Items tagged books

Mohler: Top 10 Books Every Preacher Should Read in 2008

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:01:40 GMT

Each year in Preaching Magazine Al Mohler lists his "top 10 books every preacher should read." Here's the new list for 2008:

1. Preach the Word: Essays on Expository Preaching: In Honor of R. Kent Hughes, edited by Leland Ryken and Todd Wilson

2. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical Biblical
Interpretation, by Graeme Goldsworthy (IVP Academic)

3. Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception, by John MacArthur (Thomas Nelson)

4. A City Upon a Hill: How Sermons Changed the Course of American History, by Larry Witham (HarperOne)

5. Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution, by Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach (Crossway)

6. Renewing Minds: Serving Church and Society Through Christian Higher Education,
by David S. Dockery (B&H Academic)

7. After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings Are Shaping the Future of
American Religion, by Robert Wuthnow (Princeton)

8. God’s Ambassadors: A History of the Christian Clergy in America, by E. Brooks Holifield (Eerdmans)

9. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by D. A. Carson and
G. K. Beale (Baker Academic)

10. Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters, edited by Donald K. McKim (IVP Academic)

Audio Books: Stott and Mohler

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:04:11 GMT

Just received in the mail a copy of audio books that readers of this blog may be interested in: The Cross of Christ, by John Stott, and Culture Shift, by Al Mohler. You can listen to samples by following the links to the Christian Audio website.

Books for Officer Training…

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:15:03 GMT

One of the most important parts of successfully planting a church is the critical process of Officer Training. While I plan to write something in a while that goes into greater detail about how to go about training candidates for the office of Elder or Deacon, I wanted to give a short [...]

For Us and for Our Salvation by Stephen Nichols

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:19:54 GMT

Book announcement
For Us and for Our Salvation by Stephen Nichols

Conservative Evangelical publishers are placing a greater emphasis on patristics, the study of the early church fathers. It’s no surprise. Prominent figures have been jumping off the Evangelical bus to walk to Rome and frequently (we are told) because Rome better stresses the church fathers. In particular, the Reformed community is reclaiming its rich patristic heritage. For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church (Crossway: 2007) by Stephen J. Nichols is one great example.

At 37 years old, Nichols has written everything but a cookbook. He is known as a master storyteller and a prolific writer, the author of several biographies and a lively overview of the Reformation – The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World – the most exciting book we’ve seen in 2007! On top of patristic theology and the Reformation history, Nichols recently published an excellent essay on J. Gresham Machen, B.B. Warfield and Fundamentalism and is now working on a book connecting theology and the blues.

Due out on August 13th, Nichols’ latest release is yet another of his excellent historical studies. Now Nichols travels back into the first five centuries to rediscover the debates and characters who fought and defended a true understanding of Christ in His glory.

“Perhaps in no area of theology is this more necessary or beneficial than in the doctrine of Christ in the early church. … The early church fathers wrestled with the same problems presented by The Da Vinci Code phenomenon and its fanciful speculations about Jesus. They wrestled with the same problems presented by Islam and its adamant denial of the deity of Christ. And they wrestled with the same problems presented by the scholars working in the Jesus Seminar or in Gnostic texts like the Gospel of Judas who quickly dismiss the four canonical Gospels as God’s true revelation to humanity. In the days of the early church, the names of the opponents were different from those faced by us today, but the underlying issues bear a striking resemblance. When the church fathers responded with the orthodox view of Christ, they did the church of all ages a great service” (p. 14).

Contents

The book development is split into three historical eras: the first three centuries, the fourth century, and the fifth century. Nichols is a master tour guide through the significant theological works of Church history and a significant place is provided to quote the church fathers in their own words. Nichols provides an concise breakdown of the content:

“This book explores these controversies over Christ faced by the early church. This book also looks to tell the story of the people involved – Arius and Eutyches, Ignatius and Irenaeus, Athanasius and Leo. These may or may not be known to contemporary evangelicals, but they should be. The following chapters unfold this struggle in the early church chronologically. Chapter 1 starts with one foot in the pages of the New Testament and stretches to the first decade of the 300s. Chapter 3 tells the story of Athanasius and his arch-nemesis Arius, the two figures behind the Nicene Council in 325 and the Council of Constantinople in 381. Chapter 5 unfolds the events of the 400s, focusing on Leo I and the Chalcedonian Council in 451. In an unprecedented event, no fewer than 520 bishops met and actually agreed on a very nuanced and sophisticated theological statement that we know as the Chalcedonian Creed. The intervening chapters, 2, 4, and 6, all break from the narrative to provide primary source documents, allowing the major figures in this struggle to tell the story in their own words. A brief epilogue explores the variations on these themes that have occurred in the life of the church since Chalcedon in 451” (pp. 15-16).

