Contend Earnestly Books

Vintage Church

2009-02-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Vintage Church sets up to be the continuation of where Vintage Jesus left off. Vintage Jesus upset some people as they thought that Driscoll took too many liberties in describing who Jesus was. Although I disagree with them, it is hard for me to see where those same people will have issue with this book. This book is set up to be an open an honest discussion of what the church is. At some point, if you are a pastor of a church, you will be challenged by Driscoll and Breshears and even rubbed the wrong way in their description of what a church should look like.

This is not because they are purposely trying to demean churches, but they are taking the modern church and testing them to Scripture. Driscoll himself even shows in some places that he wishes that they were better at, or where they have corrected Mars Hill over the years. Again, this is exactly what makes Driscoll so attractive, he is honest with his mistakes while pointing out others. He hammers on emergent church designs and also the traditional fundamental churches, to make sure they return to the true calling of the church as a whole.

What I believe this book will turn out to be is a handbook for church planters or those who are desiring to test what they are doing within their churches. The book is set up like the others that Driscoll has done in recent years. Meaning, he puts forth a topic through the Scriptures and culture and then Breshears answers commonly asked questions on that topic of the chapter. Vintage Church sets up everything from answering questions on preaching, ordinances and church discipline to how to utilize technology as a church. This book is very practical and reminds me of "The Deliberate Church" by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander. The difference is that Driscoll and Breshears cover more ground and looks more into the culture and missional aspects of the church.

In the end, the readers for this book will be pastors and elders, and not as many congregants will enjoy this book like they did with Vintage Jesus. This doesn't make the book bad, it just makes it targeted. I felt that the book was really a grown up version of Confessions of a Reformissional Rev. That book told the story of the beginning of Mars Hill, and this tells the current story. This is my only "gripe" with this book is that it seems to more of a polemic for the current way that Mars Hill is doing things. So, when you get to topics like "What is a Missional Church" and "What is a Multi Site Church" the descriptions are more of what Mars Hill is doing and less of a general look into these topics. But, should I really expect anything less of a book written by a pastor who believes (as do I for the most part) his church is doing the correct mission of Christ?

I also did enjoy the reminders to big churches that not all churches should be big, and the reminder to small churches, that not all churches should be small. Criticism of each other usually comes from each side of the issue, but Driscoll and Breshears really exhort each one to do the calling that Christ has called them to. But, because Driscoll's church is huge, some of his practical wisdom on how to live out church are going to fly over the head of those pastors in small churches. Some of the things discussed in technology and multi site are just not going to be able to be utilized by small churches. This is fine though, because the book is for all to read, not just big churches or small churches.

Although this book could have been titled, "Vintage Mars Hill" or "Confessions: Part II", the book delivers a very good understanding of the church. My favorite part of the entire book was simply, "What is a Christian Church?" Driscoll puts to shame those who believe that online churches, or coffee shop churches are true churches. Driscoll walks through what a church should include to be a true Vintage, or Scriptural, church. I very much enjoyed this description so that one does not get together with a friend for coffee and call it church, or a church gets off target and loses focus of what a church should encompass.

If you are a church planter, or one that is about to engage in new church plant, pick up this book. If you are a leader in a church that is looking to restructure or desire to test yourself to make sure that you are a biblical church, pick up this book. If you are a dated church that desires to reach today's generation, pick up this book. You will not be disappointed. I would also highly recommend that one pick up The Deliberate Church and The Master's Plan for the Church
alongside Vintage Church for great study and great resources on the Christian church according to Jesus. Highly Recommended.

Link to Buy

Crossway

Westminster Books

What Does the Bible Say About That?

2009-02-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

This book put together by Carolyn Larsen covers many topics. I couldn't imagine putting together so many topics to convey what the Bible says about these things. Ms. Larsen puts together 340 things that the Bible speaks on. Although I believe she stretches it a bit to try and say the Bible speaks on certain things when, in reality, the Bible is silent.

In the introduction the author tries to convey why she put these together. She tries to rid the thought that this book should be used as a list of "dos and don'ts" but in reality the book should be used to answer questions about every day life and how the Bible puts forth those types of answers. The introduction tells the reader that although there are many topics that the Bible does speak on, when you fall, know that God has grace for us all. The one thing that I thought of as I started to look at the book is although the author doesn't want to make a list of "dos and don'ts" that is just what is going to happen if Christ isn't the center. Even in the introduction, Jesus is never mentioned. This is a huge deal. Ms. Larsen puts forth what the Bible is about:

It's the story of God's love for you and how his Spirit living in you will guide, protect, love, forgive, and love you again.

Ms. Larsen forgot the third person of the Trinity. The Bible is about Jesus as well. Jesus' absence is hard to overlook in the opening of the book as one readies themself to read the rest of the topics laid out.

Each topic has four parts and only encompasses one page:

1. What does the Bible say about...(insert topic) (This is a quick commentary by the author)
2. What the Bible says (verses are listed)
3. Time to Face the Facts (Author puts forth a definite admonition and exhortation on the topic)
4. Today I will...(practical advice to follow because of the topic)

I believe that the book can be used by discerning parents to aid them in different topics of the Bible. But, the parent will have to be more gospel centered than the book can be as its purpose is to just show the topic at hand and not give a full commentary of the gospel each time. I understand that this is impossible with a book that covers 340 topics. I would not just give this out to kids and have them study it and read it as a manual of how to live their lives. Way too many mistakes will be made and little Pharisees will be raised up. But, that doesn't mean that the book can't be used by parents who use it for simple understanding.

I will point out that the parent must be discerning as a couple of the topics made me chuckle as they were so close together. They are smoking and snacks. Because the book is in alphabetical order these two topics are right next to each other and speak on the same topic: the physical body.

I found it interesting, because the reasons that the author says that smoking is wrong and God would consider it a sin is because the body is a temple of God and you wouldn't want to hurt the temple. Turn the page. This page follows and says that some snacks are good for the body and some are bad, so keep the bad snacks in moderation because the body is a temple. This logic doesn't make sense. If both are bad for the body, then both should be used in moderation or be completely abstained from, unless the Bible speaks definitely against one as sin. Now, with a child I would never tell them to go and smoke, as it is against the law, but I would also never act as if God hates it as though it was in the Bible. There are other topics in the book that are just like this that make me put forth again and again that the parent should not just hand this book over to a child for study, but should really be used by the parent to aid in instruction.

I don't believe this book is all bad, but I just worry on how it will be used. The top left of the cover has the words, "ages 8-12," making it seem as though the book is set up to be given to children and not the parents, which I just can't agree with. Again, if used correctly, this book can be of help, but I worry how this book will be abused and cause kids to just look up topics on certain issues instead of reading the whole of Scripture to understand the story of the Bible is not a "road map of life" but is actually the story of God, saving sinners through the cross of Christ, by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. Recommended with Caution to the Parent's Usage.

Link to Buy:

Crossway

The RED Letters

2009-02-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

The Red Letters, compiled by Tim Beals, for it is hard to say that he is the author as the author here is Christ as they are his words, is a book that, if used correctly, can be of great help. Tim Beals states at the end of his introduction that his "hope is that the red letters become the read letters."

What I really like about the book is that it sets up all the saying of Christ in chronological order in the first part and then by topic in the second part. He also makes sure that he only takes from one of the gospel accounts instead of all four when Christ's words are recorded by every author or multiple authors. Mr. Beals decided to do this to keep the book at a minimum and chose to take whichever account was most thorough in its recording of the words of Christ. I believe the book will be most helpful to take all four gospel accounts of Christ's words and put them in the order that Christ said them, as this can get quite confusing when trying to put them in order yourself. For this, it is quite helpful and will be used by myself when in need of this type of study.

The hard part of this study is that it is quite unreadable. The reason is that it is literally only the words of Christ. So, as one tries to read through it, they miss all the dialogue of the listeners or background information given by the gospel writer. So, while the book might be a great resource for a teacher or one studying the words of Christ, to simply read the book one will be quite frustrated.

The other part that sets this book up for question, but I don't believe is the author's intent is the movement of those who only rely on what Christ states, and dismiss the rest of the Bible as secondary because it isn't in "red letters." While I don't believe that Mr. Beals would accept this idea he does make the point to state that, "My (Mr. Beals) primary incentive is to provide a unique volume that will enable us to become better apprentices of the Master by allowing us to hear directly from him about what matters most." and "By looking at the 'red letters', Jesus' spoken words, we see what is important to him."

These two quotes seem to put forth that the rest of Bible isn't the spoken word of Christ. I have said before that just because it didn't come out of the mouth of Jesus while on earth doesn't mean Christ didn't say it or deem it as important. The danger with the thinking that the only importance that Christ deemed came from his mouth while on earth is that one will put these words above the rest of Scripture. This isn't okay. All Scripture is inspired by God, not just the red letters. While I do not know the convictions of Mr. Beals on this subject, I would suppose that he would not desire his book to be used by "red letter Christians" who put Paul's words, and the other writers of Scripture, as secondary to that of Christ's. This is my main concern with a book that simply puts forth Christ's words with absolutely no commentary on them.

So, the book will be very helpful for those who desire to get to the point of what Christ spoke while on this earth and in what order that happened and the topics he discussed. I just hope that this book isn't taken to mean that the rest of Scripture is secondary and used to show why certain topics or convictions are okay because they aren't "in red" in the Bible. So, I would recommend the book for study and useful help, but would not recommend the book to base one's sole theology on. Recommended.

Link to Buy:

Crossway

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

2009-02-17T09:12:00.000-08:00

This book comes out well before Easter to make sure that you are able to buy it, study it and then teach its truths to others as Easter comes about. The book is laid out to have 25 short teachings and thoughts on the cross of Christ. It has most theologians that you can think of in the Reformed and Calvinistic circles and then also includes at least one I know that wasn't a Calvinist (Adrian Rogers). Most of the chapters are about 3 to 4 pages which include many different angles to look at the cross. The topics range from Christ's humility in Gethsemane, silence among his accusers, our sin putting him on the cross, propitiation, forsaken by God, etc. I am not going to list every theologian and every topic, but I will say that this book is a very good one to help someone as they study further on the cross of Christ. This book is a book of quotable thoughts for any pastor.

Some of my favorites were Martin Luther, C.J. Mahaney, Tim Keller, Adrian Rogers and Augustine. Martin Luther is first up in the book, and in my opinion, it didn't get any better than Luther. I really enjoyed his chapter and found myself continually reading because of his start of the understanding of the "True Contemplation of the Cross." Here is an excerpt from Luther's chapter:

Take this to heart and doubt not that you are the one who killed Christ. Your sins certainly did, and when you see the nails driven through his hands, be sure that you are pounding, and when the thorns pierce his brow, know that they are your evil thoughts. Consider that if one thorn pierced Christ you deserve one hundred thousand.

The whole value of the meditation of the suffering of Christ lies in this, that man should come to the knowledge of himself and sink and tremble. If you are so hardened that you do not tremble, then you have reason to tremble. Pray to God that he may soften your heart and make fruitful your meditation upon the suffering of Christ, for we ourselves are incapable of proper reflection unless God instills it.

But if one does meditate rightly on the suffering of Christ for a day, an hour, or even a quarter of an hour, this we may confidently say is better than a whole year of fasting, days of psalm singing, yes, than even one hundred masses, because this reflection changes the whole man and makes him new…

Martin Luther, p. 12 (taken from Martin Luther's Easter Book)

Although there were some that stood out, there were also some where I couldn't wait to read and they seemed to fall a little flat. Not only tha, there were some that were just plain bizarre where I will either need to study further or just glaze over for the sake of the other chapters. The odd ones were John MacArthur's take on Christ's forgiveness on the cross. He believes that Christ was only asking for the forgiveness of those who would end up believing in Him and not everyone that was at the cross crucifying him. I believe he ends up making his theology read into this part of Scripture a little too much. The other two that I will have to study a little further were J.I. Packer's on Christ descending to hell and also Joseph "Skip" Ryan's chapter on Christ being thirsty. He takes this to mean that Christ was spiritually thirsty and not physically. My first take is that he is trying to stretch this text further than it allows.

Even with these three, the other 22 chapters far outweigh them to keep me from recommending this book. I would recommend this to any who would like a good understanding of the cross from a wide set of generations, convictions and theologians. Just know, that it doesn't get better than Luther's chapter, but that doesn't mean the rest of the book gets "worse." Highly Recommended
Buy the book:

Crossway

Westminster Books

How to Argue Like Jesus

2009-02-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

This book was the first one that I have read from Crossway since being given the chance to review books for them on a regular basis. I asked for this book because of the title. I was a little skeptical on what in the world the writers were trying to convey with the title. What I found as I started to read is that the main title, "How to Argue Like Jesus" was a little misleading and the subtitle, "Learning Persuasion from History's Greatest Communicator" was a more appropriate title for the whole of the book. But, the title did its job, because I wanted to read it. I know I am not the only one who felt this way as Frank Turk described this same frustration.

The book is co-authored by a blogger, Joe Carter which gives us all hope of someday taking our writing to the real world. After getting passed the title and understanding what the book was actually about, which was communication and persuasion, I found the book to be very well done and one that I will have to re-read in the future and use as a reference to make my sermons and teachings more on point of how Christ communicated his eternal truth.

The book is set up to really show you how to communicate effectively and then drawing from the Scriptures to show you specifically how Christ used the same techniques that were put forth in writing by Aristotle. Not only did the authors show forth Christ's words but they also drew from historical events to show the speeches, etc. to bring their points home. In other words, even in writing this book the authors used the techniques presented to display the effectiveness to the reader.

The book from the very beginning shows one the basics of logic and how to employ logic in ones presentation for ideas, whether pastor, businessman or soccer coach. This book is really widespread and for that I allow the small errors in theology to go unmentioned.

The book goes from the basics in communication to the importance of the communicator and his/her life and how they engage their audience. Again, very good practical advice that will aid anyone who communicates to do in a better style. Not only does the book span the normal ideas of persuasion, but at the end of the book they present those qualities of communication that was unique to Christ that we should also take note of. Some of these were (these are only explained in half pages so that is why there is so many):

1. Always employ some sort of good news, even when reporting wholly bad news
2. Start with your audience's needs
3. Start with examples your audience will understand
4. Speak your audience's "language"
5. Never speak about your speech
6. Use Witness
7. Communicate with confidence
8. Get it right
9. Do not boast; act with humility
10. Know when to speak and when to be silent
11. Be enigmatic
12. Listen
13. Ask Questions
14. Just ask (for what you want)
15. When appropriate, stand up to authority
16. Don't bend core principles or standards to gather disciples
17. Create a sense of urgency
18. Remember that a prophet is without honor in his hometown
19. Praise those who do well; express disappointment in those who disappoint you
20. Don't Fear Division
21. Don't Cast your pearls before swine
22. Words Matter

Overall, the last part of the book and the beginning, with logical analysis of Christ's words, were my favorite. The only downfall of the book is that sometimes it seems too mechanic. This is what will happen when trying to convey Jesus as something other than our Saviour. This book is focused on communication, so very little, if anything, is presented about his true mission, which was to save sinners. Because of this, some parts of the book made it sound as though if you do "A" then "B" will happen. Which we know of many pastors who labor long, communicate well, and still have very little in the way of converts or numbers in the congregation. I know that the authors try to convey this at the beginning in one or two sentences but it is hard to shake as you read throughout the book. But, through all this, it does show how complex, and on point, even Christ's words were apart from the work of the Spirit. Just Christ's mere language and communication was nothing short of brilliant, but as we know, and the authors know, we can't stop there with Christ.

I would recommend this highly to any who would like to communicate better to their audience whatever their profession or ministry. I very much liked the book, now it will be about going back for further study on the methods of communication that they put forth. Highly Recommended

Links to Buy:

Crossway

God Gave Wine

2009-02-11T15:10:00.001-08:00

I first read the review of this book over at Bob Hayton's blog and really enjoyed the review and the seemingly thoroughness that Gentry seemed to put forth in the discussion. Because of that Bob and I did a book swap (he received The Reason for God from me) and what I found is exactly what I was hoping.

Kenneth Gentry is a Presbyterian, theonomist and preterist. So, while I don't agree with all his theological convictions, I was still interested in his understanding of this sometimes sensitive topic among Christians. While he doesn't drink anymore because of a medical condition, when he was able to, he only drank about 4 to 5 glasses of wine per year. The reason I say this is that Gentry's book is not put forth for him to be able to continue in a habit that wasn't breakable. This book is simply to show what the Scriptures say about wine and strong drink.

If I were to ask Dr. Gentry to outline the book how I would have desired, I don't think I would have any changes in how he specifically lays this book out. It is exactly what I was looking for.

The chapters are as follows:

1. Introductory Matters

Here, Gentry simply lays out the three main convictions on Alcohol: prohibitionists, abstentionists and the moderationist. He also tells a little about the three authors that he will be refuting throughout the rest of the book as they have been the ones to most loudly try and refute the biblical understanding of drinking and the Bible.

2. The Bible and Alcohol Abuse

Gentry makes sure, in this chapter, that he speaks out against alcoholism and drunkenness. He lays this out so that no one confuses the moderationist as one who condones drinking without regard.

3. The Old Testament and Alcohol Use

This chapter is exactly as the heading alludes to. Gentry goes through the three different terms that are used for alcohol in the OT: yayin, shekar, tirosh and 'asis. He shows how each of these are alcoholic and that none of them simply mean grape juice or some watered down wine.

4. The New Testament and Alcohol Use

This chapter flows directly from the previous one. Here Gentry speaks on the verses that use the two terms for wine in the Greek: oinos and gleukos. He then goes into showing that the Lord's Supper used alcoholic wine, that Jesus drank wine and that Paul and apostles never allude to the prohibition against wine. He spends some time on the miracle of Cana and dispels any myths regarding the "old wine" vs "new wine."

5. Alleged Negative Passages

Gentry takes head on the passages that might seem at first glance to be in the negative, but in fact are far from it. The passages that Gentry spends time on are Leviticus 10:8-11; Numbers 6:2-6; Judges 13:4; Proverbs 20:1; 21:17; 23:31-32; Isaiah 5:21-22; Jeremiah 35:6; Hosea 7:5. He takes each one of these and makes sure the reader sees the context and points to the overall understanding of them. Very good chapter.

6. Bible Teaching on Christian Liberty

After one is done reading the previous 5 chapters, one could still appeal to the fact that it isn't whether or not we can drink alcohol, but should we drink because of our culture and weaker brother. Gentry spends much of this chapter in Romans 14 breaking down the understanding of this passage and also Pauline theology of weaker brothers elsewhere. He also draws from the fact of Christ drinking and the apostles drinking for further reason why total abstention isn't the answer to this.

7. Common Objections Considered

The objections after all else is said, have almost been answered already. Here he handles the objection of the following:

The Potential Alcoholic
How Much is Too Much?
Alcohol and Health
Alcohol and the Christian Witness
Thinning Wine with Water (he destroys this notion and makes it almost laughable from a Scriptural standpoint)

Overall this book is very well done. Gentry takes the reader to almost, if not every verse that deals with wine and strong drink in the Bible. The conclusion one should come to after the reading and understanding of the Hebrew, Greek and context should be that the Christian is not to be held to a prohibition of alcohol. I personally know of some who have decided to abstain for their own reasons and that is their conviction and one that they hold for themselves and not others. But, to preach against alcohol and plead with Scripture for proof, one will come away looking quite silly. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know what the Bible says about alcohol and how it was used in the Scriptures. Highly Recommended

Buy from Kenneth Gentry's Site

Can God Be Trusted?

2009-02-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

I received this book from InterVarsity Press and really had no background to the book or it's author. The full title is "Can God Be Trusted?: Faith and the Challenge of Evil." This was one of the few times where I had no idea what theological convictions were of the author as he wrote. After reading the book, I am still left confused for the most part on his theological convictions on quite a few important orthodoxies.

The author, John Stackhouse, breaks the book down in two parts:

Part I: Problems (This is where evil is discussed)

Part II: Responses

I went back and forth with this book as I read it as to whether or not I would recommend it to anyone. Let me hit some of the strong points in the book and then I will hit some of the weak points.

Some of the strong parts of the book is that Stackhouse does a good job in defining and describing faith. One can tell that he has read some Schaeffer (or at least Schaeffer's sources) on this point, because his thoughts on faith remind me much of what I have read from Schaeffer on faith. Stackhouse does a good job of showing that faith is not a leap, but one that is based on at least some, if not quite a bit of, knowledge of the thing or person one puts faith in.

Stackhouse also does a good job of speaking to those whom the book is probably offered, which is the non-Christian. He speaks to them in their terms, gives respect to other religions where respect is due, and also is very open and honest about the struggles within Christendom. Within this, he also asks some very good questions to those who are non-Christians within the understanding of evil. He actually switches the question at one point to say if we think we can ask, "Why is there so much evil?" we have to also ask the question, "Why is there so much good?" I really enjoyed his discussion on that topic. He does open up some further questions for the skeptic, or the searcher, that they (actually all of us) need to ask at some point to come to an understanding of what we believe and why.

Those are the good points.

As a Christian, there was much to be alarmed at. I really don't know what theological convictions John Stackhouse has at this point. His answer to evil was quite troubling. He said that the reason there is evil was pointed to the fact of free will in all men. At one point saying that God "took a risk when creating humans with free will." This is a big stumbling block for me and this book. I am not sure how a sovereign God, who knows all things can take risks. His basic answer to why there is evil, is simply because of free will. He uses, somewhat, Alvin Plantinga's Free Will Defense to answer the question how God could be good, all powerful and still have evil exist. Free will in this book is taken as mere fact, with no Scriptural proof at all. The only time that predestination is mentioned is when speaking of the theologies of Calvin and Luther, as though it was their theology that wasn't found in the Bible. This mention lasts only 2 pages. What Stackhouse overlooks is the fact that predestination is mentioned in the Bible where the idea of moral free will is never mentioned apart from Adam and Eve. He continues this thought with the angels in heaven having free will and that is why they fell, and that while in heaven we will all have free will but will only choose good because of all the good before us. The question comes, "Does this mean we can fall like the angels did because of our free will?" The answer has to be yes in Stackhouse's system. Which is completely false. Quite the conundrum, especially when trying to defend that God is all powerful and evil can exist. I am not saying this makes the answer easy, but at least it is biblical.

