Rose Guide to the Feasts, Festivals and Fasts of the Bible by Paul H. Wright

Rose Guide to the Feasts, Festivals and Fasts of the Bible
by Paul H. Wright

ISBN-13: 9781649380210
Hardcover: 232 pages
Publisher: Rose Publishing
Released: July 15, 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
Passover. Yom Kippur. Feast of Tabernacles. Rosh Hashanah. With all the ceremonies, festivals, and observances in the Bible, it’s hard to keep track of them all and remember why they’re important to our faith! But what if you could distill all this key information across dozens of chapters of the Bible into one solid, easy-to-read handbook with images, charts, and diagrams? It’s never been easier to get an expert look at the traditions, fasts, and feasts of the Bible: with this guide, 5 leading authorities on biblical celebrations and disciplines will help condense their research and historical knowledge into key takeaways that you can learn quickly and easily:

Solid overviews of the feasts, celebrations, and rituals kept in ancient Israel and the Old Testament

Historical background of the feasts and holy days in the centuries leading up to the New Testament

Summary of modern-day traditions kept by Jews today

Key takeaways of how messianic communities observe biblical feasts and holidays today

Presentation of how non-messianic Christian congregations have adopted the feasts into liturgies, theologies, etc.

God commanded Moses and the children of Israel to observe feasts and holy days as memorials to the great things that he had done in their lives. With expert research, clearly understand how these times of celebration are important to help us better see God’s complete picture and plan of redemption.


My Review:
This book looks at the regular fasts and feasts in the Old Testament period, in the New Testament Period, of modern Jews, of Messianic Jews, and of Christians. For the Old and New Testament sections, the authors explored how the pilgrim feasts were supposed to be celebrated and what the biblical evidence is for how the feasts were actually celebrated throughout the Bible (and if there were times when they weren't celebrated at all). They provided the context of the feasts and fasts: why they were celebrated, how they fit into a largely agricultural society, and how Israel was similar to and different from their neighbors. They talked about both feasts in general and the annual feasts. There were references to specific events in the Bible, to comments made in writings by others at that time, and to finds in archaeology. The book included some charts and pictures of things like the different foods mentioned in the feasts or a table set up for a modern Passover. Overall, I'd recommend this informative book.

The first chapters talked about: Sabbath, New Moon, Rosh Hashanah (New Year's Day), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Passover (Feast of Unleavened Bread), Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), and Sukkot (Feast of Booths), Purim, Hanukkah, and days of Fasting, and other holidays. Messianic perspective was given on the Sabbath, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Feast of Weeks/Pentecost, Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Booths, Purim, Hanukkah. He also explained how the Spring feasts were fulfilled by Yeshua and the Fall feasts will be fulfilled in the future. He also talked about how Jesus celebrated these feasts in the New Testament. The Christian perspective covered how the early church celebrated these holidays and how that changed with time: Sabbath and Sunday, Passover and Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, Pentecost, Advent, Holy Cross Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and Epiphany.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

He Is Not Ashamed by Erik Raymond

He Is Not Ashamed
by Erik Raymond

ISBN-13: 9781433579349
Paperback: 178 pages
Publisher: Crossway
Released: June 14th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In He Is Not Ashamed, Erik Raymond takes a close look at the "family portrait" of God--filled with imperfect people throughout Scripture--and shows that God is not repelled by anyone's shameful past, but delights to redeem and receive those who believe in him. Studying Hebrews 2:11 and other passages in both the Old and New Testaments, Raymond shows that Jesus's heart is bent toward those who have an embarrassing history, feel far from God, or struggle with sin. By studying God's abounding love for undeserving people, Christians learn to accept his grace and confidently embrace their place in God's family portrait.

This book walks through stories from the Bible, including Jacob the deceiver, Rahab the prostitute, and the "sinful woman" in the book of Luke to reveal patterns of God's grace and helps Christians reject shame and have a greater sense of Christ's mercy.


My Review:
He Is Not Ashamed dug into the Bible on the topic of God's amazing love for sinful people. Much of each chapter looked at accounts in the Bible where a sinful person was embraced by God, like the sinful women who are mentioned in Jesus' own genealogy. The author summarized what happened to each person and how God showed redeeming love toward them. The author also spent some time exploring the theology of Jesus' love and His not being ashamed. He took verses from both the Old and New Testaments to show what is taught in the Bible.

