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For Bible Study Nerds

Was Jesus Christ really just a shaman, a secretive sorcerer healing people with magic tricks and demonic help? That’s what many of his enemies believed, and continued to believe for hundreds of years. In ancient Jewish society, demons were credited as the “causes of various ailments, such as blindness, deafness (and muteness), and a host…

Reader Appeal: Small Group Leaders Genre: Bible Studies FBSN Rating: A   OK, yes, I’m talking about my own book in today’s column, so if that offends you feel free to skip to the next column. But this is the book that inspired “For Bible Study Nerds,” so I thought you’d like to hear about…

Reader Appeal: Pastors, Teachers, Small Group Leaders Genre: Bible Commentary FBSN Rating: B+   The Holman Apologetic Commentary on the Bible series is unique in that its main focus is not verse by verse exposition of the Scriptures. In fact, book #1, The Gospels and Acts, actually leaves out discussion of significant portions of Matthew,…

Reader Appeal: Pastors, Teachers, Pew-Sitters Genre: Christian Living FBSN Rating: A   Guest Columnist – Jill Wuellner Have you ever read a story from the Bible and let the depth of it slip from your fingers? Missed some of the meaning because you just didn’t see the big picture? Wondered what you were missing in…

Reader Appeal: Pastors, Teachers, Seminary Students Genre: Theology / Apologetics FBSN Rating: B   Bart Ehrman has made a cottage industry of creating new, marketable conspiracy theories about Jesus. In the process, he’s made it OK to talk about religion in public places—and spawned an equally profitable “Ehrman-Response” industry. How God Became Jesus is a…

Reader Appeal: Bible students of all ages Genre: Reference Book FBSN Rating: A   Guest Columnist – Rebbekka Messenger Here’s a book that’s a great pick for Bible study beginners and veterans alike. In here, Stephen Miller’s given us a wealth of easily-accessible, easy-to-understand knowledge about Scripture from, starting in Genesis 1:1 and going all…

Reader Appeal: Pastors, Small Group Leaders, Students Genre: Biblical Study FBSN Rating: A   Guest Columnist – Dr. Norm Wakefield If you want the Bible to come alive and relate to the 21st century then this book is for you. Timothy Keller is uniquely gifted as a writer, pastor and theologian. Not many can integrate…

The story of the “Woman with an Issue of Blood” is told in three of the four gospel accounts: Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-24, and Luke 8:40-53. In addition to Matthew’s details, Luke informs us that “no one could heal her” (Luke 8:43) and Mark adds “she had suffered a great deal under the care of…

The “Woman with an Issue of Blood” lived 12 years with a chronic uterine illness—but her physical suffering was not the worst part of her daily life. Here are the facts about what this woman most likely endured for more than a decade: She was probably in her mid to late twenties—a young woman by…

Matthew 9:18-26 reports how Jesus raised from death the daughter of a “ruler” in Israel. Matthew tells the story in passing, not even bothering to include the ruler’s name. From the corresponding reports in Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56, though, we know the man’s name to be Jairus. Here’s what we know about Jairus: His…
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