New City Church, NC, Uses Casket Empty in Their Discipleship Program

An Introductory Note from Dr. Kaminski:

Last year I had the privilege of visiting New City Academy in Charlotte, NC. New City Church made the decision to use the Casket Empty curriculum as part of their discipleship program. Every Wednesday night more than one hundred people gather to study the Old Testament using the Casket Empty Bible Study. It was a blessing to speak at their final week and to see so many people committed to learning the Old Testament! Praise God!

As we reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus during Holy Week, I’m reminded that the Old Testament resounds with the sure hope that a son of David would one day rule on God’s throne. After hundreds of years of waiting, the New Testament is filled with the good news that Jesus is the promised Son of David, born in Bethlehem in accordance with God’s promises of old (Matt 1:1-17; 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20).

When Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he is praised as the Son of David in fulfillment of Zachariah’s prophecy that the coming king would enter Jerusalem, humble and mounted on a donkey (Zech 9:9-10; cf. Matt 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-14). The crowds shout out: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” (Mark 11:10). We, too, shout out, “Hosanna!”

But there’s another promise given to David that is often overlooked . . .

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of teaching a course on Genesis in Argentina at a seminary called the Facultad de Teología Integral (FTIBA). Dr. Pablo Polischuk, Senior Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, is president of the newly formed seminary in Buenos Aires, and two former students of mine are administrators and teach there. It was such a blessing to reconnect with them and to see how God is blessing this ministry, as they work tirelessly and sacrificially to provide theological education for the next generation of leaders. I am also thankful for the translators who not only translated my lectures into Spanish, but they even tracked with me as I taught Hebrew exegesis in Genesis! I was blessed by the warm hospitality, and amazing food—wow!!

While I was in Argentina. . .

Casket Empty in Spanish

A few months ago, I received an email from Darron Butler, who is studying part-time at Gordon-Conwell. In addition to his seminary studies and his full-time job as VP of ISP at Charter Communications in Western North Carolina, Darron is committed to the church and to using his gifts for the kingdom. Darron emailed me to let me know that he was about to leave for Nicaragua, where he would be teaching the Old Testament using Casket Empty. Upon returning home, I was delighted to receive an email about his teaching experience in Nicaragua, along with some pictures, so I asked Darron if he would be willing to write a blog for us, which you can read below.

This January I had the privilege of traveling to Thailand to teach the Old Testament. Casket Empty timelines, maps, study guides, and Bible studies have now all been translated into Thai. This has been a four-year Thai translation project accomplished by International Ministries. Kit Ripley had oversight of the project and she was my gracious host! Throughout the four-year project, she used her administrative gifts faithfully and sacrificially to ensure that the translation project was completed according to schedule and that the training conferences were successful. Khun Lek, former Editor and Manager of the Institute of Christian Studies and Church Development spent years translating all the material . . .

I first got to know Pastor Mike when he was a student at seminary, and since graduating, he’s been serving in pastoral ministry. Mike is committed to preaching and teaching of the Word of God. In 2022 he did a preaching series using the Casket Empty outline, preaching through the entire Bible! I was reminded of Mike’s passion for the Word of God when I visited his church in 2022 to do a Casket Empty Old Testament Seminar. I love the fact that Mike is enthusiastic about the Scriptures, which brings me to his post. As many of you may know, my commentary on 1-2 Chronicles was recently published in Zondervan’s Story of God Bible Commentary Series.

My prayer has been that God would use the commentary to help pastors preach from this neglected book. Mike emailed me a few days ago, letting me know that he’s not only been reading my commentary, but he’s decided to do a preaching series in Chronicles! I emailed him back and asked him, “Would you write a short blog, letting pastors know why you decided to do a preaching series in Chronicles?” Mike has provided his “7 Reasons Why I’m Preaching Chronicles.” I hope you enjoy reading his post and that you are encouraged to dive into Chronicles.

Why Does Chronicles Begin with Genealogies?

I’ve just finished writing a commentary on 1-2 Chronicles, which will be published in Zondervan’s Story of God Bible Commentary Series this October. In anticipation of this commentary, I’ll be writing a few blogs on Chronicles as I realize that it is one of the more neglected books in the Old Testament. I’m hoping that a few introductory blogs might be helpful to get us reorientated toward this theologically rich book.

One of the questions I’m often asked is: “Why all the genealogies in Chronicles?”