The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept

The world, and indeed, history, is filled with phony Christians and false "Christianities." There are actually modern scholars who claim to be Christian while denying virtually every fundamental, historic tenet of the Christian faith! On the other end of the spectrum are the psych-babble, health, wealth and prosperity preachers who often become quite wealthy and prosperous on the backs of their listeners. In the midst of all this confusion it has become nearly impossible for the average person today to distinguish genuine, classic Christianity from all the modern perversions perpetrated on the unsuspecting public. The Message of the New Testament by Mark Dever IS classic, biblical, first century Christianity. The book was written by a biblical scholar who thoroughly understands the message of the New Testament and knows how to communicate that message concisely, accurately and effectively. The book is well-written, interesting, relevant, and provides an overview of every book in the New Testament. If you want to know what genuine "classic" Christianity is all about, The Message of the New Testament is absolutely outstanding!

I tend to under-rate books more than I over-rate them, so the fact that I have found this so helpful is an indication of how good this really is. I could go into details, but there is just so much that I can't do it justice in this setting. Get it, read it, and benefit from it and you will not be disappointed.

Do you like expository sermons, or do you associate them with boring explanations of every single phrase in a passage of scripture, with no detail too picayune for a long explanation? I happen to like the sort of expository preaching that moves phrase by phrase, or word by word (There is just nothing so trivial in text that I'm not interested!); but I know some of you are big picture sort of people, and if that's what you are, then The Message of the New Testament by Mark Dever contains your kind of expository sermons: Sermons that focus on the main themes--the big picture--of scripture. There are twenty-eight sermons in this book--one overview of every book of the New Testament, and one introductory sermon overviewing the New Testament as a whole. Each sermon was originally preached by Mark Dever in his church--Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Overview-type sermons are unusual (I haven't heard many, have you?), and I would guess that they are more difficult to prepare than the more usual sort of expository sermon. I can only begin to imagine how much work it was to produce this series of sermons, but I'm glad Mark Dever went to all the trouble. It's a fresh new way of looking at the New Testament and what it is teaching us. The main portion of The Message of the New Testament is divided into three sections: [...] Jesus, containing the sermons on each of the gospels and Acts; Key Ideas for the Times, containing the sermons on all of Paul's epistles; and Living in the Real World, containing the rest--Hebrews through Revelation. Each sermon contains a main body, concluding applications, a prayer, and then a section of questions for reflection that build and extend upon what could be learned from the sermon. This is a long book--547 pages--and as you might expect with sermons, the text is dense, although not difficult to understand. I started The Message of the New Testament in January and read some of it almost every day, but only finished it up this week. It's not the kind of book I could skim because I wanted to get every single bit of it, since there was so much to learn. Don't let that it took me so long to make my way through this book scare you off. It was certainly worth the time and effort. I looked forward to each reading session, even if it was only a few stolen minutes while I waited in the car for my son to finish up one of his activities. If I hadn't received the companion to this book--The Message of the Old Testament--in the mail last week, I probably would have been a little sad to finish it up. But as things stand, I've got a new, 800+ page book to start. And I'd be willing to bet that if you take the time to read it, you'll learn something, too. I might even promise you that.

Mark Dever has written a companion volume to his forthcoming book The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made. Both books serve as overviews of each Testament. Dever is the Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. In this book, he has compiled 27 of his sermons - where every chapter is described as an "expositional overview sermon" on each of the New Testament books. Dever explains in the introduction, "The sermons in this book are more expositional than topical, but they are expositional with a difference. Rather than looking at particular Scripture passages through a microscope, we are looking down from an airplane." (page 16) What an amazing resource for believers, lay leaders, and pastors alike who are looking for a decidedly biblical, yet practical, overview of the New Testament. Since each chapter was originally a sermon, there is a very logical flow to the reading. The accompanying outlines, accessible writing style, and scholarly approach to the material makes for an invaluable teaching and study resource. Each chapter also concludes with some thought-provoking questions that are great for personal study or small group dynamics. I wholeheartedly recommend this exceptional resource for its doctrinally sound, yet very understandable "Big Picture" treatment of the meaning of the New Testament. This will be a classic in personal and church libraries for many years to come. Buy one for yourself and get one for your pastor as an indispensable gift to enrich your pastor's pulpit. - Todd Burgett, Christian Book Previews.com