Community Pricing is a huge gift from Logos to its users, making classic works available for bargain prices.  Some people (like me, at first) might take one look at the chart, containing all kinds of dots, arrows and numbers, and run a mile.   But once you’ve taken the time to investigate what it all means, the idea becomes crystal clear: Customers decide what books Logos produce, and what price they’ll pay (If you’re still confused, it’s all explained here)!

One recent example would be the three-volume Edwin Hatch Collection.  When enough people had placed bids to cover production costs the whole thing went for $8 (that’s under £5 for my fellow Pound Sterling friends).  Right now it would cost you $39.95 on Pre-Pub.  That’s a huge saving for anyone who got in early under Community Pricing!

Now, another massive saving is on its way: The Thomas Cranmer Collection (10 vols.).  It’s almost reached 60% on Community Pricing, and currently stands at $30 (£19); but as more people bid, that price will go down.

So who was Thomas Cranmer, you ask?  Made Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII, Cranmer (1489-1556) played a pivotal role in the separation of the Church of England from the Church of Rome (due largely to Henry VIII’s desire to divorce). During his time as Archbishop he partnered with Thomas Cromwell to produce an English translation of the Bible.  He also wrote extensively about and against the doctrine of transubstantiation.  All of this, and more, is chronicled in the The Thomas Cranmer Collection (10 vols.), both in Cranmer’s own writings and in the biographical works of others.

But he might be best known for producing The Book of Common Prayer.  It was Cranmer’s desire to see the worship of the Church of England transformed into “the tongue understanded of the people” (from Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church).  Along the way, Cranmer began to adopt many of the ideas coming from the Reformation happening on the European continent, perhaps most clearly seen in his radical change of opinion with regard to the Eucharist.  The impact of his life and work are still felt today, not least as millions still continue to use The Book of Common Prayer.

However, Cranmer didn’t achieve all of this without getting burnt – literally.  Under Queen Mary (a.k.a. Bloody Mary) Cranmer was tried under reinstated blasphemy laws and sentenced to death by burning at the stake.  In desperation, Cranmer attempted to save his life by recanting his Protestant views and pledging allegiance to the Pope.  Despite this the execution went ahead, but not before an emboldened Cranmer made his final speech, “in which he declared the pope ‘Christ’s enemy and antichrist’ (from 131 Christians Everyone Should Know).  The hand he had used to sign papers repudiating his denial of the Pope was the first thing thrust into the flames, as Cranmer repeatedly declared, “This hand hath offended.”

Cranmer’s legacy is summed up in the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church:

“To Cranmer the C of E owes not only the masterly English style of the liturgy in use almost universally for some 400 years, but also its essentially scriptural spirituality for which he was largely responsible.”

So, The Thomas Cranmer Collection (10 vols.) is a worthy edition to your Logos Library, and all at the price of $30 or under.  Not only do you invest in your knowledge of the Reformation in England, but you also gain insight into the mind and heart of a great (though, like all of us, not faultless) disciple of Jesus Christ.

Starting in 2011, we are beginning a project called P2R (Partnering to Remember).  The goal is to memorize the entire book of Philippians by Easter Sunday (April 24, 2011) through partnering with other believers using the memory moleskine.  Paul praised the church in Philippi for their partnership in advance of the Gospel, and in the spirit of that partnership, this project intends to bring Christians together for the deepening work of God’s Word in their lives.  Simply put, we are partnering to remember.

Using the Cahier moleskine, we have created a pocket-size notebook that provides a practical and accessible way to memorize Scripture.  Through collaboration with The Resurgence, a customized PDF has been created for you to download with a week-by-week outline for memorizing the book of Philippians in 16 weeks using the English Standard Version (ESV).  On one side of the moleskine you simply paste the week’s verses to memorize, and on the other side you write your reflections on the verses while indicating how many times you rehearsed them each day.

Here’s the original blog post, and here’s the link to the PDF.  Go grab one of those fancy moleskines (from WHS Smith, Paperchase or any good stationer) and get cutting and pasting.  Then leave a comment letting us know that you’re partnering to memorise Philippians by Easter.

Excited?

So here’s a list of places to look for reading plans.

ESV.org

NavPress.com

The 5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan (5 minutes per day, 5 days per week, 5 ways to dig deeper. Takes you through one chapter each day. Read the New Testament in one year.)

The Book-at-a-Time Bible Reading Plan

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

iPhone Options

The YouVersion.com Bible app has a really useful Reading Plan function, which keeps track of your progress.  A number of plans are available.  Just sign up for a free account, choose your reading plan, set the dates you’d like to read from and to, and away you go!

With all this technology available there is no excuse for not being prepared!  There will be plenty of other options out there.  If you know of any leave a comment with a note and a link.

So how will you be reading the Bible in 2011?

Driscoll’s helpful article gives us another option: redeeming Santa.  This way we’re being honest with our children about the origins of the Santa story, that Saint Nicholas was a real man who faithfully served Jesus by giving gifts to the poor.  It also allows us to embrace the fun of Santa by dressing up and even visiting Santa with our children, all the while being thankful to God for a man who inspired generations of families to be generous at Christmas and to live humble, obedient lives for Jesus.

