Bible

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan: June

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

June 1

June 2

June 3

June 4

June 5

June 6

June 7

June 8

June 9

June 10

June 11

June 12

June 13

June 14

June 15

June 16

June 17

June 18

June 19

June 20

June 21

June 22

June 23

June 24

June 25

June 26

June 27

June 28

June 29

June 30

CCF Episode Fifteen: Analytic Reading

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

CredoCovPodcastMaster

In this episode, Billy and JD sit down with Pastor Jason Delgado, Jack DiMarco, and Mike King to discuss Part Two of How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren. Featuring music from The Followers. Also featuring an audio excerpt by D. James Kennedy from “Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism” (DVD) by the Nicene Council.

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Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism

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The book we’re reading:

How_To_Read_A_Book

 

How to Read a Book
by Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren

We’d love your participation. Contact us with your comments and questions about the books contents:

CCF Episode Fourteen: Adam and the God of Covenants

/ William F. Leonhart III / 5 Comments

CredoCovPodcastMaster

In this episode, JD and Billy sit down with Pastor Jason Delgado and Jack DiMarco to discuss the first two chapters of Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ by Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen. Featuring music from Least of These and Beautiful Eulogy.

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The book we’re currently reading…coxeowen2

Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ by Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen

We’d love your participation. Contact us with your comments and questions about the books contents:

CCF Episode Thirteen: How We Came to Covenant Theology

/ William F. Leonhart III / 6 Comments

CredoCovPodcastMaster

In this episode, JD and Billy sit down with Pastor Jason Delgado, Mike King, and Jack DiMarco to discuss how they came to affirm Covenant Theology. Featuring music from Michael Padgett and Indelible Grace.

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MP3 Download | stream:

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Subscribe to future podcasts and leave us a review on iTunes: RSS | iTunes  

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The book we’re currently reading…coxeowen2

Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ by Nehemiah Coxe and John Owen

We’d love your participation. Contact us with your comments and questions about the books contents:

Repost: A Philosophy of Children’s Ministry

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

A few years ago, I would never have thought I would be posting something like this. My sympathies toward the Family Integrated Movement resulted in somewhat of a suspicion toward children’s ministries and youth groups. After taking the reigns of my church’s children’s ministry a couple years ago, I started to research the issue. The following post is a result. This is our church’s new Philosophy of Children’s Ministry with Scripture citations. I’m interested to hear your thoughts.

Our Philosophy of Children’s Ministry –

Sovereign Joy Community Church has a high view of the family, and our families have a high view of the local church. The primary place God has ordained for the spiritual teaching and training of children is the family,1 and the primary goal of that spiritual teaching and training is to make of them disciples of Christ equipped for service in His local church.2 Further, the church has an obligation to teach and instruct not only parents but children as well.3 Therefore, the substance4 and methods5 of our Children’s Ministry are designed to support the families of Sovereign Joy as they seek to raise their children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4b; NASB).

1Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Proverbs 1:8-9; 3:1-12; Ephesians 6:1-3; Colossians 3:20

2Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-16; 2Timothy 1:5; 3:14

3Ephesians 6:1-3; Colossians 3:20

4By substance, we mean the doctrines and practices we teach.

5By methods, we mean the way in which we teach our doctrines and practices.

How do we do this?

  • Over the centuries, catechisms have proven to be a useful means of passing biblical truths along from generation to generation. Therefore, we use A Catechism for Boys and Girls (Carey Publications) as our primary means of instruction in our children’s Sunday school.
  • By using the catechism in Sunday school and providing free copies of it to all our covenanted parents, we encourage catechesis in the home.
  • Our teachers are expected to develop and present a rough exposition of the questions and answers provided in the catechism.
  • Once a month, the children will also be taught a church history lesson that is meant to help them to understand the historical context of the biblical truths they are learning in the catechism.
  • The children are also encouraged to memorize large portions of Scripture (the Lord’s Prayer, Psalm 23, the Beatitudes, etc.) and parents to work with their children in this endeavor.

