In this episode of Help Me Teach the Bible, Nancy sits down with Dale Ralph Davis at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina, where, in his “retirement” he serves as minister in residence or, as senior pastor Derek Thomas calls him, “the preacher of the night.” Davis is a long-time pastor and former professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. Davis's book, No Falling Words, has long been a must-have commentary on Joshua.

We sat down with him as he was reworking his messages on Joshua for an upcoming conference to talk about “the strange God” of Joshua as well as:

• old promises fulfilled in Joshua;
• the meaning of the land;
• God’s command to destroy the Canaanites;
• the unlikely recipient of mercy;
• the grace demonstrated and response to grace commanded in Joshua.

Here are some additional audio resources that you may find helpful in preparing to teach Joshua:

• Overview of Joshua by Dale Ralph Davis
• David Jackman messages on Joshua
• John Woodhouse messages of Joshua
• Entering into the Promises series at All Souls Langham Place
• TGC sermon resources on Joshua

For further study, here are some books you may find helpful, including titles from Crossway, the sponsor of Help Me Teach the Bible:

• No Falling Words by Dale Ralph Davis
• Joshua: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Scripture (New American Commentary) by David Howard
• Joshua: People of God's Purpose by David Jackman
• Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History by Francis A. Schaeffer

On this episode of Help Me Teach the Bible, I spoke with Bryan Chapell, senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois, and the former president of Covenant Theological Seminary about how to teach through the book of Ephesians. Chapell’s books include Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That Is Our Strength and Christ-Centered Preaching. In Ephesians, Paul presents us with so much essential teaching for understanding what Christ has done and how we are to live as those who belong to him.

Topics in the discussion include:

• the cosmic scope of Ephesians;
• God’s plan that includes the persecution of the church;
• the meaning of “the heavenly realm”;
• answering questions about predestination;
• key words and concepts such as reconciliation and mystery;
• the indicative and imperative of Ephesians; and
• teaching submission in the context of the broader message of Ephesians.

Recommended audio resources on Ephesians:

• Sermons on Ephesians by Bryan Chapell
• Sermons on Ephesians by Dick Lucas
• Sermons on Ephesians by D. A. Carson
• Sermons on Ephesians by Kent Hughes

Recommended print resources on Ephesians:

• Kevin DeYoung’s introduction and notes on Ephesians in the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible
• Ephesians (Reformed Expository Commentaries) by Bryan Chapell
• Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ by R. Kent Hughes

In this episode of Help Me Teach the Bible, I talked with Mark Futato, the Robert L. Maclellan professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, where he teaches core classes on Hebrew and Old Testament books. Futato has written a number of books on Psalms that flow out not only from his study but also his love for and his living with the Psalms.

Topics in the discussion include:

• whether or not we should make the Psalms “about me”;
• allowing the organization of Psalms to inform our teaching;
• common mistakes made in teaching Psalms;
• the big three kinds of Psalms;
• how Psalms speaks to our emotions; and
• singing the Psalms about Jesus, to Jesus, with Jesus.

Recommended audio resources on the Psalms:

• Mark Futato on Psalm 1, 23
• Dick Lucas sermons on Psalms
• Sinclair Ferguson sermons on Psalms
• Edmund Clowney sermons and lectures on preaching Christ from the Psalms

Recommended print resources on the Psalms:

• Knowing the Bible: Psalms: A 12-Week Study by Douglas Sean O’Donnell
• Journey to Joy: The Psalms of Ascent by Josh Moody (Psalms 120–134)
• The Psalms: Rejoice, the Lord Is King, Volume 1, Psalms 1 to 41 by James Johnston
• Transformed by Praise: The Purpose and Message of the Psalms by Mark Futato
• Joy Comes in the Morning: Psalms for All Seasons by Mark Futato
• Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook by Mark Futato
• Psalms: Cornerstone Biblical Commentary by Mark Futato, George Schwab, and Philip Comfort
• How to Read the Psalms by Tremper Longman III
• Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary by Derek Kidner
• Psalms 73-150 by Derek Kidner

