Bible study | Craig T. Owens

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The Highest Good (book review)

July 9, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

The Highest Good is a collection of three books by Oswald Chambers: The Highest Good, The Pilgrim’s Song Book, and Thy Great Redemption.

The Pilgrim’s Song Book is made up of Chambers’ commentary and insight on the ascension psalms (Psalms 120-128). This is an encouraging study that leads the reader higher and higher into God’s presence, just as the pilgrims climbed the roads to the heights of Jerusalem for the annual worship feasts.

In The Highest Good portion of this collection, I felt like having arrived in “Jerusalem,” I was now receiving a series of thoughtful teachings on Christian ethics which were preparing me for my descent back into my every-day life.

Finally in Thy Great Redemption I am getting ongoing refresher courses on the reality that the redemption of Jesus Christ should make in my life. As Chambers said, “Everything that has been touched by sin and the devil has been redeemed; we are to live in the world immovably banked on that faith.”

As always, the insight of Oswald Chambers is like a graduate level class in theology, philosophy, and ethics. Very few authors expand my biblical paradigm and challenge me to go deeper into God’s Word, so I always highly recommend any Chambers book on which you can get your hands.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, book review, ethics, Oswald Chambers, philosophy, psalms, redemption, theology. Leave a Comment »

Give An Account

July 5, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Bob Klingenberg

Pastor, let this sink in…

“Someday I will stand before The Word to give an account for every word I’ve preached.” —Rev. Bob Klingenberg

How does that make you feel?

It makes me realize how much more I need the Holy Spirit’s help in my study time! And I pray this prayer from Oswald Chambers almost weekly before I deliver the message God has laid on my heart—

In my preaching, cause Thy glorious voice to be heard, Thy lovely face to be seen, Thy pervasive Spirit felt.

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: Bible study, Bob Klingenberg, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, pastors, preaching, sermon. 1 Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—The Right Context For Scripture

June 27, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

The Right Context For Scripture

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. … Yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. (John 5:39-40)

These verses reveal how a knowledge of the Scriptures may distort the mind away from Jesus Christ. Unless we know the Living Word personally first, the literal words may lead us astray. The only way we can understand the Bible is by personal contact with the Living Word, then the Holy Spirit expounds the literal words to us along the line of personal experience.

… There is a context to the Bible, and Jesus Christ is that Context. The right order is personal relationship to Him first, then the interpretation of the Scriptures according to His Spirit.

From Bringing Sons Until Glory

Amen! Chambers is precisely on target with this.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Bible study, doctrine, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, Scripture, theology. Leave a Comment »

A Harmony Of The Gospels (book review)

June 25, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

For anyone who wants to read the four New Testament gospels with greater insight, I highly recommend A Harmony Of The Gospels For Students Of The Life Of Christ by A.T. Robertson.

Dr. Robertson wrote: “The purpose of a harmony is not to teach theology, but to make available for men of any faith the facts in the Gospels concerning Jesus of Nazareth.” And that’s exactly what this book does.

It is one of the more interesting ways I have ever read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. When I followed the outline in Robertson’s book, instead of reading each gospel straight through, I read them in chronological order. For instance, in reading about John’s message announcing the soon-arrival of Jesus, I was reading Mark 1:7-8, Matthew 3:11-12, and Luke 3:15-18.

In other words, you will be reading the four gospels in chronological order as the events unfolded in Christ’s ministry. Right alongside each section of study are Dr. Robertson’s fascinating and insightful notes. Reading the gospels this way really brought out details that you may have missed when just reading through the gospels in a more traditional manner.

You don’t have to be a scholar to use this book, you just need to be desirous to learn more about Jesus.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.T. Robertson, Bible study, book review, devotions, Gospel, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ. Leave a Comment »

One Year Book Of Personal Prayer (book review)

May 15, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

I believe in the power of prayer. I’ve not only heard incredible stories of how God has answered the prayers of others, but I’ve personally experienced those answers to my prayers. Prayer changes things so we should pray more, and The One Year Book Of Personal Prayer may just help you do that.

This book is designed to be read every day for a full year. Each day starts off with a passage from the Bible that can be turned into a prayer. Then there are two quotes from seasoned spiritual men and women with their insights about prayer.