The author looked people who have a sinful past, who opposed Jesus (like Paul), who are little valued or are social or religious outcasts, those who are weak or have nothing to give, and those who struggle with sin (like pride). I felt like the author made excellent points and did a good job of illustrating (with the Bible) the theology taught in the Bible about these topics. The theology parts weren't dry or difficult to follow. Overall, I'd recommend this book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Philippians by Lydia Brownback

Philippians: Living for Christ
by Lydia Brownback

ISBN-13: 9781433570032
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Crossway Books
Released: January 4th 2022

Source: Review copy of this book from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
A 10-Week Study on Philippians for Women. The apostle Paul suffered intensely for his faith, but despite the danger and pain of his story, his letters are filled with hope--hope rooted in the good news of the gospel. Join Lydia Brownback as she explores Philippians and shows readers that even in the face of persecution and other difficulties, there is abundant peace through unity in Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This study helps women focus on God as the source of their joy when life threatens to sidetrack them.

Bible study teacher Lydia Brownback guides women chapter by chapter, helping them come away with a deeper understanding of God's word, its context in redemptive history, and how it uniquely reveals God and his gospel.


My Review:
Philippians is a 10 week Bible study on Philippians. Each week is basically just a chapter since it's not subdivided into days. You read a section from Philippians, then the author provided an introduction to the theme of those verses. Then she asked study questions about what we read and provided related verses to look up to discover deeper insights into the answers. As in, you use the Bible to further study what a certain word or concept means in the Biblical sense. She then ended with a couple of application questions to help you think out how what we just learned affects your life. Overall, I thought that the author did a good job of providing insights and increasing my understanding of the message in Philippians.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Old Made New by Gregory R. Lanier

Old Made New
by Gregory R. Lanier

ISBN-13: 9781433577833
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Crossway
Released: April 12th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Many Bible readers have difficulty understanding the Old Testament’s connection to the New Testament, and some even believe it’s obsolete in light of God’s new covenant. In reality, New Testament writers alluded to earlier books of the Bible roughly 300 to 400 times. The Old Testament isn’t outdated; it’s critical to understanding the rest of Scripture.

In Old Made New, Greg Lanier explains how New Testament authors used the Old Testament to communicate the gospel and present the person and work of Jesus. He also explains what the Old Testament teaches Christians today about the church’s identity and ethics. Writing for a broad range of readers, Lanier distills thorough research into simple, descriptive examples and tips. His 3-step method explains how to identify and explore an Old Testament passage and see how it’s “remixed” in the New Testament to thoughtfully engage with Scripture.


My Review:
Old Made New explained how the New Testament writers often quoted, cited, or alluded to Old Testament verses as the basis for the arguments they were making. He described how to evaluate each type of reference and any differences seen between the New Testament and Old Testament verses. He also explained that you need to read the Old Testament verse in context to fully understand what the New Testament authors were referring to. He then took several examples of this from the New Testament and showed step-by-step how to work through this process. He showed how these references covered a wide variety of topics and weren't only prophecies about Jesus. It wasn't hard to understand the author's points or difficult to do his process of studying these NT-OT links. Overall, I'd recommend this book to those interested in doing a more in-depth Bible study.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Mission of the Triune God by Patrick Schreiner

The Mission of the Triune God
by Patrick Schreiner

ISBN-13: 9781433574115
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Crossway Books
Released: January 4th 2022

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Amazon:
Some claim that the theological heart of Acts is the spirit, others the Word, others the church, and others Jesus. This book explores Luke's theological emphasis.

The book of Acts is unlike any other in Scripture; it has no rival in terms of a book spanning so many different lands. Written by a Gentile, it recounts the birth of the church age and the lives of early Christians that serve as lasting examples for the church today. When believers see how these events worked together to fulfill God’s promises, they gain a better understanding of the Trinitarian heart of Acts.

