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Some Books I Will Be Reading in 2023

3/1/2023

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My extended no-pay leave from the seminary has begun, and this gives me a bit of freedom to catch up with some reading. Here is a list of books I will be reading and engaging with in the months to come. 

What about your list?
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New Book: More Calvinistic than Calvin?

2/1/2023

 
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Authored by Bishop Emeritus Hwa Yung, Dr Lee Soo Tian, Revd Dr Lee Tat Yan & Revd Dr Lim Kar Yong.
Published by Faith Books, an imprint of August Publishing Sdn Bhd, Puchong, Malaysia
Date of publication: January 2023.
108 pages.

​This book is available from Canaanland Bookstore. Please click here for ordering information.

​The Table of Contents can be viewed below:

Advent: A Season of Hope

28/11/2022

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St Benet's Church, Cambridge.

​This year, I have the opportunity to spend a cold and wet Advent season in the UK. Advent is my favourite time of the year. In the church, the liturgy takes on a slightly different shape. The hymns carry the theme of longing, waiting, and expectation; the liturgical colour is purple; the Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the Highest) is replaced with Kyrie Eleison (Lord, Have Mercy); and the Advent wreath replaces the flowers. The lighting of the Advent candles reminds us to keep awake, watch, wait, for as we prepare for Christ’s coming.

In the Northern Hemisphere, Advent is also the darkest season of the year (and very wet and gloomy where I am at the moment). Perhaps this is an appropriate reminder of the broken world we live in, and how much more we need the light of Christ to shine in the darkness of our world. As we prepare ourselves for Christmas and celebrate the coming of the Christ child, we also look forward in anticipation of his Second Coming where he will come to reign as King and Judge. At the same time, we pray and long for a better Malaysia, especially after the recently concluded GE15 resulting in a hung parliament. We give thanks for the appointment of a new Prime Minister. Yet, we are reminded that our real hope is not found in the politics of the nation. It is only anchored in Christ, who died and rose, and who will come again.

Advent: a season of waiting, a season of longing, a season of anticipation. But it is never a season without hope.
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Small Fundraising Initiative A Success

27/8/2021

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During the recent lectures I gave on "Journey with the Apostles to Turkey" on 16 & 23 August 2021 (organised by Wolrd Discovery Travel), I thought that I would use the opportunity to make available about 50 copies of my recent book, "Following Jesus" (please click here for more information on the book), for sale to the participants as a small fundraising initiative. All proceeds from the sale will go to St Nicholas' Home for the Blind based in Georgetown, Penang. This home is a social outreach of the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia.
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Photo Credit: St Nicholas' Home
During the current pandemic, St Nicholas' Home for the Blind faces a number of challenges in their administrative operation, and funding being one of them. St Nicholas Home is a non-profit charitable organisation reaching out to the needs of the blind and visually impaired community (BVI) in Malaysia. The Home carries out  training for BVIs, equipping them with living skills so that they are able to find employment and lead independent lives. Some of these initiatives include massage training, basketry skills, and pastry and baking training.  

​I am very pleased to announce that 53 copies of my books have been sold, and the total amount received from the sale is RM4,100. This amount will be donated to St Nicholas' Home. Initially, I thought that I would use the months of August and September for this initiative. However, with such a good and encouraging response , this small fundraising exercise is now ended. 

Thank you to all who purchased my book, and some of you bought 2 and 3 copies. Thank you for joining me in this small initiative to make a difference in the lives of people who are visually impaired. ​
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New Malaysian Project to be Published Soon

24/7/2021

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A group of Malaysian scholars currently in Malaysia and other parts of the world come together to contribute to a book project entitled, "From Malaysia to the Ends of the Earth: Southeast Asian and Diasporic Contributions to Biblical and Theological Studies." This volume is edited by my colleague, Elaine Wei-Fun Goh, and others including Kah-Jin Jeffrey Kuan, Jonathan Yun-Ka Tan, and Amos Wai-Ming Yong. This project is now in the final proof reading stage and should be published by Claremont Press in the autumn of 2021.

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I make a small contribution to this project where I examine Paul's understanding of ethnic relations between Jews and Gentiles gleaned from his letters, and offer some contemporary reflections for nation building in Malaysia.

My essay is entitled, "“For All of You Are One in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28): Paul’s Social Vision Beyond Inclusivity and Diversity", in pages 83-116. This bulk of the essay was written when I was on sabbatical in the second half of 2019. In light of the current political climate and the COVID-19 pandemic, I have made further reflections on what I have written. Perhaps a short follow-up piece might be needed.

I look forward to seeing this significant project in print soon. 

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Following the Footsteps of Apostle Paul in Turkey

18/7/2021

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  • Do you know that 6 out of the 13 letters of Paul were written to churches/individuals located in modern Turkey?
  • Have you wondered what the cities and places the Apostle Paul preached the gospel look like? 
  • What was his hometown, Tarsus, like?
  • What happened to Antioch, the city where the followers of the Way were first called "Christians"?
  • Why did Paul choose top visit Pisidian Antioch in his First Missionary Journey?
  • What are some archaeological evidences that help us understand the challenges and opportunities for Paul's Gentile mission?
  • What was the impact of the gospel in a major city of Ephesus where Paul spent more than 2 years during his Third Missionary Journey?


