Summer of Sermons

How many sermons can I listen to over the summer? I don't know, but it will be fun to see! The link to sermons from BBC link to the mp3 and may prompt a download.

June

1. Preaching the Gospel To Yourself [Selected Scriptures] Mike Abendroth, Bethlehem Bible Church 55:32. Preached: 4/29/12. Link to sermon.
2. Self-Sacrifice and The Selfish [1 Corinthians 11:17-34] Mike Abendroth, Bethlehem Bible Church 47:21. Preached 4/29/12. Link to sermon.
3. Preaching the Gospel To Yourself, part two [Selected Scriptures] Mike Abendroth, Bethlehem Bible Church 45:48. Preached 6/3/12. Link to sermon.
4. A Jet Tour Through Revelation. [Revelation 1-22] John MacArthur, Grace To You Ministries. 1:07. (1 hour, 7 minutes.) Preached: December 1982. Link to sermon.
5. Grace: Amazing or Accustomed [Selected Scripture] Steve Cooley, Bethlehem Bible Church. 44:55. Preached 5/27/12. Link to sermon.

July

1. Grace: Amazing or Accustomed, part two. [Selected Scripture] Steve Cooley, Bethlehem Bible Church. 48:44. Preached 6/3/12. Link to sermon.
2.
3.

August

1. Deliverance the Neglected Doctrine [Selected Scriptures] John MacArthur, Grace To You Ministries. 44 minutes. October 1, 2000. [Link to sermon]
2. Deliverance From Error To Truth, Part 1 [Selected Scriptures] John MacArthur, Grace To You Ministries. 1 hour. October 8, 2000. [Link to sermon]
3. Deliverance: From Error to Truth, Part 2 [Selected Scriptures] John MacArthur, Grace To You Ministries. 43 minutes. October 15, 2000 [Link to sermon]
4. Deliverance: From Sin to Righteousness, Part 1 [Selected Scriptures] John MacArthur, Grace To You Ministries. 48 minutes. October 22, 2000 [Link to sermon]
5. Deliverance: From Sin to Righteousness, Part 2 [Selected Scriptures] John MacArthur, Grace to You Ministries. 46 minutes. October 29, 2000 [Link to sermon]
6. Preaching The Word in and out of Season. [2 Timothy 3:1-4:4] John MacArthur, Grace To You Ministries. 60 minutes. October 29, 2000. [Link to sermon]
7. Deliverance: From the Temporal World to the Eternal Kingdom. [Selected Scriptures] John MacArthur, Grace to You Ministries. 45 minutes. November 5, 2000. [Link to sermon]

How many sermons can I read over the summer? I don't know, but it will be fun to see!

June

1.
2.
3.

July

Sermon 1: Love The Sum of All Virtue ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 2: Love More Excellent than Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 3: Nothing Can Make Up For Want of Sincerity in the Heart ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 4: Long-Suffering and Kindness ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 5: Charity Contrary to an Envious Spirit ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 6: A Christian Spirit is a Humble Spirit ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 7: Charity Contrary to a Selfish Spirit ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 8: Charity Contrary to an Angry Spirit ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 9: Charity Contrary to a Censorious Spirit ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 10: Grace Tends to Holy Practice ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 11: Undergoing Sufferings A Duty to Christ ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 12: Christian Graces Concatenated Together ~ Jonathan Edwards

Sermon 13: Grace Never Overthrown ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 14: Divine Love Alone Lasts Eternally ~ Jonathan Edwards
Sermon 15: Heaven Is a World of Love ~ Jonathan Edwards 

16. Mysterious Visits (Psalm 17:3) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
17. Under His Shadow (Psalm 91:1) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
18. Under the Apple Tree (Song of Solomon 2:3) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
19. Over the Mountains (Song of Solomon 2:16-17) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
20. Christ's Delight in His Church (Song of Solomon 4:7) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
21. The Beauty of the Church (Song of Solomon 4:1) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
22. Sweet Fellowship with Christ (John 1:16) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
23. Redeemed Souls Freed from Fear (Isaiah 43:1) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
24. Bonds of Unity (Hosea 11:4) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
25. "I Will Give You Rest" (Matthew 11:28) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
26. Jesus Asleep on a Pillow (Mark 4:38-39) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
27. Real Contact with Jesus (Luke 8:46) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
28. A Word from the Beloved's Mouth (John 13:10) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
29. Comfort and Consolation (John 14:18) ~ Charles Spurgeon 
30. The Sin-Bearer (1 Peter 2:24-25) ~ Charles Spurgeon 

August

1.
2.
3.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

MacArthur System: Revelation, June 3-9

This week I read Revelation six times. I really had hoped to finish it the seventh time, but, it just didn't happen this week. I read it four times in the ESV translation, once in the NASB translation, and once in the CEB (Common English Bible) translation.

