Posts from 2009 (Page 3)

Free Grace and Dying Love: Morning Devotions by Susannah Spurgeon. While much is known about Susannah’s famous husband, Charles Spurgeon, comparatively little is known about the woman who supported the great preacher through the many years of his long and fruitful ministry at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. This book will help to address that situation, first through 24 daily meditations on selected texts of scripture. Second, this edition also contains The Life of Susannah Spurgeon, by Charles Ray, a…

The Great Work of the Gospel: How We Experience God’s Grace, by John Ensor. Forgiveness is God’s great work because sin is the greatest of problems, the cross is the most excellent of solutions, and grace produces the most extreme changes. It is all-inclusive and everlasting. In his Foreword, John Piper says this book is “God-centered good news…that will release people from the self-absorbed rationalizations that keep us from the fullest engagement in the global cause of God” and is…

Surprised by the Father’s Plan, by Charles David Kelley with Kristen Zetzsche. Chuck Kelley is a Latvian-American, the product of a short-lived marriage between a Latvian immigrant mother and an unstable American father. Raised by his grandfather, who was a Latvian Baptist pastor, he grew up in a Mexican neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, but inspired by the stories of his grandfather, his dream was to reach his native country of Latvia with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a…

Putting a Face on Grace: Living a Life Worth Passing On, by Richard Blackaby. Many Christians sing of the sweet sound of amazing grace, but fail to extend it to others—missing the point entirely. The author urges you to let God’s grace flow through you, for you will never understand it until you give it away. Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, by N.T. Wright. J.I. Packer says that “brilliant Bishop Wright is one of God’s best gifts to our…

Saddam’s Secrets, by Georges Sada. The author was one of Saddam’s top military advisors, and a devout Christian in a Muslim country. He was also a man who would stand up for what was right, even at the risk of his own life. He reveals the disturbing truth about Saddam’s plots to destroy Israel, hide weapons of mass destruction, and overtake the Arab world. It Came from Within, by Andy Stanley. The truth about what lies in the human heart.…

Contending for Our All: Defending Truth and Treasuring Christ in the Lives of Athanasius, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen, by John Piper (The Swans Are Not Silent #4). These men were fighters for the sake of the deepest truths: Athathasius defended the deity of Christ; the focus of Owen’s vast intellect and expansive heart was communion with Christ, and he battled Christ-belittling errors of the mind and heart with passion and skill; Machen represented Christ in all his fullness…

Who Are You to Judge? The Dangers of Judging and Legalism, by Dave Swavely. The author says many of our interpersonal conflicts result from the sin of judging and the error of legalism. This helpful book defines judging and legalism in a biblical manner, and discusses two often-overlooked biblical commands: Do not pass judgment before the time, and do not go beyond what is written (1 Cor 4:5-6). Reading Romans Through the Centuries: From the Early Church to Karl Barth,…

End of the Spear, by Steve Saint. The author was only five years old when his father, Nate Saint, along with Jim Elliot and three other missionaries, was speared to death in the jungles of Ecuador by Waodani warriors, men from the most savage culture ever known. Decades after the spearing, Steve and his family made the difficult choice to leave behind a comfortable life in the United States and return to the jungle to live among the Waodani people,…

Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to Do With You, by John MacArthur. It wasn’t their natural qualities that made these women extraordinary, but the power of the one true God they worshipped and served. Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit: An Investigation into the Ministry of the Spirit of God Today, edited by Daniel B. Wallace and M. James Sawyer. The backgrounds of the editors are in the evangelical cessationist tradition…

Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ in a Postmodern World, by David F. Wells. This is the fourth and final volume of cultural analysis that began in 1993 with No Place for Truth; or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? In this volume, Mark Noll says that Wells “envisions a duel between the plague of postmodernism (by which he means hyper-consumerism, functional nihilism and meandering egotism) and the power of the Christian gospel understood in the classic formulations of the Reformation. Day…