I found this book to be both convicting and encouraging: I was convicted that I should be praying more, and encouraged to pray more through the Bible passages and the powerful words of tried-and-true prayer warriors. The One Year Book Of Personal Prayer will enliven your prayer life.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, book review, prayer. Leave a Comment »

The Baptism With The Holy Spirit (book review)

May 1, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

R.A. Torrey was successful as an evangelist, a pastor, a theologian, and an author. In The Baptism With The Holy Spirit he brings all four of these disciplines to bear on this major theological doctrine.

This book is fairly short, but if you take time to read all of the Scriptures that Rev. Torrey references, and if you take the time to contemplate all of his profound reasoning, there is enough here to keep you occupied for quite some time. I am a fourth generation Pentecostal (which means I grew up with these doctrines of the Holy Spirit being adhered to throughout my lifetime) and I still found quite a bit on which to think and search more deeply.

I sincerely appreciated the academic approach that Rev. Torrey brought to this book, and I would encourage anyone who wants to grow deeper in their relationship with God to take the time to really digest the material he has presented us.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, book review, doctrine, Holy Spirit, Pentecostal, R.A. Torrey, research, theology. Leave a Comment »

Don’t Create Spiritual Parasites

April 26, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, here are two quotes for your consideration…

Theology is the science of Christianity; much that is wrongly called theology is mere psychological guess-work, verifiable only from experience. Christian theology is the ordered exposition of revelation certainties. If our teaching and preaching is not based on a recognition of those things that cannot be experienced it will produce parasites, people who depend on being fed by others. —Oswald Chambers (emphasis added)

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. —Acts 17:11 (emphasis added)

As a pastor our job is not to spoon-feed a watered-down message to everyone. Our job is to challenge our congregations to find God for themselves. We should be creating in them a hunger for God’s Word; we should be encouraging them to study the Bible for themselves; we should be preparing them to feed themselves on the richness of Scripture.

Or, we create needy spiritual parasites. It’s our choice…

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: Bible study, doctrine, maturity, Oswald Chambers, pastors, preaching, Scripture, teaching, theology. Leave a Comment »

Jesus Is _____. (book review)

March 12, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

If someone asked you to fill in the blank to this question, could you do it quickly: “Jesus is ______”? After reading Judah’s Smith book by this title, you will find it much easier to get a clearer picture of just who Jesus is.

Through the 2000 years since Jesus Christ’s public ministry, many people have made statements trying to define Jesus. In Jesus Is_____, Pastor Judah Smith confronts head-on a lot of the incorrect stereotypes that exist for those both in the Christian tradition, and those outside of it. They are really quite simple statements—Jesus is your friend, Jesus is grace, Jesus is the point, Jesus is happy, Jesus is here, and Jesus is alive—but it’s amazing how complicated and messy we have made these simple thoughts.

Pastor Smith is very candid and personable in his writing, so he let us see inside his own thought processes as he wrestled with these concepts about who Jesus is. In each section, he brings a fresh perspective to help us cut through the haze created by so many people’s misunderstanding of Jesus Christ.

Whether you have had a relationship with Jesus for years, or whether you’ve only heard His name but aren’t really sure about much else concerning Him, Jesus Is _____ will help you see Jesus Christ more clearly. This is an excellent book to use in a small group discussion, as together the group can move into a clearer, biblically-sound picture of Jesus.

I am a Thomas Nelson book reviewer.

Check out some quotes from this book here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, book review, Jesus Christ, Judah Smith. 1 Comment »

Visioneering (book review)

March 4, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

What a great word! Visioneering: A blueprint for developing and maintaing personal vision by Andy Stanley is how God want to use you to help engineer the vision He has birthed in you.

Andy Stanley is an author that I thoroughly enjoy reading. His wisdom is profoundly practical, which means he uncovers things I never would have seen, but does it in a way that I can immediately apply. Visioneering uses the story of Nehemiah in the Bible as the template to guide us through the steps necessary to see a God-breathed vision become a reality.

Andy uncovers in the life of Nehemiah the things that are universal to anyone who has a burning desire to see things around them taken to a higher level. Things like: second-guessing whether God actually spoke that particular vision, the first steps to take, how to handle criticism, pulling together a team to work together on fulfilling the vision, handling setbacks, keeping all of the team members aligned behind the vision, and what the ultimate purpose of a God-given vision really is.

Each chapter concludes with some thought-provoking questions, and a place to record your answers to those questions. These guides help put “feet” to the concepts shared in each chapter.

After reading Visioneering you will be more energized and equipped to do the great things God is calling you to do.

I am a Multnomah book reviewer.

Check out some quotes from this book here.