HCSB

• Psalms 73-80

NASB

• Revelation

CEB

• Revelation

ESV

• Revelation (4)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Operation Actually Turns Four!

Today is my blogoversary! Today Operation Actually Read Bible turns four!!! For those new to the blog, you might want to know what it is all about. Well? Usually once over the weekend I post my own personal updates on what I've read in the Bible. And the rest of the posts are a blend of Christian fiction book reviews, Christian non-fiction book reviews, music reviews, announcing-challenge-posts, what's-coming-soon posts, etc. Occasionally, I'll do an opinion post. Occasionally, I'll try do get a discussion going. But mainly it's me talking about books and me talking about the BIBLE. Also once a year, I host a Read-the-New-Testament-in-a-Week event/challenge.

In my very first post, I wrote:

"I know--rationally speaking--that I NEED to read the Bible...that I NEED to study and read and pray. But it's not a part of my daily routine. Hence why I'm challenging myself to ACTUALLY read the Bible instead of just talking about how I need to start one day soon."

I was surprised, at first, that people were interested in joining me in reading the Bible. That they saw this as an opportunity for a reading challenge--a perpetual reading challenge. But it was a happy surprise! If you're interested in joining, you can sign up on the initial post.

This year's Operation Deepen Faith post. This year's Cloud of Witnesses post.

My favorite posts from June 9, 2011 to June 8, 2012

• Big God, Big Words: Imputation 
• Taste and See: Living Sacrifices
• Taste and See: Eating a Balanced Diet
• So What's Your Excuse?
• Taste and See: Redeeming the Time
• Focus on Philippians 1:9-11
• Christ in the Pages of the Bible
• Without a Bible
• Songs that Bring Good Tears
• Book Review: Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books
• A Little Experiment with Two Translations
• Ten Chapters I'm Thankful For
• Looking to Read A Book About the Bible?
• Top Ten Books I'd Recommend Reading for Lent
• Quoting Dorothy Sayers
• What Makes a Book "Worthy" and "Helpful"?
• Quoting A.W. Tozer
• Books Read in 2012

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Goals for June 2012

As I mentioned on Sunday, this month's goal is to read the book of Revelation 30 times in June. My main translation will be the ESV. At first, I thought that having "one" translation wouldn't make a big difference in how I read Revelation. After all, Revelation is Revelation no matter the translation, right? Well, after reading it in ESV so many times, after coming to know it, becoming so familiar with the words, I've noticed that when I read other translations, I can almost automatically pick out the differences, spot the different word choices, notice the additions to the text--how extra words are being added to smooth the translation along. I do still plan to read one or two other translations a week, just to keep a fresh perspective, but I'm definitely happy to make the ESV my #1 choice.

You may remember that this is the second time this year I am using the John MacArthur system or method of Bible reading. In February, I read 1 John. I thought I would share a few words from John MacArthur just in case you're new to this idea.

Here is what he says in part,

It is my conviction that the Bible is not difficult for the believing heart to understand. And the more I understand, the more unshakable is my conviction that the Bible is the living, authoritative, inerrant Word of God. It has this remarkable effect on me: the more I study it, the more I hunger to know. So God's Word not only satisfies my appetite, but also arouses an even deeper hunger for more. I want you to experience that hunger too. I want you to live in the joy of a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ that comes only through knowing the meaning of Scripture. Here's a simple process to get you started.
Begin by developing a plan on how you will approach reading through the Bible. Just by reading the Bible you become familiar with its themes, history, and contexts. There is simply no replacement for Bible reading.

