Bibliography for “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus”

When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus.”

Bibliography for “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus”

Kenneth E. Bailey. The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Christ the Center. New York: Harper & Row, 1960.

Raymond E. Brown. The Gospel According to John. ABD. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966. Particularly Appendix IV: EGO EIMI “I AM,” pp. 533-538.

F. F. Bruce. The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition and Notes. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983.

G. M. Burge. “‘Glory.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 268-270. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

________. “‘I AM’ Sayings.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 354-356. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

John Calvin. John. The Crossway Classic Commentaries. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994.

D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. PNTC. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990.

J. Ramsay Michaels. The Gospel of John. NICNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010.

Eugene H. Peterson. Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005.

________. The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.

G. F. Shirbroun. “‘Light.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 472-473. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Francis Spufford. Unapologetic. New York: HarperCollins, 2013.

M. M. Thompson. “John, Gospel of.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 368-383. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

N. T. Wright. “The Story of John.” In The New Testament and the People of God, pp. 410-417. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992.

________. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. 

Resources from the Bible Project:

“I am the Resurrection and the Life”

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus and began a new preaching series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus,” drawn from the Gospel of John. This week I began the series with Jesus’ profound and shocking statement, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.


“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.’” (John 11:25)

Jesus is more wise than we thought (John 11:1-16)

Jesus’ insight into Lazarus’ sickness and death

Jesus shows that our everyday lives have significance and purpose

A revelation of the wisdom of Jesus 

Jesus is more loving than we thought (11:17-37)

Jesus’ encounter with Martha and Mary

Jesus shows that we are not alone in our griefs and suffering

A revelation of the love of Jesus

Jesus is more powerful than we thought (11:38-44)

Jesus’ miraculous work in raising Lazarus

Jesus shows that death is not our ultimate enemy 

A revelation of the power of Jesus

Jesus is more good than we thought (11:43-44)

Jesus’ deliverance of Lazarus after death

Jesus shows that there is life after death – new beginnings

A revelation of the goodness of Jesus 


Dig Deeper

This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways:

Bibliography for “In the Beginning: A Sermon Series on Genesis 1-3”

When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, “In the Beginning.”

Bibliography for “In the Beginning (Genesis, part 1)”

T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, editors. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.

T. Desmond Alexander. “Authorship of the Pentateuch.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, edited T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, 61-72. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.

Craig D. Allert. Early Christian Readings of Genesis One: Patristic Exegesis and Literal Interpretation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2018.

Robert Alter. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary, Volume 1: The Five Books of Moses. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.

B. T. Arnold. “Pentateuchal Criticism, History of.” In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, edited T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, 622-631. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.

Augustine of Hippo. City of God Against the Pagans. Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought. Edited by R. W. Dyson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 

Matthew Barrett and Ardel B. Caneday, ed. Four Views on the Historical Adam. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1-3Edited by John W. de Gruchy. Translated by Douglas Stephen Bax. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, vol. 3. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1997.

William P. Brown. The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Francis S. Collins. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. New York: Free Press, 2006.

Ellen F. Davis. Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Michael Fishbane. Text and Texture: Close Readings of Selected Biblical Texts. New York: Schocken Books, 1979.

Terence E. Fretheim. God and the World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2005.

Sidney Greidanus. Preaching Christ from Genesis: Foundations for Expository Sermons. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.

Victor P. Hamilton. The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17. NICOT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990.

Timothy Keller. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. New York: Riverhead Books, 2008.

________. Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical. New York: Viking Books, 2016. 

John C. Lennox. Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science, 10thanniversary edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021.

Tremper Longmann, III. How to Read Genesis. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.

Andrew Louth, ed. Genesis 1-11. ACCS. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001. 

Iain Provan. Discovering Genesis: Content, Interpretation, Reception. DBT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016.

Nahum Sarna. Understanding Genesis. The Heritage of Biblical Israel. New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1966.

George Steiner. Grammars of Creation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002.

S. Joshua Swamidass. The Genealogical Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021.

Gerhard von Rad. Genesis, rev. ed. OTL. Philadelphia: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1973. 

