Tag: News

Win Free Bible Commentaries & Theology Books from Christian Focus

~ Bob Hayton ~ 10 Comments

If you’re like me, you are always looking to expand your library. The best way to do that is by winning free books! Blogging & social media offer opportunities to get books, but often they aren’t necessarily books you’d really purchase yourself. They aren’t that great, sometimes.

Well this week, Christian Focus Publications is giving away some really good theology books & a Bible commentary over at their new BookNotes blog.

There will be two winners, and you can win either of these prize packs:

First Prize:

Second Prize:

Be sure to enter this special book giveaway. And for another chance at a free Bible commentary, you can also enter a contest I’m running over at my King James Only debate blog. Zondervan is sponsoring the giveaway of their new two volume King James Commentary on the whole Bible. Learn more about that contest here.

I believe both contests run through the end of this week. From one book lover to another, enjoy!

The Parable of the Hearers

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

I had the privilege to fill in for our pastor this morning and deliver the Sunday morning message. It’s available now for free download or to listen online.

Place: Beacon of Hope Church, St. Paul
Date: Feb. 27, 2011
Title: The Parable of the Hearers
Text: Luke 8:4-21
Theme: Our duty to hear the Word well

Listen online or download (right click and save it to your computer)

For more on the concept of letting the Gospel do its work in you, check out this series of posts: The Gospel’s Work in Believers.

Bob’s Best Books of 2010

~ Bob Hayton ~ 6 Comments

2010 marked the second full year that I’ve focused on reading and reviewing good Christian books. I thought I could take the time (like I did last year), to look back and assess the books I’ve reviewed in 2010.

By the Numbers:

Total Reviews: 30 (including 1 DVD)
Grand total of Book Reviews: 71
2010 Publishers Reveiwed: 13
Total Publishers Reviewed: 18 (+5 small publishers)
Pages Read: over 6600
Book/DVD Giveaways Hosted: 3 (down 1 from last year)
Blog Posts Written: 168
Total Blog Posts Written: 278 (includes 3 other blogs I contribute to)
Average Monthly Page Views: 12,408 (per WordPress stats, for this blog only)
Highest Traffic Day: 901 (Dec. 10)
Total Page Views for 2010: 148,899

I want to thank my readers for finding my blog helpful (or at the least interesting). I also want to thank the publishers for the opportunity to review their books. I look forward to some of the titles I have planned already for this year, and to the challenge of doing even more reviews in 2011.

Without further ado, here are Bob’s Best Books of 2010. I tried to pick fairly big categories, but it’s always hard to choose. I threw in a couple honorable mentions with the result that we have here my 10 favorite books reviewed in 2010.

Bob’s 10 Best:

Best “Theology” book — The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation by John H. Sailhamer (InterVarsity Press). I can’t stress how much I enjoyed this book. I know some of you are going to think I’m a bit strange here, but this 600 page theology book was hands down my favorite book of the year. Sailhamer’s insights into Scripture and the Hebrew arrangement of the OT Canon continue to thrill me. Some of the material was over my head, for sure. But working through it proved enormously rewarding. This is a book I’ll refer to, for a long time. It’s truly been paradigm shifting for me. You’ll have to read my review for more on the book.

Best “Christian Living” book — A Sweet and Bitter Providence: Sex, Race, and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper (Crossway). This is a beautiful book both for the story of Ruth from the Bible contained in it, as well as for the artwork and the commentary by John Piper. Piper masterfully applies the themes of Ruth to some life’s ups and downs. He unlocks the book to let God and His beauty shine through. Read my review for more.

Honorable Mention — CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet by Michael Emlet (New Growth Press). It’s hard to categorize this immensely helpful book. It’s equal parts Bible interpretation handbook, counseling manual, and applying the Gospel to life “how to”. It will help you to see all the parts of the Bible in light of the big picture, and equip you to take any part of Scripture and apply it to real life people and their problems. Read my review for more.

