Semester Wrap-Up

My first semester of seminary officially ended on Friday, December 4th, but moving into and setting up the new house has kept me plenty busy since the end of finals!

Here are some quick thoughts on this past semester:
- Seminary isn't as insanely hard as I thought it would be. It's not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but some people make it out to be an endless cycle of sleepless nights at the library. Granted, I've only taken one semester of classes and I don't have to work a full-time job like many of the other seminary students -- but, by God's grace, this semester was not as difficult as I thought it would be.
- I love church history. Throughout my entire school career, I had held a slight aversion toward history. Too many names, too many dates and too little pertinence with real life. Having taken two classes on church history (Baptist History and Church History 1), I have come to love church history. In some senses, theology is the skeleton that holds everything up and together. But church history puts flesh on the skeleton and brings theology to life...which is always a good thing.
- The Bible is both Christo-centric and Christo-telic. I was constantly reminded throughout this semester both in class, in my reading and in chapel that Christ is at the center of the Bible. He is the One that the OT points to and the NT both depicts and explains. The Bible is essentially a story about Christ.
- Quick plug on my favorite books this semester. Of the handful of books I had to read this semester, there are two books that standout to me as "must-reads"
-- The first book is To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson by Courtney Anderson. This biography of Adoniram Judson, the first Baptist missionary from America, and his ministry among the people of Burma is amazing! It is challenging, humbling, encouraging and inspiring. It kindles a missionary zeal that all Christians are to have and shows an imperfect man that was used in amazing ways for the glory of God and the spread of the gospel. (If you need something to whet your appetite, listen to John Piper's biography sermon about Judson!)
-- The second book is According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible by Graeme Goldsworthy. This book helps the reader to grasp the unified message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It is essentially an introduction to "Biblical Theology" and is laid out in a very simple and helpful way. Of course, as an introduction its' purpose is not to plumb the depths of specific texts in the Bible, but it does a good job of getting one to think about the Bible as having a single storyline.
(So, if you have some time of Christmas break, pick up one [or both] of these books! Your mind will be filled, your soul will be fed and hopefully, your heart will be changed!)