Recommended Audio Resources

• Hans Bayer on context, outline, and thought flow in Philippians
• Dick Lucas sermons on Philippians
• John Piper sermons on Philippians

Recommended Print Resources:

• Philippians: A 12-Week Study by Ryan Kelly
• Philippians: The Fellowship of the Gospel by R. Kent Hughes
• Let's Study Philippians by Sinclair B. Ferguson
• Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians by D. A. Carson
• Message of Philippians: Jesus Our Joy by Alec Motyer

In this inaugural episode of Help Me Teach the Bible, I talked with John Piper, founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, where he taught through the book of Philippians. He called this teaching a “dream come true.” Topics in this interview include:

• allowing those you teach to discover what the book is about;
• Paul's love expressed in this personal letter;
• connecting propositions in Paul's arguments; and
• the better by far of being with Christ at death vs. the resurrection of the body.

Recommended Audio Resources

• Hans Bayer on context, outline, and thought flow in Philippians
• Dick Lucas sermons on Philippians
• John Piper sermons on Philippians

Recommended Print Resources:

• Philippians: A 12-Week Study by Ryan Kelly
• Philippians: The Fellowship of the Gospel by R. Kent Hughes
• Let's Study Philippians by Sinclair B. Ferguson
• Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians by D. A. Carson
• Message of Philippians: Jesus Our Joy by Alec Motyer

When I began recording interviews for Help Me Teach the Bible in the fall of 2014, I didn’t have a grand plan. At that point I wouldn't have said that I had the goal of recording an episode on every book of the Bible because that would have seemed like an overwhelming task and too much of a commitment. But I just kept doing interviews, and people kept finding the podcast and listening. I kept being stretched and informed and inspired by getting to have these conversations with a lot of people I admired who have helped me in my own teaching. And I have loved it.

The podcast now has an episode or two on every book of the Bible as well as over 60 topical episodes on various aspects of getting better at teaching the Bible. For this final* episode I asked my husband to turn the tables and interview me about the podcast itself, and I asked listeners to send in questions they wanted me to answer. We talked about how the idea for the podcast came about, why and how I interviewed the people I did, how my own teaching ministry has developed, and what some of my favorite conversations have been.

We will continue to re-release old episodes every couple of weeks. Because most podcast apps only offer a limited number of past episodes, we’ll start again from the beginning, posting the earliest episodes from the podcast, which means that the next episode will be an interview with John Piper on teaching the book of Philippians.

Listeners who want to communicate with me about the podcast can send me a message using the contact page at nancyguthrie.com. Thank you for listening. I hope it has been a help and blessing to you.

* I reserve the right to record a new episode here and there going forward when I’m with someone brilliant and I just have to talk to about something that would help Help Me Teach the Bible listeners.

It’s the shortest book in the Old Testament—only twenty-one verses—and I don’t think I’ve heard it preached or taught. According to my guest, Jonathan Gibson, associate professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, the message of this short book is “the realization of the Lord’s sovereignty and the role reversal of Edom and Judah on the day of the Lord.”

Essential to understanding and teaching the book is its connection to the narrative of Jacob and Esau as Obadiah applies events in the individual biographies of Esau and Jacob to Edom and Judah. Rather than teaching Obadiah as a warning against human pride, Gibson suggests that the book should be presented as as the outworking of God’s covenant promise to Abraham to bless those who blessed him and curse those who dishonored him.

Books by Jonathan Gibson

• From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective (Editor with David Gibson)
• Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present
• The Moon is Always Round

Recommended Resources on Obadiah

• NIV Proclamation Bible
• ESV Expository Commentary, Volume VII with commentary on Obadiah by Max Rogland
• The Minor Prophets, Volume Two edited by Thomas Edward McComisky, with commentary on Obadiah by Jeffrey J. Niehaus
• Obadiah message by David Cook
• Obadiah message by Christopher Wright
• Obadiah lecture (RTS) by Richard Belcher

Leviticus is the place where the best of intentions to read through the Bible often stall out. But it is a book that Jay Sklar, professor of Old Testament and vice president of academics at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, MO, has studied and written about prolifically. Sklar's doctoral studies focused on the theology of sin, impurity, sacrifice, and atonement in the Old Testament sacrificial system. He contributed to the study notes of Leviticus for the ESV Study Bible, the introduction and notes for Leviticus for The Gospel Transformation Bible, and he wrote a commentary on Leviticus for the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary Series (InterVarsity Press).

