The Servant King

T. Desmond Alexander's little book, The Servant King: The Bible's Portrait of the Messiah, deserves far more attention than it has received. This is a fast read that anyone can understand, and more importantly, this slim volume provides a hermeneutically legitimate way of reading the Old Testament as a messianic book. In other words, Alexander convincingly shows how the OT points to Christ, and along the way he avoids the interpretive pitfalls that sometimes make such arguments less than compelling. Take and read!

Salvation History for the Wee Ones

My friend Rob Lister recommended to me The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm, illustrated by Gail Schoonmaker. Following Graeme Goldsworthy, this fine volume teaches the Bible’s story to little tots.

What a great thing to read to the children before bed! I found its depiction of the fall particularly moving. Thankfully, unlike presentations such as the Veggie Tales, The Big Picture Story Bible doesn’t censor the Bible but straightforwardly presents the story with all its sin, misery, mercy, and joy.

Thanksgiving Hymn: We Gather Together

The Wall Street Journal has a great piece on the history of a hymn that has come to be associated with Thanksgiving, We Gather Together. Those of us not blessed to have this melody woven into the fabric of our minds can remedy the deficiency by listening to it at the Cyber Hymnal. And, if you’d like to strum it on a guitar, or improvise with the chords on a piano, you can get the chords here.

Schreiner’s Stuff Now Online!

My Ph.D. mentor, Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner, has done us another invaluable service. He has posted links to many of his articles, presentations, book reviews, and editorials on his faculty web-page on Southern Seminary’s website. Here’s the full address:
http://www.sbts.edu/academics/theology/faculty/SchreinerThomas.php.

I think that Dr. Schreiner’s book reviews are so helpful that they’re one of the main reasons I subscribe to the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, and now past reviews are available online! This is a treasure trove for pastors, students, and scholars too. Enjoy!

Songs for Suffering Saints

Along with John Piper’s Advent Poems, some of the best poetry being written in our day is by Eric Schumacher, who is offering a great deal ($3.50!) on a collection of his newly written hyms (just in case you want the address, here it is: http://scripturealone.blogspot.com/2005/11/songs-for-suffering-saints.html).

We have employed several of Eric’s hymns in worship at Baptist Church of the Redeemer, and they are among our favorites.