Discovering God through the Arts

 

Many of us are aware of classic artwork and cultural arts but rarely do we fully bridge the gap between these disciplines.

The author contends that "art helps us understand the complexities of theology and of life and awakens our spirits to the wonder of God's Word and God's world."

I'm not quite sure I agree with that, especially considering that much of art, especially Christian/Catholic art, completely excludes people of color.

And when you look at the setting of the bible (Israel is in the middle east midway between Africa & the Arabian Peninsula), it is completely full of people of color. People in Egypt at a time before Greek Macedonians infiltrated, therefore the people were more of African descent and were people of color rather than looking like Elizabeth Taylor's version of Cleopatra.

I did enjoy the discussion of different pieces of art as they relate to Christianity and culture. The main discussion requires understanding that the author wants to relate artwork like those from Michaelangelo to the faith. And they stand on the idea that artwork is intended to evoke an emotional reaction, which is accurate. 

But as Christians, how emotional a reaction should we be having to art? 

This idea walks a fine line between ensuring that we appreciate the art and ensuring we do not fall into idolatry or assume that any piece of art accurately represents people in the Bible, because MOST art, especially catholic art, doesn't.

As always I received this book from the publisher, Moody Publishers, in exchange for my honest opinion.

           

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

 Here's a new Bible Study from Trillia Newbell that focuses on Hebrews 11.

She focuses on the Hall of Faith. Where we learn how the faithful of the Old Testament has provided the blueprint of how we can be faithful now. 

This is one of the shorter bible studies that Moody Women offers at only 6 weeks. It does not stay in the Hall of Faith but journies back into each of the members' narratives (she uses the word stories, I prefer the term narrative because these are real people and we are reading about their real lives) in the Old Testament.

This particular study is formatted to include 5 daily devotions for each week of the study as well as deeper study questions under Reflect. The goal is to immerse yourself in the word of God during this study so as to soak up as much as you can about each narrative.

She even includes an alternate option to extend the study out to 8 weeks, if smaller chunks are better.

One of the best parts of this bible study is Appendix B, with the guide to reading through Old Testament narratives.

Definitely recommend it for those who want a good but short bible study.

As always I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

ESV Prayer Bible

 A new Bible to review:

The ESV Prayer Bible

This  Bible is actually quite nice. It makes for a great reading Bible, not quite to study from (there are no cross references or foot notes). But it’s reading for morning devotions and leisure reading. It’s formatted in such a way for the emphasis to simply be on the text. The font is very well sized, not too big that the Bible is a behemoth but not too small that you end up with a headache. Then there are prayers from different prominent Christians interspersed throughout the Bible. 

All in all, I’d recommend this Bible to someone who wants prayer prompts to pray the Word of God. This is a good starting point.

FYI: I received a copy of this Bible  from the publisher in  exchange for my honest opinion.

The Wonder of the Word

 

If you know nothing about Tony Evans, you know he is a powerful orator of God's Word and has been doing so for decades, and has raised his children up to do the same, Priscilla Shirer ring a bell?

In case you did not know, she is one of his four children.

But this book here is part of a master library that Pastor Tony Evans has created, aptly titled the Kingdom Pastor's Library. And I quite enjoy this because Pastor Tony is quite clear that when we choose to pastor the goal is to build the kingdom of God, to edify the kingdom of God, and to point all honor and glory back to God and the cross.

So this particular book in this library is The Wonder of the Word. Its purpose and function are to break down the authority and necessity of the Word of God in everyday life. It assumes that you know God, that you study the Word, and that you are in some form of leadership role. It is only 6 chapters long, with the first chapter establishing the authority of Scripture, then it moves on to establish the sufficiency of Scripture, then on to the canonicity, which simply means the manner in which the books of the bible are accepted as the Word of God.  Then the fourth chapter delves into transmission, which is where foundational studying of the bible comes in, reception is where we allow the word of God to sanctify us internally, and the final chapter is on application, applying the Word of God to our external behavior.