The above is the one that really had me perplexed and one that made me question the book as a whole, but then it continued in other areas. Stackhouse would sometimes open up a can of worms without defending them but would just say, "a lot of Christians (or theists) believe..." and then leave it. He did this with the following things:

The doctrine of hell being annihilation

Whether the Old Testament should be taken as literally true. At one point saying he is just being candid and then adding, "Doesn't this all sound unbelievable, like a fairy story for kids rather than a serious explanation of reality for adults?"

The Idea of macroevolution being true

He doesn't defend Original Sin, but says that it has been debated historically

It was hard to hear him open up these topics without really commenting on them. He just would say something about them and move on (besides original sin, which he went on to describe a sort of middle ground), leaving the reader confused of why he would mention it in the first place. What then happens is one wonders what Stackhouse's actual convictions are in these areas.

Beyond those things, the things that had me concerned were his positive affirmations. Those were as follows:

His belief that the Protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15) was not really a pronouncement of the gospel, or meant to be understood spiritually at all, but should be taken as simply a curse on the snake. He says that "later interpreters have seen all of this as having to do with spiritual warfare between Satan and humanity, but the text itself is enigmatic. "

He also states that he believes that although the Gospel writers agree on the whole and overarching understanding of who Christ was, that they sometimes vary and contradict each other in some details. Through this we can see that Stackhouse must not believe in the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture.

As an added frustration, there are times when Stackhouse seems to defend, or at least acknowledge in part, that Christians, Contemporary Jews and Muslims all worship the same God. This seems to be a case to bring parties into agreement when there are too many lines of separation to do so.

Overall, this book will frustrate many, as it did myself. Just when you think it is getting good, he throws some odd curve ball into the mix that confuses things. I just can't get passed the bad to see the good in recommending this book to people. Although the description of faith and the resurrection are well done, the discussion of God's risk with free will, annihilation, OT kid stories, original sin, macroevolution, the Protoevangelium and the infallibility and inerrancy of God's word puts too much junk into the discussion. I cannot in my right mind recommend this book for reading. There is too much other good reading on the subjects at hand to have to wade through the bad theology in this book to get to the traditional and correct orthodoxy. Not Recommended.
Buy from:

InterVarsity Press

Christian Mission in the Modern World

2009-02-02T18:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have read John Stott, but this was definitely a book that will make me read more of him. This book is a necessity for anyone that considers themself a missiologist or is wanting a deeper look into what it means for us Christians to be in the world. Stott hammers away in only 190 pages so much depth that any review will leave the subject at hand wanting in a desperate way. It is still hard to believe that this was first written in 1975 as he hits some people today straight between the eyes with his theological and practical conclusions (myself included).

Stott hits on five subjects and really pinpoints them further for great discussion.

The Five Subjects that he hits are:

1. Mission

Stott breaks down the two movements that are most abused, which are evangelism only ministries and social action only ministries. After breaking down why neither of these are correct, he blends the two to show the biblical aspect of how these two need to work together, not separate.

2. Evangelism

Stott lays out what must be considered in evangelism. He shows the priority, the meaning and then unpacks what must be included while presenting the gospel according to Christ and the apostles.

3. Dialogue

In this chapter, Stott again shows the two extremes in dialogue. One where the dialogue is so open that you can't tell that a Christian is in the conversation and the other being where the Christian believes that no dialogue should be had with other religions. Stott shows a balanced view to this and gives great examples how this can work and has worked.

4. Salvation

Stott works to find the biblical answer to what this term means in the Scriptures. He works through what salvation truly is and the areas of difference within this. Some of these would be salvation from political oppression, salvation of sickness and poverty, etc. Then Stott answers the question of salvation theologically and shows why salvation is more than just what we see, but is really the salvation of what we don't see. Namely, salvation from God's wrath in regards to hell.

5. Conversion

In this chapter Stott gives a precedence for conversion to the Christian faith. He fights against the universalists and also those who believe that there is no need to be converted to Christianity because Christ can be found in other religions as well. After this defense, Stott then shows what one is converted to when converted to Christianity.

This book is so well rounded and Stott unpacks the extremes in each case above to even the heretical. He then gives the biblical reasons to balance the extremes or to deny the heretical and comes to conclusions. The arguments are very well thought out and linear so that the reader can follow very easily and understand the concepts and defenses put forth by Stott. I would urge any pastor or missionary to pick up this book. This book is something that would have helped the start of my study on the church's mission before going to deeper studies that I have already looked at. I would hope that people that are in the emergent circles (Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, etc) and also in the IFB circles would pick up this book to see their errors in the thought of Christian mission. Overall, this "introduction" is a great balanced approach to our mission as Christians as we work, minister, educate and evangelize the world as we know it today. Whether one is abroad or in their own back yard, this book lays a great foundation so that one sees their errors of extremism in any of the above named topics. Highly Recommended.

Buy at:

InterVarsity Press

Westminster Books

Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism

2009-01-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

This small book by Iain Murray is one that puts forth a history of Charles Spurgeon's preaching ministry in the midst of great fire against him by other churches in England that were Hyper-Calvinistic in their doctrines.

Iain Murray gives a quick biography on Spurgeon to give the reader a better understanding of where he came from and to catch the reader up to why this conflict was of a serious nature to the Baptist faith at the time. I found it amazing how much Spurgeon was having to fight off from guys that he deeply respected and found to be friends of some sort. The main quibbles that these men, James Wells in particular, had with Spurgeon was that Spurgeon believed in the following:

1. That the gospel should be preached to all men, not just those whom were the elect or had some sort of experience to tell them that they were being drawn by the Spirit

2. What we would call duty faith. Meaning Spurgeon believed in telling his hearers that they should repent, that it was their duty to believe in Christ, etc. Wells and others believed Spurgeon was charging men with something that they could not do.

3. Duty faith tied into human responsibility. Spurgeon believed that human responsibility was real and that it was their responsibility to turn from their sin and to love Jesus. Again, Wells and others believed that this responsibility was not for every man, only those who were "heavy-laden" and felt the Holy Spirit's working within them.

4. The last problem they had with Spurgeon was his belief that God desires for all men, not just the elect, to repent and be saved. This is still a huge discussion with many in the Reformed faith. Some siding with Spurgeon (myself included) and others still siding with Gill and Wells.

The book sets up to show the arguments against Spurgeon and the many writings against him in the various publications around England. There were many claims against Spurgeon because of the above stated beliefs. Because of this, many claimed that Spurgeon was an Arminian and did not believe in God's elected love or in total depravity.

After the charges are shown, the arguments are then put forth to show Spurgeon's responses to these charges, which mostly come from his sermons. I found this to be of great help in the understanding of God's desire for all and also a return to the days of old when verses that included the term "all" were not twisted to mean "some sorts" or "some sorts of different classes of men" etc. Throughout the book Spurgeon shows his honesty in the difficulty of putting all these doctrines together and that there is a good middle ground between the Arminian and the Hyper-Calvinist.

Spurgeon also shows great respect for both the Arminians and the Hyper-Calvinist. Where James Wells said that John Wesley went to hell, Spurgeon gives praise for the gospel preaching of Wesley. Also, John Gill is referred many times as the teacher for the Hypers and at one time called the proverbial head of Hyper-Calvinism, yet Spurgeon still shows much respect for him and also his contemporaries that held to Gill's positions.

The sub-heading for this book is "The Battle for Gospel Preaching" and I found it to be a very appropriate title. If anyone is interested in what historic Calvinism teaches, this is a great primer on the understanding. I would disagree with Spurgeon and Murray's thoughts on the extent of the atonement, but because of their graciousness and admittance that they didn't/don't understand how it could fit with the universal call, I can still recommend this book. They, Murray and Spurgeon, are very honest with their confusion of how limited atonement works within God's universal call for all to repent.

This book deals openly and honestly about the hard doctrines of the faith. It deals honestly with passages like John 3:16, Matthew 23:37; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3,4 and the hoops one has to jump through to make this fit within their theology if they don't take 'all' to simply mean, 'all.'

If you have been approached by a Hyper-Calvinist, want a defense against a Hyper-Calvinist, or you just want to understand more of the heart of true Calvinism, I would highly recommend this book. Spurgeon is very gracious in his defenses, yet puts forth the truth. Link to Buy.

A Christian Manifesto

2009-01-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

This book was definitely one of the more political ones of Schaeffer's. This came towards the end of his life when he was very upset, understandably, over Roe v. Wade and the abolition of anti-abortion laws by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was done well and one that had many great arguments of why we shouldn't really be surprised at what is happening because of the allowance of secular humanism becoming so rampant in our schools and among our society as a whole (in practice anyways).

Like most of Schaeffer, he does very well at showing historically why we are dealing with these issues as a whole. He shows how this country was set up, although not as a Christian one, one that obviously drew from a distinctively Christian mindset. From there, he shows the historical shift that began to take place when the humanist manifesto made it's debut in 1933 and from there the downfall was set in motion. From there, the 1st amendment started to be interpreted differently than the Founding Fathers had in mind and then the 60's started living out the humanist manifesto and we, as a nation, never looked back.

Schaeffer shows why it is necessary for countries to believe in a moral law giver and not in the humanist call that every man decide, in their context, what is right and wrong. Schaeffer actually shows masterfully why abortion is the greatest way that the humanist manifesto has shown itself in our culture. What else should we expect from people who believe that it is up to the person to decide what is right and wrong? Now one can murder their child, because they deem that it is right within their context and for their life. Although deplorable, should not surprise us.

From there Schaeffer gives a historical and biblical understanding of when it is okay to show civil disobedience to a government who goes against God's decrees. Although I don't agree with all his points and he even admittedly states that some will take what he writes beyond the bounds he means them to go, I can see the fruitfulness of this discussion and his reasons.

The one thing that I found to be disturbing within the context of abortion is that he gives four defenses that all Christians should take up for the child. The problem is that these four defenses are all against the government and none against the actual people murdering their children. He points to how to try and fight against a government who allows this murder to happen, but does not show anyway to rise up against the actual murderers of their children. He does this throughout the book on the whole though. He talks about government as a whole, instead of the individual. This is definitely a short coming in the book. Until people are transformed, we can try and change as many laws as we want, but we will come up well short of the overall goal: transforming people to live for the glory of God.

Overall, the book is definitely a political one more than an apologetics book. It is a book where I found myself in agreement and also disagreement, but overall found it useful. As usual Schaeffer wrote this and it sounds like he was living today and not close to 30 years ago. Most of what Schaeffer has forecasted is now happening and it is very close to come to a place to where the Christian voice will be silenced completely. Until then, we must preach, teach and transform the lives of people, not just government. Recommended. Link to Buy

Porn-Again Christian

2009-01-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

I took some time yesterday to read Driscoll's online book, Porn Again Christian. This is a small booklet speaking about an issue that most pastors get caught doing more than they preach against it.

Driscoll who took a small hiatus from crass and sharp words in his book "Death by Love" comes back hard against all the pansies with their hands down their pants while looking at women that aren't their wives. I mean Driscoll brings it hard and I personally believe that this kind of wording is exactly what these guys need that are hooked on porn.

Driscoll shows why porn is a sin, both outside of marriage and outside of marriage. he not only shows why it is wrong, but he also shows some of the affects of porn on society as a whole and some aftermaths because of it. Namely in the story of Ted Bundy, prostitution, sex slavery,etc.

Driscoll lays out first and foremost some straight up theology on the fear of the Lord. He starts here as this is where wisdom begins. He then works from here to why porn is wrong within the context of understanding that it is intertwined with lust which is condemned by Christ. After this he goes into masturbation, both the ways that it is sin and the way that it is NOT sin. The ways that he deals with in the context of correct usage of masturbation is within the context of marriage.

The next chapter deals with some very frank questions and answers that are harsh at times and just straight up funny. One of the questions comes from a husband that asks, "What do I do if my wife wants to have more sex than I do?" Driscoll answers, "Don’t tell your buddies or they will mock you incessantly for the rest of your life after staring at you blankly without blinking for about an hour in total silence. Do have sex with your wife as often as she likes and thank God."

He ends his main part of the book with those who believe they are the exception to lust and porn. He does this by putting forth an excerpt of James Dobson's interview with Ted Bundy before he was to be executed. I have seen the interview before, but the reminders were astounding to read once more. For one to think they are the exception to the rule with porn is a slippery slope to get to.

After the last chapter, Driscoll has an appendix with 5 different topics. He does this because of how many of his readers and listeners are overseas in the military. He really drives home the point of the prostitution and sex slavery that happens around the military bases. These different appendixes were very eye opening and disturbing as well. The hope is make sure that the military men stop with these acts of indecency, understanding that they are not only hurting themselves but actually supporting sex slavery around their camps.

This book does not hold back. I would reserve this for men who are at least 18 years old to read on. The only time I would think it would be okay for someone younger is if the parent is willing to read and discuss with their child as well. I greatly appreciate Driscoll for not caring what is the norm with preaching but instead, doing what he knows is right in the eyes of God. This subject affects about 50% of males, so to not talk about it is like ignoring half the flock of God. Highly Recommended (with caution).

Read Online: Porn Again Christian

Download PDF: Porn Again Christian

Buy the Book: Porn Again Christian

Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks with Oscar Wilde

2009-01-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

This was a book that was given to me at Christmas. I wasn't too sure about it and it still is kind of strange to put words in the mouth of Christ. The book is set up on the death bed of famous playwright and bi-sexual, Oscar Wilde. It opens with him and his lover/friend Robert Ross speaking to each other when Wilde then goes to the cemetery and encounters the "gardener" who ends up being Christ. Through the book, Christ and Wilde speak about many things and Christ also brings in a hero of Wilde's, Blaise Pascal, to show him his faults and the victory in Christ.

You can pick up on some of Ravi Zacharias' apologetic defenses in the discourses and I find them to be very interesting to be read in conversation form.

The idea of the book is a good one, but I am still not sure how I feel in having Christ portrayed as visiting someone for a conversation of their life. Theologically, this book misses on some points and I am trying to figure out if I can forgive that misstep for the overall premise to the book as a whole. I actually enjoyed reading this mock conversations with our Saviour, the greatest mathematician to ever live, and the man who put living for yourself and your sensuality on the map. It seemed honest with something real about it. Dr. Zacharias used many quotes directly from the Scriptures and from Oscar Wilde himself to draw out the conversation so that it wasn't totally made up.

Dr. Zacharias is very poignant in his discussion on God's order and how God meant pleasures to be handled. Ravi was very clear on these points so that none could see Jesus being dismissive with the gross immorality that was Oscar Wilde's life. The way that Ravi handles this conversation though is with truth and grace, something we could all learn as we handle those outside of the faith and entranced with sin.

Although it was an interesting read and one that I wouldn't mind giving to someone else, I am not sure that it will be one that will be cherished or remembered. I like the layout, if I can get passed the mock words of Jesus, so I probably will pick up some of the other conversations with Jesus that Ravi has done. I can't say I would recommend this book, but I wouldn't keep someone from reading it either.

On the Incarnation

2009-01-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

I was parusing the local "Christian" book store, I put that in quotes because when you have TD Jakes on the shelf one has to wonder where this store draws the line. I am guessing it is drawn on profit margin. Anyways, I found a small book on their "classics" bookshelf by Athanasius. I wanted to pick up this book so that I could read one of the greatest defenders of God incarnate in our history. I have read many quotes by Athanasius and also read some biographies on Athanasius, but I had never taken up the task to read any of his works. I am glad I decided to do so.

On the Incarnation is very well put together and I wish that more people would put together their argumentation for Christ in this way. Athanasius wrote this book sometime probably in his youth in the early 4th century to his friend, new to the faith, named Macarius.

To prove the incarnation of God the Word, Athanasius starts at Creation and the Fall, continues with the Divine dilemma and its solution in the incarnation, the death of Christ, the resurrection and then ends with refuting the Jews and Gentiles.

The letter to his friend is very easily set up and the use of logic as a defense and offense of argumentation is done very well. He not only does this, but also uses the Scriptures (a lot) and external proofs to lay out his argumentation for the incarnation of God through Christ.

I was expecting this read to be very laborious, but the translation is done very well and makes for an easy, yet edifying read. By the time the reader gets to the refutation of the Jews and Gentiles the arguments have been laid out so well that these arguments are not difficult to prove. Although some of these would not hold water now, as Athanasius does employ the fruits of conversion of people as proof. Using this same logic one could point to Mormomism and Islam in the same light. Even with this, the way that he shows these proofs is still very interesting to read and look to as great reminders of what Christ and the Holy Spirit were doing in the early years of Christianity.

What I like most about this book is that I was still able to glean much truth from it even though it was written 1700 years ago. I was able to take a glimpse into life in the 4th century and to see what was happening in early Christianity and watch a messenger of God put forth the great Gospel truths.

This book is still for readers and apologists today and shows why Athanasius was one of the most intelligent and used men of God. Highly Recommended.

Death By Love

2008-12-12T09:35:00.000-08:00

I have read much of what Driscoll has written and also listened to many of his sermons, including the ones that are associated with this book. But, it seems as though Driscoll shows thoroughly his love for his people in this book entitled, Death By Love: Letters from the Cross. Many people have had issues with Driscoll's past books, either with his choice of terms, descriptions of theological dialogues, and even some ways that he has "counseled" people in the past. But, it will be very difficult for pastors and congregants to have much to quibble about in this book.

In Death by Love, Driscoll lays out the theological implications of the cross in letter form. What he has done is chosen different counseling situations that he has encountered in the past and then writes a "formal" letter to that person so that they can see what Christ has done for them to get through the situation that they find themselves in.

What one will find is that this is classic Driscoll. He is kind when he is needed to be kind and he is very straight forward when that is needed as well. This is why many have enjoyed Driscoll throughout the years is because he doesn't pussy foot around tough issues but hits them head on. There is no difference in this book. This book deals with real people, in real situations, with very real problems. Driscoll handles this very well without demeaning the person or the glory of Christ. I would tell each and every person, pastor or layman that deals in counseling to pick up this book to see how a true man of God counsels in the most difficult situations imaginable. To give you a glimpse of what I mean, here are the chapter headings:

I. Demons are Tormenting Me: Jesus is Katie's Christus Victor

II. Lust is My God: Jesus is Thomas' Redemption

III. My Wife Slept with My Friend: Jesus is Luke's New Covenant Sacrifice

IV. I am a "Good" Christian: Jesus is David's Gift Righteousness

V. I Molested a Child: Jesus is John's Justification

VI. My Dad Used to Beat Me: Jesus is Bill's Propitiation

VII. He Raped Me: Jesus is Mary's Expiation

VIII. My Daddy is a Pastor: Jesus is Gideon's Unlimited Limited Atonement

IX. I am Going to Hell: Jesus is Hank's Ransom

X. My Wife Has a Brain Tumor: Jesus is Caleb's Christus Exemplar

XI. I Hate My Brother: Jesus is Kurt's Reconciliation

XII. I Want to Know God: Jesus is Susan's Revelation

Driscoll handles each one of these with a Reformed perspective with much grace. One chapter above is especially personal when Driscoll handles "My Daddy is a Pastor." This chapter is written to his one and a half year old son, Gideon. This is a great chapter to read where Driscoll lets the reader into his personal life and what goes on behind closed doors.

After each chapter above Dr. Gerry Breshears handles the common questions to each. He does this succinctly so that the answers are not over burdensome, but get straight to the point with much detail and precision.

Again, I highly recommend this to anyone who is handling counseling situations or has dealt with, or dealing with, any of the situations mentioned in the above chapters. For further information about this book, you can check out the homepage here. Link to Buy

Apologetics to the Glory of God

2008-12-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

This is the first book of John Frame's that I have read and I will have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very well done and covers a lot of ground in a mere 250 pages. Although you can tell that Frame and Schaeffer have a lot in common, the way that they write is thoroughly different. Schaeffer focuses in on showing the historical understanding of thought and then showing the holes and practice of those in the past, while Frame skips all that and goes more general in thought and shows the holes in the thoughts of the atheist, the agnostic and the practical atheist. The former is one who says there is a god but lives like there is none.

I haven't read much of Van Til, but what I have read, I figured that Frame would be a lot like him and give him much praise. While I didn't find the direct opposite in Frame, Frame was very honest when he found Van Til to be lacking and where he found him to be strong. Van Til was known to stay mainly on the defensive and poking holes in the atheist's arguments, but rarely, if ever, went offensive with the atheist. Frame showed both, like Schaeffer did.

Frame's book is technical in parts but also very readable and very enjoyable. He opens up with showing the basics of apologetics and then he goes into showing what the apologist must show while writing or speaking to others. He, like Schaeffer and many others, points to the metaphysical (the study of being), epistimology (the study of knowledge) and ethics.

After giving this lengthy defense, he then shows the gospel as proof and then gives a lengthy answer to the problem of evil. Through this answer he shows that the previous answers to evil, although sometimes helpful, don't really give the final or most thorough answers in of themselves. What he does show is that they almost all have some of the answer, but not the complete answer to the problem of evil. I do like his honest answer in the end to evil though. He simply says that we can give some explanation to evil, but we really don't know the entirety of the answer of why there is evil.

