Check out these recent reviews and interviews of several popular B&H Academic titles and authors.
The Message of the Twelve
This book is a goldmine of practical riches for the contemporary audience. It is clearly and unashamedly targeted towards pastors and students, and would make an excellent companion resource in the library of either. The thing that I appreciated most about this volume is the practical emphasis that Yates and Fuhr carried throughout. They targeted their audience and executed a well-distilled and practical volume because of it. The reader will find numerous maps, charts, and diagrams throughout to help visually connect the dots that Yates and Fuhr are establishing. The exposition section in each book likewise could provide the reader with “preachable” segments for a sermon series or a Sunday school setting. Thus, the reader is not only woken to the voice of the Minor Prophets, but they are likewise equipped to awaken others.
The Message of the Twelve: Hearing the Voice of the Minor Prophets by Gary E. Yates and Richard Alan Fuhr is a timely book that deserves to be read and utilized broadly. If you are studying, planning to study, teaching, or planning to teach on the Minor Prophets this is a book that should not be overlooked. It will both encourage and ignite a newfound passion for what we can only hope will have been a formerly neglected section of the Old Testament. It comes highly recommended!
12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (2nd ed.)
I was very curious to get my hands on a copy of the “12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching – Second Edition” book by B&H Academic to do a review on it. This book is a good read if you are someone who is interested in the mechanics of writing an expository sermon that you are going to be speaking to a group of people. It is full of great ideas, supporting charts, examples and exercises. The author (Wayne McDill) clearly states that this is not the only way to do it, but one possibility for you to use either all or pieces of it to help you develop your sermons. If you are wanting to dive into the a little more advanced view of the mechanics of creating expository sermons, this is an excellent resource.
The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (2nd ed.)
One of the most appealing aspects of this volume is the intentionality with which the authors have sought to cultivate a balanced approach towards spiritual and intellectual growth. The authors not only immerse the reader into the intellectual dialog of New Testament studies, but they equally teach the reader how to interact with the New Testament and demonstrate how a properly understanding the New Testament (especially its placement and impact within the whole of the biblical narrative as shown in the epilogue of the second edition) refines the Christian life. There is no attempt among the authors to sidestep the difficult issues of New Testament studies, and there is likewise no desire to see the New Testament become a mere academic pursuit. This level of intentionality was certainly present in the first edition, but it is even more so representative in the second.
I love this book! After having seen and used several New Testament Introductions, this volume strikes me as ideal. It’s clearly designed for advanced studies, yet is so well written and accessible that it will not bore the reader as some advanced studies do. I have never had access to the first edition and so am not sure the level of updating in this second edition, but this is an outstanding book.
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