Bruce K. Waltke with Cathi J. Fredricks. Genesis: A Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001.

John H. Walton. The Lost World of Genesis OneAncient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009.

________. The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015.

Norman Wirzba. The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

________. This Sacred Life: Humanity’s place in a Wounded World. Boston: Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Resources from the Bible Project:

The Weekend Wanderer: 7 January 2023

The Weekend Wanderer” is a weekly curated selection of news, news, stories, resources, and media on the intersection of faith and culture for you to explore through your weekend. Wander through these links however you like and in any order you like. Disclaimer: I do not necessarily agree with all the views expressed within these articles but have found them thought-provoking.


Pope Benedict“Former Pope Benedict XVI dies at 95” – Emily McGarvey at the BBC: “Former Pope Benedict XVI has died, aged 95, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health. He led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years until, in 2013, he became the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415. Benedict spent his final years at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within the walls of the Vatican where he passed away at 09:34 (08:34 GMT) on Saturday. His successor Pope Francis will lead the funeral on 5 January. The Vatican said the body of the Pope Emeritus will be placed in St Peter’s Basilica from 2 January for ‘the greeting of the faithful.’ Bells rang out from Munich cathedral and a single bell was heard ringing from St Peter’s Square in Rome after the former pope’s death was announced. The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said Pope Benedict was ‘one of the great theologians of the 20th century.’ In a statement he said: ‘I remember with particular affection the remarkable Papal Visit to these lands in 2010. We saw his courtesy, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his mind and the openness of his welcome to everybody that he met.'”


1*CHrJ77kfeEJu2W9a27QUcw@2x“Real Christmas” – Kenneth Tanner at Medium: “I have come to appreciate when the retail-driven Christmas draws to a close and the more ancient celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas begins. Our cultural routines are lately predictable: on December 26 the easy listening channels stop broadcasting 24-hour Christmas music, Valentine candy replaces Christmas candy in the grocery and drugstores, and folks post pictures of their packed-up ornaments and tossed-out trees on social media and everyone — including a lot of Christians — simply ‘move on,’ as we say. You say ‘Merry Christmas’ on December 27 or January 3 and for some folks it just does not compute. I get it. And I do not wish to judge this way of keeping Christmas. Below the tinsel and lights and shopping malls and parades, there is a genuine longing to connect to the deep hope offered by the real Christmas. And this anonymous desire for Christ, these pursuits of joy in disquise, indicate that many still understand that something authentic needs to be celebrated even if they cannot name the hope and peace and love they long for, and Christians need to rejoice that this is so. But when the rest of the world — and too many of my brothers and sisters in Christ — moves on, when the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas frenzy comes to that abrupt close on December 26, then the church can get down to the authentic work of worship, of communion, of contemplating the unfathomable mystery that God has become human so that humanity might participate in the divine life.”


Malcolm Guite“A Poet for ‘Bruised Evangelicals'” – Kara Bettis in Christianity Today: “On a cool, drizzly summer day in Vancouver, a few Regent College students trailed after their visiting lecturer into a standard American-fare restaurant. But their 65-year-old professor’s tweed jacket, his shoulder-length white hair and full beard, the tap of his black cane, and the sweet, lingering scent of his pipe tobacco seemed to transport them to a smoky British pub where they were slowly imbibing Guinness and dialoguing about theology and literature. Malcolm Guite tends to create such worlds. Much like the sonnets he writes, he lives wholly in this world yet transports those around him to an ethereal one.’ The teacher in me, the poet in me, the priest in me who’s administering the liturgy, the pastoral counselor in me, it all turns around words,’ Guite told me. His calling, he feels, is ‘to kindle my own and other people’s imagination for Christ.’ Guite is an anomaly that somehow makes sense: He’s an Anglican priest, poet, academic, and singer-songwriter. He enjoys smoking a pipe and rides his Royal Enfield café racer through the English countryside. He meanders on lengthy daily prayer walks and sings and plays guitar in a blues band called Mystery Train.”


