Win a free copy of Bibleworks 9!

That’s right. Western Seminary is giving away one free copy of Bibleworks 9. All you have to do is sign a contract in which you promise to have at least five children whom you will send to Western Seminary when they’re old enough. Simple, right?

Actually,  it’s a little easier than that. You just need to connect with Western via Facebook or Twitter to enter and win. (But, we’ll still take your kids.)

So, head over there and check it out. Who wouldn’t want a free copy of Bibleworks 9? Even if you already have a copy, you could win this one and then taunt all your friends with the fact that you have two.

The winner is…

The winner of this month’s book giveaway, a Greek and English Interlinear New Testament generouslydonated by Bill , is Drew. Congratulations. Send me your contact information and I’ll get that book shipped right over.

Stay tuned for information on this month’s giveaway. It looks like I’ll probably be giving away several books at once this time, so you don’t want to miss it.

Don’t forget the Bill Mounce book giveaway – 2 days left

You only have two more days to enter to win Bill Mounce’s Greek and English Inerlinear New Testament. Of course, if you’re flush, you can always buy it for $34.99 at Amazon. But getting it for free is so much more fulfilling.

I already have a giveaway lined up for next month. It should be a good one, so stay tuned.

Book Giveaway from Bill Mounce

This month’s book giveaway comes from Bill Mounce, who has graciously donated a brand new copy of his Greek and English Interlinear New Testament (TNIV/NLT). Here’s the description from Bill’s website:

This is a totally different kind of interlinear. It has the standard two translations running down the side of each page (NLT and TNIV), and down the middle is the Greek text and a new English translation. Below each word is also its parsing and its GK number.

• The Greek text is unique in that it shows many of the variations reflected in modern English translations
• The translation is actually readable. Due to some typographical innovations, this interlinear maintains Greek word order but the translation itself also makes sense. It is an excellent tool for young Greek students to see how an experienced translator (Robert Mounce) works with the language
• The parsing explains the Greek form
• The GK numbers allow someone who does not know Greek to be able to discover the Greek word lying behind the translation and find its meaning in a Greek-English dictionary such as Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
• A basic Greek dictionary

To enter the contest to win the book,  you just need to do one (or more) of the following:

1. Leave a comment below indicating that you’d like to win the book. You can only enter once this way, but I’ll count it as two entries if you also offer your answer to the following question: How often do you use Greek in your life/ministry and how helpful do you find it to be?
2. Blog about the giveaway and link to this post.
3. Tweet about the contest and tag @_MarcCortez in your tweet. (One entry per tweet; enter as many times as you want.)
4. Mention the giveaway on Facebook and tag “Marc Cortez” in your comment. (One entry per comment; enter as many times as you want.)

Book Giveaway – Saving Leonardo by Nancy Pearcey

Recently I received in the mail a free copy of Saving Leonardo by Nancy Pearcey.  According to the author, her book is an examination of the worldview of secularism, and she offers resources for helping Christians to “resist the secular assault on mind, morals, and meaning.”  You might find this book helpful personally or in your ministry.  You might find it to be a good example of the wrong kind of approach to worldview thinking.  Either way, it can be yours by the end of the week.  I’d like to offer to one reader of this blog an opportunity to take this book home for free.

Here is all you have to do to win: write a one paragraph (4-5 sentence) response to the question: What does it mean to have a Christian worldview?  Your answers should be given in the “response” section below.  No more than one entry per person. The last day to enter your answer is 5 p.m. PST, Friday April 29th.  The answer I like best will be the winner – and it doesn’t mean the one I necessarily agree with, either.

Here’s the trailer for the book:

Giving away Half the Church

As I mentioned last week (Are we silencing half the church?), we’ll be spending some time in the next few weeks reviewing and discussing Carolyn Curtis James new book Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Vision for Women.

And, thanks to Zondervan, we have a copy of the book to give away (see instructions below).

According to the publisher’s description:

Women comprise at least half the world, and usually more than half the church, but so often Christian teaching to women either fails to move beyond a discussion of roles or assumes a particular economic situation or stage of life. This all but shuts women out from contributing to God’s kingdom as they were designed to do. Furthermore, the plight of women in the Majority World demands a Christian response, a holistic embrace of all that God calls women and men to be in his world.

And, here’s the promo video for the book.

.

.

We’re going to try something a little different with this giveaway. If you’d like to win the book, here are the various ways that you can enter the contest:

1. Leave a comment below indicating that you’d like to win the book. You can only enter once this way, but I’ll count it as two entries if you also offer your answer to the following question: How do you think your church is doing at encouraging all women to be actively and fully engaged in the life and ministry of the church?
2. Blog about the giveaway and link to this post.
3. Tweet about the contest using the hashtag #western_thm. (One entry per tweet; enter as many times as you want.)
4. Mention the giveaway on Facebook and tag “Marc Cortez” in your comment.(One entry per comment; enter as many times as you want.)