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan: May

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

May 1

May 2

May 3

May 4

May 5

May 6

May 7

May 8

May 9

May 10

May 11

May 12

May 13

May 14

May 15

May 16

May 17

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May 19

May 20

May 21

May 22

May 23

May 24

May 25

May 26

May 27

May 28

May 29

May 30

NASB vs. ESV vs. HCSB

/ William F. Leonhart III / 9 Comments

A while back, a friend asked me why I like the NASB more than the ESV. Subsequently, I posted a list of my comparisons. It has since become the most visited post ever on our website. As a result, I have decided to offer this follow-up, throwing the HCSB into the mix. The following is a list of comparisons I have made between the three translations. Some are fact based, and some are preference based:

NASB (New American Standard Bible)

  • Lockman Foundation
  • Formal Equivalent
  • 12th Grade + Reading Level
  • Original 1977 version kept Thees and Thous in passages where God is directly addressed.
  • Pew Bibles run $5 each.

Cons

  • Factory binding is notoriously cheap.
  • Packaging is not as marketable as ESV or HCSB.
  • Word choice and grammar may be difficult for some to adapt to.

Pros

  • Font is unmatched.
  • Personal pronouns for God capitalized.
  • Words added to complete the meaning that do not appear in original text are italicized.
  • OT citations in the NT are rendered in small caps for easier reference.
  • Cross references in their reference Bible are amazing (even better than the ESV Study Bible).
  • Multiple options for font sizes.
  • Preferred Bible for personal study of most educated pastors and seminary professors.

ESV (English Standard Version)

  • Crossway
  • Formal Equivalent
  • 9th Grade Reading Level
  • Pew Bibles run $5 each.

Cons

  • Font is typically too small.
  • Personal pronouns for God not capitalized.
  • Fewer helps for determining what is translation and what is interpretation.
  • OT grammar is choppy, with lots of run-on sentences (NASB adds breaks so-as not to overextend the reader).
  • OT does not lend itself well to group reading.

Pros

  • Factory binding unmatched.
  • Packaging lends itself very well to marketing.
  • Preferred preaching text of many popular pastors.
  • Accessible for Christians of various generations.
  • Study Bible notes are unmatched.

HCSB (Holman Christian Standar Bible)

  • B&H Publishing
  • “Optimal” Equivalent
  • 6th Grade Reading Level
  • Pew Bibles run $5 each.

Cons

  • Factory binding is here and there (you get what you pay for).
  • Contract words used liberally for modern readers.
  • Prone to gimmicky packaging.
  • Fewer translation helps than the NASB.

Pros

  • Font is near NASB standard.
  • Personal pronouns for God capitalized.
  • Translation committee hails from 17 different denominations lending a certain level of objectivity to its translation choices (Originally, I had posted that the translation committee hailed from only one denomination. I was wrong in this assertion and was relying on faulty information.).
  • More translation helps than the ESV.
  • OT citations in the NT are rendered in bold for easier reference.
  • Multiple options for font sizes.
  • Word choices such as slave and Yahweh are a notable difference.
  • Preferable for family worship for those looking for a simpler translation to replace the increasingly liberal NIV.

“Due to the nature of languages, all translation requires a certain amount of interpretation.” – Matt Sanders; Assistant Professor of Greek, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Van Til: Beams Under the Floor

/ William F. Leonhart III / 2 Comments

“Our argument as over against this would be that the existence of the God of Christians theism and the conception of his counsel as controlling all things in the universe is the only presupposition which can account for the uniformity of nature the scientist needs. But the best and only possible proof for the existence of such a God is that his existence is required for the uniformity of nature and for the coherence of all things in the world. We cannot prove the existence of beams underneath a floor if by proof we mean that they must be ascertainable in the way that we can see the chairs and tables of the room. But the very idea of a floor as the support of tables and chairs requires the idea of beams that are underneath. But there would be no floor if beams were not underneath. Thus there is absolutely certain proof for the existence of God and the truth of Christian theism. Even non-Christians presuppose its truth while they verbally reject it. They need to presuppose the truth of Christian theism in order to account for their own accomplishments” (Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith, 125-126).

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan: April

/ William F. Leonhart III / Leave a comment

April 1

April 2

April 3

April 4

April 5

April 6

April 7

April 8

April 9

April 10

April 11

April 12

April 13

April 14

April 15

April 16

April 17

April 18

April 19

April 20

April 21

April 22

April 23

April 24

April 25

April 26

April 27

April 28

April 29

April 30