After this section, the final section is devoted to showing why the gospel is true and he does so in a way that I have yet to see. He biblically walks one through the entirety of the Bible to show the problem of man and sin and the redemption of man through Christ. Through this he also dismantles other religions in a few sentences as though they were a mere sidebar to the discussion.

The final chapter is a mock conversation to guide the reader. Admittedly, Frame says this conversation is a bit simplistic and "perfect" in responses from both the defender of the gospel and the opposer. What I found to be helpful in this discussion is that it really served as a conclusion and recap to the entirety of the book.

I truly enjoyed this book and will be one that I continually go to, to aid in my discussions with others that oppose the faith. I will be now picking up some more Frame books to add to my collection and will put him in the top scholars of our era in regards to presuppositional apologetics. I highy recommend this book to any who are looking to answer the tough questions posed by the atheist or seekers of our Saviour. Link to Buy

Escape from Reason

2008-11-21T09:26:00.000-08:00

Francis Schaeffer admits that this small book overlaps much of his book titled The God Who is There. What Schaeffer does in this small treatise is give a glimpse on the impact that Thomas Aquinas had on the thinking about nature and grace. Meaning that before Aquinas much of what was thought about God and the heavenlies were never pictured in any way besides mere symbols. For instance, before Aquinas, Mary and Jesus were never portrayed as real bodies with a physical element, but were only allowed to be pictured using symbols. As well as this, nature held no interest to the artist and were never pictured at all in art in any way. This came from the fact that before Aquinas, to simply climb a mountain for the sake of climbing a mountain had never been done.

Out of this nature started to have more meaning for people, which if taken from a biblical perspective can be good in so far we speak of stewardship, but what we find is that from this time on, nature took on more of a role than Aquinas would have thought.

In the Escape from Reason Schaeffer shows how from the start of Aquinas and the Renaissance nature started to depart from the Scriptural understanding of its place among men. So, art, poetry, theatre, etc. took from this and lead us down the road of being completely autonomous from God, where nature ended up "eating up grace" so that it was completely free from the God who created it and us.

Schaeffer goes to show the history of this thought and then gives the better understanding through the Reformation and the Scriptures. Namely, that the only way that man can be the most free is within the "constraints" of the knowledge given by the personal, communicable triune God of the Christian bible.

Even though much of this was overlapped from The God Who is There, this book was still very worth the read and gives greater understanding of how, from Aquinas on, nature and autonomy took a dangerous turn from the freedom found in God, and turned instead to an autonomy apart from Him. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

The God Who Is There

2008-11-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

This is the first book of Schaeffer's that I have read, and I must say, I am pretty excited to continue to learn from this godly evangelist. In The God Who Is There, Schaeffer weaves in and out of so many philosophical systems and history that it is quite impossible to list it all in a book review. Schaeffer is definitely a classic presuppositional apologist. Meaning that he tries to get the listener or reader to get to the very reason they believe in the certain system that they believe in. He then points out their holes in their arguments and shows how Christianity is the better and most reasonable option there is in philosophical thought. Most of this argument comes from Romans 1:18 where it states,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

If they suppress the truth, that means that the truth is definitely inside them, as they are made in the image of God, their Creator.

In The God Who Is There, Schaeffer shows how the modern man has woven himself through philosophy, art, music, theatre, movies, etc. After showing how this has been done throughout history, Schaeffer shows that the "leap of faith" does not happen in Christianity, but actually in humanism, or modern atheism. Schaeffer explains it this way:

Of course, faith is needed to become a Christian, but there are two concepts concerning faith. The two ideas of faith run like this: One idea of faith would be a blind leap in the dark. A blind leap in which you believe something with no reason (or no adequate reason), you just believe it. This is what I mean by a blind leap of faith. The other idea of faith, which has no relationship with this, none whatsoever, is that you are asked to believe something and bow before that something on the basis of good and adequate reasons. There is no relationship between those two concepts of faith. The biblical concept of faith is very much the second and not the first. You are not asked to believe in a blind leap of faith. The Bible teaches that there are good and sufficient reasons to know that these things are true. If you examine the ministry of Paul and also of Christ, you find they endlessly answered questions. There was no concept here of "Keep quiet, just believe"; it just does not exist. Paul answered the questions of the non-Jews, he was always answering questions; and the book of Romans certainly answered the questions of those without the Bible as well as of those with it. There are good and sufficient reasons to know that these things are true. We have already with the fact of reality and everybody having to deal with reality; (1) the existence of the universe and its form; (2) the dinstinctiveness of man; (3) you can relate these to a third thing, and that is the examination of the historicity of Scripture Francis Schaeffer

This is what the book aims to answer. Not only does Schaeffer answer these through the understanding of the triune God of historic Christianity, but he shows how humanism, or atheism, cannot fully answer these questions, therefore, they are the ones taking the "blind leap of faith", not Christianity. There is so much in this book that I did not mention, but Schaeffer had a strong conviction that the Christian cannot live in a castle with a moat, but must be among the culture to help answer the question of those that desire to know the answer to the question, "Why are we here?" He resonates much of what I desire to do within the ministries that God has given me and the convictions of my heart.

I very much enjoyed this book and would recommend anyone desiring to take up the challenge to read Schaeffer as well. I do not think that this is the only answer to the understanding of the existence of God, but believe it helps move us all in the right direction. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens

2008-10-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

Although I do not have any teenagers in my house, I thought it would be better to read this book too early, instead of too late. I believe I was right. This book reminds me a lot of Tedd Tripp’s book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart, but with an emphasis on teens and how to relate to the teenage populace.

I truly enjoyed the honesty and also the way in which Dr. Tripp directs us as parents at the heart instead of our children instead of fixing mere actions. Usually, we as parents believe all is well if our children would just obey us, whether they are obeying us for the right reasons or not is a totally different question. Paul’s book sets up so the parent gets to the teen’s heart so that they obey based on their love of the glory of God rather than merely trying to follow rules that are set up. What this will do is drive critical thinking in the teen so that they can make decisions for themselves in different situations and will not need to know, “did my mom and dad say specifically I couldn’t do this or that?” Instead they will strive to seek the Lord’s will and ask, “In what way does this decision either glorify God or take away from it?”

The book is set up in three parts:

Part I: Clearing the Debris

In this first part Dr. Tripp is really trying to lay the foundation of the family and how God desires it to be set up. He speaks to those involved (parent and teen) and also speaks to the parent understanding the teen so that the next parts of the book can fall into place. I sincerely appreciate the chapter on “Whose Idols Are in the Way?” Dr. Tripp drives home the importance for us as parents to seek out our idols and destroy them so that our discipline and time with our children becomes godly, instead of reactionary.

Part II: Setting Godly Goals

This is really the practical part of the book. After laying out the foundation Dr. Tripp shows what should be important for every godly parent. He helps show forth how to disciple your children to have godly convictions towards culture and wisdom in how to respond. The idea behind this chapter is so that when that day comes where the teen leaves home, you can be confident that your work in them has been accomplished and they are ready to decipher the world through godly vision.

Part III: Practical Strategies for Parenting Teens

This last part is only 40 pages of the 253 page book. It seems to be more of a wrap up instead of completely new ideas. It seems to be more of a conclusion than a separate part. Part II and Part III really bleed together to make the last half of the book the practical wisdom given from Dr. Tripp to the readers.

One of my favorite discussions in the whole of the book was found in chapter 11. Dr. Tripp sets up four verbs for parents who desire to model Christ to their teen. I believe a quick synopsis of this will give you an overall feel for how the book is laid out.

They are:

Accept: We are to accept our sinful children with the grace of Christ. We are not to enable their sin, but we are also not to be judgmental parents who are condemning to the teen. When condemnation and judgmental attitudes prevail the teen will shut themselves off and never feel as though they can openly communicate to the parent.

Incarnate: As Christ was incarnate God to the world and to us, so too we are to incarnate Christ to our children. We are to reveal love, grace, patience, gentleness, kindness, etc. and continue to show them the gospel in deeds instead of merely words.

Identify: (my favorite part of the entire book) Hebrews 2:10 says that Christ was not ashamed to call us brothers and we should not be ashamed to call our teens, brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be able to identify with them in their sin. We should not be ones who would ever say, “I can’t believe you would do that, I would never have done that.” If this statement is actually true, the parent is not a sinner saved by grace, but a Pharisee who sees themselves as greater than others by their works. To identify with the teen will show them that you too struggle with sin, and you can show them who you go to for comfort and forgiveness in that sin: Christ Jesus our Saviour. Without the reminder that we too are sinners, the teen will believe that you cannot relate and will run away from you during their struggles instead of running to you.

Enter: As Christ entered our world and culture for 33 years, so we too should enter the world that our teenager lives in. This means seeking them out, even if it is uncomfortable. Asking them questions and listening to what drives them, what discourages them, what excites them, what they struggle with and the temptations that they face every day. When we seek them out to find out where they are coming from, we show them that we truly have an interest in who they are and what they face instead of trying to just pigeon hole them into whoever we think that they should be and what they should be facing. It shows that we truly have interest and value them.

I truly enjoyed this book and believe it is of great help to any who have teens now or who will be having teens soon. Dr. Tripp continues to humble the parent and drive them to the greatest desire: to parent for the glory of Christ, not for the glory of the parent. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

On the Old Testament

2008-09-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is the first book in the series of small books from Mark Driscoll titled, "A book you'll actually read..." This book is for the purpose of a beginner trying to understand the Old Testament and to do it in roughly an hour of reading. This is obviously just a starter book to get a quick understanding of some important topics that discuss the background of the Old Testament.

The book is broken up in three parts and actually covers a lot of material, not exhaustively, but still provides a Reformed understanding of the Old Testament. The three parts are:

I. Answers to Nine Common Questions about the Old Testament

Who wrote the Old Testament?

What does the Old Testament say about the Old Testament?

What does the New Testament say about the Old Testament?

What does Jesus say about the Old Testament?

How were the Old Testament books chosen as Scripture?

What is the central message of the Old Testament?

How did we get the Old Testament in English?

Why are there different Bible translations?

II. How to Read the Old Testament

In this section Pastor Driscoll gives a quick, like two or three sentence quick, synopsis of every book in the Old Testament. He spends a little more time on discussing the Pentateuch overall and the overall understanding of Prophets and what they were used for. My only "gripe" would be that he leaned more on the "Inward testimony of the Holy Spirit" to discern false prophets. I think this can be very dangerous if this is the way that we test them. He did give other ways, but by ending as this being the way we can do this today, left me scratching my head how this would transfer to a new Christian.

III. Appendix 1: Building a Theological Library

This is a great resource. Driscoll gives a clear and distinct way to build a library for the student of Scripture. He gives the book, the title, and usually why it is an outstanding resource. This is actually worth getting the book alone.

Buy the book, read it, and then give it to a new Christian or someone looking into reading the Bible. Well worth it and they will, as the title suggests, actually read it. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy.

The Law and Its Fulfillment: A Pauline Theology of Law

2008-09-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

This book was very well done. Whether or not you agree with Dr. Schreiner or not, you will definitely get an exegetical explanation of the understanding of Pauline Theology and Law. Mostly, this book was a polemic against Sanders and others that try and show that Pauline theology when looking to law is not only controversial, but contradictory to his own writings and others.

Although this book was written in 1993 and deals primarily with older works by Sanders and no new works by N.T. Wright, Schreiner gives great explanation of why Pauline writings were indeed writing and preaching against a legalistic Judaism. Sanders, and now N.T. Wright, both try and point to the fact that Second Temple Judaism was not legalistic, but saw its works as an outworking of loving the grace of God. Schreiner shows exegetically why this cannot be true through looking at key texts within the writings of Paul. Schreiner, like most, do agree that it was God's plan for this to take place, but the Jews, by the showing of Paul's writing were not following the plans of God in the outworking of the grace shown to them. Because of this you will see explained what works and grace meant to Paul and what justification, grace and works of the law meant to Paul and the bottom line that is answered masterfully is: Why does the Law exist?

Schreiner meticulously goes through much in this book to try and show the real purpose of the writings of Paul and his view of Law. Even though there have been many writings after Schreiner's to this point, Schreiner's work will stand pretty firm because it went from more an exegitical argument instead of a mere argument from the writings of others.

Anytime you get into the writings of Paul or the commentaries in respect to them, you will find it to be a very difficult read. I believe though that Schreiner's work was done in a way for the reader to understand easier than other works that I have encountered. This work is a great read for anyone desiring a better understanding of some of the arguments against the New Perspective of Paul and why the historic reading of the law and Paul still stand. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy.

Chapter Titles:

1. The Meaning of the Term Law in Paul
2. Why the Works of the Law Cannot Save
3. The Purpose of the Law
4. Is Paul Opposing Jewish Legalism?
5. The Temporary Nature of the Mosaic Covenant
6. The Fulfillment of the Law by Christians
7. Did Paul Teach Justification by Works?
8. Soundings from the Rest of the New Testament

Game Day for the Glory of God

2008-09-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

This book is a very compact book (95 pages), but is packed with godly wisdom in our understanding of sports. The author, Stephen Altrogge, conveys a deeper understanding of why we have sports and how a Christian should represent Christ through them, not apart from them. He successfully shows the impact we can have as we play and watch sports for the glory of God, and what impact we can have if we do it for the glory of ourselves.

Sports provide us with opportunities to grow in godliness. Few things allow us to grow in humility, conquer our anger, discipline our bodies, persevere in the face of adversity, and pursue excellence, all in the span of an hour or two. Sports expose our sinful pride and desire for personal glory. They reveal our sinful self-sufficiency, self-worship, and self-centeredness. They also present unique opportunities to grow in humility, a character trait that deeply pleases God. Sports also expose our anger, impatience, and sinful cravings, thus enabling us to grow in God-honoring self-control.
Stephen Altrogge, p. 103

He not only draws attention to the person actually playing the sport, but also to the parent that is to be training the child in glorifying God in all things. This is very helpful as I am a dad, past his prime in playing sports, but can have a lasting impact on my two sons who are now getting into watching and playing feverishly.

Don't simply drop them off and pick them up from practices and games. Don't think that your responsibility ends with attending games. Rather, before each practice or game take a few moments to help your children prepare their hearts. Remind them of the need for humility, self-control, passion, encouragement, and trust. Help them see how sports fit into the bigger picture of life, eternity and God's glory. If time permits, pray with your children before each practice or game. In doing so you will help your children grow in godliness while playing sports. Hebrews 12:14 tells us to "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Sports provide us with an opportunity to strive for holiness. Let us take full advantage of that opportunity.
Steven Altrogge, p. 105

The chapters in this book break down like this:

1. A Life for the Glory of God
2. The Source of All Talent
3. The Joy of Sports
4. Game Day Priorities
5. Winners and Losers
6. Parents, Children, and the Glory of God
7. Tying it All Together

Appendix by C.J. Mahaney

The appendix, only 4 pages long, is very helpful as Pastor Mahaney puts forth a quick list of things he goes over with his son before every sporting event or practice:

- Humbly receive correction from your coach, and ask your coach how you can grow in character as well as athletic skill.

- Thank your coaches for the way they have served you. And thank the referees after each game.

- Encourage your teammates for their display of godly character and athletic skill-in that order of priority.

- Encourage your opponents during and after the game. If you knock someone over, extend your hand to help him up.

- Play the game passionately and unselfishly. Serve your team by playing aggressive defense (his father never did this) and passing the ball on offense (again, his father never did this).

- Humbly respond when the referee calls a foul on you. Do not complain or disagree in word or by facial expression (unfortunately, his father always did this).

- No inappropriate celebrating after you score; instead recognize that others played a role (his father never did this).

- Thank the team manager for the way he served, and recognize the humility and servanthood he is displaying at each game. Remember that true greatness is sitting on the end of the bench.

The whole of the book is filled with information like this and draws on stories of major events in sports history, great quotes from some Christian athletes and of course the personal stories from Altrogge that makes you cringe and laugh (especially when you can see yourself in his stories).

Overall it is a very practical book that points to the glory of God. When a book can look to sports in this way and point us to the Creator of sports, it is already starting in the right direction. I would very much recommend this to any parent or teen that is involved in any kind of sport in any way. As a father I am excited to take these truths and apply them to my family as I train my boys to be glorifying God in all things, especially sports. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

The Future of Justification

2008-09-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

This book is a tough one. The reason I say this is because I totally agree with John Piper's view, and the Reformation's view of the Pauline theology of justification by faith. I agree with Piper's and the Reformation's view of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the believer. I also disagree with N.T. Wright's, which ultimately started with Schweitzer, Wrede and Sanders, view of Pauline theology and the link they believe it has with second century temple Judaism. Although I do like their premise of trying to understand Old Testament Judaism. I believe though that they get confused in what God intended with the Law and how the Jews misused it.

So, now that I have stated all that, you would expect me to really like Piper's book on the topic. The problem is that I think it is a little too early to try and refute what Wright is coming out and saying. The reason for this is because no one really has a clear understanding of what Wright believes (at least those who I have talked to). Piper even praises Wright for many of his views of Scripture, and also the high view that Wright places on Scripture. But, there are many places in here that Piper says that he "thinks" Wright means this, or that Wright "might" believe that. I would think that it would be better to go ahead and wait this out until we find what Wright is really saying before we try and refute him outright.

With all this said, I also understand why Piper desired to come out with a refutation. I just believe it was too soon. I believe he would have been better to come out with a short intro to some disturbing beliefs of Wright and then wright a polemic on the justification of God and the imputation of Christ. I know that Piper has a couple of books that do this, so maybe an update to those books with this intro would have served better.

The book, because of the confusion of Wright's beliefs, is very hard to follow. There are even parts in the book where I would probably either agree with what Wright is saying, confused on what the problem is, or just am completely confused on what Wright really believes. The book really makes you feel like Piper is as confused as you are with what Wright is trying to say.

I honestly wouuld not recommend this book to anyone trying to get a grasp on what Wright believes, it was very confusing. Because of this, Piper's refutations come out very confusing as well. The best part of the book was the end, when Piper gives a small defense of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.

I believe that this book will be something that will be forgotten and will need to be thrown away once we understand more on what Wright is trying to get across in his views of Justification and Pauline theology. Once a better understanding is seen, I would ask Piper to try again. Not Recommended. Link to Buy.

The Legacy of Sovereign Joy

2008-09-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

This is the first of the series of "The Swans Are Not Silent." This series is a series of books that are quick bios on the the lives of different people in the history of Christendom. The reason for the title of this series comes from a quote from Eraclius. Piper tells us the following:

At the age of seventy-one, four years before he died on August 28, A.D. 430, Aurelius Augustine handed over the administrative duties of the church in Hippo on the northern coast of Africa to his assistant Eraclius. Already, in his own lifetime, Augustine was a giant in the Christian world. At the ceremony, Eraclius stood to preach, as the aged Augustine sat on his bishop's throne behind him. Overwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy in Augustine's presence, Eraclius said, "The cricket chirps, the swan is silent."

The reason that Piper chose to title this series, "The Swans are NOT Silent" is because the legacy of understanding of the sovereignty of God by Augustine has been anything but silent. So, the idea behind this book of biographies is to show that the swans from Augustine to Luther to Calvin were not silent but heralded the truth of Sovereign Joy.

In this book, Piper gives three biographies in Augustine, Luther and Calvin. He focuses on four topics to which he really wants to drive home in these men:

1. Do not be paralyzed by your weaknesses and flaws

Piper does admit that the men being studied in this book are flawed. They are not perfect. Which is good, because they are not Christ, and we, as humans, can learn from them and their understanding of working out their salvation with fear and trembling. These men, although imperfect, continued to bear fruit for the sake of the glory of God.

2. In the battle against sin and surrender, learn the secret of sovereign joy

This was shown most clearly in the life of Augustine. Although he went from complete paganism and the love of women, to believing in complete heresy, God brought him through this to his side for the glory of God. Augustine saw this as God's complete work of salvation through him, which if it weren't for God, Augustine would have never come to God on his own.

3. Supernatural change comes from seeing Christ in his sacred word

Luther was the found in the light of this thesis statement. Luther focused in on the sacred study of the word of God. He saw that this is where Christ was to be found through the Holy Spirit, prayer and meditation. He made sure that people, especially those caught in the bounds of Catholicism, realized that our only hope is found in the Word of God and not in the knowledge and tradition of men.

4. Therefore, let us exult over the exposition of the truth of the gospel and herald the glory of Christ for the joy of all peoples.

Piper shows this in the life of John Calvin. When Calvin found Christ in the Scriptures and was caught up in Reformation doctrine, he did what he only knew he should do: Preach. John Calvin's life was known for his preaching. Preaching for John Calvin was faithful, verse by verse, exposition of the word of God. Here he found that through this preaching the exaltation and glory of Christ was found and given for us all to enjoy. So much so that when he was preaching in Geneva, he was banished by the city council. When he was allowed to return three years later, he picked up the exposition in the next verse. John Calvin firmly believed in the preaching of the word of God.

This small book was a great quick intro to the lives of these men. By no means it is exhaustive, but that wasn't its intent. I would recommend this to anyone who either wants a quick refresher or for those who know very little about these men. You will notice that the overall these in these pages is the Sovereign Joy of our God. Recommended. Link to Buy.

In My Place Condemned He Stood

2008-08-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

This book was really a love/hate relationship. I also knew that this would probably be the case heading into me reading it though as well. It is really 4 essays about the atonement of Christ. I found 3 of 4 to be very good and the one I figured I would find lacking is exactly the one that was lacking.

Here are the four different essays:

The Heart of the Gospel (J.I. Packer; taken from chapter 18 of Knowing God; 1973)

This is really a longer intro to the book as a whole. It speaks of the different aspects of the cross, such as propitiation, God's love, expiation, substitution and God's glory.

