Tag: help

CCEF Counseling Booklets on Sale

~ Bob Hayton

I’m a bit late in announcing this, but counseling booklets from the Christian Counseling Education Foundation bookets are on a special sale through Westminster Bookstore, through tomorrow. I’ve highlighted them before on my site. These are not your average psychology friendly fare. They are among the best biblical counseling tools available, and would be a great addition to your church lobby. The acrylic display stand is free with an order of 10 or more.

One of the bundles offered is 50 booklets plus the stand for just $100. Below are just some of the available titles. The links take you to where you can order five packs of these booklets, and many have sample pages available.

More details on the sale are here.

A Gospel-Centered Reading of Genesis

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

My daily Bible plan has me reading through Genesis currently. So far, I’ve been refreshed by many Gospel themes I’m finding therein. I’ve been helped in making Gospel connections, by a series of blog posts I stumbled across recently. Dr. John Davis, at TheGospelFirst.com has been blogging his way through Genesis in a series highlighting the Gospel Story and the City.

His devotional take on Genesis is refreshing, and the entries are fairly brief. The posts complement my reading thru the chapters covered and help me to be seeing Genesis through Gospel-eyes. Not only does Davis help people to see the Gospel in the text, he helps them to make application to the context of living in the city. Davis is partnering with his brother Steve to reach the city of Philadelphia. As I find myself in the city of St. Paul, many of his applications hit home.

I encourage you to take advantage of Davis’ series on the Gospel as you read through Genesis. Here are links to the posts that are currently available.

Get Your Daily e-Bible Reading Plan

~ Bob Hayton ~ 10 Comments

It’s that time of year again. Time to choose your next daily Bible reading plan. But with more and more people turning to e-Bibles on their smart phones or other portable devices, the traditional bookmark style, Bible reading plan’s days may be numbered.

Thankfully, for today’s Bible geeks (a term used for the tech-savvy, Bible aficionado) plenty of digital options are available when it comes to tracking and promoting Bible reading. I have found that having some plan and some tool to track my reading, is a very practical way to encourage me to continue to make Bible reading a priority. I don’t think we have to be slavishly beholden to a Bible reading plan, and not everyone is equally able to read the Bible through in a year. But reading the Bible is one of the best ways to encounter Jesus. So why not do all we can to read as much of the Bible as possible this year?

What follows is a list of some of the e-Bible reading options available. Please jump in and share any tools you are finding helpful that aren’t included here.

YouVersion

YouVersion is a site that uses the appeal of social media to encourage interaction with the Bible. The site lets users submit notes on the Bible, and share Bible verses easily through various social media channels, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The site has a long list of Bible reading plans. I’m interested in trying the Historical plan which goes through the OT according to the order of books in the Hebrew Bible, then goes through the NT books in the order that most scholars believe they were written in.

Youversion lets you track your progress online, or through your mobile phone (or even via RSS). You can share your progress with your social media networks, letting your friends know as you complete each day’s reading plan. This encourages others to be reading the Bible and allows something like Facebook to provide some accountability even, as your friends can see whether or not you are staying current with your reading plan.

Bible Gateway

Bible Gateway seems to be the most popular site for looking up Bible verses online. The site has several Bible reading plans that work with the various versions the site includes. If you’re interested in reading through the new updated NIV 2011 translation, this site is for you. There are also a few additional reading plans somewhat buried in the site. An interesting one is the biographical reading plan focusing on key Bible characters. For a couple plans you can even sign up for email updates with the days’ reading included via email (currently only available for the NIV or KJV).

ESV Online

My version of choice is the ESV, and I love the ESV Study Bible. Now the ESV Online incorporates the Study Bible notes and also includes two different versions of the complete Bible in audio format, easily accessible right from the viewing page. I enjoy reading along as I hear the audio version playing. The ESV Online lets you add your own notes and highlight passages in various colors, too. I just wish the History of Salvation in the OT article was referenced in the SB notes for each OT passage it covers, however.

The ESV Online has several reading plans as well as some devotionals. The Daily Light on the Daily Path devotional seems quite unique, and might be great for family devotions. It’s a classic that I had never heard of.

Bible.Org

Bible.org offers five different reading plans which launch in the new beta version of a Net Bible reader. The Net Bible notes are some of the most comprehensive available, and great for studying. What’s nice about the beta Net Bible reader is that you can instantly see the Hebrew or Greek for the passage and relevant articles from Bible.org regarding that passage. You also have the option of adding your own notes to share with other readers (or store for personal reference). It also includes an audio version of the Bible (but probably not for Greek or Hebrew!).

Olive Tree Bible Software

You may already be an Olive Tree junkie. Olive Tree Bible Software has carved out a niche in the mobile devices market, offering arguably the best Bible software for smart phones and other portable devices. A few reading plans are available for free Olive Tree, as well as additional devotional books.

