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Just finished my New Testament 2 class (Romans to Revelations) as part of the summer intensive program at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  The intensive included a 40 hour class (8am to 5pm for one week), assignments to create two New Testament book outlines, 8 sermon plans, 600 pages of reading, and a 3 hour final exam.

  1. I was impressed by my teacher, Brett Akright.  Anyone who has taught for 8 hour days knows it is mentally draining, yet he seemed to get better as each day was getting late.  We asked many questions, and I was impressed by his breadth of knowledge to give guidance on every question.  I also enjoyed time with the other students (missionary, youth pastor, worship pastor, students).  I was impressed by their talent and knowledge at such a young age.  Praise God for such high quality individuals to serve His church.  My main takeaway from the class was to better understand the Old Testament references mentioned in the New Testament, the New Testament context and background of each letter including the themes of each letter, and the historical background related to each letter.  I did learn of two new resources regarding Bible backgrounds.  The first was recommended by the teacher.  Backgrounds of Early Christianity.   The second recommendation came from a student.  The IVP Bible Background Commentary.  I purchased both.  The second one I bought on my Kindle, and I have already been using it for my personal study and blogs.
  2. Creating the two New Testament book outlines was my favorite part of the class:  Ephesians and 1 Peter.  You can really understand the flow of each New Testament letter after doing a detailed outline.  The sermon outlines were also good.  You can see how the sermon subjects are taken right out of your outlines.
    1. Ephesians
    2. First Peter
  3. The textbook, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown is very good.  You can see how the writings of the early church fathers who quoted from the New Testament letters help prove early dates and authenticity of the New Testament letters.  Each chapter  in the textbook wrestled with authorship of each letter, dating the letters, provenance, destination, occasion, and purpose of each letter.  The theology section of each chapter was helpful.  Section by section discussion through each New Testament letter is useful.  I will definitely consult this book before starting on my next New Testament book study.
  4. The final exam.  Well who likes a 3 hour final worth 60 percent of your grade.  But it’s got to be done.  Enough said.
  5. Already signed up for New Testament 1 (Matthew – Acts) for the fall semester.

God Bless, Bob.