What Did the Cross Achieve? The Logic of Penal Substitution (J.I. Packer; first appeared in Tyndale Bulletin; 1974)

This is really a defense of understanding both words used here, penal and substitution. Packer does a very good job in rendering that logic can only take someone so far before they have to bow the knee to the omnipotent and omniscient God. He does a good job in the defense of the use of the term, "Penal Substitution." I very much liked this chapter even though it was a very tough read to get through.

Nothing But the Blood (Mark Dever; Reprint from Christianity Today; 2006)

This was very short and really marked a way for the modern reader to try and understand why we still need to make sure we speak of the bloody atonement. Why it was necessary and why it still is necessary as far as our focus within God's love. I liked this short article, although I found some of it to be repetitive to Packer's What did the Cross Achieve.

Saved by His Precious Blood: An Introduction to John Owen's The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. (J.I. Packer; 1958)

This chapter I really didn't like. I found that the work of Owen was really put up on a pedestal and said many times that there was no way for it to be refuted. This seems like words that should only be held up to the light of Scripture, not to a man's work with no inspiration of the Holy Spirit. J.I. Packer defends the understanding of a strict view of limited atonement in this article and says that those who don't believe in this view are not preaching the gospel. He says that preaching limited atonement is the biblical gospel, that if you preach otherwise you are preaching self esteem, that those who don't preach a strict view of the atonement are just trying to helpful to man and not concerned with the glory of God.

I still can't believe that he says some of this stuff. So, if I don't hold to a strict view of the atonement I don't preach the biblical gospel, I preach self esteem and are little concerned with the glory of God?

What I find interesting is that this comes after a quote in this very book by Martin Luther where Luther preaches an atonement that is more than limited, or particular. This is found on page 85 in the footnotes:

All the prophets did foresee in spirit, that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, blasphemer, etc. that ever was....for he being made a sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world, is not now an innocent person and without sins....Our most merciful Father...sent his only Son into the world and laid upon him the sins of all men, saying: Be thou Peter that denier; Paul that persecutor, blashphemer and cruel oppressor; David that adulterer; that sinner which did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief which hanged on the cross; and, briefly, be thou person which hath committed the sins of all men; see therefore that thou pay and satisfy for them. Here now cometh the law and saith: I find him a sinner...therefore let him die upon the cross.

Martin Luther(found at Galatians, ed. Philip S. Watson (London: James Clarke, 1953), 269-271; on Gal 3:13)

Notice there is not the particular in view here. But the understanding of the sins being laid on the Messiah and not of just some, but of the whole world. And Luther continues and says that Christ be thou person which hath committed the sins of all men.

I just really found this work to be lacking and very over the top with such arrogance in the understanding of the atonement. Although, I do believe that Christ did die for the whole world, he also died specifically, or especially, for the elect. So, it is a both/and statement in regard to the atonement, not an either/or.

I just find it funny that Packer has his arrogant statements in this book right after he quotes Luther saying just the opposite of what Packer would like him to say.

So, this book is a quandary for me. The first three-fourths of the book was very well done, but the last chapter on the Death of Death by Owen was just terrible. So, I am not sure what I would do with this book besides tell others to read it with caution, but shouldn't we do that with every book we read? Recommended (with caution)

Link to Buy

Simple Church

2008-08-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

When I started to read this book, I had absolutely no grounds for either thinking I would love the book or hate the book. I just wanted to read it. I actually had never heard of it as I am not a Senior Pastor, but what caught my attention is the desire to see our church focus on what God has the church here for. Not our programs, events, etc. but just literally..."Why did God leave the church here on this earth?" I thought this book would aid in this understanding.

What is interesting is a lot more study and data went into this book than I had really thought. From the sounds of it they had over 400 churches do surveys, they went and spoke to different church leaders in both person and over the phone (from what I can gather). This truly was a big deal. The whole basis of this book is to see what "kind" of churches are surviving our post Christian era. The reason this thought came to mind is that Eric Geiger had started to take a simpler model for his own church that he is the Executive Pastor at and see if they had "caught on to something."

This book is very well written on how to get your church from a busy program oriented church to a more simple focused church on what the church feels as though Christ has called them to be. Here is what I mean. It is a top down approach instead of a bottom up approach. You are to start with the process that new converts/new members are to start at in the church and bring them through to maturing believers in Christ. Whatever you believe this looks like in steps you need to start there first. So, an example might be that you believe everyone should "Know Jesus, then start maturing in their faith, serving God and then seeking the lost" then you should design everything you do to correspond with each one of those steps. If one of your programs doesn't fit, then throw it out. It might be hard at first, but this is to really keep the church on mission. Also, if you have too many programs for one of the steps, it needs to be thrown out as well. This is meant to stop churches from doing a lot of things mediocre to doing a smaller amount of things very well. This is the very basic idea of this book. But I just hit on the tip of the ice berg.

While I believe the book is well written and well documented I believe that they would like their stats to be better than they actually are. When they sent out the surveys they had statements and had the church leader respond with, "Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Mildly Disagree, Mildly Agree, Agree, Strongly Agree." They then took the stats and wrote a book based on each finding.

Here is my issue with some of the stats. They aren't constant and not very overwhelming at places. They aren't constant because when the leaders responded weakly to a question they might include, "We found that vibrant churches agreed to some degree to the following 'X' amount of the time." When the leaders responded strongly then they would say something like, "We found that vibrant churches agreed or strongly agreed to following 'X' amount of time." So, the findings were all over the board in some instances. This didn't happen much, but enough to catch my attention.

The other thing that I found odd, was that they were overly impressed with a statement even if only a minority of the vibrant church leaders agreed with a statement. Let me give you an example:

We asked church leaders if they have a system in place to evaluate if people are progressing through their process. Of the vibrant churches 27% strongly agreed or agreed with this compared to 9% of the comparison churches. Vibrant church leaders agreed or strongly agreed three times that of comparison church leaders that they measure the effectiveness of their process.

This means that 73% of the vibrant churches weren't "sold" that this was important but this is supposed to wow me because it is three times that of comparison churches? Not really. This was discouraging that this was thought to be overwhelming evidence on some of these questions.

With all that said. This book is still very very good. I really enjoyed the practicality of the book and the effort that Eric and Thom put into to find what is being put into place in churches across America. I actually fully believe in what they are talking about, I just don't believe what they have to say about every single question asked is as overwhelming as they would like us to believe. This happened a lot in the book, but it wasn't the focus of the book, so I can look past it.

I would really recommend this to any church that feels as though they are doing a lot, but accomplishing nothing. Lots of programs, but few converts and few people being changed for the glory of God. Very easy read, very practical and something that you won't look to and say, "impossible." Highly Recommended

Link to Buy

Jesus: Made In America

2008-08-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

I have become a huge fan of Stephen Nichols. He is very good at writing about history without making it terribly boring. I have read three of his books so far and every one of them was very well done. This is one that I didn’t really know what to expect but was excited to read it.

What Nichols does is spends the first half or so of the book walking the reader through how particular cultures and people in the past have really shaped our thinking and their thinking of Christ. He starts with the Puritans, then to our founding fathers, the Victorians and the modernists of the early 20th century.

After Nichols goes through these with precision he then gives the reader insight on how we have specifically been affected, or infected, depends on how you see it, through Contemporary Christian Music, Hollywood, Consumerism and Politics.

This part of the book was very informative as Nichols shows how the history of each one of these has led us to where we are currently with Jesus and culture and he doesn’t leave any stone unturned. He questions things such as Thomas Kinkade, Precious Moments, The Passion of the Christ, CCM Music Festivals, WWJD bracelets, Christian T-Shirts, Dobson and the extreme politics pulling on Jesus from both sides.

I believe that Nichols unpacks some things that are very worrisome in our day in age where Madonna actually has become a prophetess, even though she falls into the same trap:

Christianity is becoming more of a currency than a belief

Sadly, I think she is right.

This book is extremely well done and I would recommend this to any reader to show what is happening in front of our own eyes and the danger of falling into consumerism Christianity.

This might have been Nichols best book to date. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

A Tale of Two Sons

2008-08-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

John MacArthur’s book/sermon series on the Prodigal Son called, “A Tale of Two Sons” was very well done. MacArthur, from what I know, does not actually write any of his books for the purpose of being a book, but they are all taken from his sermons and study notes on the subject. Which most pastors do these days as they really don’t have time to actually write books since they are studying all week for their sermons and doing other pastoral duties. Not a bad thing, just some insight.

I wasn’t sure how I would like this book as I figured that I knew “what there was to know” about this parable found in the book of Luke. Let’s just say that I was overwhelmingly humbled in my knowledge.

MacArthur masterfully goes through the parable to give you insights to the culture, history and textual criticism to give the reader the understanding of exactly what was going on throughout this parable.

He breaks down the parable in three parts because that is how the parable is focused in on as Christ told it. The three parts are: The prodigal son, the father and the eldest son.

At points throughout this book I believe that MacArthur does look to much into things and takes them as fact, when in actuality the text is silent on the issue so there is no way of knowing. But, this is overshadowed of his brilliant look to the Scripture and the culture to give you a taste of what it must have been like to be standing there as a hearer of Christ.

He teaches you as though you were standing there as either a mere onlooker or a Pharisee and gives you the responses that must have been going through each one's head. I actually think this is the main reason that this makes this book truly well worth the read.

Overall, MacArthur does a great job handling the text and culture to make sure that you really glean as much as you can with this parable, with the focus being on the joy in heaven when even one man repents.

The shocker comes in the end, when MacArthur gives you the last part of the parable that was left out of the Bible for “us to decide.” MacArthur gives it straight on how the parable actually ended and it is an ending that truly made this book stand alone as a great understanding of the parable and what it meant for prophecy and the Pharisees. But, I will let you read that for yourself. Recommended. Link to Buy

What is a Healthy Church Member?

2008-08-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

This book put out by Thabiti Anyabwile called, "What is a Healthy Church Member?" is a very short book and not terribly "deep" in theology. Neither one of these is a hindrance to this book, but actually very accomadoting. The reason I say this is because you can literally give this to anyone in your congregation and they will have no reason to say no. It isn't gonig to be over their head, as it is very practical and straight forward, and it won't take up much of their time, as it is only 114 pages and the pages are only 5" x 4".

The book is part of 9 Marks Ministries and is an extension of Dever's "9 Marks of a Healthy Church."

The topics in this book are as follows (every chapter starts with, "A Healthy Church Member is...):

An Expositional Listener

A Biblical Theologian

Gospel Saturated

Genuinely Converted

A Biblical Evangelist

A Committed Member

Seeks Discipline
A Growing Disciple

A Humble Follower

A Prayer Warrior

If you are good at math or you can count like a horse, you will notice that there are ten marks and not nine. Anyabwile says that he gives the last as an "extra" for us readers, and I was thankful.

This book is very practical and the chapter titles might look overwhelming at first, but they really are put forth in a very well balanced manner and are very challenging for everyone from the Pastor, layman or congregant.

Anyabwile states the following:

This little book is written in the hope that you might discover or rediscover what it means to be a healthy church member of a local church, and what it means to contribute to the overall health of the church

I think that Anyabwile did just that as it really is a challenge to all who set foot in church each Lord's Day.

I would highly recommend this to read and then to hand out afterwards to any member in your church. Link to Buy

The Truth of the Cross

2008-04-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

This little book by R.C. Sproul is a book that looks to be a beginner's guide to the cross. It is very short, as it is only 168 pages and the book is only about 5 inches by 3 inches. As I opened the book I expected that this would be something that I would give to someone who is just learning about what the cross did and why it had to happen, or a refresher for those who needed to get "grounded" again. This is exactly what it was. Dr. Sproul does a very good job of quickly yet precisely taking the reader through the necessity of the cross, the cause of the cross, the implications of the cross, and even a little prophetic note of the cross through passages like Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.

This book doesn't get too deep but just glances across a wide variety of topics to get the reader acquainted with the reason behind the cross. I believe this is exactly what Dr. Sproul was trying to accomplish, and so he fulfilled his desire with this book. The reader should not expect a deep theological discussion on each topic, but merely an introduction for further study after this book.

The only thing that I feel should have been left out or at least written with more fluidity is the last chapter on limited atonement. It was odd that Dr. Sproul wrote the entire book, focusing primarily on what the Scriptures said about the atonement and it's cause, really drawing no line in the sand on historic theologies. Then, in the last chapter he tries to quickly go through limited atonement and reformed doctrine. It just didn't seem to fit in this book. I believe he could have definitely made it fit if he wanted to give a defense of limited atonement, but he then tried to give a quick history of the TULIP and the like, and it just seemed like too short of a book and the wrong "stage" to try and draw up these arguments. It really stuck out like a sore thumb. Before the last chapter I believe I could have handed the book to any new Christian with no "primer" beforehand. Now, if I give it to a new believer I will have a lot of explaining to do because of the last chapter as it really opens a can of worms that could have been avoided.

Besides that, the book is concise and makes good arguments on the cross in a God honoring way. I would recommend the book to any who need a refresher or just don't understand the meaning or the reason behind the cross. Of course, with a disclaimer on the last chapter. Recommended

Link to Buy

Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be

2008-04-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

This book was written by two guys who couldn't be more different in their background and writing styles. Kevin DeYoung is the young, Reformed pastor, that takes this subject on a very subjective theological level, exposing carefully the doctrinal errors found in the Emergent church. Ted Kluck is just the opposite. Also, young, but a former athlete (he would love to hear that I said former), former semi professional football player, current sportswriter, and unapologetically sarcastic and whimsical. He takes on the subject much like I would, exposing the errors with witty banter and "low hanging fruit."

The book layout was great. Each author took a subject and then the chapters went back and forth throughout. So, you would get hit with the longer, theological, linear chapters of DeYoung, and then read the shorter stories and witty rebuttals from Kluck. I really enjoyed this as you really got the feel from two totally different perspectives of what is going on in the Emergent church.

The book's purpose is to really help people just better understand what the Emergent church is and what it does, or maybe better put, doesn't stand for. The main people that are refuted would be the same if you looked on any blog, namely, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell and Tony Jones. What seemed to be the main focus of the entirety of the book would be the Emergent's focus on Kingdom living, instead of the totality of the work of Christ. In other words, more focused on morality, than understanding what is the first importance: the gospel.

DeYoung and Kluck came to the same conclusion that I have with the Emergent church and others that think just like them, which would be the fact that they are reacting to the more fundamental, legalistic churches, but doing so in the wrong manner. DeYoung and Kluck show that some of the questions that the Emergents bring to light are true and helpful to/against the mainstream church in America, but the way that they answer those questions are not only wrong, but actually harmful, and in some cases, flat out heretical.

The authors did much research for the material, so much so that they went to the different churches and events of this movement to "get their hands dirty". I found this book very helpful and know that those who are in the Emergent church will just see this as another "conversation" not worth having. But, for those who are on the fence or are starting to understand the Emergent problems, will find this a very helpful book on understanding the things that are going on with the Emergent leaders.

Actually, the best part of the book was in the epilogue, when DeYoung went through the churches in Revelation with special focus on Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyratira. This part was very balanced and showed how every church should try to take the good out of each of these churches and learn from them and also learn from the admonishment that Christ gives each as well. Of course, in the end, the idea was for the Emergent church to take a look at what is missing in their movement, which would be the very strongest part in the Ephesian church: defense of doctrine.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the Emergent church in more detail. I just hope that people are able to learn from this book from within the movement and it isn't just used as ammunition to debate with. Link to Buy

Death by Suburb: How to Keep the Suburbs From Killing Your Soul

2008-03-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

I picked up this book after Matt Chandler made mention of it in one of his sermons and quoted it when Mr. Goetz tells of a story and then cites, "Soccer is stupid when your wife is dying with cancer." After that quote, I had to pick up the book.

This book is a very enjoyable read, especially if you live in the suburbs. I really don't think you can get the full meaning of some of the jokes or even the nagging life that awaits in the suburbs, unless you live there, or have lived there for a period of years. What David Goetz wanted to get across in this book, I believe he did very well. The 8 chapters are titled very well and it really hurts when the chapter headings are what is going on in your head when you read them. He lists for the chapters a "toxin" and then "the practice." Or the "issue" and "the solution." They are:

Chapter 1:

The Toxin: I am in Control of My Life

The Practice: The Prayer of Silence

Chapter 2:

The Toxin: I am what I do and what I own

The Practice: The Journey through the self

Chapter 3:

The Toxin: I want my neighbor's life

The Practice: Friendship with the poor

Chapter 4:

The Toxin: My life should be easier than this

The Practice: Accepting my cross with grace and patience

Chapter 5:

The Toxin: I need to make a difference with my life

The Practice: Pursuing action, not results

Chapter 6:
The Toxin: My church is the problem

The Practice: Staying put in your church

Chapter 7:

The Toxin: What will this relationship do for me?

The Practice: Building deep friendships

Chapter 8:

The Toxin: I need to get more done in less time

The Practice: Falling in love with a day

My favorites were definitely at the point when Mr. Goetz pointed out why we have certain relationships and why we help out certain people. The reason is because I fall in love with the thought of, "if this person isn't going to accomplish something in my life, why should I befriend them?" Mr. Goetz speaks poignantly through this to understand that relationships shouldn't be about what you are going to get out of them, but they should be for continual development for the kingdom. In conjunction with this, he asks why we help out those that are less fortunate than us? Do we do it for self gratification if they turn to Jesus, or they "fix their life?" Or, do we do it out of the mere love for our Saviour and respond to his love with the love of our neighbors? This was a very challenging chapter.

I enjoyed the entirety of the book and felt as though it was well thought out, although not terribly theologically deep. Theologically is exactly where I found myself scratching my head a couple of times as I felt as though he left it out of the discussion at points that would have been helpful. I felt as though his convictions should have more clearly put forth in some of the areas of his life and how he lived it. But these were minor at points and not enough to deter the overall theme of the book.

I really found it to be helpful and was filled with great reminders in ways that made me laugh at times and cringe at others as they cut me deep, which was good.

One of my favorite quotes in the book, after the one mentioned at the first of this post, was:

Speed and efficiency rank high in suburban values. Garbage cans with properly colored tags are set out on the curb weekly on designated days. Dogs must be licensed before February 1. Dog waste is a hazard to our children, says our community publication on new ordinances. There are always new ordinances. Near our home, a gentleman walks his aging, bloated Labrador most evenings, dog leash in one hand and pooper-scooper in the other. By day, the man is an executive with an MBA from a worldclass university; by night, he scrapes up dog stools.

Now imagine this clever banter when dealing with spiritual issues while letting life escape us and you have a very enjoyable read along some very good insights into our everyday lives as we try and walk with Christ.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a Christian and looking for a nudge to get them out of the ordinary drudge that can be the suburbs.

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Culture Shift: Engaging Current Issues with Timeless Truth

2008-03-17T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is the first solo effort by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. and it was pretty good. First, Dr. Mohler is way more intelligent than I ever will be, so to even attempt to "review" his work seems pretty futile. I was caught off guard by the structure of the book, as I guess I didn't believe Dr. Mohler in the preface that these were essays put into book form. Because of this, there wasn't much flow to the book overall and so it read more like a bunch of essays or blog posts, than a book.

Putting that a side.

The material presented was very well done. The book consists of 20 essays that shows the depth and breadth at which Dr. Mohler represents and defends Christianity. He does it in such a way that is pretty amazing as well. Most say that it is better to be an expert at one thing instead of novice at a lot of things. Dr. Mohler is rare, in that he is an expert at a bunch of today's topics and he shows this in his essays in this book. The essays cover topics such as public policy and the Christian worldview to what Christians should do about public education and their children. Each essay is given from a Christian perspective and one that is balanced and fair. Some of my favorites in the book are:

The Culture of Offendedness (speaking on people being offended in everything and how the Christian should challenge this assertion)

Are We Raising a Nation of Wimps? (parents coddling their child, or young adult, so much that they cannot make their own decisions or present their own thoughts)

Hard America, Soft America (taking away competition all the way into college (soft America), to the business world where it is cut throat (hard America))

Is Abortion a Moral Issue? (Shows the issues that face the arguments being brought forth on the Left wing alone)

Who's Afraid of the Fetus? (This is the best essay out of all as it shows the harsh realities of what happens when women that want abortions are shown their baby through ultrasounds and the reactions from the left wing...i.e. 90% of women change their mind)

Once I figured out that this was a bunch of essays instead of a book, it made the reading easier. What I will tell the reader is that this is more of a ivory tower look at the culture as it deals a lot with public policy and what is happening among congress and the overall picture of all of America. It is a lot different than a blue collar look at culture like you would expect from someone like Mark Driscoll and his book, Radical Reformission. But, if you know anything about the two authors this should be no surprise.

I would definitely recommend the book as it will give you an interesting perspective of what is happening nationwide with policy making and some of the major issues that we deal with overall. Recommended

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Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die

2008-03-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

This is a small book that is really a good "cliff notes" version of why Christ came to die. It is only 120 pages long and so the descriptions of each are no longer than a normal page each. Because of this, the material that Dr. Piper presents is not to get into a deep theological discussion on each topic, but merely to give a quick synopsis and then to move on. I think this would be a great small group study to have with people. It would give the basic understanding and then would lead to some discussion on each topic how this should impact our lives.

The way that this is set up is that Dr. Piper gives the verse and then shows quickly how that verse plays into more specifically of what Christ's death accomplished through that verse.

So, for instance, number 6 is that Christ died "To Show His Own Love for Us." Dr. Piper then gives three verses for reference (Eph 5:2,25; Galatians 2:20) and unpacks them using other verses for reference and with quick, but pointed, exegesis of each. The reason I like this little book is because it is able to give a lot of understanding of all that Christ accomplished through the cross without having to write a novel for each of the reasons. Although, novels could be written for each one, and either have been written or will be written about each reason, this is simply for a "fly by" so that those unacquainted the vastness of Christ's death will get some fuller understanding of all that Christ accomplished on the cross. Also note though that Piper lets the reader know that even though these are fifty reasons, there are still more.