All in all, I enjoy this book and would highly recommend this book, especially to those who are in ministry, especially those in leadership roles. 

I will say that I do disagree with Pastor Evans on some of the canonicity of the Word but overall it is a good book.

FYI: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Summoned

 One of the new bible studies in Moody Publishers Women's Bible Studies is Summoned by Megan Brown. Megan is a military wife and bible teacher who also works with Cru Military. Like many of Moody Women's bible authors, she also attended Moody Bible Institute.

So this Bible Study is 8 weeks long and focuses on the book of Esther. While we tend to know the story of Esther (Vashti, Xerxes, Mordecai, and Haman), Megan takes a different approach to this well-studied book. 

Megan approaches this study with the intent to help readers/studiers learn how to study the bible. She starts with basic definitions and identifies materials that can be used in bible study. Then she delves into simple questions that are meant to draw a new believer into studying the Word more. 

The bible study is fairly good, albeit there are quite a few "me" focused questions. I personally would have liked more on the interpretative side of bible study rather than so much on the application end of it. However, I am a more seasoned bible student and this bible study is geared more towards a beginner bible student. 

If I were to recommend this bible study to a person, it would be to someone new to bible study who is looking to get consistent in studying on a daily basis. I would tell more seasoned students of the Word to look elsewhere as they would likely want more meat and higher focus on God than self.

{FYI: Please note that I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.}

The Extraordinary Power of Praise

 I was so excited to receive a copy of this bible study from Moody Publishers!

While this bible study has a video teaching companion, you do not need the teaching videos.

The whole purpose of this study is to use praise to combat anxiety. 

Becky guides us into six weeks of digging into the Psalms. The first week is on facing our fears because you cannot overcome anxiety and fear until you identify what it is you fear and apply God's truth to mitigate the fear.

The second week is giving us perspective on waiting while we worship. One source of anxiety is having to wait. We live in a microwave society. We want God to show up when we want Him to rather than waiting on His good and perfect timing. 

The third week delves into lamenting with authenticity. Lamenting is another word grief and to mourn. There is always a right and wrong way to do everything including grieving. We can allow our grief to overtake us and drown out God OR we can place our grief in proper perspective allow God to be God even over it.  

The fourth week leads us into seeing how praising God leads to contentment. One of the greatest things we can do is be content. Although society would have you believe that you should always be reaching for more, more, more. Rather than reaching for the kingdom of heaven and allowing more to be added unto you in God's timing.

The fifth week is on JOY. Joy comes from the Father. So it's only right to seek Him to rekindle the joy in your life.

The final week of the study is on living in victory. See Jesus already claimed victory, so we can live from a place of victory rather than trying to fight for it.

If you choose to watch the teaching videos, there is a listening guide in the appendix of the book. For me this study is not completed in 6 weeks but rather in about 12 weeks. I have a full plate and can only delve in small bites so it often takes me 2 days per day of the study.

I do recommend it, especially for those who are struggling with anxiety and those who are always seeking more. Sometimes you need to stop and seek Jesus. 

As always, please note I did receive a copy of this bible study from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Life Lessons and Love Language

 

The life lessons from Gary Chapman. This one is good. 

It is his life story after he's helped so many of us win in relationships.

And the best part is that it is in his own words, so it's not anyone's assumption or interviews but Gary Chapman on Gary Chapman. Autogbiography's are the best.

His story is broken down into five sections. The first section focusing on his upbringing and its impact on his life. The second section focusing on his education at Moody in Chicago, Wheaton in Wheaton IL, then in Colorago, and at both southeastern & southwestern baptist seminary. The third section focuses on the life lessons he gleaned during marriage. The fourth section focuses on his parenting journey and what he learned while raising his children. The last section focuses on his work in ministry and the many lessons he gleaned. 

While I'll be honest I'm no fan of southern baptist churches, I do appreciate Gary Chapman and that helped me to get through the book and enjoy the lessons and glean from the lessons he shares with us.

Definitely a solid read and worth reading.

{FYI: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.}