He says:

Read through the Old Testament at least once a year...

but

Follow a different plan for reading the New Testament. Read one book at a time repetitiously for a month or more. That will help you retain the New Testament so you will not always have to depend on a concordance to find things. If you want to try that, begin with a short book, such as 1 John, andread it through in one sitting every day for thirty days. At the end of that time, you will know the book. 

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

MacArthur System: Revelation, May 26 - June 2

This month I will be reading the book of Revelation each day. My goal is to read it thirty times this month! I did get a head start, however, by beginning in the very last days of May. I will still try to read it each and every day in June, but, in case I miss a day, I have a few extras to help me still meet my goal.

This first week, I read Revelation eight times. I read it once in the New King James Version, once in the English Revised Version (1881), and six times in the English Standard Version Bible.

ERV:

• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude
• Revelation

NASB:

• Luke 5-24
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians

HCSB:

• Psalm 1-72

ESV:

• Revelation (6)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

A Victorian Celebration

A Literary Odyssey is hosting The Victorian Celebration, an event for June and July! I am very excited to be participating in this challenge on my blog, Becky's Book Reviews. I'm more than half tempted to see if I can find ways to participate here at Operation Actually Read Bible.

I started thinking, which Bibles (or Bible translations) would have been available during the Victorian period (1837-1901)? Of the translations available during those decades, which ones are *still* available and/or still in use today? The obvious answer, of course, is the King James Bible. But it wasn't the only translation available though it may have been widely used, and generally accepted and respected.

One of my favorite websites is called Bible Research. It has a page which lists nineteenth century English versions of the Bible. They list around twenty-five "new" translations of the Bible during the time between 1837 and 1899. Of course, almost all of these "new" translations of the Bible were just revisions (some small or slight, others more ambitious) of the Authorized Version (aka The King James Version).

Of particular note, at least particular note--to me--is the English Revised Version. The New Testament appeared in 1881, the Old and New Testament appeared in 1885, the Bible with the Apocrypha appeared in 1895. This "revision" or "translation" of the Bible was the basis for the American Standard Version of 1901. The American Standard Version of 1901 was the basis for the Revised Standard Version. The New Testament of the RSV appeared in 1946, the whole Bible (Old and New) was published in 1952. A second edition of the RSV was published in 1971. The ESV uses the RSV as its starting point, it is a revision of the RSV. The ESV was first published in 2001, it has had several editions including one in 2007 and 2011.




There are several places to read the ERV translation. It is available online at the Bible Research site, for example.

The Darby Bible was also published in 1890; the New Testament was published in 1867, 1872, 1884. This is available to read at BibleStudyTools.com.

Young's Literal Translation was also published in the Victorian period; it was published in 1863, 1887, 1898. This is available to read at BibleStudyTools.com.

American Bible Union had a "modern revision" of the KJV published in 1864, 1865, and 1891. This was just the New Testament, I believe. I found it online here through an archive site.

What about Christian classics from this time period? OR What about books written by Christian preachers, teachers, and theologians living and working during the Victorian period? I have found that many books "by" certain teachers/preachers are really collections of their teachings, writings, sermons and edited together into a book for modern readers. (I'm thinking of many Spurgeon books.)

Those that come to mind include:

Charles Spurgeon
J.C. Ryle
Charles Hodge

and perhaps *some* works by:

A.B. Simpson (1843-1919)
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
E.M. Bounds (1835-1913)
Andrew Murray (1828-1917)
Alexander Whyte (1836-1921)

I am officially-unofficially participating with my Christian reading. I am not committing to reading just the King James Version or the English Revised Version. I just couldn't make that commitment. But I would like to read *a little* in some of these older translations. And I would definitely LOVE to read some Spurgeon this summer! And if I find time to try J.C. Ryle then I'd be happy with that too!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Jesus is Victor

Jesus Is Victor: A Fresh Perspective on the Book of Revelation. A.W. Tozer. Compiled and Edited by Gerald B. Smith. 1989/2007. WingSpread Publishers. 143 pages.