In the beginning of the book Dr. Piper gives this as what he hopes to accomplish with this small treatise:

When all is said and done, the most crucial question is: Why? Why did Jesus come to die? Not why in the sense of cause, but why in the sense of purpose. What did Christ achieve by his death? Why did he have to suffer so much? What great thing was happening on Calvary for the world?

That’s what the rest of this book is about. I have gathered from the New Testament fifty reasons why Jesus came to die. Not fifty causes, but fifty purposes. Infinitely more important than who killed Jesus is the question: What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?
Piper, J. (2006). Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (16). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

I would recommend the book as reference material but it won't satisfy someone wanting a deep theological understanding of each and every reason. But, this wasn't the point of this book either ,as anyone would guess when the fifty reasons occupy only 120 pages.

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The Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism

2008-03-17T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is the first book that I have read by Tim Keller. I have wanted to read him ever since I heard him speak at the 2006 Desiring God Conference. He is the older and more tame version of Mark Driscoll, as far as vision for the city goes. He is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City (Manhattan) and the church that he started in 1989, that everyone said would be a bust, is now serving over 5000 congregants per week.

The book, The Reason for God, is very well done. It is what we in the Christian community would call a presuppositional apologetics book. Or to define more precisely, it is a way to give rational reasons for the Christian faith and oppose other worldviews by exposing the flaws in their thinking. Tim Keller does this very well, yet very respectively as well. The book is set up in two parts. The first part of the book is The Leap of Doubt. This first part is answering the accusations/questions that skeptics put forth, by showing not only the holes in their argument(s) but then reversing it and showing why faith in God and Jesus Christ is the better answer for the question posed. The accusations/questions are:

1. There Can't Be Just One True Religion

2. How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?

3. Christianity is a Straightjacket

4. The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice

5. How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?

6. Science Has Disproved Christianity

7. You Can't Take the Bible Literally

The Second half, and I like how Keller puts it, is to show the clues for God. Keller does this very masterfully.

The Second half is called, The Reasons for Faith, and they are:

1. The Clues of God

2. The Knowledge of God

3. The Problem of Sin

4. Religion and the Gospel

5. The (True) Story of the Cross

6. The Reality of the Resurrection

7. The Dance of God

epilogue: Where do we go from here?

Although I don't agree fully on some of Keller's theology, I found that to be okay with what was trying to be disclosed in this book. Keller tries to take the focus off of denominational lines completely, to show forth the most important question, "Is there a God?" and the second part of this was to put forth why Christ is God and truly did die on the cross. I like how Dr. Keller puts it to one person. A lady came and told Dr. Keller that she couldn't believe the Bible because it was so oppressive to women. He told her that before she was concerned with the doctrine of men and women she needed to first ask the question, "Was Christ really resurrected from the dead?" Because the answer to that question is an eternal one, and the one about women and the Bible should be searched out only when she has answered the first.

Throughout this book, Dr. Keller, lays out simple clues to who God is, why Christ died, and why He rose again. Dr. Keller puts his heart on the line as he gives insight to his personal stories from his own congregation. He lays out what the cross means to us personally, and not just a historical valid argument. Because of this, the reader feels as though Dr. Keller is speaking directly towards them, because he cares for them. It is odd, but I couldn't put the book down and I felt Dr. Keller's passion for the King called Jesus.

I would highly recommend to any who call themselves Christians, and any who call themselves skeptics. It is definitely a book that will make you think upon the eternal aspects of life and direct you towards the clues that God has left for us to know Him. I found this to be one of the best apologetics books I have ever read.

Also, check out the website for this book, The Reason for God. Link to buy

God is the Gospel

2008-03-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

John Piper called this book his most important that he has ever written. With that in mind, I decided to read it. I have a lot of respect for this man in his preaching, his ecclesiology, his missiology and especially his overall orthopraxy. As I started to read the book though, I felt like it was beginning to be a little repetitive and really didn't know how Dr. Piper was going to fill up close to 200 pages on the subject. But, I started to feel like Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting when the character played by Robin Williams kept saying, "Will, it's not your fault" and Matt Damon's character, Will, kept saying, "I know." It took Will Hunting a while to get it, but he finally breaks down and understands what Williams character is trying to get across to him.

This is how I felt about this book. Dr. Piper keeps preaching that God is the Gospel until the reader gets it. This is probably why I really liked the latter part of the book, because I think I finally started to understand it in my heart and not just in my head. Because of this, the book is very well done.

The one quote that affected me the most though, came at the beginning, on page 15:

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

This quote is the thesis by which the entire book is based. The main Scripture that is used over and over in the book is 2 Corinthians 4:4,6:

in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Dr. Piper uses these two main verses to show how understanding that God is the Gospel will affect all areas of your Christian walk. It will affect your prayers, the gifts that Christs gives you (both good and bad), evangelism, teaching, confirmation of the Spirit, etc.

This book ends up being extraordinary, when at first I found it to be kind of overemphasizing. What I didn't realize is that it wasn't the book that was overemphasizing, but it was myself who was UNDERemphasizing this great importance. Most of what we think of the gospel and of forgiveness and glorification, almost get us there, and Dr. Piper, based on Scripture, takes you the rest of the way. You will no doubt have to re-read some of the parts in the book to get the full understanding, but it is well worth it.

I highly recommmend this book to everyone. It will show you or at least confirm to you practically, what the Gospel is meant to be and that is that God is the Gospel.

The just died for the unjust so that he could bring us to God.

Link to Buy

The Lightlings

2008-02-20T09:07:00.000-08:00

I was given this book by a friend of mind for our kids this past Christmas and decided to finally read it to my oldest son this past week. No reason not to read it before besides the mere fact that I just overlooked it.

The story by R.C. Sproul is an allegory to the creation and fall of man and then the coming of Christ for redemption. The lightlings are a people that were created by the King of Light but they didn't follow His rules and so they were turned over to the darkness. After some time in the darkness they notice in the distance a light shining. The younger lightlings were curious and decide to go check it out and find that it is the King of Light's son to return the light to the lightlings.

My 5 year old son was on top of the story pretty well, understanding who was God and who was Jesus and also the sin of the lightlings. What he didn't understand, and kind of made the story lose focus, was the fact that the lightlings were little fairy creatures that my son thought were angels. I had to correct him and tell him that it was just a story to try and show us who God is, what we have done in our sin and the coming of Christ into the world. He understood afterwards, but that one question for me was enough to question the book as a whole.

I did like the parallel and thought the story was done very well, but I wish that the illustrations of the lightlings would have been more geared to not look like little fairies or little angels. I know that it is fiction and just a parallel but it did confuse my son when he first went through the book with me.

The only other thing that I wish R.C. Sproul would have done was include the actual biblical account at the end of the story. This would have made a complete book. Instead, Dr. Sproul puts a glossary at the end of the book to describe who each person is, but to read that to a child is a little weird. I only say this because there are some Christian parents who need the aid of drawing out the biblical principles of even a children's book. Although, there are discussion questions that will aid in this, I would have rather have had those questions AND the story end with the actual biblical description. This could just be personal preference though.

Overall, I liked the parallel (even more so if the description came at the end) but wish that the illustrations would have been geared to something different (even though the actual illustrations were very well done). Not Recommended

Link to Buy

Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions

2008-02-19T11:33:00.000-08:00

This book was definitely different than Mark's previous works. This was Mark's chance to just tell it how he sees it through the Word of God. In just 233 pages Mark and Gerry do their best to give the reader a better or a more refreshing look at who Jesus truly was, is, and is to come and how this should affect our lives.

The basic set up of the book is one of my favorites that I have ever seen. Mark answers a specific question to fill up each chapter (i.e. Is Jesus the Only God?) and then after answering the question, filled with biblical quotes and references, then goes on to answer common objections (usually 3 or 4 questions) at the end of each chapter (i.e. Does the Bible clearly say that Jesus is God?). This was very well thought out and done very well, to help engage the reader to what they might be thinking as possible objections to the original question posed in each chapter.

If you are used to Mark and his preaching this book will be nothing surprising or different than how he preaches every week. If you are not used to it, you might have some initial objections if you are "churchy" or might be surprised to hear such a down to earth approach to theology if you haven't grown up in church. But, I will tell you from experience, once you listen to what Mark has to say, he will allow you to see what Christ's mission truly was and continues to be in our daily lives.

Vintage Jesus tries to tackle a lot of subjects in a smaller book (233 pages), but does a great job of giving the reader something to grasp and look into further study without overloading them with content. I personally enjoyed the book and thought it was a good reminder and add on to Mark's preaching series that bears the same title.

This is a great book to give to someone who is unfamiliar with Jesus and is also filled with great material for those that have leaned too much on traditional views or legalistic ones of Christ. Mark brings every question back to the Word and challenges the readers to do the same.

The book is filled with humor and Mark really just "brings it" and because of this, like usual, he will have some haters that will say that he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Which would make me laugh if they weren't so serious about it. I do laugh though everytime Mark describes these kinds of guys...cause I used to be one of them...Anyways...great book and look forward to the next title in October. Highly Recommended

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Spirit Empowered Preaching

2008-01-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

Arturo Azurdia's book, Spirit Empowered Preaching, is one that you can tell is written by one that is both learned and learning this thesis that he has set forth. This I find to be something I enjoyed as I read. I have mixed feelings on the book, as I did like the information put forth, but felt as something was missing and yet I am not sure what it was.

What Dr. Azurdia's book is centered around is really the operation of the Spirit in the life of the pastor and in the Spirit's role when pointing to Christ. Dr. Azurdia shows this in many ways, whether it is through the prayer of the preacher to preaching Christ in the Old Testament. One of my favorite aspects of the book is the continual reliance on quotes from other notable pastors and their thoughts on the different subjects that were brought up.

In the end, I think the reason that I felt like it came up a little short is because I believe that Dr. Azurdia tried to cover too much, so when the reader was done with the book it is like getting nailed with a fire hose. I might just think that it came up short because it was more theology than practice, so I was waiting for Dr. Azurdia to say, "here is what I do." But, it didn't come to that. I could also be taking this from too much of an elementary look at this book and not at a book where its intent is not application or orthopraxy but merely orthodoxy. Nevertheless, I believe the strongest part of the book was when he set forth the ministry of the Spirit and why He is here for us. I strongly encourage reading the book for that alone. Either way, I felt like the book could have really used some practical thoughts on the subjects set forth.

There are some great reminders in the book, and it isn't that I wouldn't recommend the book, but I just found myself ready for more, but it never came. I strongly recommend to listen to Dr. Azurdia's preaching because the application of this book is found in his preaching, I just wish he could have put that down in words. If one wants a great practical book on this same matter I would encourage one to take a look at "Preaching that Changes Lives."

Don't skip this book on this review though, pick it up and glean from this great pastor, his thoughts on preaching and the Spirit, and you will definitely get great things out of it. Recommended. Link to Buy

Instrument's in the Redeemer's Hands

2007-12-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

I was given this book by a mentor of mine and told that it would be extremely helpful. The problem is that I saw it was deemed a "counseling" book on the back, so I moved on for a while before I picked it up and read it. I continued to see the book on the "Best Seller's" list at many sites that I admire, so I finally picked the book up and started to read. I have to be honest, if I were to try and write all that I learned this review would turn into a novel itself.

Paul David Tripp really unpacks a three part effort.

One: To show me who I am

Two: Who others are

Three: How to practically minister to them, and accept their ministering to me

This book gets to the root of the issues and he even starts with the theological impact of understanding who God is and then who we are, namely: we aren't perfect, we need change, and we need help in that changing process from Christ and others.

This book not only unfolds what we are to do in daily ministering opportunities, but he unpacks the practical ways to do them. One of my favorite quotes in the book is that:

We often say we need to preach the Word, but we also need to counsel the Word

That is what this book is all about. It is how to counsel the Word of God to those in everyday life that need change just like you and I. What will hinder this book is that some will think it is only for the pastor or counselor, but it's intention is for all believers and it is written that way and is desperately needed for today's church.

I have already used the book and will continue to go back to it to try and unpack my shortcomings and also to help others do the same when they are in need of ministering. I know this is not the "hot topic" of discussion around the water cooler, but this book is much more needed in today's world that wants to only deal with actions instead of the root of those actions, namely, our darkened heart in need of the power of Christ. You will learn how to effectively and biblically (synonymous terms) counsel another as they ask a simple question or are having everyday life problems, instead of giving a "pat" answer or reciting Scripture and telling them to pray about it. I cannot recommend this book more highly.

Link to Buy

For Us and Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church

2007-12-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

Stephen J. Nichols hit a homerun in this book. As the title suggests, Dr. Nichols' goal is to establish what the early church thought of the Deity of Christ. He lays this out by going through a quick examination of who the "players" are, what and who they were fighting, and then laying out their arguments.

After this, he lets the men speak for themselves with their own writings. I really enjoyed this format. You get some explanation and then you get to read for yourself. Most books will either focus on just the explanation and yet others just lay out the entirety of a writing. This book is a great medium. Although it is short, it gets to the point and shows that the Council of Nicaea was definitely not the first time that Jesus' deity was brought forth in the church, but was orthodoxy handed down from the Apostles to those in the early church.

The book is broken down in chapters based on the different centuries and includes many men and their beliefs, from the early centuries all the way to the fifth century. You read from men like Ignatius, Irenaeus, Turtullian, Hippolytus, Athanasius, Leo the Great, and more. You also encounter some of the heretical writings so that you see what these men were fighting against.

All and all, I would use this book as a resource for any that doubt the doctrine of Christ's divinity in relation to the early church. No doubt the Bible speaks of the divinity of Christ, but now we are getting attacked that it was a foreign concept to the church fathers. This book puts that to rest in a quick and easy read on the subject that Jesus Christ was no doubt God, and was For Us and Our Salvation. Highly Recommended.

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The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World

2007-11-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

Stephen J. Nichols has been coming out with a lot of books lately and has been highly recommended by a lot of people that I respect. I decided to take a look at a couple of his books and this one in particular, being that I am always looking for more information on the Reformation.

Nichols sets this up for an introduction for the differing reformations that happened all over the globe after the way that was paved by Wycliffe and Hus and then finally with the most powerful Martin Luther.

You can actually get a great understanding of where the book will lead you by seeing the different chapter titles.

1. Five Hundred Years Old and Still Going Strong: Why the Reformation Matters Today

2. A Monk and a Mallet: Martin Luther and the German Reformation

3. Some Middle-Aged Men and a Sausage Supper: Ulrich Zwingli and the Swiss Reformation

4. The Not-So-Radical Radical Reformers: The Anabaptists and the Reformation

5. An Overnight Stay in Geneva: John Calvin and the Swiss Reformation

6. A King and a Divorce: The Anglicans and the British Reformation

7. Men in Black: The Puritans and the British Reformation

8. Women in Black Too: The Untold Story of Women and the Reformation

Appendix: In Their Own Words: Selections from Documents of the Reformation

So, as you can see Nichols tries to cover a lot of ground in one little book, as the book, including the appendix is only 150 pages. It is very short in a lot of areas but it has to be so that the reader that is not accustomed to the Reformation can get their pallet wet enough to want to read other works that get more detailed each of these particular reformation periods.

The one thing that was stated at the first of the book that I was excited to see more about, that I found lacking, came when Nichols said we need to "humanize" the people of history. Meaning, we need to show who they were and not merely what they did. I felt as though Nichols did a pretty good job in this with Luther, but felt that this dropped off in the future chapters with the others. This, by no means, makes this book a disappointment and would definitely recommend it to others for an introduction to who and what went before us.

Nichols does make this history very readable and interesting to read without merely spitting out facts, which is happening in another book I am reading on the same subject. The book flows very well and makes you want to learn more about the reformers, instead of seeing history as a dry and dead subject.

I look forward to reading more books by Nichols and would defnitely recommend this to any who need an introduction to the Reformation from Wycliffe to the Puritans.

Link to Buy

Martin Luther's Here I Stand: The Speech That Launched the Protestant Reformation (Audio CD)

2007-10-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty cool little audio book. Max McLean is the narrator and this is the least that he does. He presents the material in a very well done manner. He does more than just recite, he gives the impression that it is how Luther would have presented the speech if he were here today recounting this pivotal time.

Track Listing:
1. Introduction

2. The Road to Reformation

3. Luther’s Prayer

4. Here I Stand

5. Eck’s Response to Luther

6. Luther’s Final Response

7. Conclusion

8. Sources and closing comments

The CD starts off by giving some background to what is taking place, in not only the Roman Catholic church, but also in Luther's life. The leading up to the speech takes about 11 minutes, which not only covers the aforementioned material but also the prayer that Luther recited the night before he was to stand and defend his new found understanding of Scripture. Then the time comes to recite the speech that Martin Luther brought forth at the Diet of Worms as he began what we now see as one of the most pivotal times in all of church history.

McLean presents the entirety of not only the speech but even the questioning of Johann Eck, which is when Luther's famous words that ring so true to rebut the questioning being presented was brought forth:

My conscience is captive to the Word of God, I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither honest nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.

I would highly recommend this audio book. The speech itself is very emotional to read, but to listen to it with such passion from Mr. McLean is something that I will enjoy for a long time. Link to buy

Blue Like Jazz

2007-10-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

I entered into reading this book with a lot of opinions thrown to me from those who have read it. What I learned before I even opened the book is it seemed as though people either loved it or hated it. I have some really close friends who loved the book and thought it was a breath of fresh air, and I also knew some of my friends thought that it's only good was to start a fire with it.

So, because I trusted on both sides, I felt like I could come with no preconceived notions. It was like I heard each debater by themselves but couldn't make a decision until I heard them both at the same time. So, the only way to do this was to read the book. What kind of irritates me is that I landed right in the middle. I can see why people love the book, but I can also see why people hate the book. There are some great discussions in the book but some very bad views on some theology that I feel could hurt those not driven by the word of God for discernment.

Donald Miller is a writer and a poet first, you can see that from the title of the book and in the opening pages. I like poetry when I am reading a poem but find poetry to be distracting when I am trying to read a book. What Mr. Miller does in this writing, in my estimation (although I am no expert) is try and use his poetry skills too much at times as one navigates through his story of redemption. It just isn't for me, that is, his way of writing. But I can get through that, not enough for me to put it down.

The book is really Donald Miller's testimony. It is his writings of how he came to know Christ and how he has grown in Christ, for this it is hard to say, "it is good" or "it is bad." At times, Mr. Miller seems to be scattered in thought and goes from one topic to another without leading the reader to where he is going. But, it is a testimony of what Christ has done for him, and that is much to sing praises about. Miller's book also punches some evangelicals right in the face with some realities of what is going on in today's conservative circles and it sickens not only Mr. Miller, but also myself. I have to say I felt it was worth the read to get a fresh perspective of contemporary Christendom. Mr. Miller brings up a lot of good points, like feeding the homeless, caring for the homosexual and liberals, and loving people yet still telling them the truth of the Gospel. This love, Mr. Miller finds to be happening more in the "pagan" circles than inside the church of the living God and I have to agree. Mr. Miller though does not point fingers but he actually comes to the conclusion that it is HIS fault for this not happening and then asks all who read to understand that it is also their fault for this contemporary slide of hate instead of love for those outside of the body of Christ. I have to say, I like that perspective. Mr. Miller is very honest with his afflictions as a non-believer and a new-believer and I know this makes many people very uncomfortable. But for me, I enjoy when I can be honest with someone and they can be honest with me. It actually helps in prayer to know specifics of someone so that you can be praying for them. This is what Mr. Miller gives us in this novel of his life: An honest testimony of what Christ has done.

What I found to be dangerous are his thoughts on depravity and the atonement of Jesus Christ. He simply says that since he sees people doing good, then he doesn't believe that people are completely evil like some (one of them being me) say. I would have to ask Mr. Miller to trust in the Living Word instead of his eyes. I would ask him to interpret many Scriptures that would point him in the opposite direction, such as: Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Genesis 6:5;8:21; Romans 3:10-18; Psalm 14; Jeremiah 13:23; Psalm 58:3.

He carries this thought though and it becomes disconnected as he then states the issues of us, including himself, being evil. So his description throughout the book of Christ's atonement and death on the cross becomes one that is to make evil people good. It is a moralistic redemption. This is not the reason Jesus died for our sins, He died to make dead people alive to God. He died to bring His children to His side for God's glory not ours. One of the fruits of a Christian is definitely to do good works and so this is definitely one of the benefits, but is not the primary reason for the atonement. So, this, in my estimation, is a very large error that Mr. Miller makes.

It seems as though Mr. Miller also relies much more on his experience than the unchanging word of God. I don't know this to be true, but this is the way it comes off in my reading of his book. This can be very dangerous, especially in light of knowing our heart is desperately sick, who can discern it...Jeremiah 17:9.

Also, his last chapter on "How to Love Yourself" is a little strong in parts. I do understand that his intent is to understand that God loves us and we need to accept that. I will be careful to say that this is probably a very good chapter, in parts, for those who have had terrible parents or disastrous intamacy issues for whatever horrific reasons, that I cannot empathize with since I myself have never had these kinds of experiences. But there are times in this chapter that go too far in my estimation. The Bible tells us to "die to self" "to deny self" and for what reason? So that we can "live to Christ" and to "follow Christ." So the author would have done better, in my estimation, to balance these understandings.

