What I’m reading: Jeff Aernie

Dr Jeffrey Aernie is currently working on a book on the theology 2 Corinthians, and his previous books include Narrative Discipleship: Portraits of Women in the Gospel of Mark (Pickwick, 2018) and Is Paul Also among the Prophets? (2012 Jeff’s recommendations for reading are:

Wesley Hill, The Lord’s Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2019)

Wesley Hill’s volume is the second to appear in Lexham’s Christian Essentials series (following Ben Myers’ wonderful exploration of the Apostles’ Creed and preceding Peter Leithart’s recent volume on the Ten Commandments). In this concise exposition Hill provides a pastoral reflection on each line of this foundational Christian prayer. Each chapter offers devotional material on the Prayer and draws out the Prayer’s significance for our contemporary world. Hill’s book is a faithful and creative exposition of Jesus’s teaching that offers an invitation into the beauty of the Prayer.

Holly Beers, A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019)

Beers’ volume is a fictional account of Anthia, an Ephesian woman living in the Roman Empire in the middle of the first century CE. Through Beers’s creative writing the we, as the audience, are immersed into a portrait of daily life in the ancient world. We get the opportunity to walk alongside Anthia as she navigates marriage, culture, and news of a strange message about a Jewish man named Jesus. Beers provides both a remarkably engaging story and significant insight into the culture and setting of the New Testament.

Grant Macaskill, Living in Union with Christ: Paul’s Gospel and Christian Moral Identity (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019)

Study of the apostle Paul is often marked by confusion and complexity. Macaskill steps into that arena with this lucid exploration the key theme of participation in Christ. Macaskill’s goal is to re-examine the Pauline literature to help us understand our humanity identity. How does our engagement with Jesus practically impact our human engagement and our capacity for virtue? Macaskill’s discussion of how Paul’s views on the sacraments—baptism and the Eucharist—offer real fruit for our personal engagement with the text and our life together as the church.

Dr Jeffrey Aernie is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies at United Theological College