When you're writing for a blog that aims to make faith practical, sometimes the best thing to do is to just direct readers elsewhere. Tim Challies does it. Justin Taylor does it almost exclusively. And starting today, I'm doing it. Articles will still be written here, and the Gospel of Mark series will still be a weekly thing, but I hope that linking beyond the borders of this site will serve to benefit the readers of The Voice in their walk with Jesus Christ (yes, I'm talking to all three of you). Today's bunch of links is mostly focused around the Bible and doctrine: I've got a sneak peak at the HCSB Study Bible for you, as well as a sermon series -done by A29 pastor Tyler Jones- on the Gospel of Mark, but sandwiched in the middle is a look at a book called "Burning Down the Shack", written by a friend of Paul Young's who has some pretty strong warnings about the content of the popular Christian novel and the views of its author.
HCSB Study BibleFor you ESV-only people, I highly recommend the Holman Christian Standard Bible for its literal accuracy and ease of readability. I've found that it works great for the kids at the youth center I volunteer for, and that it holds its own with the English Standard Version during my personal study, and that it even sounds better when I read aloud during morning devotionals. So I'm excited about the HCSB Study Bible. From what I've seen in the video up top, it looks great; kudos to the guys who have been working on this as it looks like a solid resource. If you want to buy a study Bible to help you understand the Word better, I would recommend keeping an eye on this one. More information can be found at this website which also includes a full-length web version of Matthew's Gospel and notes/articles as seen in the HCSB Study Bible.
Gospel of Mark SermonsIf anyone is interested, Acts 29 pastor Tyler Jones (Vintage21) is doing a series on Mark's Gospel right now. If you are studying with me through that same book, Tyler's sermon series would be very helpful to you in wrestling with the text and in attempting to translate his (Mark's) words into your actions. The website with all of the series' sermons can be found here (just click at the bottom for the rest of the messages).
Burning Down the ShackFrom Tim Challies' review of the book: "James De Young writes from an interesting perspective—that of a former friend, or acquaintance at least, of Paul Young... In April of 2004 De Young attended a Christian think tank and there Young presented a 103-page paper which presented a defense of universal reconciliation, a Christian form of universalism... Eventually even Satan and his fallen angels will be purged of sin and all of creation will be fully and finally restored... De Young believes that Young’s belief in universal reconciliation is absolutely crucial to anyone who would truly wish to understand The Shack. It is the key that makes sense of the book and the theology it contains. Though far from the only theological problem with the book, it... makes sense of the others."
I can't honestly say that I will use the HCSB, but it looks cool! Good job Sean! Also, I read that review of Burning Down The Shack. Excellent resource man.
ReplyDeleteI ditto ryan.
ReplyDeletealso everyone check out Tyler's study on Mark, it's brilliant. Tyler was an amazing teacher when my wife and I were in Raleigh last year, the peeps @v21 will always be in our hearts.
Thanks Ryan, I guess it always helps to be discerning about what you read. It's a shame that Paul Young has those kinds of views, though, I actually think he's pretty decent as a person. It's sad to see good guys take stances that are so against the stance of the Bible.
ReplyDeleteRay, you went to V21? Just for a visit, or for quite a while? Cool.