Best “Childrens & Family” book — My First Book of Questions and Answers by Carine MacKenzie (Christian Focus). This is certainly the smallest book I reviewed this year. Yet even though it is quite small, it is extraordinarily useful. We’ve applied it in family Bible time, in my family. The easy questions and answers are fun for goods, and instructive even for the parents. It is a tool for bringing the lost art of catechism back into the contemporary Christian home. Read my review for more.

Best “Church History & Biography” book — Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings by James Payton Jr. (InterVarsity Press). I wasn’t sure what to expect, given this book’s title. I was pleasantly surprised. The book moved along at a good pace and brought me back into the world of the Reformation. Many of the concerns the author had, are for us to not misunderstand the true nature of the Reformation. Sola fide and Sola Scriptura in particular are concepts stretched quite far from their historical past. You may not agree with all his conclusions, but you’ll be challenged and will surely learn something new about that important period of church history. Read my review for more.

Best “Commentary & Reference” book — Ryken’s Bible Handbook: A Guide to Reading and Studying the Bible by Leland Ryken, Philip Ryken & James Wilhoit (Tyndale House). I wasn’t prepared for how enormously helpful this Bible handbook proved to be. The overviews of each book of the Bible, the helps for reading the Bible with sensitivity for genre, and the many charts and graphics combine to make this quite useful for any Bible reader — from the concerned parent to the Sunday School teacher on up to the pastor. Read my review for more.

Honorable Mention — Galatians (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) by Thomas R. Schreiner (Zondervan). This commentary couldn’t help but receive some notice. Not only is it written by a pastor-scholar I highly respect, the commentary may be the most useful one I’ve found yet, for the would be expository teacher. The layout and approach brings the teacher into the book giving him the tools and help he or she needs, without making them feel inadequate for the task. This commentary series should prove a true gift to the church. Read my review for more.

Best “Fiction” book — Beyond the Summerland (The Binding of the Blade Series, Book 1) by L.B. Graham (P & R Publishing). I love good fiction, particularly fantasy. This book was superbly written and drew me in to a beautiful world that in many ways was analogous to the real situation here on Earth. I honestly didn’t expect such a well written fantasy tale from such a conservative publisher. It’s a testament to the fact that Christian authors can write excellently and create truly moving art. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. Read my review for more.

Best “General Christian Interest” book — Once an Arafat Man by Tass Saada (Tyndale House). This tale is both fascinating and inspiring. A one-time Hamas fighter immigrates to America to find success, and then meets Jesus. His life changes by the power of the Gospel and he goes on to have the privilege of sharing the Gospel with his childhood hero, Yasir Arafat. The story of Tass Saada’s life and his ministry for Christ to the poor in Gaza gives hope that God is at work in the Muslim world. Read my review for more.

Best “Missions & Church Life” book — Which None Can Shut: Remarkable True Stories of God’s Miraculous Work in the Muslim World by Reema Goode (Tyndale House). This book may be my 2nd favorite of the year. This is the tale of an American missionary wife, and her family’s experiences in an undisclosed location in Arabia. Here is a window into what missions looks like in a closed country. The stories told are nothing short of amazing, as we get to share a bird’s eye view in what Jesus is doing to reach Muslims. The questions and opportunities to share the gospel are plentiful, as are the dangers. I trust and pray that this book will help motivate more Western Christians to take risks in sharing the Gospel abroad, and to their increasingly multicultural neighbors as well. Read my review for more.

All the Rest:

Click here for the complete list of all 71 reviews (so far). Also, if you’re into books and reviews, check out my book themed site: CrossFocusedReviews.com.

Initial Thoughts on the New, Updated NIV

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

For years, the NIV has been the most loved, and most hated of the modern Bible versions produced in the 20th Century. Many of us who used to be KJV-only advocates used to reserve our sharpest criticisms for the NIV. Perhaps that background is one of the reasons many of us still are hesitant to use it. We just prefer a more literal approach to Bible translation for various reasons.

