Posts from 2009

Complete New Book List December, 2009 A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters: the Word, the Christ, the Son of God, by Andreas J. Kostenberger (Biblical Theology of the NT series). An exhaustive theology of John’s Gospel and letters, which also provides a detailed study of major themes and relates them to the Synoptic Gospels and other NT books. The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition, and Interpretation, by John H. Sailhamer. According to John Piper, this is not a…

Complete New Book List, November, 2009 Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic, by Chris Castaldo. An evangelical convert from Catholicism explores how to emulate the grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ in relation to their Catholic friends and family. D.A. Carson said it is the “best book he has read that chronicles such pilgrimages”. The author challenges Evangelicals to recognize that yes, Catholics can love Jesus. An Uncommon Union: Dallas Theological Seminary and American Evangelicalism,…

Complete New Book List October 2009 The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World, by Michael Horton. Christianity doesn’t work as just a moral philosophy or code of ethics. It makes sense only when it is built upon the foundation of the Gospel. Finding God in Ancient China, by Chan Kei Thong and Charlene L. Fu. Although China has long been considered a culture of fables, legends, and the polytheistic language of many deities, the author…

Complete New Book List September, 2009 The Jesus You Can’t Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Jesus, by John MacArthur. These days Jesus is often portrayed as a pacifist, or a meek and mild teacher. These things do represent a portion of the Messiah. But MacArthur shows another side, the bold confronter who contends for truth. From Tyndale to Madison: How the Death of an English Martyr Led to the American Bill of Rights, by Michael…

Complete New Book List August, 2009 Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ: The Cost of Bringing the Gospel to the Nations in the Lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton, by John Piper. Vol 5 in The Swans Are Not Silent series. Religion Saves: and Nine Other Misconceptions, by Mark Driscoll. The author saves religion never saved anyone, and religious answers to complex questions are simply misconceptions. Here he deals with ten popular misconceptions. Why We Love the…

Complete New Book List July 2009 The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, by John H. Walton. Tremper Longman says this is a “compelling and persuasive interpretation of Genesis, one that challenges those who take Genesis 1 as an account of material origins”. Bruce Waltke says Walton’s “cosmic temple inauguration view of Genesis 1 is a landmark study”. Did the Resurrection Happen? A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Anthony Flew, edited by David Baggett. In…

Complete New Book List June, 2009 Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision, by N.T. Wright. The author offers a comprehensive account and defense of his view on Justification by Faith. He also responds to his critics, such as John Piper, who have challenged what has come to be known as the New Perspective. Heroes, by Iain H. Murray. Seven biographical sketches on people in church history whom Murray particularly admires, including the well known (Spurgeon, John Newton, Jonathan Edwards, and…

Complete New Book ListMay 2009 Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds, by Chris Brauns. Helping us understand the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Blending biblical teaching with contemporary stories so that we can be set free from bitterness. Abusing Scripture: The Consequences of Misreading the Bible, by Manfred T. Brauch. Rightly dividing the word of truth can be a difficult and contentious matter. The author helps us recognize the kinds of misreadings that have been circulating,…

A Great and Terrible Love: A Spiritual Journey Into the Attributes of God, by Mark Galli. J.I. Packer says “anyone who works their way through these meditations on the attributes of God will find them full of nourishment”. Ancient Word, Changing Worlds: The Doctrine of Scripture in a Modern Age, by Stephen J. Nichols and Eric T. Brandt. A comprehensive survey of approaches to the doctrine of Scripture, showing what the church has always believed about the Bible as the…

Living Water: Studies in John 4, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Fifty never-before-published sermons by Lloyd-Jones on the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:10-30. You Can Lead an Atheist to Evidence, But You Can’t Make Him Think, by Ray Comfort. Answers to questions from angry skeptics. Shows how atheism isn’t just a mind game; it is intellectual suicide. Finally Alive: What Happens When We Are Born Again, by John Piper. Piper rescues the term “born again” from its contemporary status…

The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith, by Christopher J.H. Wright. If we are honest, we have to admit there are many things we don’t understand about God. We don’t have the final answers to the deep problems of life, and there are areas of mystery in our Christian faith. Wright encourages us to face up to the limitations of our understanding and learn to be able to say with the psalmist: “But that’s all right.…

John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine and Doxology, edited by Burk Parsons. A team of leading Reformed scholars and pastors paint a magnificent portrait of John Calvin, faithfully depicting the life and teaching of the Genevan Reformer who gave direction to the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Contributors include Michael Horton, John MacArthur, Sinclair Ferguson, Jay Adams, Thabiti Anyabwile, Joel Beeke, Jerry Bridges, et al. Facing Your Final Job Review: The Judgment Seat of Christ, Salvation, and Eternal…

The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith, by Timothy Keller. Taking his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity, Keller uncovers the essential message of Jesus, locked inside his most familiar parable. Within that parable, Jesus reveals God’s prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism, by Joel R. Beeke. Traces the roots of Calvinism and sets forth its doctrinal distinctives, then explores how Calvinists live out their beliefs…

Suffering and the Goodness of God, edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Theology in Community series). Biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical engagement with the problem of suffering and evil. Contributors include Walter Kaiser, John Frame, John Feinberg, and others. Death By Love: Letters from the Cross, by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. In this book, the authors show how the benefits that flow from Jesus Christ’s atoning work on the cross apply to specific real-life challenges and…

Spectacular Sins: and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ, by John Piper. When it comes to holocausts or other horrors, many assume that God has his hands tied and his back to the wall. But Piper paints a different picture from Scripture. Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, edited by C.J. Mahaney. Addresses the issues that prompt that subtle, silent slide away from God that each of us is prone to take. Sarah: How a Hockey…

The Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism, by Garth M. Rosell. The story of how America’s mid-twentieth-century spiritual awakening became a worldwide Christian movement. Looks through the window of the life, ministry, and writings of Ockenga (co-founder of Fuller Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the National Association of Evangelicals and Christianity Today magazine) and Billy Graham. The Christian in an Age of Terror: Selected Sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones 1941-1950, edited by Dr.…

Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life, by Colin Duriez. Schaeffer (1912-1984) was an amazing man—intellectually brilliant and set on truth. This new biography draws on specifically collected oral history to fully portray the person, work, and teaching of one of the most important figures in modern Christianity. What is a Healthy Church Member, by Thabiti M. Anyabwile. A focus on the individual church member. D.A. Carson says: “Some books are so simple they are hardly worth skimming; others are so complex…

Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis, edited by David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback (Calvin 500 Series). This volume is a contribution to the celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth, and is made up of a section-by-section analysis of John Calvin’s magnum opus by twenty leading Calvin scholars. J.I. Packer says, “for making Calvin known today as well as once he was, and in every age deserves to be, this really is a major step…

A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer, by Lyle Dorsett. The impact of Tozer on the kingdom of God is immeasurable. His sermons touched thousands, and his books, including the Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy, reached millions and continue to sell. Yet few really knew this quiet, intensely private, deeply spiritual man. In this new biography, Dorsett digs deeply into Tozer’s childhood, spiritual conversion, family life, and ministry. He doesn’t hide the flaws,…

Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists, by Collin Hansen. A voyage of discovery about how our restless youth, weary of churches that seek to entertain rather then teach, are discovering anew the doctrines of grace. The author visits BethlehemBaptistChurch in Minneapolis (John Piper), MarsHillChurch in Seattle (Mark Driscoll), Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville(Al Mohler), and other places where this movement is growing. The Delusion of Disbelief: Why the New Atheism is a Threat to Your Life,…