Does Christianity Squash Women? A Christian Looks at Womanhood, by Rebecca Jones. The author says that “becoming a real woman is believing and acting on the truth that we have been set apart for a special job by Jesus Christ our Creator and Savior who was Himself born of a woman”. Jones was a missionary in France for 17 years, a mother of seven and grandmother of six, and is on the board of the Council of Biblical Manhood and…

The All-Sufficient God: Sermons on Isaiah 40, by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. It has been said that while others preached love, Lloyd-Jones preached God. And these mighty sermons from Isaiah 40 bear that out, as they show that the God of the Bible is not only the great Creator and Judge but the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort. Facing Terror, by Carrie McDonnall with Kristin Billerbeck. The true story of how an American couple paid the…

The Lord Our Righteousness: The Old Perspective on Paul, by Obadiah Grew (1607-1689). In this never-before reprinted work, Puritan Obadiah Grew speaks directly to the need for, and the efficiency of, the imputed righteousness of Christ. This is especially relevant now, in the light of contemporary challenges to the traditional understanding of justification within the evangelical camp. The Glory of Heaven, by William Gearing. A Puritan classic, first published in 1673, which describes heaven not only as a place of…

J. Sidlow Baxter-A Heart Awake, by E. A. Johnston. Born in Australia and raised in England, Baxter (1903-1999) was dramatically impacted by his mother’s witness and by Charles Spurgeon’s printed sermons. Baxter’s preaching and teaching brought him to pastorates in Northampton, Sutherland, and Edinburgh, as well as to America and around the world. He was a renowned preacher, theologian, musician, and author, known particularly for Explore the Book, his comprehensive overview of the Bible. Why the Ten Commandments Matter, by…

The Hospital by the River: A Story of Hope, by Dr. Catherine Hamlin. The author and her late husband established one of the most outstanding medical programs in the world, having operated successfully on over 25,000 women victims of obstructed labor in Ethiopia. Before the Hamlins came to Ethiopia, victims were neglected and forgotten, facing a lifetime of incapacity and degradation. Dr. Hamlin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. 5 Minute Apologist: Maximum Truth in Minimum Time,…

The Truth About Tolerance: Pluralism, Diversity, and the Culture Wars, by Brad Stetson and Joseph G. Conti. No one wants to intolerant. But does that mean we have to accept all truth claims as true? Does this virtue rule out having any strongly held moral convictions? The authors address the use and misuse of the term tolerance in our popular culture. Fools Gold: Discerning Truth in an Age of Error, by John MacArthur, general editor. MacArthur and the other contributors…

Jesus: An Intimate Portrait of the Man, His Land, and His People, by Leith Anderson. A new biography that harmonizes and integrates the four Gospels into chronological order, expanded to include the culture, politics, and personal relationships that shaped the world in which Jesus walked. The Mark of Jesus: Loving in a Way the World Can See, by Timothy George and John Woodbridge. Christians need to be keenly aware of how their actions are interpreted by the watching world. In…

A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament, by Michael Card. It’s easy to praise God when your life is going well, but what about the other times? God desires us to pour out our hearts to Him, whether in joy or pain, and men of the Bible understood this–from Job to David to Jeremiah to Jesus. The author leads us to examine their stories, and as a result to expand our definition of worship.…

Hell Under Fire, edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson. Although the historic doctrine of hell has been contested since the Enlightenment, the past 50 years have witnessed a new and unsettling development. Attacks that used to come from outside the church are now coming from within. This is especially true with regard to two aberrations: Universalism (which says all persons will ultimately be saved) and Annihilationism (which says the wicked will ultimately cease to exist). This book…

Gadzooks, by Paul J. Batura. The highly practical life and leadership principles of Dr. James Dobson. Batura takes you inside the walls of Focus on the Family and in candid, often humorous, detail, shares principles he’s learned while working for America’s foremost family counselor. The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story, by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen. Emphasizing its grand narrative quality, the authors show how the Bible is an organic whole and how…