TSS Certified Cross-Centered

Nichols’ historical illumination on the church fathers is excellent but more excellent is the Cross-centered focus of its content. Nichols is not content sharpening orthodox Christology until the Cross is brought into focus. At each point Nichols reminds us that the greatest danger in misunderstanding Christ is a misunderstanding of the Cross. It’s because of this repeated emphasis that we stamp this book “TSS Certified Cross-Centered.”

Conclusion

In The Glory of Christ, John Owen said a hearty gaze at the glory of Christ is exactly what we need to cure our spiritual declension and spur us to new levels of Christian maturity. Owen was right (see 2 Cor. 3:18). In For Us and for Our Salvation, Nichols has given us a great view overlooking the valley of patristic Christology, but more importantly he has led us to a place where we can better behold the life-transforming glory of Christ.

———–

Title: For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church
Author: Stephen J. Nichols
Reading level: 2.0/5.0 > very readable
Boards: paperback
Pages: 172
Volumes: 1
Dust jacket: no
Binding: ? (reviewed electronically)
Paper: ?
Topical index: ?
Scriptural index: ?
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Crossway
Year: 2007
Price USD: $14.99 (w/free PDF edition)
ISBNs: 9781581348675

Discerning Reader Headlines and Articles

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:25:46 GMT

Discerning Reader is a site dedicated to promoting good books--books that bring honor to God. At the same time, we hope to help Christians avoid being unduly influenced by books and teachers that are not honoring to God.

Essential Van Til Books

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:25:05 GMT

The following is a brief list of books on apologetics in the tradition of Van Til. These are the books I have found to be most helpful in developing a presuppositional apologetic. These books aren’t necessarily an easy read, but for those seeking understanding in the subject, these are the writings I have found most helpful.

Bahnsen, Greg L. Van Til’s Apologetic (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1998).
This book is indispensable. I would recommend reading this book before all the other books (provided one if fairly familiar with presuppositionalism). Bahnsen provides tremendously useful footnotes that explain Van Til’s writing. Diving right into Van Til’s writings directly can be a bit overwhelming. Bahnsen provides an alternative that lets you get into the depths of Van Til while he still holds your hand so you don’t drown. The book is laid out in a way that lends itself to referencing - so you’ll be able to turn to appropriate sections easily when you’re looking for a particular topic.

Bahnsen is perhaps the author closest to Van Til’s position. John Frame strays just a little bit in a few areas (Bahnsen addresses these in the book). For those seeking a thorough explanation of presuppositional apologetics - this is the book.
Frame, John. Cornelius Van Til: An Analysis of His Thought (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1995).
This is another great overview of Van Til’s apologetic. Though the title may indicate otherwise, it is a sympathetic work. I found the discussion of the problem of the one-and-many to be very helpful.
Notaro, Thom. Van Til and the Use of Evidence (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980).
This small volume covers the much debated topic of presuppositional apologetics and evidences. It’s a useful book and provides a good overview of how the presuppositionalist [should] understand the role of evidences.
Van Til, Cornelius and William Edgar, ed. Christian Apologetics (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2003).
This book is perhaps the closest thing to an introduction to apologetics Van Til wrote. Bill Edgar annotates some of the more difficult sections. It’s a wonderful book, however it’s not necessary if you have read Bahnsen’s volume.
Van Til, Cornelius. The Defense of the Faith (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1955).
This is the classic Van Til volume. If you only have one Van Til book on the shelf, this should be it. However, much of this book is contained in Bahnsen’s book. If you’ve read Bahnsen you’ll have already read the big points and heard the famous illustrations.
Pratt, Richard L. Every Thought Captive. (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979).
This short book is an introduction to presuppositional apologetics aimed at high school students. It’s a great book and provides a Biblical foundation for apologetics. It is an introduction, so if you’re familiar with the subject, it is non-essential. This book is a great resource to point others toward.