“Saint Nick was a wonderful man who loved and served Jesus faithfully. So, we gladly include him in our Christmas traditions to remind us of what it looks like for someone to live a life of devotion to Jesus as God. Our kids thank us for being both honest and fun, which we think is what Jesus wants.”  Mark Driscoll

Merry Preaching this Christmas!

Sermon Ideas

• A series based on the women associated with Jesus’ birth, such as Elizabeth and Mary.
• An expositional series on all or part of Matthew 1–2 or Luke 1–2.
• A comparison between how John, Matthew, and Luke each explain the incarnation of Jesus Christ in the opening chapters of their gospels.
• A study of either Matthew or Luke’s genealogy, or a comparison and contrast of the two.
• A series on the songs sung around the birth of Jesus, such as the one by Mary and the one by the angels.
• A study of the “I am the light of the world” statements of Jesus in John’s gospel.

Examine OT Prophecies about Jesus

Another idea is to do an examination of the Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus’ birth, such as:

• 4000 BC: Adam and Eve receive the prophecy that the Messiah (Jesus) would be born of a woman.
  • Promise: Genesis 3:15 – “’I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.’”
  • Fulfillment: Galatians 4:4 – “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law . . .”
• 700 BC: Isaiah prophesies that Jesus’ mother would be a virgin who conceived by a miracle and that Jesus would be God who became a man.
  • Promise: Isaiah 7:14 – “’Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’”
  • Fulfillment: Matthew 1:18–23 – “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”
• 700 BC: Micah prophesies that Jesus would be born in the town of Bethlehem.
  • Promise: Micah 5:2 – “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days [eternity].”
  • Fulfillment: Luke 2:1–7 – “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. . . . And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
• 400 BC: Malachi prophesies that Jesus would enter the temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD, meaning the Messiah had to come before then.
  • Promise: Malachi 3:1 – “’Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.’”
  • Fulfillment: Luke 2:25–27 – “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law . . .”

Helpful Resources

The following resources may also be helpful in your studies.

• The Miracle of Christmas: God With Us by John MacArthur is an older book that has some good examples of how to explain the birth of Jesus. It also includes some good historical information on how we got Christmas cards, Christmas trees, and more.
• The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren is a good and simple devotional book looking at the implications of Jesus’ humility in coming among us.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Christmas Sermons by Edwin H. Robertson is a good collection of sermons from a great Christian leader.
• Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas by Nancy Guthrie includes chapters from John Piper, Randy Alcorn, John MacArthur, Francis A. Schaeffer, R. C. Sproul, Joni Eareckson Tada, George Whitefield, Martin Luther, J. Ligon Duncan, Timothy J. Keller, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jonathan Edwards, Charles H. Spurgeon, and Augustine.
• Incarnation (Truth and the Christian Imagination Series) by Alister E. McGrath is a devotional-type book that includes beautiful holiday art and great insights.
• The Virgin Birth of Christ by J. Gresham Machen remains the best book outside of Scripture defending the virgin conception of Jesus Christ and is helpful for any teacher/preacher needing to shore up this aspect of their theology.
• Also, in our book Vintage Jesus, Gerry Breshears and I answer the following questions, with chapters 1–5 and 11 being obvious fits for the holiday season:
  • Chapter 1 – Is Jesus the Only God?
  • Chapter 2 – How Human Was Jesus?
  • Chapter 3 – How Did People Know Jesus Was Coming?
  • Chapter 4 – Why Did Jesus Come to Earth?
  • Chapter 5 – Why Did Jesus’ Mom Need to Be a Virgin?
  • Chapter 6 – What Did Jesus Accomplish on the Cross?
  • Chapter 7 – Did Jesus Rise from Death?
  • Chapter 8 – Where Is Jesus Today?
  • Chapter 9 – Why Should We Worship Jesus?
  • Chapter 10 – What Makes Jesus Superior to Other Saviors?
  • Chapter 11 – What Difference Has Jesus Made in History?
  • Chapter 12 – What Will Jesus Do upon His Return?

Christmas Sermons for Study

Lastly, some transcripts of good Christmas sermons may be helpful. Luther Sermon for Christmas Day Sermon for Christmas Eve Spurgeon Joy Born at Bethlehem A Christmas Question The First Christmas Carol Piper Why the Son of God Came into the World The Word Became Flesh Keller (audio form) The Courage of Christmas Christmas War The BegatsChristmas Wisdom

 

This summer DG staffer Matt Heerema and one of our web interns, Michael Smith, took the unabridged text of Jonathan Edwards’ seminal work Religious Affections and turned it into an electronic book. It was an experiment, but it seems to have gone well so far!

Download the EPUB file for free. And if you do run into any problems, would you let us know?

Update: If your computer cannot open the file, you probably need EPUB reading software. Wikipedia has a list of available programs. (Thanks for the link, Normand.)

O Holy Night (Hartnett)

HT: Bob Kauflin

HT: Bob Kauflin