Prayer Request for Jentai Otremba

I just wanted to reach out to all of my friends in cyberspace and ask for prayer. A few months ago, my cousin's 2 1/2 year old daughter was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She is presently in the hospital and has not been doing well this past week. I kindly ask that each of you would offer up prayers for Jentai. You can read more about her story here: LINK. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

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The Real Story of the Creation by Paul L. Maier

Author: Paul L. Maier
Illustrator: Robert T. Barrett
Hardcover: 32 Pages
Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
Publication Date: July 2007
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0758612656
ISBN-13: 978-0758612656

I wanted to extend a word of thanks to the kind folks at Concordia Publishing House for sending me a review copy of Paul L. Maier’s The Real Story of the Creation.

Paul L. Maier is the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. His areas of research include manuscript and text analysis, archaeology, and the comparison of secular and sacred sources from the first century A.D. Dr. Maier also serves as the second vice-president of the Lutheran Church –Missouri Synod. Two of his more well known, recent publications are More Than a Skeleton (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003) and (with H. Hanegraaff), The Davinci Code-Fact or Fiction? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2004). In addition to these works, Dr. Maier has written over 250 scholarly articles and has nine other books to his credit.

Robert T. Barrett is an accomplished painter, muralist, illustrator, and also a professor of art. He has illustrated another work by Dr. Maier titled: The Real Story of the Flood (St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 2008).

The Real Story of Creation is yet another great addition to the long list of children’s books we’ve seen from Dr. Paul L. Maier over the past few years. This story is divided into twelve, two page chapters. Chapters two through eleven, each have a short scripture quotation from the New International version, which is relevant to the retelling of the creation story as found in the book of Genesis. Dr. Maier’s writing and Robert T. Barrett’s illustrations unfold the creation story in a way that is appealing to the mind and the eye of both adults and children alike. The key themes found in this book are:

• The Biblical account of creation. (Chapter 2 through 9)
• The fall of Man. (Chapter 10 & 11)
• God’s promise of salvation in Jesus. (Chapter 12)

In addition to the key themes above, chapter one touches on several other creation accounts:

• Ancient Mesopotamia – Marduk kills Tiamat and cuts her in two to form the sky and the earth
• Egyptians – Re’s creation of the world, while sitting on a hill of living slime
• Greeks & Romans – Heaven married earth and gave birth to the Titans.
These other creation accounts found in chapter one may serve as a good introduction for parents wanting to introduce their children to other creation accounts from the ancient near east.

I would highly recommend this book for parents wanting to introduce their children to the Biblical story of creation. Parents and children alike will be engaged by Dr. Maier’s writing and captivated by Richard T. Barrett’s illustrations. For those of you who enjoy this work, I’d also recommend several other illustrated children’s books by Dr. Maier:

• The Very First Christmas (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1998)
• The Very First Easter (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1999)
• The Very First Christians (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2001)
• Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2004)
• The Real Story of Flood (St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 2008)

A PDF version of this book review is available here: LINK.

In case you didn't know, I'm the Coolest Man Alive

I just wanted to inform all of my readers that due to a recent blog post, I've been identified as the Coolest Man Alive. Well, at least Nick Norelli has identified me as such. I'm not sure how long my new found fame will last, but I'll enjoy it while it does.

Do the Bad Bits in the Bible Bother You?

We've gotten a good discussion going over at Nick's Norelli's blog about whether or not people are bothered by the "bad bits" of the Bible. Be sure to give it a read. You can access it here: LINK. Also, I encourage my readers to subscribe to Nick's blog as well. I thoroughly enjoy his wit, sense of humor, and random thoughts. Nick, keep up the good work. If you really want to make Nick happy, buy him a book to support his habit.

Mark Driscoll - Doctrine Sermon Series Week 9 & 10

I've continued enjoying Mark Driscoll's current sermon series on doctrine during my daily commute. Week 9 & 10 are now available.

Week 9: Resurrection: God Saves
Week 10: Church: God Sends

You may access them here: LINK.