Book Reviews

The following two books are from DeWard publishing, a fairly new publishing company that is already off to a great start. Nathan Ward is one of the managers of this company (and part of its namesake). I was in some classes with Nathan at Florida College where he is on the staff and is also part of the faculty now. He was the sole author of "The Growth of the Seed" and an editor and contributer to "Beneath the Cross." Following are my reveiws of these two books.

The Growth of the Seed:
This is not an all inclusive commentary on Genesis. Mr. Ward is specific about his goals of following the Messianic promise (the seed) through the book of Genesis and that is exactly what he does. By his own admission, he relies heavily on about 7 or 8 scholars. However, this is a benefit if you have a limited budget because you get the focus of this book plus what some of the major commentators have said on some of the issues. I love the excruses. Too often writers try to cram "side information" into the text of the commentary which distracts the reader, or they simply leave the subject incomplete. By having these excurses, you can delve into the information if you want to do so. This book will help one understand the book of Genesis in the larger scope of the entire Bible.

Beneath the Cross:
The Lord's Supper has been grossly underserved in terms of literature and emphasis within church services. This is sad given the meaning of the Lord's Supper. Not only is it the memorial of Jesus Sacrifice, but traces of its meaning can be found throughout the entire Bible. Beneath the Cross has put some emphasis back where it belongs. The book is a compilation of essays giving more meaning to and providing greater understanding for the Lord's Supper. The book is divided into four sections. The first part of the book deals with the general nature and background of the Lord's Supper. The second section (my personal favorite) looks at various passages from the Old and New Testament and discusses their relationship with the sacrifice on cross; the theme being that Jesus' sacrifice was God's plan from the beginning and is traceable through the entire Bible. The third sections deals with the individual and the cross - how does it affect me? And the final section looks at a number of hymns which are typically associated with the taking of the Lord's Supper. Over 40 authors from across the country have contributed to this book. Some of which are considered "scholars" in the area of Biblical studies, while others have simple devoted themselves to a better understanding of the Bible. Do not make the mistake of thinking that this is some little "devotional." Some of the essays in this book will challenge you academically and some will challenge you emotionally.

I highly recommend both of these books. You can purchase these books on any major bookstore's website (Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon) or directly from the publisher's site, http://www.dewardpublishing.com/.