My recommendation to any who are thinking of picking up this book is to be discerning. I compare it with someone telling their testimony before they are baptized. The story of conversion is wonderful to hear. But, they say those two or three things that make you wince and say, "oohhh...wouldn't have said it that way..." But, that does not ruin the testimony of Christ in their life, and I don't think the errors in this book will ruin Mr. Miller's testimony either. I would recommend it for church leaders needing to understand what errors are creaping in the church as Mr. Miller points out. For the others, if you do read it, please be sure to be discerning when Mr. Miller brings theology and his experiences into the discussion, because I find it to be lacking in many ways. But, be challenged by his words when he calls us to be more loving to those who aren't like us and to understand that the issue is US not THEM. Link to buy

The Case for Faith

2007-10-19T08:26:00.001-07:00

I want to show some grace here in this review so that I am not coming across as attacking the author or the participants that the author interviewed. I read The Case for Christ and very much enjoyed that book and thought it was done in a very tasteful manner, but this book left me shaking my head.

Lee Strobel unpacks this book just as he did with the Case for Christ, in that, he has 8 different questions that he would like answered and then goes and interviews 8 experts in those fields to answer those questions. The one thing I wish that he would have done is read some of the reviews and thoughts from readers and taken them to heart. The main complaint is that he just interviewed those who agreed with the Christian position and chose not to interact with those who were on the opposed side of the debate.

Although Strobel starts the book off on interviewing an atheist, Charles Templeton, this was the last time that he interviews anyone on the opposing side. Although, I do really like the way the book is set up with the interviewing process.

The questions that were to be raised in the book are the following:

1) If there's a loving God, why does this pain-wracked world groan under so much suffering and evil?

2) If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they're true?

3) If God is morally pure, how can he sanction the slaughter of innocent children as the Old Testament says he did?

4) If God cares about the people he created, how could he consign so many of them to an eternity of torture in hell just because they didn't believe the right things about him?

5) If Jesus is the only way to heaven, then what about the millions of people who have never heard of him?

6) If God really created the universe, why does the evidence of science compel so many to conclude that the unguided process of evolution accounts for life?

7) If God is the ultimate overseer of the church, why has it been rife with hypocrisy and brutality throughout the ages?

8) If I'm still plagued by doubts, then is it still possible to be a Christian?

Strobel, to answer these questions, goes to eight different men to help him answer these tough questions posed to the Christian faith. Some of those interviewed were Norman Geisler, William Lane Craig, Peter Kreeft, Ravi Zacharias, John Woodbridge and others.

We could always discuss the theological differences that I have between myself and the contributors, such as their views on libertarian free will, the views that hell is not a literal place with flames, the view that the big bang is true and God was the originator just 'tweaked' it to make it work, that God reacted to man and created hell, but it wasn't in His original plan, and so on. These are all things that contributed to a very poor discussion on the reason for faith. But, even above all these problems, Strobel forgets the biggest reason for faith in God and Jesus Christ: our sin.

Sin was completely left out of the discussion. This topic of us needing a Creator and Saviour to take our place of our sin was not in any of the discussions. The route that Strobel takes is more of a route in putting us in a court room. The atheists and agnostics as the prosecutors, God as the defendant and we are the jurors. We sit, listen, weigh the evidence and then choose who to follow. The problem is that this leaves God as a powerless being, ringing His hands, hoping we choose him. This is not faith! This is just choosing the lesser of the two evils, or the better of the two goods, depending on how you see it.

This book is really a bad attempt at presenting the true God. It really leans more towards Aristotlianism, where "reason governs us" instead of what we are told it should be: God and His word governs us. I am afraid that the bad theology presented here is not going to strengthen anyone's faith but in actuality, will make them rely on their intellect and thoughts on the issue. This is actually the reason that Strobel is able to bring in a Roman Catholic theologian (Peter Kreeft) and no have no issue with his thoughts on issues. Strobel really doesn't differentiate between the Catholics and Protestants but just merely continues to call them both "Christians." Ignoring the reformation or the Pope calling the Catholic church, "the only true church." (sidenote: I know this book was written before this declaration, but it was not a new declaration or something Protestants and Catholics didn't already know was the foundational thoughts of the Roman Catholic church)

Anyone who takes a long look at themselves will know that they change their minds on things all the time. They change their views on things all the time, so what is going to be different this time? The main proponent of faith was left out: Jesus Christ died for the sins of the people, the Holy Spirit gives them faith, calls them to His side, God justifies them with the blood of Christ, and perfects them until the day Christ returns. It is God's power that holds us, not our "weighing of evidence."

This is the reason I cannot recommend this book to anyone. It seems as though Strobel has placed God on the side of the road trying to "sell" His religion to people and hoping some will just choose Him. God is not a beggar.

One contributor said this: "God sends no one to heaven and He sends no one to hell" Although I agree that sin is what sends people to hell, it is not true that God doesn't send anyone to heaven. He is the only power that is able to send people to heaven.

It seems as though this book missed some key verses in the Bible:

For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.
2 Corinthians 13:4

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44

Most important Paul lays out the importance of the Gospel, not secular reasoning or secular evidence for the case for faith:

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:2-5

The Deliberate Church

2007-10-16T19:11:00.001-07:00

This is a great handbook for any preacher. It is seriously a handbook for the church. It gives great reminders and ideas for those that have been in a church for years and for those who have either just planted a church or that have taken over the reigns as lead pastor. Some of the greatest advice in the book focuses not only on the theological implications of the different methodologies in the church but in exactly how to implement different things in churches so that you don't scare off the sheep.

This book is amazing in its practical instruction on certain issues, even the particulars of how to run an elders meeting. So, it is truly designed for use throughout one's ministry and to be used almost as an encyclopedia of sorts of a "how to" for the local church. The book is broken up into four parts:

Part I: Gathering the Church

In general this section focuses on expository preaching, prayer, missions, membership and discipline

Part II: When the Church Gathers

This section focuses on worship and the regulative principle of worship, the ordinances, the role of the pastor, etc.

Part III: Gathering Elders

This section focuses on things such as the biblical mandate for elders, the searching for those men, staffing, etc.

Part IV: When the Elders Gather

This section is very practical and walks through how Dever's church handles elder meetings and the role of the lead pastor in those meetings. Very practical.

All in all this is a great book. I do not agree with every aspect of it, but those that I don't agree with I never felt as though Dever was "pushing his convictions" but was just putting them forth. This is great to see a man of God just showing the way their church do things without purporting it as the ONLY way, but A way. Very encouraging to see and more understanding of why Dever has been so successful in starting and maintaining the ministry of "Together for the Gospel" with others that don't see eye to eye with him on every aspect of the non-essentials.

I would very much like to see this book on the top of every list of books that pastors are ready and wanting to read. Very much needed book when the next great "how to grow your church no matter what" is probably just around another corner. Link to Buy

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

2007-10-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am not a history buff by any means, so it was safe to know that I had no clue who William Wilberforce was. I picked up the book because I am sucker for both John Piper and biographies.

This book was intriguing being it is so small and wasn't in one of Piper's "Swan Biographies," and was on someone that I wasn't familiar with. I didn't know what to expect from a small biography, and to be honest, wasn't expecting much.

The biography really is just a mere introduction to the life of Wilberforce and his convictions. He was a young rich man in British Parliament that ended up, through a close friend, surrendering to Christ. After his conversion he was wondering whether politics was a calling or curse from God and was thinking of leaving his post in parliament. That all changed when he met with another pillar of the faith in John Newton on December 7th, 1785. Newton challenged him to stay within the confines of parliament to change it for the glory of God and Wilberforce did just that. He not only was the sole reason for the abolition of slave trade in Britain but he was also the reason behind the complete abolition of the practice of having slaves as well.

This small biography gives insight to the man and his mission to do all things to the glory of God. It is well intentioned and a great introduction to "tease the mind" to want to learn more of this man's convictions.

For this reason I would recommend the reading to anyone, but don't expect this to be a very deep biography or one that will give you all the ins and outs of the circumstances of the life of this defender of glory and righteousness. But, I also don't think that was Piper's intention, but his attention was to get the reader to be introduced to another dead man that stood for Christ, another man that we can imitate, as he imitated Christ. Link to Buy

Humility: True Greatness

2007-10-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't wanted to read this book for the mere fact that I am selfish and didn't want to be that convicted of my prideful attitudes. It wasn't until one of my elders read the book and told me what impact it had on his thoughts and attitudes of his daily walk, that I decided to pick up the small, but towering book of truth.

CJ Mahaney has put together a very strong book that seems to come from the outworking of his previous works which focus on Christ and His cross. This seems as though it is the natural outflow of his writings on "Christ our Mediator" and also "The Cross Centered Life." CJ comes to this conclusion and outworking by writing the book "Humility: True Greatness."

The book is broken into three parts:

Part I: Our Greatest Friend, Our Greatest Enemy: The Battle of Humility Versus Pride

In this part CJ comes out and helps define what humility is and what pride is. He then walks through the implications, promises and perils of both.

Part II: The Great Reversal: Our Saviour and the Secret of True Greatness

This is classic Mahaney. Pointing us back to our Saviour. It is as although he has "defined" humility and pride in the first part he cannot truly define humility without coming back to the Saviour and the cross. Mahaney shows some ways that the Christ shows humility to his disciples in Mark 10 and also through the great redemptive plan in the cross. This is where you start to simply understand your need of humility to truly walk in the ways of Christ and this is where I started to ask, "give me some ways to understand this practically" and that is what Mahaney delivers in the third part of the book.

Part III: Our Great Pursuit: The Practice of True Humility

Mahaney really lays out some great practical ways to come to an understanding of humility in our lives and ways to see the pride in them as well. He lists out for most of the book, as this is by far the longest part, practical ways to be humble and ways to continually point out prideful parts in our lives.

All in all, this is a very hard book practically to read, as I have found all of Mahaney's books to be, but very easy for any layman to pick up and walk through. Very challenging without being a cry from the high towers of holiness as this book is read and written through the eyes of someone you feel is having the very same struggles you are in the subject that is being written, yet someone who has much knowledge to share on how to "accomplish" the set thesis.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs to understand this subject, and if you feel you don't need to understand this subject...you really need to read this book, cause you are missing the point...

Link to Buy

The King James Only Controversy

2007-10-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

I honestly didn't pick this book up for a long time because up here in Seattle we just don't see that much importance placed on this position. We struggle for people to just take interest in any Bible, so to have a controversy over the KJO position is just not seen all that often up here.

The reason I decided to finally pick it up was because I wanted some better background of the translation process that our contemporary Bibles use and also the reasoning for all those annoying brackets around verses like Acts 8:37.

What I found was a wealth of knowledge of understanding in the translation process and also it taught me what I thought was already laughable and that is the thought that God has inspired and preserved an English translation of the original Greek and Hebrew.

Dr. White, like usual, handles this work in a very easy and readable format. He goes through the background of simply the translation process that happen (ed/s) with every translation, the manuscripts used and also their differences and the reasons why.

If you are not immersed into the difficulty, as I am not, it becomes quite repetitive in a lot of aspects as Dr. White goes through and breaks down MANY verses and compares different versions with each other, allowing the reader to better understand not only the differences but the reasons why the differences exist.

If you are in this controversy and having to fight against it, you will not find it to be repetitive but really an encyclopedia of knowledge and defense against the KJO position.

I really commend Dr. White for this work because he made it very interesting even to us who don't have to communicate with such a strange position. I believe he handles this very fairly and gives extensive footnotes to the reader for fuller explanation and directives if needed. I am sure that those who are in the movement will feel attacked but Dr. White continues to give praise for the KJV when needed but also points out its fallacies to just make the point that it is not the KJV that is infallible but the original words of our great and glorious God.

I would definitely recommend this book for any who are looking for a deeper explanation of how the Bible they hold in their hand was put together.

I highly recommend. Click here to purchase.

Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out

2007-05-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

Loved it. I have given Mark Driscoll a hard time in the past but I can tell you he is starting to change how I look at the culture and Jesus Christ, in a good way. The thing I like the most about Pastor Driscoll is that he does not water down the gospel or theology in any way to reach the lost, but instead focuses on going to where the lost are instead of waiting for them to walk through the church doors.

He walks through many things in this book, but the main theme is making sure that we are Hudson Taylor's here in the states and also to understand that sin is not contagious, you can't catch it like a cold. He walks you through how Christ lived and was around sinners so much that people, the religious people, called Him "glutenous and a drunkard." Mark tells the story of him running into one of the men that was crucial in his conversion, where the man reveals that he is gay. Mark then asks the man to visit the church again and the man balks by saying, "Why should I go to your establishment when you would never set foot in one of mine?" So Mark takes the challenge and goes to a gay bar with the man. Please don't judge this story until you read it and see the outcome of it. Because to be honest, it shook me up and brought me to my knees in repentance of thinking, "I would never be seen there!" Part of me was revealed that I was one of the religious people calling Christ, "a gluten and a drunkard."

We must engage sinners with the gospel where they are! We don't engage in their sin, but we must engage the sinner. That is what this book is about, engaging the culture because the culture is where the sinners are.

Please read this book no matter your perspective on ecclesiology as it will at least open your eyes to those around you a little more. There is some course jokes as usual from Pastor Driscoll, some funny, some a little tough to swallow, but get past that and see the content. I would highly recommend this book. Link to Buy

Living the Cross Centered Life

2007-05-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

This book is truly a great one as C.J. Mahaney brings it all back to the cross. A lot of this book includes previous works, "The Cross Centered Life" and "Christ Our Mediator." I also had just listened to C.J.'s sermon from the 2005 Resolved Conference called "Interrogating the Legalist Within" so most of this was review. But if you have yet to read or listen to these, please pick this little book up, you will not be disappointed.

C.J. continues to bring out the cross in everything in this dissertation of the cross centered life. C.J. goes into understanding the cross in defining our lives, feelings (experience), God's love, Gethsemane, our part in the cross (sin), our suffering, legalism, condemnation (with much more) and then just the practical application.

C.J. gives five practical ways to live a cross centered life:

1. Memorize the Gospel: Memorize those scriptures that remind us of the gospel (2 Cor 5:21; Romans 8:31-34; Isaiah 53:3-6)

2. Pray the Gospel: Since the Gospel is the reason we can approach such a holy God, continue to pray the Gospel as a reminder of why you can speak to such an awesome God.

3. Sing the Gospel: Find songs and CD's whose focus in on the great and glorious Gospel and not on man. Those songs that concentrate on what He has done for us.

4. Review How the Gospel Has Changed You: Looking to your past, not for condemnation's sake, but for the reminder of mercy and grace

5. Study the Gospel: Don't only study books on the Gospel or only on the New Testament, but study the Old Testament and see Christ's fulfillment of It. Making sure that our studies don't leave the Gospel behind but builds itself upon It.

I would really recommend this to any and all Christians. Great reminders of how the Cross should impact our lives and how it has freed us from condemnation and the errors of legalism. Link to Buy

Corrie ten Boom: Heroine of Haarlem

2007-05-01T12:44:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing story of perseverance. The book goes into detail of Corrie ten Boom's early years to help build up to the story that most know and love: Ms. ten Boom's time in Nazi concentration camps. It was fascinating to see the honesty given in the biography, showing that Ms. ten Boom was not some mystical creature but was an honest woman, who through strife, struggled with her faith.

I have yet to read any of Corrie ten Boom's other books and am now quite interested to her complete point of view of what was happening during these years leading up to her imprisonment and the year that she was behind abhorrent conditions under the control and continual belittlement of the Nazi regime.

But through it all, she continued to point to Christ. Even more so than herself, Corrie's sister Betsie, seemed to have an unshakable devotion and love for her enemies. Continual prayer for those who were beating them and calling them "cows." Anytime Corrie would have rage or anger (normal responses) it was always Betsie who brought Corrie back to the cross and forgiveness so that Corrie could once again refocus on the continual devotion to Christ and His forgiveness.

If you know little about Corrie ten Boom this is a great read that will show you it was not just herself, neither did she pretend it ever was, but it was also her whole family who placed their faith and strength on Christ even through the deep pits that they were put in.

When the Nazi's were going to allow Corrie's father, who was in his 80's when taken, to go back home they asked: "Listen up, old man. If I send you home will you behave yourself?"

Papa ten Boom answered, "If I go home, I will open my door again to anyone who knocks...it is an honor to go to prison for God's people, I pity you."

9 days after going to a federal prison in Scheveningen, Papa ten Boom died. Not hard to see where Corrie and her siblings got their faith from. This is only one of the many times in this book that you will see the faith of a people who were more entranced with the Gospel rather than any Nazi threats, including Hitler himself. Link to buy

Deitrich Bonhoeffer: Opponent of the Nazi Regime

2007-04-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

I have heard a lot of quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and always wanted to read more about this man of God. This book goes through his entire life but the focus is on the time of the Nazi regime. The book was a very easy read and gave some good insights about his life.

The book did not go into much detail on Bonhoeffer's theological convictions but more about his overarching defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish there was a little more about his theological convictions but just to hear how he stood up to Hitler and the Third Reich Government Church was facsinating. Dietrich was defnitely not an "underground" player during the War, he was very much on the front lines of the church and state debate.

I would recommend this book to give a better understanding of what those were going through that were inside Germany and having to preach and teach against the newly established government church. Link to Buy

Christ Our Mediator: Finding Passion at the Cross

2007-04-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

This little book is a very powerful one. The book is summed up in one of C.J. Mahaney's quotes when asked by a Starbuck's barista, "How are you doing?" C.J.'s response? "Better than I deserve." This quote is the essence of this book. C.J.'s focus is entirely on the cross and what Christ went through spiritually as He prayed in the garden and left alone and forsaken on the cross.

C.J. hammers home the point of quite the opposite of what is usually focused on: Christ's physical suffering to refocusing us on Christ's spiritual suffering. C.J. then applies this to the reader's suffering in life, joy and proclamation of the Gospel.

There is absolutely no fluff in this book, it keeps coming straight at you over and over again. One quote I absolutely loved is:

If one were to weigh their suffering in this life, their sin would far outweigh it.

C.J.'s point is that when we go through suffering we should not focus on ourselves but in the redemption and suffering at the cross.

I whole heartily recommend this book to all. Return to the cross. Link to Buy

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

2007-04-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

This book was written back in 1970 by author Phillip Keller. Mr. Keller is from East Africa as he was born to missionary parents. There he tended sheep as a shepherd and as his life went on, from what I understand, did many other things his in his life.

This book walked through Psalm 23, as the title purports, from the view of the shepherd which was very helpful. The one that really caught me off guard was the commentary on Psalm 23:5b which states, "You have anointed my head with oil." Keller gives insight that for the sheep, this is done to ward off the flies and insects that come and disrupt the sheep and can actually lie eggs in their nostrils and cause the sheep to bang their heads on trees (sometimes to the point of death) so that they can rid themselves of these larvae. This oil is carefully rubbed, by the shepherd, on the sheep's head and nose to make sure the sheep are not bothered by these insects. This parallel makes a lot more sense when thought of our Saviour anointed our head with oil to ward off the things of this world that can so consume us.

This is just one of the many insights given by a shepherd to this great Psalm that is known by so many Christians and non-Christians alike.

The only downfall to this book is that the author is not a scholar nor a theologian. So, when he starts to unravel some of the Psalm he uses other Scriptures out of place and also draws unbiblical examples with the sheep that fall short of sound doctrine. But don't let this draw you away from the book for the good far outweighs the bad, as the bad only came up three or four times to my recollection.

This book would be a good addition to any Christian who would like to glean more from such a popular text. Link to Buy

The Supremacy of God in Preaching

2007-04-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

John Piper hit it on the head in this book. Piper is known for his zeal and love for the cross and the preaching of the word and he does not let up in this small book all centered on preaching God. The first half of the book is centered on the Trinity and their "roles" in preaching.

First, is the Goal of Preaching: The Glory of God. Piper really nails down the reason we preach and teach is all for God's glory and nothing else. He focuses the reader on understanding the preaching of the holiness of God will bring people to their knees.

Second, is the Ground of Preaching: The Cross of Christ. If one has succeeded in the preaching of holiness of God then the hearers should really be at the point of understanding their sin in light of God's holiness. This is where the blood stained cross comes in. Piper then goes to explain the humility of preaching the cross, understanding its power and its purpose. Piper is really echoing 1 Cor 2:1-5.

Thirdly, is the Gift of Preaching: The Power of the Holy Spirit. Piper now focuses on the revelation of the Spirit through the word of God and also the power the Spirit gives to a preacher who relies on Him. Piper uses the acronym APTAT every week before he preaches: A (ADMIT to the Lord that without Him I can do nothing) P (therefore, I PRAY for help) T (TRUST, not merely in a general way in God's goodness, but in a specific promise for the upcoming hour) A (ACT in confidence that God will fulfill his word) T (THANK God at the end of the service that I was sustained and the truth of His word were preached)

Piper then goes to speak of the "Gravity of Gladness" in preaching. This quote hit me really hard and I completely agree with it:

Another answer is that a pastor who is not manifestly glad in God does not glorify God. He cannot make God look glorious if knowing and serving this God gives no gladness to his soul. A bored and unenthusiastic tour guide in the Alps contradicts and dishonors the majesty of the mountains.

For the last half of the book Piper focuses on the ministry of Jonathan Edwards and all that he has learned from this great man of the faith. He discusses keeping God central, submitting to God's sovereignty and also making God supreme.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you are a pastor it is a must read over and over again. Link to Buy.

MIssion Minded

2007-04-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

This little guide book is one that should be of good help to any pastors and/or elders looking to see some different ways to think about our "mission" as churches. I didn't really know what to expect as I started the book and the author seems to think a lot like people like Driscoll and Chandler, which for me, is a good thing.

Peter Bolt describes what we should not be: a church so stuck in our traditional ways of doing "church" that we don't think of other ways for the members to reach the community. I know what your thinking, "is this another seeker mentality?" I would say, yes, but in a good way. The author is not telling us ways to change the Lord's Day service, but asking us to think on how we use our members to reach our community throughout the week. The author even makes a case for expositional preaching instead of topical.