Albanian mosaics“Some of the most magnificent frescoes can be found in the ‘Paris of the Balkans'” – Ben O’Donnell at National Geographic: “Deep in southeastern Albania, a tiny hamlet holds five churches that have one of the most magnificent concentrations of Orthodox Christian fresco art in the world. From the outside, the churches in Voskopojë resemble stone barns, a reflection of their 18th-century heritage as Christian gathering places in the Islamic Ottoman Empire. Inside, however, they reveal painted masterworks of brilliant blues, reds, and yellows that come to life in themes both awesome (Christ the Almighty, or Pantocrator) and eccentric (St. Nicholas outsmarts the goddess Artemis). ‘For us, it’s like the Louvre,’ says Albania’s Minister of Culture, Elva Margariti. There are no other sites in Albania or in the world quite like the Voskopojë churches and their 43,000 square feet of frescoes. The government designated them Cultural Monuments and, in 2020, it recognized the village center where most of them are located as a Historic Ensemble. Perhaps more importantly, the frescoes are a striking East-meets-West artifact of a multicultural, multireligious Albanian identity many feared would be extinguished under the former Communist regime.”


Congress 2023“Congress’ new class has much higher percentage of Christians than American public” – Adelle M. Banks at Religion News Service: “The religious makeup of the new Congress bucks the trends seen in American religious life, a new report finds. The Pew Research Center says the Senate and House members are ‘largely untouched’ by the continuing decrease in the portion of Americans who identify as Christian and the comparable increase in the share of those who say they do not have a religious affiliation. Christians comprise 88% of the voting members of the 118th Congress who are expected to be sworn in this week (week of Jan. 3), a number that has not changed much since the 1970s, when 91% of members said they were affiliated with that faith. The American population, on the other hand, has seen a drop in those identifying as Christians, from 78% in 2007 to 63% currently. Close to 3 in 10 Americans (29%) say they are religiously unaffiliated — atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular’ — a far larger portion than 16% in 2007. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona, remains the only member of the new Congress who uses the description of religiously unaffiliated. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., described himself as humanist. Huffman also said he was ‘the token humanist in Congress’ when he spoke via videotaped remarks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s annual convention in October.”


Statements-from-Prominent-Biblical-Scholars-about-Women-in-Ministry“Prominent Biblical Scholars on Women in Ministry” – Marg Mowczko at her blog: “Some Christians think that only people who have a ‘loose approach to scripture,’ or who reject its authority, can believe that women should be leaders and teachers in the church. I doubt any evangelical Christian would regard these scholars and theologians as having a loose approach to scripture, yet each of them believes that appropriately gifted women can and should be leaders and teachers in the church. Here is a sample of various statements made by these prominent scholars some of whom are now deceased.*” The list goes on to look at eight widely revered scholars, including: F. F. Bruce, Gordon Fee, Craig Keener, I. Howard Marshall, Leon Morris, John Stott, Ben Witherington III and N. T. Wright. 


Music: The Porter’s Gate, “Wood and Nails” (feat. Audrey Assad & Josh Garrels) from Work Songs

Bibliography for “Hope Rising: 1 Thessalonians for Today”

When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, “Hope Rising: 1 Thessalonians for Today.”

Bibliography for “Hope Rising”

John Calvin. The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians. Trans. Ross Mackenzie. Ed. David W. and Thomas F. Torrance. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1961.

J. M. Everts. “Hope.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, 415-417. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Cain Hope Felder. “1 Thessalonians.” In True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary, edited by Brian K. Blount, 389-400. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2007.

Peter J. Gorday, editor. Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon.ACCS. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000.

L. J. Kreitzer. “Eschatology.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Marting, and Daniel G. Reid, 253-269. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Jürgen Moltmann. Theology of hope: on the ground and the implications of a Christian eschatology. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993.

Josef Pieper. Faith, Hope, Love. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius, 1986.

J. W. Simpson, Jr. “Thessalonians, Letters to the.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, 932-939. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993.

Jeffrey A. D. Weima. 1-2 Thessalonians. ECNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014.

N. T. Wright. Surprised by Hope. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.