Thoughts, lectures, sermons, and course downloads for my students.
Posted on Thursday, September 21st, 2006 at 9:01 am
These are books that will be helpful in understanding the Jewish background and exegesis of the New Testament. Most were discussed in Greek III on 9/21/06.
Posted on Wednesday, September 20th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
This is a sermon on the Parable of Matthew 25. It was preached the week after hurricane Katrina had come through Florida and done minimal damage and then had gone on to New Orleans. Matthew 25 Parables
A classic book on the problem of pain and evil is C. S. Lewis’s
Another fine treatment of the problem of evil.
Posted on Monday, September 18th, 2006 at 9:01 am
The most recent (September 18) issue of Time magazine’s cover story is “Does God want you to be rich?� It quotes Joel Osteen, megapastor and author (Time’s description), “I think God wants us to be prosperous. I think he wants us to be happy. I think he wants us to enjoy our lives. I don’t think I’d say God wants us to be rich.� Joyce Meyer, author and TV preacher, “Who would want something where you’re miserable, broke and ugly and you have to muddle through until you get to heaven?� Kirbyjon Caldwell (pastor and confidante to President Bush) “God wants you to own land. The entire Old Testament is all about land. Land represents that God is with you and God has blessed you.� (All except for Jesus I guess. Sorry, a cynical voice of one of the many personalities that live rent free inside my head broke out for a moment. SL) Rick Warren, megapastor and author, “This idea that God wants everybody to be wealthy? Baloney. It’s creating a false idol. You don’t measure your self-worth by your net-worth.� Ron Sider, evangelical antipoverty crusader, “They have neglected the texts about the danger of riches. Prosperity Gospel Lite is one of the most powerful forms of neglect of the poor.�
What they are we to think of all of this? What should be the Christian’s view torward riches? I ran across this quotation from Bernard of Clairvaux in his wonderful On Loving God. Bernard says “If you see a hungry man open wide his mouth to the wind and puff up his cheeks with air to satisfy his hunger, will you not think he is out of his mind? It is no less folly to think a rational soul will be satisfied rather than merely puffed up by any kind of material goods.�
I have written a letter of response to Time. I have little faith that it will be published, but one never knows when God will use a small stone. At the very least I can publish it here. I’ll close with the letter.
DOES GOD WANT YOU TO BE RICH?
I have been a Christian minister for over twenty of my forty-six years. During that time I have visited hundreds of people in the hospital and performed over two hundred funerals. It may seem crazy taking into account some of the preaching highlighted in the article, but never once during any of those visits or funerals has the hospitalized person or the family of the deceased asked me about how to get a bigger house or a nicer car. Put in terms of sermons that are more popular than any preacher of our day, those who are sick and dying want to know the message of “The Passion.� Those who are seeking hope, peace, and solace from bigger houses and nicer cars will ultimately find themselves aboard “The Titanic.�
Samuel Lamerson, Ph.D
Assoc. Professor Knox Seminary
Assist. Pastor Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
Posted on Friday, September 15th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
These are the course notes from the Greek I course which uses Mounce’s Basic’s of Biblical Greek as a text.
To View these slide shows you will need to install these fonts: Bwgrki.ttf
bwgrkl.ttf
TekniaGreek.ttf
Class 1-
Class 1- greek1-4.rtf Power Point- greek1-4.ppt
Chapter 5&6-Greek_5+6lect.rtf Power Point- Greek 5+6.ppt
Chapter 7-Greek7lect.rtf Power Point- Greek7lect.ppt
Chapter 8 Greek8lectu.rtf
Chapter 9 Greek-9.rtf
GreekChapter_10.rtf
Greek Chapter 11 RTF and Power Point Greek11.ppt Greek11.rtf
Greek Chapter 12 RTF and Power Point greek12.ppt greek12.rtf
Greek Chapter 13 RTF and Power Point Greek13.rtf Greek13.ppt
Posted on Friday, September 15th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Notes from first day of class CC_502_Love_and_Culture1.rtf
Symposium1.rtf
Notes from 9/15/06 Bernard_of_Clairvaux.rtf
Notes on intro to Machiavelli
Notes on the Mandragala Virtu_and_Fortuna_in_Mandragala.ppt
Notes on Machiavelli The Prince-text.ppt
Posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2006 at 9:30 am
This course uses Young’s Intermediate New Testament Greek as well as Erickson’s A Beginner’s Guide to New Testament Exegesis both of which I highly recommend for intermediate Greek students as a step between Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek and Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics.
Notes from the first few weeks of class GREEK_III-1.rtf
Greek_III-ch3.rtf
Textual_Criticism.rtf
Notes from 9/13/06 Greek_III-chp4.rtf
Young outline chapter 6Youngchp6.rtf
Young outline chapter 7 Youngchp7.rtf
Young outline chapter 8 Young8.rtf
Young outline chapter 9 Young9.RTF
Young outline chapter 10 young_10.RTF
Young outline chapter 11 participles.rtf
Young outline chapter 12 Young12.rtf
For those of you who might be working ahead, we will not be reading Young Chapters 14, 15, 17, or 18
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