With the advent of Today’s New International Version, there was an outcry about gender neutral language run too far. Partly as a result of this controversy, the English Standard Version was produced. The ESV is a conservative remake of the somewhat liberal Revised Standard Version. And the ESV took the Bible market by storm, as many Reformed pastors and teachers have made it their Bible of choice. It is making inroads into non-Reformed segments of Christianity as well.

Along the way, people like Leland Ryken, John Piper and Wayne Grudem have had some not so flattering things to say about the NIV, and especially the TNIV. And many other conservative scholars have concurred. At issue are the many places where the NIV smooths over the text to make nice sounding English, but in the process obscures the presence of important connector words like “for” and other features of the text which influence its interpretation. Many feel the NIV makes too many interpretive choices for its readers. Of course the gender neutrality of the TNIV is not a problem in the NIV, but the direction the TNIV took seems to be far afield of where conservative scholarship thinks we should go with respect to Scriptural integrity.

In light of this reaction, I was initially hopeful that the announcement of a new NIV update might promise a turn toward a better direction for the NIV. After reading the translators’ notes about the new update, I am inclined to think it actually is the positive change I was hoping for. In several cases they move toward a greater transparency to the original text. They restore many of the missing “for”s, and the gender neutral language concerns seem for the most part to be satisfactorily addressed. The tack they take is not much different than the ESV which also uses some gender neutral language in an attempt to employ contemporary English.

In this whole process I was also pleased to learn that the publishing house has little control, if any, over the actual text of the Bible translation. The translation aspects of the NIV are kept separate from the publishing and marketing arm of spreading the finished product abroad.

I encourage you to read the translator’s notes on this important update for yourself. You can also see a video introduction of the text by Douglas Moo, the chair of the translation committee. Furthermore, there are several comparison tools available for comparing the 1984 NIV text, and the TNIV and now the new 2011 NIV Update edition. BibleGateway can do that. And a couple other sites have comparison tools for comparing the various manifestations of the NIV: This site has a drop down menu to pull up the text a chapter at a time. This one offers several different comparison points between the editions.

I think this whole update was handled transparently and honestly. I believe it is a good sign that evangelicalism as a whole has a careful concern for the text of Scripture and aren’t just ready to adopt any translation that can be made. The respect and care with which the translators of the NIV handle their work has been apparent through the whole process. I think the end result will prove to be a blessing to the wider church, even with the presence of other useful, conservatively produced translations. May this lead to a greater unity and a lessening of the “Bible wars” which have been transpiring in the last decade or so. I for one, am eager to get a copy of this new NIV, to see how it compares with my ESV.

One last word: check out Rick Mansfield’s review of the updated NIV. I’m sure more reviews will be forthcoming, in the next few weeks.

~cross posted from my team KJV Only debate blog

Advertising on Fundamentally Reformed: An Update

~ Bob Hayton

I wanted to make my readers aware of some advertising they’ll be seeing around my site. I use the Beacon Ad Network to bring quality, wholesome, Christian advertising to my readers. The revenue I’ll be raising won’t be very much, but it will help me recoup some of the costs of hosting and operating the site.

I’m aiming for the advertising to be unobtrusive and tame. I hope it blends in to my overall site design and that it also can be noticed and bring the advertisers people who are interested in their products.

Let me thank BaptistHost.net publically for being the first official advertiser on my site. If you scroll down past this post you’ll see their 468 x 60 (pixels) ad. I encourage you to visit their site, and see their offer on quality web hosting.

I have long thought my site would be perfect for authors or Christian publishers to advertise new books that would be of interest to my audience. Christian ministries or vendors may also fit my site well. Current advertising options are as follows:

6 – 125 x 125 (pixels) ads in the top right of my sidebar – $12 per 30 days. (these can be combined to make 250 x 125 or 250 x 250 ads also)

2 – 468 x 60 (pixels) ads below the first post on all blog pages – $22 per 30 days

I’m currently averaging around 11,000 ad impressions a month. I still have lots of space available (the sponsors in my sidebar are sample ads). Click here to purchase advertising through my account at Beacon Ads. Feel free to contact me about other possibilities or with any questions.