Month 43 - John

Having worked through the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) over the last three months we now move on to John on the 13th and 14th December (it's early this month so it doesn't clash with Christmas).

I've got quite a lot of resources for this one. In addition to William Barclay's commentary, I've also got ones by Drane, Tasker, Webster, Marsh, Richardson and Sloyan. Sloyan's is the most up to date, and from a series that has been useful before. Not that I'm going to read all of these, but it's good to have plenty to dip into for those "eh?" passages.

John's gospel has also quite a heavy influence in film. The main one is 2003's Gospel of John which I'm currently reflecting on in my other blog. But as John is so different from the other 3 it has a disproportionately large influence on the films and so there are plenty of good clips that I can chose from.

All this is kicking off at 7:30pm at 41 Linden Road.

Month 42 - Luke

Just realised I never got around to posting this. Rough Guide to the New Testament moves on to Luke's Gospel this month. Monday 22nd November and Tuesday the 23rd November, 7:30pm at 41 Linden Road. I've been following Mark Goodacre's podcasts and Darrell Bock's commentary (as well as William Barclay's). I also bought a book by Geza Vermes recently which covers this book as well.

Month 41 - Mark

It could be argued that we owe more to the Gospel of Mark than any other single book, although there are a few others for which a good case could be made.

As usual we'll be starting at 7:30pm at 41 Linden Road. The same session will run on both Monday 25th October and Tuesday 26th October, so take your pick.

In terms of resources, I have access to a really good number of commentaries on Mark. The main one I've been using is William Telford's introduction "Mark", which is also the most recent of those I have (from this century rather than the last), plus it, um, has a nice cover. Telford also is a fan of Jesus films (see his book for example; he obviously knows what he's on about) But I've also had a quick look at those by William Barclay (an old favourite of mine), AM Hunter, the classic by D.E.Nineham (available from all good second hand shops), Morna Hooker and if I have time Larry Hurtado.

In terms of more modern media, Mark is actually the only gospel not to have been adapted word-for-word into a "film". There are various reasons for this, but no doubt the absence of a birth of a resurrection appearance by Jesus probably has something to do with it. A short introductory documentary has been made however by the University of Nottingham's Bibledex project. And Mark Goodacre's podcasts are always good listening. He's collected all of those that relate to Mark here.

Month 40 - Matthew

Rough Guide to the New Testament (the New Testament part of Through the Bible in Five and a Half Years) kicks off on Monday 27th September and is repeated the following day. The session will be looking at the Gospel of Matthew.

Going into the New Testament means that a number of resources I have been using will be used no more (such as Anderson's "Critical Introduction to the Old Testament"), but also brings new resources into play. I've been working through John Court's "Reading the New Testament" over the summer, and there are quite a few other NT books I plan on using.

Being, as I am, named after this gospel I've collected a number of commentaries on it over the years; William Barclay's (2 vols), Michael Green's, John Fenton and D.A Carson. I also did a zone a few years ago on this subject and borrowed a few for the occasion which will influence what we look at.

Being, as we are, in the easy part of the Bible there are lots of online media resources to chose from as well. I'll highligh just two here - Bibledex's intro video (which I've not yet watched) and Mark Goodacre's podcasts which I've really enjoyed.

And of course there are films. Lots of Jesus films obviously (as readers of my other blog will know), but there are two which focus specifically on Matthew's version of events - Pasolini's Gospel According to St. Matthew and the Visual Bible's word for word version.

Whew. I'll try to go on less next month. See you at either the Monday or Tuesday session at the end of the month. 7:30 at 41 Linden Road.

Rough Guide to The New Testament

Rough Guide to the Old Testament is a two and a bit year course looking at the New Testament one book at a time. Starting on 27th September the monthly sessions are interactive, combining discussion, group work, games, video and straight teaching. For more information contact Matt Page.

Summer Recess

Having finally reached the end of the Old Testament, things are going to quieten down a bit for the summer so that we can start the New Testament in September. It'll be nice to have a little break, although there's the London Trip to prepare for, and I might do a session either on the deuterocanonical books (the Apocrypha) or on the non-canonical gospels. Anyway, session 40 - Matthew will be on the 27th September in all probability.

Month 39 - Malachi

We've reached the final book of the Old Testament - Malachi - and not a moment too soon! It's Monday 24th (not the 31st as this is a bank holiday) at 7:30pm at 41 Linden Road. There are a couple of new resources to draw on as well. We may also talk a bit about the apocrypha.

Bibledex: Excellent Resource

It's all come a little too late for Through the Bible in Five and a Half Years to really benefit, but the University of Nottingham has been releasing the Bibledex videos on each book of the Bible, but whereas the early days seemed to be mainly New Testament (perhaps because I was reading about them at Mark Goodacre's New Testament Weblog) they've recently (as in the last two months) released most of the Old Testament as well. The only book we could really have used these resources for is Haggai, but I will be able to use them for Malachi as well. Once we're into the gospels we're not as short of resources so I probably won't use them much until we get onto the letters. But anyway it's a good resource to have and I'm going to add it to the sidebar.

Month 38 - Zechariah

We're up to the penultimate book in Old Testament - Zechariah - and we're switching back to Monday nights. This month's session is on the 26th April starting at 7:30pm at 41 Linden Road.

Month 37 - Haggai

The fourth year of Through the Bible in Five and a Half Years starts with Haggai, the shortest book for until we get to the back end of the New Testament sometime around Christmas 2011.

I've also got a new commentary to draw on, which covers our remaining 3 books from the Hebrew Bible; Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. It's by Joyce Baldwin whose work on Daniel I got a lot from a few years ago. I'm unaware of any films which feature Haggai or his co-star Zerubbabel, though I have a nagging doubt that he features somewhere along the line.

Anyway, Tuesday 23rd March 2009 at 41 Linden Road. 7:30pm start.

Month 36 - Zephaniah

As we come to the end of the third year of Through the Bible in Five and a Half Years we arrive at Zephaniah, certainly one of the least known of the minor prophets.

As usual we're starting at 7:30, but this time it's on a Tuesday (the 23rd of February). See you then.

Moving to Tuesdays

Having consulted with most of you who have been along to Through the Bible, I've decided to move it to Tuesday evenings instead. The next session, on Zephaniah, will, therefore start on Tuesday 23rd February at 7:30pm at 41 Linden Road.

Month 35 - Habakkuk

We start the New Year with Habakkuk (one "b", three "k"s), which seems to have a decidedly different feel to me than some of the other books we've looked at recently.

The session starts at 7:30pm at 41 Linden Road on Monday 25th January 2009.