I’ll randomly pick a winner when we post the reviews of the book in April.

And the winner of the Matthew commentary is….

We had a great response for our February book giveaway. Apparently, a lot of people are in the market for a good new commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. And, as you may have noticed from the comments, some people were rather diligent in their pursuit of said commentary. Well, let it never be said that hard work goes unrewarded.

According to the random number generator (actually I selected a number by having my grad fellow close his eyes and spin in a circle, counting the number of revolutions before he collapsed in a quivering heap of academic numbness), the lucky number of this contest was #21. (I was really hoping for a much higher number because it just looks so much more impressive. But, such is life.) Which, somewhat unsurprisingly, means that the winner of the commentary is Jason, of the infamous multiple-daily-postings. Congrats, Jason! If you’ll send me your contact info, I’ll get the book shipped out asap.

I also received news last week that we’ll be having another book giveaway this month. I don’t necessarily intend to do these every month, but if people want to give books away here, I’m not going to say no. More information to follow.

One week left to win a copy of Grant Osborne’s commentary on Matthew

You only have until February 28 to enter the contest to win Grant Osborne’s new commentary on Matthew. So, if you’re interested, make sure you head over there and add your name to the list. And, if you’re not interested, win it for your pastor. I’m sure it will be greatly appreciated.

 

Win a copy of Grant Osborne’s commentary on Matthew!

Grant Osborne’s new commentary on Matthew has been widely received as a great, new commentary – especially for pastors.

And, I just happen to have a copy to give away.

Osborne’s commentary is part of Zondervan’s new Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, and it really strives to be a good resource for pastors.

As Osborne says in the introduction,

If I were to dedicate the rest of my life to one single, thing, it would be bringing the Bible back into the center of the church’s life.

And, in a very helpful review, Nijay Gupta thinks that the series has accomplished exactly this.

I am happy to report that Zondervan has really figured out what (evangelical) pastors and ministry leaders need, and they have planned a series that can deliver precisely in the traditional areas of “exegesis.”

Matthew Montonini also has an excellent review if you’re looking for more information on the commentary or the Zondervan series as a whole.

As usual, the rules for the giveaway are simple. If you’d like a chance to win the book, you need to do at least one of the following. Each different way that you enter the contest will increase your chances of winning. (Assuming that I don’t get grouchy and decide to use it to flog the neighbor cat instead.)

• Comment on this post and indicate that you want the book
• Blog about the giveaway and link to this post
• Tweet about the contest (mention @western_thm when you tweet or let me know about it in the comments.
• Link to the contest from Facebook (tag Marc Cortez when you do or let me know about your post in the comments).

And, for the first time, I’m going to try allowing you to enter as many times as you want. So, if you really want the book, feel free to make multiple comments or tweet/FB/post about the contest as many times as you want.

I’ll randomly pick a winner at the end of the month, and they’ll get a brand new commentary.

So, let the games begin!

Free Kindle download – Imaginary Jesus!

Amazon is offering Imaginary Jesus as a free Kindle download today. So, head on over and grab a copy.

If you’re not familiar with the book, here’s the Publishers Weekly comment from the book’s Amazon page.

The Apostle Peter punches Jesus in the face, then chases him out of a coffee shop. And that’s just chapter 0. In this quirky tale the publisher describes as not-quite-true, former missionary and comic book store clerk Mikalatos disguises his critique of Christian life in an action-based quest to find the real Jesus. It’s A Christmas Carol meets Oz, but instead of ghosts and tin men, it’s a talking donkey, a motorcycle rider, and Mikalatos himself. The cast of characters drags the reader through the streets of Seattle and ancient Judea to introduce a host of fake Jesuses: Magic 8 Ball Jesus, Harley Jesus, even Liberal Social Services Jesus. They’re constructs of the human mind. People invent a Jesus for one specific reason and then discard him when they don’t need him anymore, says one of the Jesuses (the one with an expensive suit). Peter teaches Mikalatos that he must quiet falsehoods and mold a deeper relationship with the living, historical Jesus. Mixing questions of suffering and free will with a nexus of weirdness, Mikalatos throws Christian fiction into the world of Comic-Con and Star Wars. His silly quest is startling, contemporary, meaningful, and occasionally exhausting when the reader is puzzled. It begs for a comic book counterpart.

We also discussed Imaginary Jesus a while back (see here and here) and had some good interaction with the author Matt Mikalatos.

HT Brian Fulthorp (via Facebook)