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While it may not be possible to visit all these places in Turkey physically with our borders still closed, you can join me in a virtual tour as we follow the footsteps of Paul in Turkey, read the Scriptures in sites where the events took place, and reflect on some of the lessons we can apply in our context today.

Please register for the course by clicking on this link:
https://forms.gle/8kvpWNyJBzMwcoHz9
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Take a sneak peak of what we will cover in our sessions by viewing the slideshow below.

This event is organised by Footprint Travel Planner and Beit Shalom.
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Interview with Our Daily Bread

21/3/2021

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Our Daily Bread Malaysia recently released a devotional booklet written by me, Following Jesus to the Cross: An Illustrated Guide with 12 Devotionals for Easter. This devotionals follow the final week of the life of Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark.

Following this publication, a short interview was carried out where I talked about the importance of Lent, the Holy Week, and my personal journey of faith in writing the devotionals. 

Check out the interview here, or by viewing the YouTube clip below.
Writing this devotional booklet has a profound impact on me. I share about this at the conclusion:
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"During the course of writing this devotional, I was by Mum’s bed as her breaths became shallower and less frequent over the days. On the morning she left me, she choked a couple of times, then slipped peacefully into the presence of God. Her departure left a void that only memories of her could fill. Yet, as a family, we have this hope that we will be reunited with her one day. This is because we believe in the most significant event in the course of human history—the glorious resurrection of Christ on Easter morning. The apostle Paul declares that if Christ has not risen from the dead, our faith is futile (1 CORINTHIANS 15:12–19). Our hope and faith in God lie in the very fact of the resurrection of Christ."
May this devotional be a helpful tool for you as you prepare for the Holy Week.

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If you like to find out more about my other book, Following Jesus: An Illustrated Guide to the Places of the Holy Land According to the Gospel of Mark, where there are more photographs of the Holy Land and further biblical reflections, please click here for ordering information.

Currently, there is a special Lent/Easter promotion. 
  • 1 copy: RM75 + RM5 for shipping = RM80
  • 2 copies: total of RM150 with free shipping 
  • 3 copies: total of RM200 with free shipping (for West Malaysia only. For East Malaysia, please add RM10 to the total).
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Perlego Adds New Theological Publishers

17/3/2021

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Over the past one year or so, most theological libraries are either closed or opened with restricted access. Almost all our classes have gone online. This means that accessing online resources is critical for all of us to prepare our lectures and carrying on our research. For students, digital resources allow them to access text books online and also other reference books needed to complete their assignments.
At Seminari Theoloji Malaysia, the library subscribes to a host of digital resources such as ATLAS, JSTOR, Brill Online, Sage Journals, Global Digital Theological Library, T&T Clark library, amongst others. This gives us access to the latest top-tiered journals and publications (Please get in touch with the library if you need any help accessing these resources, if you are registered as our student)
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Yet, many books remain inaccessible to the students. One of the cheapest way to access theological books is to take up a subscription based online library with vast theological collection. Perlego is probably one of the best and cheapest available at the moment. At USD$40 per annum for residents in Malaysia, the subscription fee is less than the cost of a theological book, and this subscription opens up access to more than 34,000 theological books.
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Over the past weeks, Perlego announces that they have added another 10 theological publishers to their collection, and this includes Westminster John Knox, Baker, Fortress, and Eerdmanns. Together with Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, Taylor & Francis, Wipf & Stock, de Gruyter, Zondervan, Peter Lang, Baylor, and the list goes on, almost all critical text books and references for theological studies are now available with a few clicks and at a fraction of the cost of acquiring these books.
For students taking biblical studies/exegesis courses, they now have online access to many excellent commentaries such as those in the series of NIGTC, NICNT/NICOT, PNTC, Two Horizons Commentary, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, BECNT, Zonderven Commentary, and many more.
Check out what our library offers for your research, and also some of the online theological libraries available. I would say this is probably one of the most exciting times to do studies and research as almost all the resources we need can easily be accessed in the comfort of our homes ... or office!
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Devotionals for Easter by Our Daily Bread

19/2/2021

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"Following Jesus to the Cross" is now available from Our Daily Bread. This illustrated guide with 12 devotionals for Easter will guide our reflections on the passion, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus this Easter season. Based on the Gospel of Mark, each reading contains reflection questions and prayers to commit ourselves to God. 

Evoke our senses with photographs of the sites where the events of the final week are believed to have taken place, and let this devotional make the Scripture come alive for us in fresh ways.
A sample chapter of this booklet is extracted below.
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If you or your church would like to have copies of this devotional booklet, please contact Our Daily Bread Malaysia.
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For those of you who might be interested in my book, Following Jesus, where more reflections from the Gospel of Mark can be found, please click here.

Join me in this book where we journey through the regions of Galilee, Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, and many others in following the footsteps of Jesus. With more than 180 images and 13 maps and illustrations, readers will not only experience the sights and settings of the Holy Land, but also discover the biblical significance of these sites. Questions for reflection and prayers at the end of each chapter will help prepare readers for their own encounter with Christ.
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Free Webinar: Moving Beyond Lament

7/5/2020

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Happening soon. Please register if you have not done so by clicking on this link: bit.ly/beyondlament
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    Lecturer in New Testament Studies at Seminari Theoloji Malaysia. You can find out more about me by clicking here. 


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    My engagement in conversation with issues, reflections, and concerns related to my vocation as a seminary lecturer and theological education in general. Opinions expressed in this blog are strictly my personal views and do not represent the official position of the seminary


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