilitate a “Sherlock Holmes” style interactive session in which he gives you a text, shows you what to look for, and lets you find it.
11:00 AM – 11:50 AMÂ Trent Hunter will teach about context using a tool called “tracing” to show how parts of the letter of Philippians work together.
In coordination with this seminar, several helpful books are available at the Book Nook, including Tom Schreiner’s, Interpreting the Pauline Epistles.
Aug 15
Appetizers for the Age to Come
In Sunday’s sermon, “The Lord, Your Healer,” we heard two stories of healing. These were stories of the kind of healing God is gracious to provide through his providential use of doctors and technology. Sometimes, of course, he is pleased to do the wonderfully miraculous, as well. We should pray for both.
But however he does it, when we experience relief from pain and physical help in this life, it is always an appetizer for the total healing that God will bring about in the new creation. As Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
Here’s the video of the girl from the first story, born deaf and hearing now for the first time:
The second story was of a boy in Guatemala who came to one of our medical clinics for dental help this past May. The next day he met with one of our physical therapists who announced that the boy’s problem was muscular, and largely correctable through stretching. In the last photo you see the boy’s father and grandparents.
If you missed Sunday’s sermon, here’s the clip telling these stories:
Aug 8
New Sermon Series: “Yahweh”
Last Sunday, we began a new sermon series, titled, Yahweh.
If you are new to the Bible, that would have to be the most obscure title for a sermon series imaginable. But even for those familiar with Scripture, the context and significance of God’s personal name, translated “Lord” in most Bibles (note the small caps), is still largely uncharted territory. “Yahweh,” though, is used hundreds of times throughout Scripture and it is often joined with other words in order to commemorate a significant moment in the Bible’s salvation story.
On Sunday mornings through September 8, we’re going to look at six of these names together. Here they are:
- August 4 - “The Lord Provides,” by Ron Giese
- August 11 – “The Lord, Your Healer,” by Trent Hunter
- August 18 – “The Lord of Hosts,” by Trent Hunter
- August 25 – “The Lord Is Peace,” by Nathan Sherman
- September 1 – “The Lord, Our Righteousness,” by Trent Hunter
- September 8 – “The Lord Is There,” by Trent Hunter
God is manifold in his perfections and he focuses the revelation of his character and his saving purposes, in part, through his name. For that reason, we have much to look forward to over the next month.
For an introduction to the significance of this name, listen to or watch Ron’s sermon, “The Lord Provides.”
For a more complete introduction to this series, check out this month’s E-Newsletter here. If you aren’t subscribed to DSC’s monthly E-Newsletter, you can do so here.