New Books–August 2016

New Books–August 2016

Complete New Book List

August, 2016 

Theological Fitness: Why We Need a Fighting Faith, Aimee Byrd. A book for Christians who want to hold fast to their faith without wavering, even in the trials of ordinary life. Aimee unpacks our call to perseverance in the book of Hebrews and explores the great metaphor that physical fitness lends to theology. Aimee is an ordinary mom of three, who blogs about theology at The Mortification of Spin website.

What Christians Ought to Believe: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine Through The Apostles’ Creed, by Michael F. Bird. A fresh exposition of this classic expression of the Christian faith, by an outstanding theologian and author.

The End of Our Exploring: A Book About Questioning and the Confidence of Faith, by Matthew Lee Anderson. Discerning the various types of questions and doubts we experience, and learning to question well. Recommended by Fred Sanders, Trevin Wax, and others.

A Doubter’s Guide to the Ten Commandments, by John Dickson. The only biblical laws to be “written with the finger of God” are the Ten Commandments, and they have powerfully shaped our world.

The Spirituality of Wine, by Gisela H. Kreglinger, with Foreword by Eugene Peterson. Explores the unique place of wine in a full-bodied Christian spirituality. Rich in biblical traditions and church history.

The Life We Never Expected: Hopeful Reflections on the Challenges of Parenting Children with Special Needs, by Andrew and Rachel Wilson, with Foreword by Russell Moore. Andrew is teaching pastor of King’s Church London, and he and his wife have two autistic children. Paul Miller says he would recommend this book “even if your family doesn’t have a child affected by disability—it is soul food”.

Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims About Our Third President, by Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter. John Fea calls this “an intellectual and historical takedown of David Barton’s pseudo-history of Jefferson by two Christian professors who teach at a conservative Christian college” and who “have done their homework”.

God the Trinity: Biblical Portraits, by Malcolm B. Yarnell III. A welcome addition to the recent renaissance of Trinitarian theology. Recommended by Fred Sanders, author of The Deep Things of God.

The Lordship of Christ: Serving the Savior All of the Time, In All of Our Life, with All of Our Heart, by Vern S. Poythress.

The Heart of Christ, by Thomas Goodwin (Puritan Paperbacks). A Puritan classic, first published in 1651, which became the most popular of Goodwin’s many works. Here Goodwin aims to show that in all his heavenly majesty, Christ is not now aloof from believers, but has the strongest affections for them. The heart of his argument lies in his exposition of Hebrews 4:15, and how two things in particular stir Jesus’ compassion toward his own—our afflictions and—almost unbelievably—our sins.

Theologians You Should Know: An Introduction: From the Apostolic Fathers to the 21st Century, by Michael Reeves. Biographical sketches from Justin Martyr to J.I. Packer, and Athanasius to Karl Barth.

Christ and the New Creation: A Canonical Approach to the Theology of the New Testament, by Matthew Y. Emerson. Traces the primary theological message of the NT through its narrative and canonical shape, concluding that the order of the books of the NT emphasize the story of Christ’s inauguration, commissioning, and consummation of the new creation.

Christian Dogmatics: Reformed Theology for the Church Catholic, edited by Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain. An important contribution to the ongoing renewal of Reformed dogmatics. Articles on 16 key topics, including the Divine Trinity, Divine Attributes, Kingdom of God, etc. Contributors include Michael Horton, Richard Gaffin, Kevin Vanhoozer, and others.

Pentecostal Outpourings: Revival and the Reformed Tradition, edited by Robert Davis Smart, Michael A.G. Haykin, and Ian Hugh Clary. Presents historical research on revivals in the Reformed tradition during the 18th and 19th century. For example in the British Isles, with chapters on the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, Calvinistic English Baptists, and Scottish Presbyterians. And then moves to America, focusing on Baptists, Dutch Reformed, and others.

The Essential Trinity: New Testament Foundations and Practical Relevance, edited by Brandon D. Crowe and Carl R. Trueman. Explores the Trinitarian contours of every corpus of the NT, followed by a chapter on the OT, and then demonstrates the relevance of the Trinity as a practical doctrine.

Christ in the Psalms, by Patrick Henry Reardon, author of The Jesus We Missed. Reardon, who is pastor of an Eastern Orthodox church in Chicago, also graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

How Jewish Is Christianity: Two Views on the Messianic Movement, edited by Louis Goldberg.

Church History 101: The Highlights of Twenty Centuries, by Sinclair Ferguson, Joel Beeke, and Michael A.G. Haykin. A brief overview in 100 pages.

Your Will Be Done: Exploring Eternal Subordination, Divine Monarchy, and Divine Humility, by Michael J. Ovey. Trinitarian theology.

Rooted: Theology for Growing Christians, by J.A. Medders and Brandon D. Smith. Ideal for new believers.

ADULT DVDs: Who Is the Holy Spirit? by Sinclair Ferguson. Traces the

work of the third person of the Trinity through Scripture, from creation to the work of Christ to indwelling us today.

ADULT FICTION: The Awakening of Miss Prim: A Novel, by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera. International best-seller. TGC blogger Trevin Wax says this beautifully written debut novel “subverts the secular worldview” on many current issues and “charms the reader into wanting the main character (Miss Prim) to give up her stubborn, secular ways and give in to the dazzling mystery of the Christian faith”.

MORE ADULT FICTION: The Second Half, by Lauraine Snelling, Missing, by Lisa Harris (Nikki Boyd Files #2); Deadly Encounter, by DiAnn Mills; Heart Failure, by Ricahrd L. Mabry, M.D.

CHILDREN/FAMILY DVDs: The Jesus Storybook Bible, Vols 1-4 by Sally Lloyd-Jones. The highly acclaimed book is now an animated DVD. The story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.