There are many other great books, but these few will give you a solid foundation in presuppositional thought. Perhaps we could get Presbyterian and Reformed Publishers to package these together and offer them at a discount.

The Three Most Important Books I've Read

Wed, 30 May 2007 16:50:08 GMT

I thought about different ways to title this post, but in the end, since these are books that profoundly affected my walk with Christ, they really are the three most important books I've read (aside from the Bible itself). In some ways, it is a little surprising to come down to only three; after all, there have been long stretches of my life that I've read a book a week--to narrow it down to these three demonstrates (at least to me) their real value and impact.

1. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression
It wasn't the first or second time reading Lloyd-Jones' Spiritual Depression that made an impact on me. I think it was the fourth or fifth time, but I remember it well. I was sitting in the archives at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, supposedly doing work but instead reading this book. I had continued to wrestle for over two years over a failure in ministry, where I had given myself to a congregation and they didn't apparently love me back. I had, in turn, concluded that God didn't really love me.

But then I read Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Luke 8, where he said, "Whatever your circumstances at this moment, bring all you know to be true of your relationship to bear upon it. Then you will know full well that he will never allow anything to happen to you that is harmful. 'All things work together for good to them that love God.' Not a hair of your head shall be harmed, he loves you with an everlasting love. I do not suggest that you will be able to understand everything that is happening. You may not have a full explanation of it; but you will know for certain that God is not unconcerned. That is impossible. The One who has done the greatest thing of all for you, must be concerned about you in everything, and though the clouds are thick and you cannot see his face, you know he is there" (p. 145).

As I sat up there in my office, looking at the window at the Josephus Bowl on the campus of Southern Seminary, I started crying--could it be true? Was God really concerned about me back there when my heart was breaking? Does he really love me with an everlasting love? It was the first time I could remember feeling loved by God. It is a memory that I doubt I'll ever forget.

2. Bryan Chapell, Holiness By Grace.
If you think that GA give-aways don't work for people, this is my story. I got this as a giveaway from Covenant Seminary at the 2003 General Assembly in Charlotte. I read it over the summer and was completely blown away. The whole approach to the Christian life with which I was reared centered on my performance--the notion went that we were justified by faith alone but are sanctified by human effort. As a result, my relationship with God was as only as good as my own efforts--I had no sense that his love came first and that he loved me anyways and always.

This book changed all that for me--it was like dynamite. I started teaching it to my Bible studies and developed my own study guide for the book. I so desperately wanted my church people to know that the law could not save--not at the beginning of faith nor in the middle nor at the end. It is "all of grace" from beginning to end.

3. John Piper, When I Don't Desire God.
Okay, now to explain this, I need to go back a little bit. Remember that I've admitted that I'm the kid who didn't see "Top Gun" or "Titnatic" when they came out; there is a bit of contrarian-ness that keeps me from following the crowd. Sometimes that is a good thing; but sometimes not so good.

Not so good, when it kept me from reading John Piper. I ran into so many guys, especially when I worked at Southern Seminary, who were such "devotees" that I felt like they missed the point--if Piper was right, these guys should be boasting and satisfied in Christ, not in Piper. However, the testimony of a friend who talked about how God had used Piper's books and sermons in his life convinced me to read something. Even more, it was my friend's joy in walking with Christ--that is what got my attention. Because all too often my walk with the Lord has been a struggle (as I've noted before)--and yet, here was a brother who delighted in God.

And so, I saw this book in the bookstore and I thought, "Yeah, that is too often how I've been--I've not desired God." God used this book to create in my heart such a thirst and desire for walking and delighting in himself; it has led to waking up earlier than I've ever done before (as my students who had me at 8am can relate, I'm not a morning person) so that I can spend time in his Word and prayer, delighting in his presence. I've been memorizing scripture (I've been using the Fighter Verse packet that Desiring God Ministries sells). As my wife as said, "Your sanctification is good for me." Not only good for her, but good for me as well--for the first time that I can recall, I've been genuinely satisfied in who God is for me.