In this conversation, Dr. Sklar delineates five reasons Leviticus is a challenging book to read and understand, as well as to teach:

1. It is mostly law, which is unappealing to most of us.
2. It is culturally strange.
3. It emphasizes ritual which we tend to assume is meaningless.
4. Its laws and teachings appear to be unfair or unjust.
5. It is hard to fit into the larger story of the Bible.

But Sklar also offers keen insights into how to make sense of the book and break down some of the barriers of interest in the book. He also talks about how to present Christ through discussing issues that arise in the book such as slavery, homosexuality, ritual impurity, and disability.

Recommended Resources by and from Jay Sklar

• The Book of Leviticus (New International Commentary on the Old Testament) by Gordon J. Wenham
• Leviticus (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) by Jay Sklar
• How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
• Jay Sklar’s Page (Covenant Seminary website) which includes audio, video, and a printable resource for preaching and teaching Leviticus

In the years I’ve spent in the church listening to sermons and teaching, I can think of very few times that I have heard direct applications from the text made to the sin of racism or the sin of apathy toward injustice. Maybe I just didn’t have the ears to hear it. In my own teaching, I may have mentioned racism in a list of sins, or mentioned it as one of the things that will be “no more” in the new heaven and new earth, but I don’t think I’ve ever used an opportunity teaching in a passage to challenge these sins. I want to do better, and I imagine there are a lot of others who do too.

That is why I asked two excellent Bible teachers who bring a great deal of experience and credibility to this topic to have a conversation with me about how to rightly and helpfully apply the Bible to the sin of racism. Irwyn Ince is a pastor at Grace DC Presbyterian Church and director of the Grace DC Institute for Cross-Cultural Mission. He has contributed to the books Heal Us Emmanuel and All Are Welcome: Toward a Multi-Everything Church and is author of the new book The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best. Sean Michael Lucas, senior minister of Independent Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Tennessee, is the author of numerous books on people and institutions with a history tainted by racism including, Robert Lewis Dabney: A Southern Presbyterian Life,The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards: American Religion and the Evangelical Tradition,Blessed Zion: First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi, 1837-2012, andFor a Continuing Church: The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America.

Few teachers are rushing to teach the book of 1 Chronicles. Perhaps that's because they have already taught through 1–2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings and so much from these earlier books is repeated in 1–2 Chronicles. But according to Richard Pratt, president and co-founder of Third Millennium Ministries and author of the volume on 1–2 Chronicles in the Mentor Commentary series, to not study these books because of repeated material would be similar to a person not studying Mark or Luke because they’ve already studied Matthew. The Chronicler intentionally diverged from the records of Samuel and Kings to reveal his theological perspectives, and, according to Pratt, this perspective does not take away from the credibility of the book. Rather it serves the purpose of the book, which is to direct his audience to reconsider what they believed about the people of God, about the king and the temple, and about God’s blessings and curses.

Rather than simply thinking of the book as historical chronology, we should also view it as representing an underlying logical argument, a step-by-step effort at persuasion. In this conversation, Pratt talks about how best to handle the first nine chapters of the book (a lengthy genealogy of the twelve tribes), the importance of the term “all Israel” that is used throughout the book, and the unique contribution the book makes to what we understand about the role of music in worship.

Recommended Resources:

• Pratt’s section on 1–2 Chronicles in A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised
• 1 & 2 Chronicles: A Mentor Commentary by Richard Pratt
• ESV Expository Commentary: Ezra–Job, Volume 4
• Who Needs The Chronicles? We Do.
• Knowing the Bible: 1-2 Chronicles, a 12-week Practical Study Series on the Books of 1-2 Chronicles (TGC Course)