This is a very practical book where the author even lays out worksheets to provide helps for the pastor to take a look at the people and programs of the church to find the holes that need to be filled, and the places where we spend way too much of our time. Showing even how to find the people that are appropriate for different ministries within and outside the church.

I was pleasantly surprised and would tell readers to at least pick up this little guide book so that we can at least think more about what we are doing in and out each week as we seek to serve our living God. Link to Buy

The Exemplary Husband

2007-04-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

This book is excellent. Authored by Stuart Scott and the forward by John MacArthur. A couple of years ago I went to a conference where they focused one of the sessions on this book throughout the week. I will tell you that at that time I came back and begged forgiveness from my wife. Since that time I never actually read the book until now. It had some great reminders and also some insight that time did not permit at the conference.

The book is laid out in four sections:

1. A Husband's Recognitions: Foundational Truths for the Exemplary Husband

This section focuses on understanding God's sovereignty, sin, relationships and the husband's role. This really sets up the foundation for the husband and the man of God in the marriage role. Understanding who God is and who the man isn't.

2. A Husband's Responsibilities: Faithful Commitments of the Husband

This section focuses on worship, love, leadership, physical intimacy and
stewardship. I found this to be a section that deals with a subject that is often avoided: sexual intimacy. There were great reminders and also some great thoughts on the subject on the importance of sexual intimacy, but also the reminder that our marriages are not completely revolving around sexual intimacy. Sometimes, we as husbands, wish it were.

3. A Husband's Resolves: Fundamental Commitments of the Exemplary Husband

This section focuses on humility and service, sensitivity, helping wife with sin, communication and conflict resolution. This was a great section that lists out issues of those with pride and also shows you the aspects of a humble person. I really enjoyed this section as it showed me some things I really need to work on with pride and communication. Very practical and easy to follow.

4. A Husband's Regrets: Fatal Sins to the Exemplary Husband

This section deals with anger, axiety, fear and lust. It completely helps
the husband "nip these problems in the bud" and deal with them biblically.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to any and all husbands and also for those who are engaged as well. Very biblical book that focuses the attention on our calling from a biblical standpoint instead of some of the misconceptions of the secular viewpoint of what the Bible calls the man to be. The author changes the thought of the man being a dictator to the man being the godly leader who submits to Christ and readies his wife for eternity. Link to Buy

Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities

2007-04-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book. I actually tried to stay away from reading any reviews beforehand so that I could give it a good, honest, unbiased opinion as I read through it. I will tell you this, I think Roger Olson is very fair and very honest about the Arminian theological system. I was expecting to get attacked as a Calvinist, but I truly found just the opposite. I have seen reviews since I started the book that call out Dr. Olson as being angry and hateful, but I found just the opposite. I expected to be "railed against" but really just found an honest dissertation of some of the myths of the Arminian theology.

What I did find was that the crux of the difference between the two theologies really lies in the manner in which God chooses men to be saved. The Calvinist states that we as dirty, sinful, godless humans should be grateful to see that God is gracious to choose any to go to heaven, instead of allowing us all to go to hell. Arminians, on the other hand, believe that God is so loving that He would choose everyone to heaven if He could, but He leaves the choice in salvation to the libertarian free will of man through prevenient grace.

The Calvinist cannot see God ever giving up any of His sovereignty, even in the choice of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. The Arminian cannot see God, being loving, to ever control humans in their choices, or this results in God being the author and creator of sin and the human not having true love for the Creator. This chasm, as Dr. Olson plainly states, will never be brought together between the two sides. Which I completely agree.

The one place that I saw Dr. Olson arguing for over and over in the book is that Arminianism is not Semi-Pelagian because it is not that good was left in man after the fall, but that God, in His grace gave all men prevenient grace. Here is my issue with this argument. Did not God allow the good to be humans before the fall? So, whether you believe that a little good was left over (Semi-Pelagian) or that God, after the fall, gave all men prevenient grace (Arminianism), which is also good, how is this different? It's just a matter of timing, in my opinion. Dr. Olson also goes into a little dissertation on Open Theism where he does not really try and disprove, but says simply that some Arminians are going "that way" and some are undecided. This is where Arminianism gets real dangerous, in my opinion.

I did enjoy the book and Dr. Olson's thoroughness in it. Do not expect the book to be one that tries to "convince" you of the Arminian position, for this was not the intent (this is also the reason why there was very little biblical references). The intent was to clear up some misconceptions of Arminian theology. Which for me, it did the job that Dr. Olson was trying to do, but that does not mean that I agree with him. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone looking for an honest assessment of Arminianism.

I also appreciate Dr. Olson's heart in wanting the two sides to be able to serve with one another and to proclaim the gospel together. I found this a place where a lot of my Calvinist friends could learn from. Link to Buy

The Battle for the Beginning

2007-04-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

I have had this book on my shelf for two years and finally decided to read it, and I am glad I decided to do so. I was thinking that the book was solely a defense of the literal 6 day creation, but there was much more to glean from the book. MacArthur starts off the book to show the affects that atheism has had on our culture, and will continue to have, if we continue down the path as a nation with no God. I thought this was definitely needed so the reader who has not thought about the implications of atheism can see the results and where the non-moral process leads to as moral human beings.

The strong parts of the book are definitely the exegesis of Genesis 1-3. Undoubtedly, MacArthur shows that in looking to the Bible alone, Sola Scriptura, that there is no wiggle room for anything other than a literal 6 day creation, by our Creator. For those in the Christian community this information is undoubtedly needed and is important to understand the implications if we start to look to science instead of the Scriptures as a source of knowledge about what has already been revealed in the Holy Writ.

MacArthur then continues to show how science actually helps the creation account in the Bible not the other way around, which I found also very interesting. Such as, science says that there must be photosynthesis for plants to grow and nourish. If we follow the non-literal creation account to take billions of years, and plants were created on the 3rd day and the Sun wasn't created until the 4th day, how did the plants survive for those billions of years? Again, science shows the Bible's account of creation to be true.

The part that I found weak was MacArthur continued over and over again to point to the intricacy of animals on the planet then simply said: see, there must have been a creator! I enjoyed reading about a couple of the animals but it really had no impact when he continued to go over and over again focusing on the animals. (I do understand this is exactly what some of our most famous puritans did to prove there was a Creator, like Jonathan Edwards with spiders and Isaac Newton with gravity, but I found it to be repetitive).

This by no means dismisses the importance of this book. In only 221 pages MacArthur does a great job of undermining the atheist and also shows the undermining of the Scriptures a Christian does if they take anything besides the biblical account of six day creation. Link to Buy

Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches

2007-03-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

I was pretty apprehensive about reading this book. I really didn't know what to expect and didn't know really what the approach was going to be with this book. To be honest, the only reason that I picked up the book is because I went to the Resurgence Conference and Mark Driscoll was one of the contributors. I am glad I didn't "judge" Driscoll for being a part of this book before I read this, because I thought he was distancing himself from the people that contributed to this book. After reading, let's just say that Driscoll is definitely NOT a part of what is commonly known as the Emergent church and he is really a lot different than those a part of the wider used term, "emerging church."

The only thing that I got from this book, besides Driscoll admonishing the other contributors (Burke, Kimball, Pagitt, Ward), is to make sure that our theology is put into practice. I can say that it did make me think from that perspective. Outside of that, this book was very shallow and far from, and I mean FAR FROM, biblical ecclesiology. Mark Driscoll had to continually "exhort sound doctrine" to these other "pastors" and return them to the Scriptures. Driscoll was the only pastor that truly held to Sola Scriptura, while the others look more to our culture and those around them to form their ecclesiology, orthopraxy, and most dangerous: orthodoxy.

The two "pastors" that people need to really be warned of is Doug Pagitt and Karen Ward. They are far from Christendom (which they would admit and happily accept) and should not be given an ear to listen to. Burke and Kimball were on the edge but still held to the complete authority of Scripture, although I would definitely not adhere to a lot of the ways that they practice their theology and more specifically, their ecclesiology.

Again, Driscoll was the lone bright spot and because of the far reaching post-modern ideas of the other contributors, Driscoll sounded like John MacArthur more than an emerging pastor. Througout the discussion, just when you thought Driscoll was getting "soft" he "brought it" again.

As far as the frame of the book, it is set up to give each "pastor" a chapter with the other four being able to respond to that pasor's contribution. The original intent was for each author to show their thoughts on the Trinity, the atonement and Scripture. I found only Driscoll's chapter to be the only one who "followed the rules." But, what else should we expect from these emerging leaders? The sad thing is that since the authors were so shallow, Driscoll was forced to defend basic orthodoxy and wasn't able to give a great in depth study or defense of the above said topics.

If you would like to read about these different views on the emerging church, I guess it is okay to read, but it is just so messed up as far as their thinking on how church should be run that it is hard for me to recommend. I am glad I read it so that I could see that Driscoll is NOT Emergent in any way. He is far from Pagitt and McLaren and should be seen as the lone bright spot out of these that contributed to the book.

Please be discerning if you pick this book up and like a Berean, test all teachings to Scripture.

Link to Buy.

Confessions of a Reformission Rev.

2007-03-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

This book was one that I was pretty excited to read. Not because of me wanting to be emerging or anything of the sort, but I just wanted to know more of the man who has been instrumental in turning many young people to Christ up here in the Seattle area. Although, I used to go to his church for a little while back in the early 2000's I still knew very little of Mark Driscoll or the history of Mars Hill.

Much has been written about him, mostly against him in conservative circles for his association with the emergent movement. I will tell you that this book does clear up anybody's thinking that he is still involved with the emergent movement, for he is far from that movement and mindset, which I was surprised of. The reason I say this is that he calls out Brian McClaren, and those in his circle, with their wrong views of Scripture

This book is the story of not just Driscoll, actually very little about the man Driscoll and more about the church Mars Hill, from beginning, up to the time of the book (2006) and even included some things they were hoping to implement. I actually came to this book very skeptical of his tactics and not knowing at all his "goals" in ministry. What I came out believing about Driscoll is a high respect for his love of the lost. This is evident: Mark Driscoll loves the Lord Jesus Christ with all his heart, soul and mind, and truly loves his neighbor as himself. I would hope no one would deny this.

As far as his "tactics" or "strategies" in place, I find them a bit edgy, and I think Driscoll would take that as a compliment. Driscoll talks much of having a certain number of attendees as his goal and he seek(ed)(s) how the best way to achieve these numbers are possible. He admits in the book that he spoke to many people on this subject, from pastors like Rick Warrren to people who study secular organizations. This part of the book is what discouraged me in that the numbers were so very important to him. What did not discourage me is that his goal was not to have "fluffy" Christians, but truly Christ following, missionary minded Christians. Which again makes me separate him from the seeker movement and people like Finney, from the Second Great Awakening.

Although I disagree with his thoughts on how to reach the lost, and even calls my method of handing out tracts "silly," I will say that I respect him that he truly wants to see true repentance from the lost city around him.

If you pick up this book you will be challenged to love the lost around you, but what I fear is the method that is taking place at Mars Hill. Some of his theology I have a hard time with (prophetic dreams) and also his courseness, not only in his jokes but also his speaking to those that he serves with and is called to shepherd.

If you are truly interested in understanding Mars Hill and Mark Driscoll, this is a must read that will allow you to understand him from his mouth not others. But, that does not mean that I agree with his implement strategies. Link to buy

A Case for Traditional Protestantism

2007-03-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

This is great book that shares the Five Solas of the Reformation. Terry Johnson goes into each Sola, with the actual definition of how they were meant to be understood by the original Reformers.

I really enjoyed the study through the book and helped my understanding as I have been teaching on these and writing on these Solas. Mr. Johnson goes into good detail of every Sola: Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide and Soli Deo Gloria. The book isn't able to go into complete study as there have been large volumes written on each one of these Solas, but, never the less, Mr. Johnson does give the reader enough information to really spark serious study on the issues at hand.

What I have found is that most claim these Solas but really either don't know what they really mean, or don't live them out practically. Mr. Johnson makes sure that these are well defined so that any reader will at least understand the definition of each Sola, even if they end up disagreeing with the Sola itself.

The one thing that I believed was lacking a little, was pulling in modern thoughts and movements that go against some of these Solas. Mr. Johnson did a great job historically defining them but it would have been nice to get his take on the movements (Seeker, "moderate"Calvinists, Emergent, Word Faith) that fly in the face of the reformed thought on the Solas and the whole point of the Reformation from the Catholic church.

With that said, I would still very much encourage any who don't know the history and definition of the Five Solas to pick up this book as a resource, or read my posts on the subjects at hand. Link to buy

A Treatise on Regeneration

2007-03-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

The book cover has a quote from Jonathan Edward's: The book is much better than any other book in the world, excepting the Bible, in my opinion. This Treatise was also used emphatically by Edwards in his dissertation on "The Freedom of the Will."

With that said, I was expecting an almost unintelligible treatise on the subject at hand. For one, Edwards recommended it, and brain just functions differently than most. Second, Van Mastricht is a dutch puritan and their explanation of subjects can sometimes be very cumbersome, even though very enlightening.

This book was just the opposite of what I was expecting. It was very understandable, even though I will have to read it again to get the full meaning, and very enjoyable.

Van Mastricht leans heavily, and I mean heavily, on Scripture to show his conclusions on the subject of regeneration. There are three parts to this book consisting of: "The Doctrinal Part" "The Argumentative Part" and "The Practical Part." One of my favorite parts in the entire book was Van Mastricht's "list" of assurance of regeneration. Most Puritans are known for their "tests" of salvation and regeneration, but Van Mastricht gives a great list showing assurance.

Although, I do not agree on every point made by Van Mastricht when speaking of paedo baptism, it is never the less very well done. I would highly recommend this book if you are studying regeneration. One could use this merely as a reference book if needed and would glean enough from that alone to warrant the purchase. Link to Buy

Pulpit Crimes

2007-03-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

This book reminded me a lot of the style that was done in Steve Lawson's book, Made in Our Image. Meaning, James White hits a lot of topics without going into a lot of depth. Which is fine, because that was his intent, just don't think you are going to get a thorough look at each "Pulpit Crime" in this book.

James White hits topics such as expository preaching, worship music, seeker churches, pluralism, homosexuality, mishandling of the ordinances, women "pastors" and others. I really enjoyed White's discussion on those who water down the Gospel to being nothing more than "a" plan instead of "the" plan of salvation. He really makes sure the reader understands the danger of not preaching the absolute truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The one topic that he covered that I really enjoyed was his chapter on, "Felonious Eisegesis." It went through the dangers of not only the word faith movement, but also those traditions that are held so close to the vest by a lot of us in our denominations or doctrine. He did a great job of allowing the reader to understand that we all have "traditions" that can sometimes guide our exegesis of Scripture. When looking at a sub-heading called, "Tradition Trafficking," you would expect that to be a chapter about the Roman Catholic church, but the entire part of this chapter was devoted to our protestant traditions allowing our interpretation of Scripture. I found this very interesting and he used the story of him and Dave Hunt to show his arguments for his case.

The one thing that I did not like at first, but understood by the end, is that James White does not "name names." He does this so that the book doesn't become "dated" because of the names mentioned. We have seen this happen with MacArthur's "Charismatic Chaos" when in actuality the book is very much for today, but gets little mention because it is "dated because of those mentioned." I mentioned above, Dave Hunt, but James White does not name his name but I am very familiar with his discussions in the past so I was able to pick up the "unmentioned person" that Dr. White was talking about.

Again, very good book as a "fly-by" on a lot of topics. If you would like an in depth book on the exegesis of preaching itself, I would recommend Lawson's "Famine in the Land" instead. But, that was not this books intent and for that I can definitely recommend and probably will read again sometime in the future. Link to Buy

The Sovereign Grace of God

2007-01-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

James White does a good job on these doctrines as usual but I would rather someone read The Potter's Freedom than this book, although it is a bit more gentle in its approach since it is not a rebuttal to another book like the Potter's Freedom was with Norman Geisler's book. White does a very good job to guide the reader to a presupposition of the total sovereignty of God by writing an entire chapter on it, calling it the 6 petal TULIP...making it STULIP...great thought since many don't really understand the call of the true and complete sovereignty of God.

The best part of this book is also the worst part of the book...James White doesn't do as much as I am accustomed in the original language breakdown. If this book were read before his other books, then one would pay no attention. But since I have read White's other books that DO emphasize breaking down the Greek and Hebrew, I was at first caught back by the lack of attention placed in this book. But, this also makes it an easier read for first timers.

Another strong point of emphasis was an appendix dedicated to Process Theology and then a dissertation on Isaiah 40-45 which was very good...and should he, James White, be compelled to write an entire text on Isaiah 40-48 that would be a great read as well...just a suggestion.

I would recommend the book to those who are not familiar to the Doctrines of Grace and who are also questioned by Process Theologians, but then move on to White's The Potter's Freedom for a good original language exegesis of some of these same points. Link to Buy

Their God is Too Small

2007-01-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

Great starter on the subject on Open Theism, this is the logical outcome if you are an Arminian and is really a view of early Pelagianism.

The open theist to myself makes absolute no sense whatsoever, so for me the first chapter was enough to understand that I completely disagree with everything they stand for. If you have yet to study anything on Open Theism this is a great quick read to get you started.

Please read if you are an Arminian as this will show you where that thought process should and will take you...and that is Open Theism with God having to play guessing games with the human "free will." This view really questions God' sovereignty and gives all the power to the human race in deciding the future. If you are questioning how much God is sovereign check out this post and comment on any agreements or disagreements. Also, if you are in the Seattle are click here and you will see that the author of this book is coming to the area March 2007 to speak on this very subject. Link to Buy

Famine in the Land

2007-01-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

This book is a must have for every preacher, in all places, for all times. Steven Lawson has emerged as a pastor that is known for one thing: Passionate Expository Preaching. This book I was expecting to be a mirror of Dr. Lawson's message at the Shepherd's Conference titled, "Bring the Book." But what I found was that this book was an expansion of that sermon and not one could replace the other. I did enjoy the book more, I believe, because I heard Lawson's sermon on the topic first, as I could hear the passion that Lawson preached while reading his words.

The book exposits The Priority, Power, Pattern and Passion of Biblical preaching. Lawson accomplishes this through the story of Jonah, Ezra, Paul and Timothy focusing on the passages in the book of Jonah, Ezra 7:10, Nehemiah 8:1-8 and 1 Timothy 4:13-16. Lawson is very clear and I don' t know if it was because I did hear his sermon but it seemed as though the admonishing and exhorting teachings were leaping from the pages to my mind in how I could change the way I teach and preach. This book along with the sermon, "Bring the Book," should be given to every preacher whether seasoned or new to the ministry. Link to Buy

Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings

2007-01-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

This work is a great compilation of the works of Luther. It is fair and and also a great start in understanding and reading Luther's works. The one thing that I really like about the editor is that he gives a small introduction to each writing, the when and why the particular writing was written.

The book starts off with Luther's major theologies in the 97 Theses, 95 Theses and the Heidelberg Disputation. This compilation of the 97 theses was nice to see since it is so unfamiliar to most people but was Luther's first cry against Aristotle's theology. Most people have heard of Luther's famous quote, "Reason is a whore!," well the 97 Theses: Disputation against Scholastic Theology, gives you the full reasoning for this cry.

The book then materializes Luther's thoughts on the Power of the Word of God, The righteousness in Christ (which includes excerpts of his famous work, The Bondage of the Will), The promise of the Sacraments, The Reform of the Church, and the living and dying as a Christian. These are all done as not only formal works but also in some of his sermons.

I would definitely recommend this book as it will start the reader off on the right foot of Luther's theology and then you can decide where you would like to find further insight. Link to Buy

Family Worship

2007-01-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

This little pamphlet from Donald Whitney is a great little read. It goes over the importance of returning the spiritual leadership and discernment to the home by the father and/or husband.

Whitney goes through Family Worship in the history of the Bible, Church and modern day denonminations. This book, or better put, pamphlet, is crucial for your family if you are not currently doing a time of worship with your family daily.

Whitney outlines how to do Family Worship, from the studying of Scripture, singing, prayer, catechizing and memorization of Scripture. He helps outline a specific time depending on the family structure, whether you are married w/o children, with young children, older children, grown children, and divorced families with single moms.

I highly recommend this small little pamphlet on the issue, and highly commend our brothers in the Presbyterian and Reformed traditions who remain to keep this as one of the heights of their duties. Following is a quote from the book on the Presbyterian's demand for this daily worship:

If the father failed (in not doing family worship), they were to be
admonished privately. And for any husband or father who continued to neglect his
spiritual responsibility to his family, The Directory of Family Worship gave
these instructions:
He is to be gravely and sadly reproved by the session(that is,
the elders); after which reproof, if he be found still to neglect Family-worship,
let him be, for his obstinacy in such an offence, suspended and debarred from the
Lord's supper, as being justly esteemed unworthy to communicate therein, till he
amend.
Link to buy

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views

2007-01-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

This debate wasn't too fair. James White is far more superior in knowledge of Scripture and history than Dave Hunt.

Dave Hunt's eisegesis of scripture and drawing up of straw men leave the reader lacking in gaining any perspective of the Arminian camp (even though he states he isn't one, his theology speaks differently). I will also admit that most from the Arminian camp are calling "foul" because Hunt represents their theology and view of Calvinism so skewed.

