1. Every Thought Captive by Richard Pratt, Jr.
2. The Battle Belongs to the Lord by K. Scott Oliphint
3. Always Ready by Greg Bahnsen
4. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (especially Book I – you’ll have to listen to the discussion to hear why this is on the list)
5. Presuppositional Apologetics: Stated and Defended by Greg Bahnsen
6. Van Til’s Apologetic by Greg Bahnsen (contains large portions of Van Til’s writings)
7. Christian Apologetics by Cornelius Van Til annotated by William Edgar
8. The Defense of the Faith, 3rd edition by Cornelius Van Til annotated by K. Scott Oliphint
9. A Christian Theory of Knowledge by Cornelius Van Til
10. Survey of Christian Epistemology by Cornelius Van Til
11. Common Grace and the Gospel by Cornelius Van Til
12. Introduction to Systematic Theology by Cornelius Van Til annotated by William Edgar

The first step in redeeming the time and becoming more productive is to understand exactly how you currently spend your time.  Back in September, Lifehacker, a great site that shares all sorts of tips and tricks, shared a list of the top time tracking applications.  Scan the list and consider if you can use one of these tools to get a handle on where your time actually goes.

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,
As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

O Savior, Child of Mary, who felt our human woe,
O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;
Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of Heaven,
And to the endless day!

The lyrics are different, though thematically related, in the Trinity Blue Hymnal (#153) where it goes by the name Behold, a Branch is growing.  I imagine they are simply different poetic translations of the same German.  Sufjan Stevens, Feist, and Derek Webb each have recorded modern renditions of the song.  But to get a sense of the classical performance, listen to The Cambridge Singers, even though I prefer it to be sung a bit slower.

The second is Of the Father’s Love Begotten.  This is no doubt my favorite lyric and musical combination in a hymn.  It is also found in the Trinity Blue Hymnal (#122), but to my consternation has been set to the tune of Praise, My Soul instead of its traditional plainsong.  Consequently, it excludes the “evermore” refrains.

Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessèd, when the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Savior of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face, evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him; angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing, evermore and evermore!

Thee let age and thee let manhood, thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens, with glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring, evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving, and unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory, evermore and evermore!

You can listen to The Cathedral Singers (a little gallopy for me) and the beautiful performance by The University of Montevallo/U. of North Dakota.  I encourage you to listen and perhaps sing these hymns at home if you have opportunity.  But most importantly, consider the theological truths contained therein and praise the Lord for His gospel!

Watch the video demonstration.

DIY Book Scanner Introduction and Motivation from Daniel Reetz on Vimeo.

Read more on ZDNet or at TUAW.

Whenever I begin a new research assignment, I create a new collection in my Zotero database.  As I begin reading and locating new sources, I search for them in my library’s catalog or on WorldCat.  Zotero automatically interprets the information from these sites and puts a little book icon in the address bar.  If I want to add the resource to my collection (complete with bibliographic information), I just click the book.  Try that with your index cards.

Sure, you need to check your data before inserting your footnotes and bibliography.  But this method is lightyears beyond handling these by hand.  Now all we need is the artificial intelligence research assistant from Snow Crash.

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

Have you ever read a passage in the prophets and said “I wonder what the significance of ______ is?”  The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery may very well help you with those kinds of questions.  The large tome has numerous articles on various images that appear throughout Scripture such as “mountains” or even “treading under feet.”  This volume is helpful for anyone wanting to enrich their bible reading and come to a better understanding of God’s revelation.

Dictionary of Biblical Theology

This is another helpful resource for Bible study and sermon preparation.  This book contains several helpful entries on various topics in biblical theology.  I’ve used this several times in preparing sermons and writing papers.

Edmund P. Clowney

Clowney’s short book The Unfolding Mystery is an excellent introduction to typology and the progression of themes and images throughout Scripture.  As the title indicates, Clowney shows how God has used types in order to reveal himself and his plan of redemption in a continually unfolding fashion.  Several of Clowney’s sermons are available at SermonAudio.com and are helpful for seeing how biblical theology can [and should] affect preaching.

Northwest Theological Seminary

Northwest has made several helpful resources available.  The audio resource page is especially interesting.  It includes several sermons by Jim, Charlie and Bill Dennison as well as other faculty members and their first graduate.  They have also posted a list of useful Bible commentaries and sermon resources.

Graeme Goldsworthy

According to Plan by Goldsworthy is a helpful introduction to biblical theology.  Three of Goldsworthy’s other books have been published in a single volume called The Goldsworthy Trilogy.

Geerhardus Vos

What list of BT resources would be complete without books by Geerhardus Vos?  For many in the reformed world, Vos is the quintessential biblical theologian.  His works have been especially helpful for orienting the thinking of many well known theologians.  Getting into and digesting his writing comes at a cost, however.  He isn’t known for being the most accessible writer.  That being said, if you read Clowney and Goldsworthy and want to go deeper, pick up Vos’ Biblical Theology which is a wonderful explanation of his method.  Vos further develops his system in The Pauline Eschatology.  Dr. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. has edited a helpful collection of Vos’ shorter writings in Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation.  Danny E. Olinger has also compiled A Geerhardus Vos Anthology.