Powerpoint Presentation

Jean-Paul A. HELDT:

Acts 13-28 in a {12-page, laminated, easy-to-read} nutshell

acts,apostle,asia,barnabas,biography,church,conversion,gentile,jew,luke,martyr,mission,paul,persecution,pharisee,roman,travel

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“The Life of the Apostle Paul,” the 12-page fold-out laminated pamphlet {“size = 5.5″ wide x 8.5″ tall. Fits inside most Bible covers. Unfolds to 33″ long”} by Rose Publishing (2006) is a great graphic addendum to, and a magnificent and necessary tool for, any serious student of the book of Acts, esp, Chapters 9, and 13 to 28, where Dr. Luke narrates the conversion and the turbulent, adventure-filled, life of the self-styled “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:13).

Rose’s pamphlet is a great visual tool giving the reader [or, more accurately, the viewer] a whole synoptic overview, at a glance, of the entire life and ministry of Saint Paul, the first-century apostle. Rose’s pamphlet artistically integrates and intersperses headings and textual information {e.g., Background, What Paul a Pharisee, How did Paul become a Christian?}, with three colored maps as visual aids to understanding and remembering Paul’s missionary journeys {i.e., First: AD 47-49, narrated by Luke in Acts 13:1–14:28; Second Journey: AD 49–51, found in Acts 15:36-18:22; Third: AD 52-57, as documented in Acts 18:23-21:16}; and a final colored map documenting Paul’s final voyage to Rome {AD 57-62, Acts 21:17-28:31}. For each of Paul’s journeys, we find interesting information about 1) the travelers {Paul’s travel companions}; 2) the main route(s); and 3) the cities/places visited, together with estimates of the distances travelled (i.e., 1,400 miles for the first journey; 2,800 miles for second journey; 2,700 miles for the third journey, and 2,250 miles for the fourth and final journey from Caesarea to Rome).

Not content with this abundance of information about the life of Paul, Rose Publishing adds several more features:

1) Nine color photographs pertaining to the life and time of Paul;

2) Five insets (with color drawings and text) with more information about Paul and his life: a) Persecuted for Christ; b) When bad things happen to good people; c) Paul’s thorn in the flesh; Paul’s other journeys (pp. 10); d) God’s strength and Paul’s personality (pp. 10); and finally e) Paul’s death (pp. 10);

3) A full page, diagrammatic (i.e., a table) summary of Paul’s letters {i.e., to whom, where written, when written} and their message {theme} (pp. 7);

4) A full page list {e.g., sin, law, righteousness, etc} of Paul’s “28″ key teachings {incidentally [but perhaps not intentionally], one teaching for each of the “28″ chapters comprising Luke’s book of Acts} (pp. 11).

5) A timeline, stretching over six fold-out pages (pp. 1-6), describing the life of Paul from his birth {approx. 5 AD}, to the time of his death in Rome {approx. 64 or 68 AD?}, including, in between, the dates of his conversion, travels and writing of letters.

I wish i had known of this magnificent resource before the course so that i could have made it available to students when i was teaching the six-weeks course “Acts i, Chapters 1-12, Fall 2009,” followed by the six-weeks course “Acts ii, Chapter 13-28, AKA the Acts of the Apostle Paul” {Spring 2010}. In response to one of my questions on the final Course Evaluation sheet {“How can i improve this course in the future?”}, one perceptive student wrote, “There should be a {optional} short book or pamphlet on Acts ii regarding Paul’s journeys” (JM, February 15, 2010). It is NOT always easy to honor students’ sometimes outlandish requests, but in this case, it was most reasonable and easy to do. At once, all my students in Acts ii have been appraised of this great resource, and i will look for similar resources for other courses i may teach in 2010 and beyond. All because a student cared enough and dared to speak his mind on a course evaluation form [his suggestion is well worth the 20% of the final grade given to him for the course, or to anyone who completes the course evaluation form, provided it is done thoughtfully {regardless of any negative comments on the course content and/or format}, printed carefully, and submitted in a timely manner].

Although i do NOT discourage anyone from taking a classroom or online course on the book of Acts [or, for that matter, from reading the entire book of Acts for yourself], if you have only one or two hours to devote to this study {e.g., on the bus taking you to an important exam in the life and ministry of Paul}, i highly recommend Rose Publishing’s 12-page fold-out laminated pamphlet “The Life of the Apostle Paul,” where you will find “everything you ever wanted know and needed to remember about the exciting life and ministry of Paul,” God’s chosen “earthen vessel” (2 Cor 4:7) to bring the good news of the resurrected Christ [Jesus, the Messiah] to his first-century compatriot Jews as well as countless Gentiles in Palestine, Judea, Asia Minor, Greece, and beyond, certainly in Rome, and perhaps even in Spain {but this is mere speculation}.

= END of REViEW =

NOTE: Should you have any comment(s) and/or suggestion(s) about this review, I can be reached via email at < [...]>. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Received from Amazon.com via USPS on Friday, February 26, 2010 (11:00am).

Review written on Sunday February 26, 2010 and submitted February 26, 2010 (12:59pm).
Rating: 5 / 5