What Books Did It for You?

Tue, 29 May 2007 17:40:03 GMT

What books did it for you?

I thought it might be interesting to poll my readers to see what book (or books) finally pushed you over the edge so that you cried "uncle" and embraced Reformed theology.

These are five books that were very instrumental in my conversion to Reformed theology from Arminianism and dispensationalism back in 1979-80--although what really did it was Donald Gray Barnhouse's tape series on TULIP. My list includes Warfield's Inspiration and Authority of the Bible and Plan of Salvation, Bavinck's Our Reasonable Faith, Murray's Redemption Accomplished and Applied, and Berkhof's Systematic Theology.

So, I am looking for those books (not tapes or videos) which were most instrumental in your own journey to Calvinism. Leave your list in the comments section below. This could be fun!

The Encyclopedia Puritannica Project

Tue, 08 May 2007 14:52:34 GMT

The Encyclopedia Puritannica Project sounds like an exciting project:

The Encyclopedia Puritannica Project (EPP) is an inter-denominational federation of Christians who are committed to the orthodox truths of Scripture. We believe these truths to be well understood, articulated, and applied by the Puritans and other Reformed teachers—both past and present. Many of their works have been forgotten by the modern church and have thus become practically inaccessible. It is our desire to see these works, among the best in the history of Christendom, go forth to the nations once again. This project, begun in 1998, is dedicated to the accomplishment of this task.

In the early 1990s, after the advent of the scanner and OCR software, it became possible to convert printed material to computer text with relative ease. In 1998, EPP began to harness these technologies in order to produce quality digital texts from Puritan and Reformed books. Our long-term goal is to make every public domain, Puritan book available as digital text.

EPP puts a strong emphasis on textual quality. To ensure faithfulness to the original source, we usually proofread our digital text back to the printed book several times. We also refrain from editing or modernizing the text, other than correcting obvious printing errors and standardizing such things as Bible references and dates. We desire to leave the text just as it was printed.

To God be the glory, forever and ever!"

(HT: H.C. Ross)

The Lists:
30 Essential Books for Students and Autodidacts

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 04:45:08 GMT

For a segment on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, John Mark Reynolds compiled a list of thirty books that every college student should read. Since John Mark is the founder of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University its not surprising...

Some Basic Reformed Books

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 18:13:09 GMT

I have been asked by Juan about some books on the Reformed faith. So here is a fairly short, affordable list of books that would get one started on the Reformed faith.

The first book has to be Sinclair Ferguson’s book The Christian Life. This book is a gem, since it ties together very closely what we believe, and what ought to be the concrete result in our lives of that belief. Also, it is short and inexpensive. The best place to start, in my opinion.

For a more thorough approach, one should read Calvin’s Institutes. Yes, they seem long (two volumes). However, Calvin has a gift for getting to the heart of the matter. These books were written for lay-people, not primarily scholars. This is essential reading for any Christian, in my opinion.

Finally, after Calvin, one should read Wilhelmus a’Brakel’s four-volume set entitled The Christian’s Reasonable Service. This set is amazing. It is readable (recent translation), practical, doctrinal, exegetical, and altogether admirable (except for his views on eschatology, which is only a minor blemish). This does what Ferguson’s book (mentioned above) does, but on a far vaster scale. This set was also written for laymen. So, in terms of reading order in systematic theology, read Ferguson, then Calvin, then a’Brakel.

And then, one will need books on the Bible. I think that Goldsworthy is a great place to start. This will give you an overview of the Bible, especially focusing on how to read the Bible. After Goldsworthy, I would recommend Dever’s two-volume set�The Message of the Old Testament, and The Message of the New�Testament. This will give you one sermon on each book of the Bible. Dever does a great job of explaining each book, and how we see Christ in every book of the Bible. After that, one will want an introduction to the OT, and an introduction to the NT. This gives you very helpful background information on every book of the Bible. It is essential to have good reference works that will help you get information in different ways. The best alphabetical helps are this Bible dictionary, and this Bible encyclopedia. And then, one will need canonical helps. I would start with a good study Bible. The best one is the Reformation Study Bible. Then, one should get a good Bible commentary. Matthew Henry is the best one-stop resource commentary, available for sale here. Even though he is older, I would still recommend him highly. He is still read avidly by believers today. This ought to be enough to start off anyone in the Reformed faith. Ask me if there are more specific issues/books you would like me to address.

When Books Become More Important Than the Bible

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:50:32 GMT

My latest column on Christian Worldview Network addresses the issue of second-hand spirituality. Christians are spending billions of dollars on whatever the profit-driven Christian publishers sell and yet often never experience God’s Word for themselves. They are told they need the spiritutal expertise of Beth Moore, or Rob Bell, or Rick Warren if they are to understand what God is saying. I believe it’s time for Christians to stop buying the latest books and start getting into The Book.

The Mozambique Christian Book Ministry Fund

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 12:48:24 GMT

The Goal: To purchase a building in downtown Nampula, Mozambique to house one of the country�s only Christian Bookstores.

Since 1999, Dr. Charles Woodrow (a church-planting, medical missionary (surgeon) supported by Grace Fellowship Church) has teamed with Editora FIEL (Faithful Publisher) of Brazil and missionary Karl Peterson of Maputo to provide Reformed Christian literature in the Portuguese language to Mozambican pastors and church workers.

Seven annual Pastors' Conferences have been held in Nampula with enthusiastic participation from local church workers. Each year 85-150 leaders have come from eight of the country's ten provinces, representing over 40 denominational and para-church groups. Gifted international speakers are brought in to lead the three to four day meetings. The purpose is three-fold: to refresh and encourage Mozambican pastors in their labors for Christ, to better equip them for pastoral ministry, and to acquaint them with the doctrines of grace and the rich legacy left the church by the Reformation fathers. Many of these leaders have participated in the Pastor's Library program of Editora FIEL, receiving one new book each month for three years.

Christian literature is almost impossible to obtain in Mozambique, so at these conferences thousands of books are imported for sale at one-sixth to one-third their normal cost. In 2004 Grace Missions in conjunction with Editora FIEL opened a bookstore and reading room in downtown Nampula. It is the only Christian bookstore to our knowledge in the northern half of the country.

Reporting on the last FIEL Pastor�s Conference held this past fall, Charles Woodrow writes:

�Grace Missions purchased twenty-five thousand dollars-worth of books (including freight) which FIEL provided us for only $10,000 and which we sell at the conference and in our bookstore at half that cost. As in the previous six years, Richard Denham, founder of Editora FIEL, Karl Peterson, and I rejoice to sink our personal finances as well as our ministry funds into the Annual FIEL Pastors' Conference because like many of our participants, we believe it is vital to the churches in Mozambique. Please join us in this ministry, as additional funds would enable us to expand its influence even further. Even though the books we supply are sold at a fraction of their normal cost in Brazil, they are still out of reach of most of our men... Additional book subsidies would get this fine literature into the hands of many more pastors.�

Grace Fellowship Church is attempting to purchase the building that houses the book ministry; a building that is currently rented by Dr. Woodrow. The building�s owner is anxious to sell and it is located in a strategic area of downtown. It would serve as a base for the Pastor�s Conference, the Pastor�s Library Ministry, a lending library and not-for-profit Christian bookstore (all the books are sold for one-sixth of their cost).

So far we have raised $15,190 (1/21/07) toward our goal of $35,000 (the purchase price). $1270 of this was raised by 8 kids who read Books for Mozambique. But you can see we have a long way to go - another $19,810.

If you feel that the Lord would be pleased to have you contribute to this ministry, please make your cheques payable to Grace Fellowship Church and in the Memo line write: Mozambique Books. You will be receipted by the church for the tax year in which you give. We plan to accept donations for this ministry until May 31, 2007. You can mail cheques to: Grace Fellowship Church, c/o Timothy Christian School, 28 Elmhurst Dr., Toronto, ON, M9W 2J5 CANADA.

Notes:

There are no administrative costs to this project. Every dollar collected will go directly toward the purchase price of the building.

Here is a post on Dr. Charles Woodrow.

Here is an earlier post on the Book Fund that includes a link to Dr. Woodrow's sermon preached at GFC. If you get to the sermonaudio page, you can link to other sermons by Dr. Woodrow. I highly commend this one!

kerux noemata - the blog of pastor paul w. martin
thanks for reading!