You probably won't be too surprised to hear that I just LOVED A.W. Tozer's Jesus Is Victor. This themed collection of his sermons on the book of Revelation was a great find! It had me hooked from the beginning:

The Revelation is a great book because it is the revelation of Jesus Christ! It is not, as some suppose, a book just for theologians, scholars and historians. Although the book presents a complex message, it was written for ordinary people like us.
We have choices as to what we will do with the Revelation. I warn you that it is entirely possible to turn the Revelation into a source of blight to your soul. On the other hand, it is possible to find in this Revelation a great source of light and blessing.
As far as I'm concerned, we are dealing in the Revelation with the Word of God. To try to plumb divine mysteries and to learn divine truth without sorrow in our hearts and tears in our eyes is vanity and futility 10 times multiplied.
Revelation raises questions that none of us can answer. There are many details in God's plan for the end of this age that we do not know. Admittedly, some preachers seem able to preach wonderful sermons about things they do not know, but I refuse to be placed in that category.
Here is the method that I must follow as we proceed in our study:

• I will not attempt to interpret or explain all of the symbols and figures of speech as they appear.
• I will not arbitrarily force every passage to fit some prophetic pattern or idea. (If you want to take that route--which, I repeat, I will not take--I warn you that you may do it at the terrible expense of spiritual dishonesty! Or, short of that, you will narrow down your mind  to a point where you can never expand or grow--where the Lord can find nothing further to say to you.)
• I will freely admit that there are symbols, personalities, and figures that I cannot understand or explain.
• Positively, I will identify the main points to discover the underlying spiritual lessons.
• I will emphasize the central truth that dominates the Revelation: the truth that when God in heaven gets enough of this world's sin and rejection, violence and rebellion, He will wait no longer. He will do something about it!

We need not decipher and decode mysterious symbols to determine the outcome of this conflict of the ages. There is a plain and radiant theme from the beginning to the end of the Revelation: Jesus is Victor! That theme will be our theme in these meditations. 

At last a book about Revelation whose goal is not to "enlighten" to the point of frustration and confusion. A book about the book of Revelation that places the focus where it should be: the Lord Jesus Christ.

The chapter titles:

• The theme in Revelation: "Jesus Is Victor!"
• The Prophecy in Revelation: "I Am Coming Soon!"
• The Appeal in Revelation: "Repent, and Be Faithful!"
• The Portrait in Revelation: "The Eternal Christ!"
• The Call to Worship in Revelation: "Holy, Holy, Holy!"
• The Title Deed in Revelation: "Worthy is the Lamb!"
• The Beginning of Judgment in Revelation: "The Four Horsemen!"
• The Overcomers in Revelation: "Out of the Great Tribulation!"
• The Supernatural Acts in Revelation: "Blow Your Trumpets!"
• The Human Resolution in Revelation: "We Will Not Repent!"
• The Command in Revelation: "No More Delay!"
• The Invitation in Revelation: "Eat and Digest God's Word!"

To those familiar with A.W. Tozer, to those who know his writing style, to those who have found treasure in his works, I won't need to work too hard to persuade you to seek this one out. Tozer is brilliant, and he's just so readable! He's very straight-forward, very reader-friendly, yet, not reader-friendly in the sense that he tells you what you want to hear and only what you want to hear. No, he's all about the Word of God, and sometimes he tells you what you NEED to hear for your own good. His passion for the Lord is shown in every message, his love of the Word evident in every book.

Jesus is Victor focuses on the first ten chapters of Revelation. I believe that there might have been a second book that finishes his teachings on the book, but, from what I've found it is long out of print. I think it's called The Coming King.

Favorite quotes:

We can never get too weak for the Lord to use us--but we can get too strong, if it is our own strength. We can never be too ignorant for the Lord to use us--but we can be too wise in our own conceit. We can never get too small for the Lord to use us, but we can surely get too big and get in His way. (63)

The question is this: What are we allowing the Word of God to say to us, and what is our reaction to that Word? Have we consumed and digested the book? Have we absorbed the Word of God into our lives? Or are we among those content to be a part of a Christian congregation where there are no extreme demands, where fellowship will be consistently pleasant and without responsibility? When we, as Christians, love our Lord Jesus Christ with heart and soul and mind, the Word of God is on our side! If we could only grasp the fact that God's Word is more than a book! It is the revelation of divine truth from the person of God Himself. It has come as a divine communication in the sacred Scriptures. It has come to us in the guidance and conviction imparted by the divine Spirit of God within our beings. It has been modeled for us in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word and the eternal Son. (165)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible