Just got emailed this lovely poem from Sam Storms about the incarnation, a beautiful Christmas message: The Word became flesh! God became human! the invisible became visible! the untouchable became touchable! eternal life experienced temporal death! the transcendent one descended and drew near! the unlimited became limited! the infinite became finite! the immutable became mutable! the unbreakable became fragile! spirit became matter! eternity entered time! the independent became dependent! the almighty became weak! the loved became the hated! the exalted was humbled!... Read more

What is your best guide to reclaiming biblical Lament for the church? I’ve been doing a good bit of work on biblical Lament in recent months. I have two publications, which are substantially the same, that will be coming out later next year called “Following the “Man of Sorrows” – Jesus’ Path toward Openheartedness for Survivors of Sexual Trauma: A Reflection on Embodiment and the Practice of Lament” (ch. in a forthcoming Moody Press book edited by Andrew Schmutzer) and... Read more

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I recently watched an excellent film called The Book Thief. It was a story set in WWII Germany between the years of 1937 and 1945. The focus was on a young orphan named Liesel, played by a beautiful young young actress named Sophie Nelisse. The film demonstrated the devastation of war as well as the power of kindness, imagination and hope. It is a great movie for the season if you’ve not seen it. During Advent I find myself turning toward... Read more

The virgin conception is not a Christianized version of pagan mythology, nor an odd tale of God’s one time enterprise of running a Galilean fertility clinic for teenage girls. The virgin conceptions tells us about Israel’s hopes coming true, God’s Son made flesh, the Spirit’s power in Jesus’ life, a new world dawning, and God’s victory over Satan through the off-spring of Eve. In short, the historical Christian faith is a Christmas faith, celebrating the fact that God became one... Read more

Some neat articles in the latest issue of JSHJ 12.1-2 (2014): Fernando Bermejo-Rubio Jesus and the Anti-Roman Resistance: Reassessment of the Arguments Michael R. Licona Historians and Miracle Claims Robert J. Miller The Domain and Function of Epistemological Humility in Historical Jesus Studies Stanley E. Porter and Hughson T. Ong Memory, Orality, and the Fourth Gospel: A Response to Pal Foster with Further Comments for Future Discussion Paul Foster Memory, Orality, and the Fourth Gospel: An Ongoing Conversation with Stan Porter and... Read more

Tremper Longman Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary (TOTC) Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014. Available by Amazon.com By Rev. Jill Firth, Adjunct Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at Ridley College How is the new Tremper Longman TOTC Psalms commentary different from all other Psalms commentaries? While multi-volume commentaries on the Psalms, such as WBC or Hermeneia, explore scholarly details, the brevity and succinctness of a one-volume commentary is often appreciated by a preacher, Bible study leader or Bible student. Financial... Read more

Bruce Waltke, James M. Houston, & Erika Moore The Psalms as Christian Lament: A Historical Commentary Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014. Available at Amazon.com Review by Rev. Jill Firth, Adjunct Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at Ridley College The Psalms as Christian Lament (hereafter, PACL) is a companion volume to The Psalms as Christian Worship: A Historical Commentary (Eerdmans, 2010), by the same authors (hereafter, PACW). Both volumes bring detailed exegesis of selected Psalm texts along with a rich... Read more

I am elated to announce that my book The Gospel of the Lord: How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus has won the Christianity Today’s 2015 Book of the Year for Biblical Studies. Second year in a row that an Aussie has taken out this gong. Last year it was won by Con Campbell for his book Paul and Union with Christ. Very chuffed at this. Was some good news for me against the backdrop of what has been a bleak couple... Read more

Robert H. Stein Jesus, the Temple, and the Coming Son of Man: A Commentary on Mark 13 Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014. Available at Amazon.com Robert Stein has written some great books on the Gospels, climaxing in his Mark commentary for the BECNT series. Here he attempts the first real full-length treatment of Mark 13 by an evangelical since the time of George Beasley-Murray. The best thing about Stein’s book is that it sets out the interpretive issues and main... Read more