A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
by Fred G. Zaspel
Among the initial challenges that face the preacher in sermon preparation are these:
- Understanding the Passage:
- What does it say?
- What does it mean?
- What message was the author seeking to convey?
- Determining a Preaching Unit:
- How much (or how little) of this passage can I effectively convey in a single, cohesive sermon?
- How will this passage of Scripture shape the theme of my sermon?
- Demonstrating Relevance:
- How does this passage direct us to worship, wonder, and praise?
- What light does this passage shed on contemporary life?
- What effects should it have on us?
- In what ways should it shape our perspectives, the way we think, talk, and behave?
To help in this effort God has given us teachers, gifted men to guide our understanding of Scripture. Broadly speaking, their commentaries usually help in one of two ways. Some commentaries are more “academically” oriented. They focus on the exegetical details of the text, in immediate and broader contexts, in order to clarify the teaching and message of the inspired author. This work is basic, essential to all Bible study.
Some commentaries are more expositionally oriented. These commentaries do not take time to point out all the details of interpretation involved in the more academic works, but they build on that foundation. Informed by the fruits of the “heavier” commentaries they seek to expound the theme of a given biblical passage on a more popular level. Books in this category of course vary widely in biblical and theological depth and in “popular” style. But to one degree or another this is what they are after – explaining and applying the message of the passage at hand.
This Kerux commentary series from Kregel seeks to accomplish both of these objectives. Each volume combines the work of two authors, one an academic and the other a preacher. And overall, in my judgment, they succeed.
Each commentary provides this for its respective biblical book:
- A detailed introduction and outline
- A summary of all preaching sections with their primary exegetical, theological, and preaching ideas
- Preaching pointers that join the original context with the contemporary one
- Insights from the Hebrew and Greek text
- A thorough exposition of the text
- Sidebars of pertinent information for further background
- Appropriate charts and photographs
- A theological focus to passages
- A contemporary big idea for every preaching unit
- Present-day meaning, validity, and application of a main idea
- Creative presentations for each primary idea
- Key questions about the text for study groups
One particularly helpful aspect of these commentaries comes up front (the second bullet point above), where the authors sketch out the biblical book, dividing its successive passages into well-defined preaching units. Then the authors take up each passage, in turn, first with an exegetical focus and then with a preaching focus. Both sections work within the constraints of given word count; these are not intended to be massive tomes. But the attention given in each section is more than ample, providing an accessible aid to preachers.
Preachers, please don’t plagiarize. Do your own exegesis and theological reflection, verify the theme of each passage yourself, establish its biblical-theological connections, and determine yourself how best to present the fruits of your study to your congregation. No commentary should be allowed to supplant our own “laboring in the word.” But we all need teachers and guides, and you will find these commentaries both informative and suggestive for preaching.
Commentaries Currently Available in this Series
- Genesis (John Soden & Randal Emery Pelton)
- Leviticus (Michael Harbin & Mark C. Biehl)
- Numbers (Joel Barker & Steven West)
- Joshua (Randall L. McKinion & Jason K. Lee)
- 1&2 Kings (David Schreiner & Lee Compson)
- 1&2 Chronicles (Joshua Williams & Calvin Pearson)
- Psalms vol.1: The Wisdom Psalms (W. Creighton Marlowe & Charles Savelle)
- Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs (Jordan Jones & Christopher Pascarella)
- Isaiah 1-39 (Robert Chisholm & Michael Hontz)
- Jeremiah & Lamentations (Duane Garrett & Calvin F. Pearson)
- Zephaniah-Malachi (Gary Smith & Timothy Sprankle)
- Matthew (Darrell Bock & Timothy Sprankle)
- Acts (John Harvey & David Gentino)
- 1 Corinthians (Michael Burer & David Kieffer)
- Ephesians (Gregory MaGee & Jeffrey Arthurs)
- Philippians (Thomas Moore & Timothy Sprankle)
- Colossians & Philemon (Adam Copenhaver & Jeffrey Arthurs)
- Hebrews (Herbert Bateman & Steven Smith)
- 1 Peter (Timothy Miller & Bryan Murawski)