Blue Letter Bible

You might not be into the whole e-Bible thing, however. You might just want the old-fashioned, tried and true, bookmark Bible reading plan. Don’t despair. Blue Letter Bible can help. They have a wide selection of Bible reading plans available as .pdf downloads, which can then be printed on actual paper and kept as a bookmark in your very own, leather-bound Bible! Chronological, historical, canonical and blended plans are available, as is a 2 year plan to read through the Bible at a slower pace.

Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plans

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention what may be the most popular Bible reading plan around, the Discipleship Journal reading plan from NavPress. This popular plan lets you read through the Bible in four different locations. One reading starts in Genesis, another in Psalms, another in Matthew, and the last one in Acts. It ensures variety and keeps one from being bogged down in the genealogies or Tabernacle details too much. Plus it only has readings for the first 25 days of the month, allowing for extra study, for those who stay on track, or for catch up days, for those who need the extra help (and motivation to stay on the plan). You can see a sample of the plan here (in .PDF), or you can order 25 copies of the plan (in good old bookmark format) from NavPress, and pass the others out at your church. There is also a Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Journal available to complement this plan.

DJ also has a book-at-a-time reading plan (preview here) which provides variety by having two reading tracks and alternating between Old and New Testament books. A simpler plan for those newer to Bible reading is also available (preview here). It covers the New Testament by having 5 minute readings, 5 days a week.

Help for the Bible Translation Overload

~ Bob Hayton ~ 7 Comments

Charts like the one above highlight the problem that the abundance of Bible translations poses today. Sometimes, the plethora of available Bible translations on the bookstore shelf is overwhelming. How are we to make sense of the different options available? Which version should we use? And who is to say that this chart or others are correct? [This one is actually slightly biased as it is put out by the makers of the NIV and TNIV (which occupy the coveted “balanced” position). It also doesn’t include the ESV or HCSB, but that is because the chart is outdated.]

Well, over at my team KJV Only Debate Blog, Erik DiVietro has given us a 5 part series describing the various major Bible translations available today. This might make for some good weekend reading, so I thought I’d share it here. I felt he did a great job explaining and categorizing the various Bibles. He like myself, gravitates toward the ESV as his preferred Bible. Other good options are available, but it helps to learn the background of the various selections out there.

“My First Book of Questions and Answers” by Carine MacKenzie

~ Bob Hayton ~ 7 Comments

For hundreds of years, the training of Christian young people involved the learning of a catechism. A catechism was a set of instructions on Christian doctrine. Essentially, it was a list of questions and answers used to instill the fundamentals of the faith in the hearts of children. Many of the Reformed confessions, such as the Westminster Confession, included catechisms. Martin Luther considered his short catechism to be one of his two most important books. Even the great Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, wrote a catechism for young children.

Being an American and a Baptist, the very notion of a catechism seems incredibly foreign to me. But as I’ve studied church history and learned of the important role catechisms have played since the Reformation, I’ve actually been on the lookout for a simple catechism to employ with my own children. Since I’ve never used a catechism before, I was looking for something easy to use and also quite simple — as my daughters who I’d be teaching, are between the ages of 4 and 7.

Carine MacKenzie’s My First Book of Questions and Answers is what I found and so far, my children are eating it up. MacKenzie’s book is based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It consists of 114 questions broken up into 26 topics. The questions are direct and the answers are short and to the point. A Scripture reference is supplied for each answer.

The following topics are covered by the questions and answers. Who God is. Creation and sin. What the consequences of sin is. Salvation. Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King. The Ten Commandments — what they are and what they mean for us. Keeping God’s Laws. The Way to be Saved. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Prayer and Bible Reading. Death, Hell and Heaven.

The book is pocket sized with large font and catchy graphics. It’s a bright, cheery book that young readers will like to read. My 7 year old has been reading some of the questions and answers we haven’t yet covered.

I’ve found the catechism format works well as a tool for parents wanting to teach their children. You can easily use the questions to probe how well they understand the answers given in the book. You will be able to have a pulse on what questions your children have when it comes to the gospel. And on another level, my kids think the questions and answers are a lot of fun. It’s a game to them, and they are excited about some small incentives my wife and I have planned for them as they learn these questions.

I should add a word about the theology behind this book. The baptism and Lord’s Supper section is generic enough to be accepted by Presbyterians and Baptists alike. There is a Reformed bent to the questions throughout, which I appreciate. However, any of the questions and answers could easily be edited by a conscientious parent.

My First Book of Questions and Answers is an ideal “first book” for parents seeking to use a catechism (like myself). You will find it to be a great little tool for instilling biblical teaching into the hearts and minds of your young children. Even though this book is quite small, if used by prayerful parents, it promises to have an eternal impact. May God bless the use of this book in the lives of many Christian parents and their children!

This book is part of a line up that Carine MacKenzie has of 7 “My First” books. The other titles are My First Book of Bible Prayers, My First Book of Christian Values, My First Book of Memory Verses, My First Book of Bible Promises, My First Book about Jesus, and My First Book about the Church. I encourage you to check them all out.

Pick up a copy of this book at Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com or direct from Christian Focus Publications.

Westminster Bookstore also has a deal on the entire set of 7 “My First” books.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Christian Focus Publications for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.