In The Mission of the Triune God, author Patrick Schreiner argues that Luke’s theology stems from the order of his narrative. He shows how the major themes in Acts, including the formation of the church, salvation offered to all flesh, and the prolific spread of the gospel, connect. Through Schreiner’s clear presentation and helpful graphics, readers follow the early church as it grows “all under the plan of God, centered on King Jesus, and empowered by the Spirit.”


My Review:
The Mission of the Triune God shows that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all behind the events that occur in Acts. The writing is academic (in a good way) without being dry or difficult to understand. It's very readable, and the author showed Old Testament connections and how other New Testament verses tied in to events in Acts. These verses provided insights into the events in Acts and brought out some points that Luke was making to his original audience. It helped me to better understand why Luke focused on certain events and how our Triune God was at work. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting study of Acts.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Philippians by Mark Batterson

Philippians
by Mark Batterson

ISBN-13: 9780593197882
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Zondervan
Released: August 31st 2021

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The 40 Days Through the Book series has been designed to help believers more actively engage with God's Word. Each study encourages participants to read through one book in the New Testament at least once during the course of 40 days (approximately 6 weeks of meetings) and will provide them with a clear understanding of the background and culture in which the book was written, insights into key passages of Scripture, and clear applications and takeaways from the particular book that participants can apply to their lives. Each study will be recorded in the author's place of residence and will highlight stories and applications that are relevant to his or her ministry in that area.


My Review:
Philippians is a scripture guide on Philippians featuring 6 sessions and can be used for group or individual study. Each session started with viewing a streaming video (about 20 minutes long) with about 6 discussion questions. You then have 7 days worth of guided meditation on the verses: you read a verse or two and think about what it means for your life (using the author's paragraph to guide you). Usually, you're also given a few journaling questions (which you answer in a notebook or journal) and prompts on what to pray about.

The book provided a way to access the streaming video associated with this book, but the viewing privilege's will expire (though they don't tell you when). The first video mostly re-hashed what was already provided in the book. You get a clear idea of the substance of what was said in the other videos just from the group discussion questions, so it's not a complete loss if you can't watch the video for some reason. Each video covered a topic inspired by the verses and was full of short, pity sayings. Video 4 mentioned the saving work of Jesus and Video 5 meantioned following the example of Jesus, but the book didn't really deepen your relationship with Jesus. I was disappointed that many of the meditation and journaling prompts focused on 'where are you failing and what efforts can you make to change this?' though the prayer prompts at least remind you to ask for God's help. So many Christians are discouraged by this focus on not measuring up with little balancing focus on the one who does and who loves us. There were also a few odd prompts, like "List Christians that you know and care about that need to grow in wisdom and insight as they follow Jesus?" Since Paul was praying that for every believer and we should all want to grow in wisdom and insight, why single people out? And then there's Day 17 where the author implies that the Holy Spirit leaks out of us or something so that we need to keep asking for a new filling with the Holy Spirit. My church certainly wouldn't teach this, and I don't think it's consistant with NT teachings. I didn't gain any new insights into the Bible from this, so I'm not very enthusiastic about this study.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God by David S. Schrock

The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God
by David S. Schrock

ISBN-13: 9781433564314
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Crossway Books
Released: February 8th 2022

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
From Genesis to Revelation, the theme of the royal priesthood is a silver thread running through the biblical story from the garden of Eden through the priesthood of Israel to Jesus Christ--the true and better priest. The theme of priesthood culminates with the creation of God's covenant people, called out of the nations to be his priests to the nations. In this concise treatment, David Schrock traces this theme of priesthood throughout the Bible and displays to readers how Jesus is the great high priest.


My Review:
The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God is a look at what actions a priest of God did in the Bible, which people acted as priests from Genesis to Revelation, and how kingship and priesthood combined in Jesus. Some of these connections were ones pointed out in the Bible, but others were more speculative. While interesting, I wasn't always convinced that there were connections. For example, when talking about the Gospels and how some of Jesus' words connected to words in the Prophets, the author used a man calling his friend away from sitting under his fig tree as fulfillment of prophecy about a man calling his neighbor to join him under his fig tree. Doesn't seem to quite fit to me. While I usually enjoy this type of book, the writing was academic enough that it was more of a classroom experience than a series of enjoyable "ah ha!" insights. It was worth reading but not something I'd recommend to a layman unless they were really interested in the topic.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.