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Reading G.K. Beale’s “New Testament Biblical Theology”

By on January 25, 2012 in Books, New Testament, Reading

Starting in a week or so I’m going to start reading through G.K. Beale’s New Testament Biblical Theology, which was released toward the end of last year. I’m starting this pursuit with a couple of other blogger/reviewer types; Craig Hurst and Bob Hayton. We’ll be setting up a discussion forum shortly to discuss what we are reading and learning. Our goal is to read two chapters per week until we are finished. Since this is a larger book it will likely take us the better part of three months to accomplish. If anyone is interested in joining us let me know, we would be glad to have you.

If you are not familiar with Beale and his work in the New Testament you should be. Beale has written some important contributions to the New Testament and biblical theology as a whole. He is frequently highlighted with The Gospel Coalition and is likely best known for his work with Carson, Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament.

Check out this video of Beale discussing this new work.

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Reading Your Bible in 2012

By on January 2, 2012 in Reading

You have probably heard, like I have, that if you “fail to plan you plan to fail.” I think there is tremendous truth in that as one considers how they will be reading their Bible in the new year. I am not a new year resolution sort of guy, however, I do think that a new year does bring a certain responsibility to have a solid Bible reading plan. So I ask you, what do you plan to do to read your Bible in the new year? Let me share with you my approach for the new year and then I’ll point you to some resources for some other methods.

Six to eight months ago I came across what is known as the Grant Horner method of Bible study. Horner is a professor at The Masters College in California. He has come up with a method of reading your Bible that accomplishes two things: (1) It allows you to read a lot of Scripture over the course of a year and (2) it allows you to remember where to find the passages in your Bible.

In essence if you follow Horner’s method you will read 10 chapters of the Bible each day. This method certainly doesn’t come without a commitment of time! The average reader will have to set aside 45 minutes a day for this.  What other pursuit in life is more worthy of our time than reading the Scriptures? This is why I am going to [try] to follow Horner’s method. There are a variety of sources available to help you with Horner’s method should you choose this path.

  1. Tim Challies has created the 3650 Challenge, which represents the number of chapters you will read in the Bible if you stick to the plan for the entire year. His post on the topic can be found here, and you can find the Facebook page he created for the challenge at this link.
  2. You can find a published PDF that talks through the system, which provides how it works and why it is unique. | LINK
  3. If you are looking for an iOS app that will help you track your reading I would suggest Bible Bookmarks. It was created specifically for Horner’s method and is what I am using.
  4. Challies has also listed some other resources that will add in your pursuit.

Perhaps Horner’s method is a little too ambitious for you…understandable. You can find some other plans over at The Gospel Coalition on Justin Taylor’s blog. There are a variety of helpful plans listed here and will help you digest Scripture this year. Remember, if you fail to plan you plan to fail. Love reading the Scriptures in this new year and see what God will teach you through it!

Happy New Year to you and your family.

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