James White on the other hand deals with Scripture how any Christian should, with complete authority. He exegetes Scripture and gives answers to common questions about Calvinism. If you would like to see more on the happenings of these two before the book was written you could be entertained for hours but I will link that here or here. (Scroll down until you see the interview with Dave Hunt regarding his publication against Calvinism in the Berean Call; it is #490)

The best part of this book is that you get direct answers to the claims that both Hunt and Geisler have brought out in their books against Calvinism, through a new unfounded method in America...the Bible...wow...who would think that you could find answers to these questions in the Bible?...kidding of course...but this book was well worth the read so that the CORRECT view of Calvinism could be shown in light of its' critics. If you have read "Chosen But Free" or "What Love is This" please read this book so you can get a full picture and answers to the Calvinism camp. Link to Buy

John Calvin: His Life & Influence

2007-01-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen a movie trailer, watched the movie and wondered: Why didn't I know what was coming, the trailer was clear? That is how I felt with this book. It is titled perfectly: His life and influence. Reymond stays focused on giving a great biographical look at this renowned reformer. Much is dedicated to who the man was apart from his theology. Most of the things that I read on or have read on Calvin are always focused on his theology; not this book. It gives great detail to his schooling, his professors, his break off from Rome, his friends, his writings and basically walks you through his life from beginning to end. Much appreciated work.

Reymond also does what many don't do: explains the burning of the heretic, Michael Servetus. I really appreciated this last part of the book that gives the background and actual facts of what happened. Reymond does not give excuses nor does he excuse the burning, but lays out what actually happened instead of some of the garbage that is out there on the internet and also in writing of anti-Calvinistic theology. Some seem to hold on to this one mistake in Calvin's life to refute all he stood for and wrote on. If they only had all their mistakes make headlines I wonder if their views would change on the matter?

I would highly recommend this to any reader as it is a great little biographical sketch of the reformer and what he meant for all of Protestantism. Do not stay away from this book if you are an Arminian as this book shows what this Reformer did for us all in the break off of the government and church and what he did as he placed holiness back into the church's ideals. Again, this book does not focus on his theology but on his life. Must read for anyone looking for insight to this great theologians life. For a look on the burning of Servetus check this out, for another post on Calvin; check this out. Link to Buy

Made in Our Image

2007-01-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

Steve Lawson has become one of my favorite preachers in America, besides my own Jason Katen of course. Lawson's undeniable love for the truth is inspiring to say the least and convicting at most. I have enjoyed listening to his sermons online as we are separated by the entire continental United States, as he is in Alabama and, I, in the state of Washington.

In this book, which I really feel is mis-titled, Lawson draws on the characteristics and displays the greatness of our infinite God. The reason I say that it is mis-titled is because Lawson spends more time on describing who God actually is (the Biblical God) than who He isn't (the user-friendly god). Lawson spends very little time on the user friendly God and more on the true awe inspiring sovereign Creator. This doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the book, but I felt that Dr. Lawson would spend more time "outing" this movement of those who make God our "buddy" instead of our Yahweh.

The book spends time in showing us His wrath, sovereignty, love, holiness and much more, and then also takes a look at how we should respond. Because of the strong preaching Lawson brings I was hoping that he would call some of these "pastors" out or give better examples of these movements in the United States. But, he did not. I do believe that if any of these "pastors" or congregants of these churches picked this book up they would see their fallacies, and for that I commend Dr. Lawson. If you are looking for an exhaustive look on particular subjects on God, like fearing Him, or His holiness, this isn't the book for you. But, if you are looking for an expansive look at our true God in one volume, then this is a great book. I liked the reading and liked the many subjects he looks into about God. I also can notice the impact it would have giving it to someone who is caught up in the user-friendly movement, so for those reasons I would recommend it. The better title might have been, "The True God of the Bible."

Link to buy

The Five Points of Calvinism

2007-01-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

Does the title give it away? This book is an update from the highly acclaimed book from Steele and Thomas and is great primer on what exactly Calvinism is. It is not exhaustive and was not meant to be but seems to be more a "dictionary" of sorts for reference on the 5 points. For each section it gives the defense and expalantion of the point, then gives you reference material for more reading.

This book is great to keep on your book shelf to reference verses in the Bible for the different doctrines, but if you are looking for a complete defense of the doctrines of Grace you will be disapointed.

The works that I especially found interesting was the appendix which went of a lot of tough questions that are posed to Calvinist based on Scripture and also those questions that are asked outside of the camp of Calvinism.

In my humble opinion if you know very little on these doctrines pick up this book alongside "A Journey in Grace" and you will at least be introduced to where you should go next. Link to Buy

Preaching that Changes Lives

2007-01-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

This book concentrates a lot on the life a pastor should lead and really emphasizes that if you, the pastor, aren't the example how will they follow? Then he moves into some practical ways to set up your outline, prayer and accountability that will move from a sermon that people don't just listen to, but start to truly change their lives from.

He speaks of both the calling of both the pastor and the congregants in preparation for the Lord's Day.

Mr. Fabarez doesn't believe that it is his words that changes anyone but only God who is sovereign, but gives us tips so that we can be shown as "workman...accurately handling the Word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15

Very convicting message from someone who prepares sermons and also is a congregant. Preparation is key but apart from the Spirit it is just a man made speech. Link to Buy

Charismatic Chaos

2007-01-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

John MacArthur does a very good job in being gentle yet truthful in showing where the charismatic movement leads to, and that is when you have the no-holds barred "pastors and churches" that can do anything that "God has told them" The bible is our only authority and because "God has given us everything pertaining to life and godlines" we rest assured on this that He has given us the " faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" This book is a little outdated but still shows what was happening even in the early 90's. I believe this movement has truly blown up since then and now considered almost "main stream" even though the teachings have been proven to be completely heretical. (i.e. Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland)

Even if you are a Charismatic I would encourage you to pick this book up to see some of the things that are happening in your own "movement." MacArthur spends most of his time to talk about the "hyper Charismatic" but does so becuase this is where eventually the Charismatic movement has led to. MacArthur not only gives actual events and theology preached but defends everything in light of Scripture which for most in this movement it gets tough for them to defend since they believe the canon is still open and God doesn't only speak through the Word.

Tough subject, but very much needed. Link to Buy

Light in the Shadow of Jihad: The Struggle for Truth

2007-01-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

I thought this was going to take more of a stand against Muslims and Islam. But what I found is really a fight against evil and really against what the "extremists" believe in Islam. If I hadn't read or listened more of Ravi than just this book I would think he was partial to the "peaceful" Muslims. He did talk about the Islamic countries in bits and about their oppression but never really came down on the crux of this religion that, based on their own Koran, they are told to be "killing machines" to all those who are not Muslim, to wait in the bushes to ambush the infidels. So what happened on 9/11 shouldn't have been a shock to those educated on what Islam stands for.

The book was good in parts but left me wanting more arguments for why Christianity is based on love and Islam is based on a vengeful and hateful allah to even his own people. Instead all you get is more generalities and universal arguments from a worldview standpoint instead of a point by point argument or discussion on basically "Why Christianity and Why not Islam" Because truly Christ is the only Light in any shadow.

I was left wanting, and there was no message at the end that pointed people to Christ, just very vague. I did like the read and found some interesting points on topics and discussions I wasn't expecting. Link to buy

Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps, and Time Lines

2007-01-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

This book is a great tool that walks you through the Bible from Old Testament to New. It has very nice pictures of different cities and sights of the Bible along with amazing timelines from kings to events throughout biblical times.

It has charts showing the various prophets, kings and timeline all on a matter of a couple of pages so that the reader can see the big picture. The book is also useful as it gives a quick timeline from the time of the apostles all the way to the modern day. The Maps are colorful and use various images for the reader so you can visualize different events and landmarks. So many tools in this small resource can't list them all. Great reference book for any student or teacher of the Word. Link to buy

The Keys to Spiritual Growth

2007-01-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

I would definitely urge those who are new in the faith to pick up this book as it will guide you into a right understanding of what faith that isn't dead is really about. It really is for the new Christian, unless you are one who has "professed" faith but have really never followed up with any true fruit of the Spirit; then this book would be a great book to pick up as well.

This book is good for discipling and if doing so would be great to hand off to that new Christian brother and/or sister in Christ. Also, you get to expose them to some great teaching from one the country's great expositors of Scripture.

Good insight and has some good reminders for those who are more mature in their faith. MacArthur, as usual, draws most of his conclusions straight from the word of God so not to get off track. Link to Buy

The Joy of Fearing God

2007-01-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

This book really puts into perspective who we are and who our Creator is. Jerry Bridges uses a lot of Scripture which is why this book was so convicting of how we draw close to our Maker. He draws out the correct view of the fear of God and not how some others see their god, such as the Muslims. They literally fear Allah in an unhealthy way where He will smite them at any time. Our fear of our Jehovah, is a reverential fear that is brought forth in this book.

Some feel as though there should be no fear of God anymore, the fearing of God is not being fearful of Him smiting you at anytime, the fear of God is an awe inspiring, reverential fear to know how holy and just He is, and how dirty and filthy we are. That will draw us close to His grace and wonderful love for such a worthless people.

This book should be read by all, for those who feel as though self esteem is everything, and also for those who feel as though we should be fearful of God's wrath even though we are saved. Jerry Bridges shows how to truly fear God as a Christian, in a healthy way. To know the greatness of God's wrath, like Nahum did, yet still say, "God is good" as Nahum responded in Nahum 1.

Very easy read, but don't make the assumption that because it is an easy read that it is not full of theological insight and depth. Link to buy

Spurgeon's Sermons

2007-01-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

Comprehensive volumes on Spurgeon's sermons, even with date and place that he spoke them. Easy to navigate as there is a topical and Bible reference appendix so you can either read some subjects for the first time or review a whole sermon where you have heard quotes in the past.

Spurgeon truly was one of the greatest pastors, and he would be the first to tell you it was only by God's grace that he could bring us God's word. These volumes are very comprehensive and for under $50 it is a steal. I have enjoyed them and used them in many different ways and have enjoyed reading them in Spurgeon's venacular instead of some of the contemporary changes some have made. If you are a fan of Spurgeon this is truly a great set to have in your library. Link to buy

The Treasury of David

2007-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

This is a great commentary series on the Psalms and has the same feel as Spurgeon's sermons. Great resource for any teacher and pastor to prepare in study for the Psalms.

Very detailed, which I can't say the same for other commentaries done during this same time period. The price once again shows how many people have lost interest in both commentaries and our past church saints. If you would like to learn more about the man you should definitely check out the Spurgeon Archive. This is what Phil Johnson has to say about the collection:

The Treasury of David is a superb literary achievement. Eric Hayden, pastor of
the Metropolitan Tabernacle a century after Spurgeon's ministry began there,
calls this work "Spurgeon's magnum opus." Spurgeon's wife said that if Spurgeon
had never written any other work, this would have been a permanent literary
memorial.

If you are going to be going through the Psalms in your own study or teaching
you should definitely have this at your disposal. Link to Buy

The Master's Plan for the Church

2007-01-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

Very thorough and to the point in so many aspects of the church. From backing up why a plurality of elders to church discipline. A very good read that will point the reader of what God truly wants from His church based on the biblical model set forth in the New Testament. I extremely liked the area describing the elder; his qualifications and disqualifications based on what the Greek text provides.

In the back of the book in the appendixes he then tackles questions regarding different aspects of the church, such as major questions regarding elders and deacons. He defends many topics including having one of the elders being the lead (teaching pastor) to why the elders can, but not as a rule, be paid. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to reconfirm what the Bible teaches on the church and not our traditions passed on generation upon generation. Link to buy

Who Made God?: And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith

2007-01-04T20:06:00.000-08:00

The answers in this book are way too condensed and simple. Doesn't thouroughly answer the questions that are brought forth and takes snippets from other books on these topics for its' answers, such as "When Skeptics Ask" and "Case for Christ."

It seemed as though they were just wanting a book on the shelf that had Ravi's name on it, very poorly put together. If you are looking for answers to tough questions pick up "When Skeptics Ask" "Case for Christ" "Kingdom of the Cults" and/or "Evidence that Demands a Verdict"

This book leaves a lot to be desired and expected more being that Ravi was the General Editor of this book and also "Kingdom of the Cults" Link to Buy

What Angels Wish They Knew

2007-01-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

This book reminded me a lot of "More Than a Carpenter" which I prefer over this book, because of the ways you can use "More Than a Carpenter" but this book was well put together, flows very easily and a quick read for those wanted some basic answers to the Christian faith. It goes over the basics of defending the faith to a pagan world. It uses both a presuppositional approach and also extra biblical finds to show the validaty of the Bible. The one thing that I do respect about Alistair Begg is that he does not pretend that the use of extra biblical findings will save anyone, where I think McDowell would disagree on. It seems as though Begg uses the extra biblical sources as information without leaning on them for a true "proof" of the Bible, again with my experience with McDowell, I think this is probably where they would find some differences.

As far as evangelizing, I usually use McDowell's books to answer questions but know that they will never save a soul, only the preaching of the Word and drawing of the Spirit. But McDowell's book is much more compact and a great tool to give away, and that is why I use it above Begg's.

Alistair Begg is a great teacher and pastor and this book is definitely a picture of how he teaches and that is making some hard subjects easy to understand. I would definitely listen to his sermons if you have yet to do. If you own "More Than a Carpenter" there is no need to pick up this book as they are very similar in content and defense. Link to Buy

Understanding End Times Prophecy: A Comprehensive Approach

2007-01-03T22:42:00.000-08:00

Writer is a dispensational pretrib author and so he definitely bends his thoughts in that direction. He starts off by defining the covenants, again from a dispensational view, (Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, New) and their history and goes into great detail about each thought on the Millennium and each thought on the tribulation.

Benware could have spent more time on the actual prophecies of the Old Testament and also the prophecies in Revelation, 2 Thessalonians, etc. Benware also has some timelines and charts for every echatological thought.

Overall felt it was well put together and fair to each disposition, just remember that he does write and refute based on his theology, which I really liked. If you want a book that shows all sides from their own theologians pick up Zondervan's "Three Views on the Millennium"

Link to Buy

The Kingdom of the Cults

2007-01-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

This book is by far the best compilation of information on the Cults of today. Very exhaustive and researched and fair to the religions it is refuting. Very well footnoted and very well written. If you have any interest in other beliefs outside of Christianity this is a must buy before all other works.

To the people who give bad reviews because this book "bashes or attacks" and say that isn't God's side...Jesus plainly states in Matthew 10:34-37... Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man's foes (shall be) they of his own household.He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Please stop with your inexcussable and unfounded comments about what and who God is or isn't. And for those who say their friends and family aren't in a cult because they are "good people" Good to us is different than good to God, Romans 8:8...those in the flesh CANNOT please God and Romans 14:23..and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Don't think that because we perceive people to be good or doing good that God sees that in the same light, for like Isaiah 64:6 says

For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses
are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities,
like the wind, take us away.

and then again in Romans 3:12 says that "There is none who does good, there is not even one." If you want a serious look at cults this is great book, if you believe that there are many ways to heaven and your "good works" will get you to heaven this book will only frustrate you and cause you to throw it away. John 14:6...Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

The Works of Jonathan Edwards

2007-01-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

Edwards is known for the greatest sermon ever told "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and most people stop at that sermon and don't read further. These two volumes are vast and comprehensive and not for one who wants to casually read Edwards.

These two volumes are still in his original venacular and have not been contemporized like I have seen with other works. They include sermons, thoughts and letters that Edwards wrote on various topics, including his two most popular "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and "Freedom of the Will" and many, many more.

It is great to read from a man so dedicated to God's word and wanting to see his cold puritan peers come to Christ. Do not buy these volumes if you are a casual reader, these works are very deep on great theological issues but if you want to be challenged these would be a great addition to your library.

The only issue I do have is that it is hard to navigate through the sermons, they could have done a better job with an appendix to make it easier to find the info for reference. That shouldn't take away from the content though as you will be greatly encouraged in your study with Edwards. Link to Buy

The Islamic Invasion

2007-01-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

Not the peaceful religion they make it out to be and most of us already know this. Morey does a good job in overviewing a lot of information in this book.

From the history of Islam to the the history of Muhammad, the Koran and the Hadith. Will open your eyes to some of the teachings that he quotes directly from the source of the Koran and Hadith, amazing to see the difference of what Muslims will tell you compared to what Muhammad actually taught. Great book to have in your library as you confront Muslims with their actual beliefs taught by their "great prophet." This book really does a good job to walk you through some very good specifics of what is taught in their major works and is a great resource if you are reading on the subject for the first time or if you need a refresher on the views of Muslims.

The Case for Christ

2007-01-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

This book is great about using professionals in coming to conclusions about who Christ was. It is not intended to be a running debate so those who want another view besides the view that Christ is God isn't going to want to read this book.

This book gives the reader a perspective of leading theologians, historians and doctors that are well respected, not only in Christian circles, but also in secular ones as well. This is a great follow up book to McDowell's "More Than a Carpenter" and more sufficient in showing not just in the internal support of Christ through the Bible, but external support through medical professionals of what Christ went through on the cross. The chapter that goes through the specific physical trials that Christ went through, from the Garden of Gethsemane, to His scourging and then finally as He was on the cross, is truly a heart wrenching chapter to go through. Great book for any level of intellect. Link to Buy

Biblical Hermeneutics

2007-01-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

This book has a lot of amazing information inside but very hard to get through...very technical. This book is more for a seminary student or someone who is looking for further education on biblical hermeneutics.

I am going to use it for a reference book when I need a reminder on issues regarding biblical interpretation but if you are a beginner, do not pick this book up before you pick up "Living By the Book" by Howard and William Hendricks. I would read that book first as it is comprehensive as well, but a much easier first edition to a library than this book.

That said, don't skip out on this book as it will give you a lot of very good insight on how to correctly interpret the word of God. It goes through not only the basics of interpretation but also looks at the different ways that the prophets, writers of the Old Testament books, apostles and Christ taught and put together their thoughts as they spoke in their day. Recommended but not for your first hermeneutical book. Link to Buy

Lights Shining in the Darkness

2007-01-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

This small introduction is basically a cliffnotes version of these men. It is a good introduction but leaves much to be desired. I found it useful to me in being that it was good to get introduced and then also revisiting some of these men that I have learned in the past. The book is under 200 pages and covers men from Athanasius and Augustine all the way to Nettleton and Finney. I was shocked to see Finney in the book at first, but then as I read it was not a defense but a condemnation of his ways of "conversion." I would hope that people would read this book to at least see the fallacies of Finney's ways. I would recommend the book for the "cliffnotes" and easy read to introduce, but don't lean this book for a complete dissertation on the men and their theology. Link to buy

Drawn by the Father

2007-01-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

This is actually a commentary on John 6:35-45 and is small, 63 pages, but these 63 pages are so full of exegetical content that it is hard to put down. White deviates from his other works where he will go into other arguments and point out different themes and arguments, where in this book he completely sticks to the commentary of the one great passage of John 6:35-45. There has been much discussion over this tiny passage of Scripture but in my mind Dr. White has slammed the door shut on discussion. I find absolutely no eisegesis in White's rendering of the text and he allows the text do what it should do: speak for itself. Like usual, White being very knowledgeable and fluent in Greek, allows those who are not, to completely glean from this very important text of Scripture.

Some try to say, "this text really means this" and then give no Scriptural proof of their argument, White does not fall into that trap. He masterfully guides the student and theologian alike through this text where we are finally shown the mystery of salvation by Christ Himself.

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him..." John 6:44

Pick this book up and you will get to glean exactly what Christ meant when He spoke these mysteries to man. Link to Buy

Scripture Alone

2007-01-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

Scripture Alone by James White is different than some other books you might read on the subject. He not only exegetes from the major texts on the subject: 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21 he also uses some fictional and actual conversations that he has had with Catholics and Muslims on the subject. He not only defends the rule of only using Scripture alone for the word and works of God, but also speaks of the closed canon and answers some Islamic fallacies on the subject as well. He goes into detail also on how can we know for sure that we have the canon that God wants? Don't we need an infallible church to decided this for us, as the Catholic would contend? James White does a great job answering all these questions. As usual I enjoy how White does not escape argument apart from Scripture. He always takes you back to Scripture alone to defend Scripture alone, which is vital in our post-modern society. This is another great book by James White and one that is not just a reprint of old thoughts on these issues but in actuality a different defense and thought provoking discussion. Link to buy

The Bruised Reed

2007-01-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

This is a great little book by Puritan Richard Sibbes. Sibbes focus is on the gravity of sin in our lives and us REALIZING and being affected by that sin. Only when we truly realize this sin and hate it are we bruised and then gathered by our Creator for His salvation. If you have ever gone through your life and asked, "How could a perfect God ever love such a worm as I?" This is a great book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhortations in this book as realizing I am not the only one that truly struggles over my sin. It is common, and has to be common in the Christian's life. Only when we struggle with sin and find hating it will we draw close the Saviour's side. This is Sibbes theses for this book, The Bruised Reed. Link to Buy

A Christian's Pocket Guide to Islam

2007-01-02T22:35:00.000-08:00

Good overview and quick read on the subject. It is a great resource if you are just starting a study on Islam or if you need a quick review. Does not go into too much detail so that is where it is lacking but I think that was the purpose for writing this book. Really a cliffnotes version of Islam. Don't let your study stop here but it wouldn't be hurt to start here.

I recommend because it gives a fair understanding of Islam and I believe accomplished what it wanted to be. Link to buy

Reformation Sketches

2007-01-02T21:08:00.000-08:00

If you are already a theologian in this area this is not the book for you, unless you would like a quick review. For those who would like to start to learn more about the reformation this is a great little book that will get you started in learning more about Luther and Calvin and the Canons of Dort.

The one thing I was excited about, that it wasn't as strong as I would have liked, was the confessions. I thought there was going to be a more thorough study on these. Still well worth the buy, it will be a quick read and a great review for those who are accustomed to the reformation.

The book goes through, not only Luther and Calvin but also goes through Melancthon and also goes through a subject I didn't know before, which was the 97 Theses. Link to Buy