What This Little-Known Social Theory Has to Do with Your Sermons

| Sat, August 17, 2019 | Bible Study, biblical studies, Books, Preaching 0

By Jeffrey Arthurs, adapted from Preaching Points: 55 Tips for Improving Your Pulpit Ministry.

Remember ERP: Estimated Relationship Potential. This is a social science theory from the field of interpersonal communication which demonstrates that when we meet someone we quickly form an estimate of the potential for a relationship. We start to calculate: What kind of relationship is possible here? What will the nature of our relationship be? Will it be a romantic relationship? Will it be an authoritative relationship? Maybe I want to avoid this person. [Read more…]

Clock Is Ticking: Best Commentary Sale Ends in Hours

| Wed, August 14, 2019 | Products 0

Hurry, the Best Commentaries Sale ends in hours. Save up to 50% on the highest-rated commentaries for every book of the Bible now through August 15 at midnight.  

Whether it’s Carson’s John commentary or Waltke’s superb work on Proverbs, right now you can save on the top commentaries for literally every book of the Bible.  [Read more…]

Intentionally Not Verse by Verse: Why the Paideia Commentary Goes by Pericope

| Wed, August 14, 2019 | Books, Products, Sales 0

Breeze through the Paideia commentary series description and you might miss its distinguishing mark:

The Paideia: Commentaries on the New Testament approaches each text in its final, canonical form, proceeding by sense units (pericopes) rather than word by word or verse by verse. Thus, each commentary follows the original train of thought as indicated by the author instead of modern artificial distinctions. (Emphasis mine) [Read more…]

5 Things We Wish We’d Done in Seminary

| Tue, August 13, 2019 | Lexham, Lexham Publishing, Preaching, Products 0

seminary

A couple years ago, we asked some of our team members who attended seminary to share some of their experiences—what is the one piece of advice each one would want to leave for current seminarians. I hope the reflections are helpful to you. Many of them mention our book on this topic, Surviving and Thriving in Seminary.  [Read more…]

Learning Logos: Send a Search to an Inline Search

| Mon, August 12, 2019 | Training 1

During a recent Camp Logos, I was showing both the power and simplicity of Logos 8 Bible Search templates. Once results were generated, one of the students asked: [Read more…]

Preaching? Drain the Liquid Before You Give It to Others

| Sat, August 10, 2019 | Articles, Lexham, Preaching 0
Photo by Elevate on Unsplash

By Jeffrey Arthurs, adapted from Preaching Points: 55 Tips for Improving Your Pulpit Ministry.

In an issue of Leadership journal, Lee Eclov tells the story of a researcher named Hillary Koprowski, who was a leader in the search for the polio vaccine in the 1940s. Koprowski and his team had done animal tests successfully, and the next step involved a powerful but unwritten rule of scientific research: Before testing an oral vaccine on other humans, the researcher must try it himself. 

So late one winter afternoon in 1948, he and his assistant whipped up a polio cocktail and the two men drank from small glass beakers. They tilted their heads back and drained the liquid fully. They agreed it tasted like cod-liver oil. The assistant said, “Have another?”

“Better not,” Koprowski said, “I’m driving.”

Lee Eclov says that every preacher has to take the same gutsy step. We have no right to give other people our “holy vaccine” until we’ve drained the liquid ourselves. And sometimes it does taste like cod-liver oil.

As preachers we must drain the liquid. Preach to yourself before you preach to others. Ask yourself, “Am I living the life I’m recommending to others?” “Authenticity” is one of the god-terms of our culture—and rightly so. Of the members of the old rhetorical trio of ethos, pathos, and logos, Aristotle said that ethos is number one. Your character, trustworthiness, experience, and sincerity—your ethos—are the most persuasive tools you possess. 

So this week and every week when you’re doing your sermon preparation, remember to drain the liquid yourself.

***

This post is adapted from “Drain the liquid” by Jeffrey Arthurs in Preaching Points: 55 Tips for Improving Your Pulpit Ministry, edited by Scott M. Gibson (Lexham Press, 2016).

 

5 Highlights from the Logos Monthly Sale

| Sat, August 10, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Products, Sales 0

From the church fathers to messianic literature, save up to 42% on books and courses spanning theology, Bible study, ministry, and more. 

Here are five highlights to pay special attention to. 

SCM Studies in Biblical Theology Series (19 vols.)

Get a better grip on key theological themes found throughout the Bible, and a new appreciation of the Ten Commandments. You’ll better understand the development of various doctrines, concepts, and terminology across the Old and New Testaments, investigate the characteristics of worship in the early Church, delve into detailed word studies, and investigate Christological titles used by Paul. 

Find it in the monthly sale.

Crossway Christian Living Collection (14 vols.)

Navigate difficult issues like loneliness and trouble. Delve deep into the ultimate reasons for prayer and praying Scripture. Train your conscience and delight in God through earthly blessings. Leave behind behavior modification and meditate daily on the gospel. This collection features authors like Paul David Tripp, Phil Ryken, Jeff Vanderstelt, Don Whitney, Greg Gilbert and others.

Find it in the monthly sale.

Popular Patristics Series, Part 5 (10 vols.)

In this collection, recognized Patristic scholars provide short, comprehensive, clear introductions to various topics. Texts include classics of Christian literature, thematic volumes, homily collections, letters, spiritual guidance, and poetical works from a wide variety of geographical contexts and historical backgrounds. The purpose of the series is to mine the riches of the early church and to make these invaluable writings available to all.

Find it in the monthly sale.

Ariel Ministries Messianic Collection (11 vols.)

This collection features many works from the renowned Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, widely-regarded as one of the foremost Bible scholars of his time, and who emphasized the Jewish character of the Scriptures. One Logos customer writes:

“Great resource. Worth every penny. I have enjoyed Dr. Fruchtenbaum’s work for years. Now having them in Logos makes the resources so much easier to use and reference. For me, five stars doesn’t go high enough.” 

Find it in the monthly sale.

Lexham Press Romans Bundle (7 vols.)

Get all the resources you need to study and master Romans. Explore the text and discover new insights with rich commentaries and in-depth studies. This 7-volume bundle contains a volume from the Osborne New Testament Commentaries, a Lexham Bible Guide, a High Definition Commentary, and more.

Find it in the monthly sale.

Marxism and Biblical Theology Aren’t Synonyms

| Fri, August 9, 2019 | Articles, biblical studies, Books 8

I’m a biblical scholar by training, but what most people don’t realize is that I’m also a political junkie. My undergraduate degree is actually in History and Political Science. Since one of my graduate degrees is in history (albeit ancient history), I was able to teach western civilization at the college level to help support myself through graduate school. I’ve also taught US History at a local community college. But while my interest in political discourse is high, I also have to confess to being an American political atheist—I don’t put my faith in any political party. The answer to the nation’s problems—to those plaguing a beleaguered world—is the kingdom of God, not a kingdom made by human hands, even American ones. [Read more…]

Learning Logos: Detailed Searches Made Easy

| Mon, August 5, 2019 | Training 1

If you’ve been to Camp Logos before, you may recall we discussed a powerful search query that located synonyms occurring close to one another. For example, imagine we want to find where our resources mention the topic, the purpose of suffering. Obviously a word search for suffer is too broad and a phrase search for “purpose of suffering” is too narrow. [Read more…]

Free Book: God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants

| Thu, August 1, 2019 | Books, Products 0

It’s August 1, and that means the new free book of the month is here!

August’s free book is God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology by Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum.  [Read more…]