Complete New Book List
September, 2014
Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times, by Os Guinness. Some think the best days of the Christian faith are behind us. Is there hope for societal redemption and renewal? Guinness says yes.
Truth in a Culture of Doubt: Engaging Skeptical Challenges to the Bible, by Andreas J. Kostenberger, Darrell L. Bock and Josh D. Chatraw. Demonstrates that belief in the Scriptures does not represent sacrifice of one’s intellect.
Apologetics Beyond Reason: Why Seeing Really Is Believing, by James W. Sire, who says: “there are a million signposts pointing toward the specific truth of God in Christ. I’ve seen many of them. But God is speaking to you too. Look and see. Listen and hear”. The noted apologist gives us eyes to see the myriad “signals of transcendence” all around us. He focuses on the power of literature—even from those who deny the existence of God—to enable us to perceive and testify to God’s reality in ways that rational argument alone cannot.
HISTORICAL NON-FICTION: A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal, by Ben Macintyre. True story of the greatest spy in history, a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain’s counter intelligence against the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War—while he was secretly working for the enemy. Using his close friendship with James Angleton, the head of the American CIA’s counter intelligence, he fed information to the Soviets which helped to sink every British-American spy operation for 20 years, sending countless operatives to their doom. Also questions a misguided British class system which assumed that no gentleman of good family, a Cambridge education and membership in the “club” would ever betray their country, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Tulipomania: The Story of the World’s Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused, by Mike Dash. The history of the tulip from its origins on the windswept steppes of central Asia, to its place of honor in the lush imperial gardens of Constantinople, to its starring moment as the most coveted commodity in Europe. In Amsterdam in 1637, for the cost of a single tulip bulb you could buy 24 tons of wheat, 2 tons of butter, or even an entire ship. And then came the moment when overspeculation led to the collapse of the tulip market and economic depression. A fascinating tale of human greed and self-delusion.
Harps Unhung: Praising God in the Midst of Captivity, by Eileen Gayle Anderson and Vicki Joy Anderson. Eileen’s vision was to re-write all 150 Psalms as poetry, but she had completed only 75 before dying of ovarian cancer in March 2013. Her daughter, who has suffered through more surgeries than she has years, took up the task and completed the remaining 75. This book, which John Piper calls “unique and compelling” is a call for suffering, sick and weary Christians to praise the Lord in the midst of captivity.
Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, by Karen Swallow Prior. In this beautifully-told book, the author movingly and honestly tells a compelling story of self-discovery and coming to faith through some of the greatest books ever written.
Living in Christ’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God, by Dallas Willard. What it means to live well now in the light of God’s kingdom. He reflects on the power of the Trinity in our lives, the meaning of knowledge, the importance of spiritual disciplines, and much more.
Perspectives on Your Child’s Education: Four Views, edited by Timothy Paul Jones. The four views presented are public schools, open admission Christian schools, covenantal Christian schools (only admit Christians), and home schooling.
Who Is Israel? What is a Jew? Where is Jerusalem? A Biblical Mandate for Prophetic Reformation in the New Millennium, by Hal Brunson, PhD. The author, pastor of First Baptist, Parker, Texas, has also taught at Trinity Christian Academy. In this work, he says that the definitions of such terms as Israel, Jew and Jerusalem should be subject to the Apostolic definitions in the NT and to the Apostolic interpretations of OT prophecy. His approach to prophecy is amillennial.
The Wonder Working God: Seeing the Glory of Jesus in His Miracles, by Jared C. Wilson.
The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands, by Lysa Terkeurst. If you are living with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule and soul, the author says you need to know the difference between saying yes to everyone and saying yes to God.
For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship, by Daniel I. Block. The author rightly insists that the issue is not whether we enjoy worship, but whether God is pleased with our worship, and he returns consideration of Christian worship to its source: the Scriptures.
MISSIONS BOOKS FOR FAMILIES: The Mission-Minded Family: Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny, by Ann Dunagan, and The Mission-Minded Child: Raising a New Generation to Fulfill God’s Purpose, by Ann Dunagan. Books to inspire all those involved in a child’s life and in their families to teach and raise a new generation to fulfill God’s purposes for the world.
The Coming King and the Rejected Shepherd: Matthew’s Reading of Zechariah’s Messianic Hope, by Clay Alan Ham. A detailed study of the three quotations from, and the eight allusions to, Zechariah in Matthew’s Gospel.
OTHER ZECHARIAH STUDIES: 30 Days in Zechariah: An Ordinary Girl Takes on an Extraordinary Book, by Allison T. Cain. How to live as prisoners of hope. Zechariah: God’s Big Plan for Struggling Christians, by Tim Chester (Big Book Guide series); Zechariah, by Thomas V. Moore (Geneva Series Commentary). Originally published in 1856, and called “a capital book” by Charles Spurgeon.
SHEPHERD’S NOTES: Summary and outline studies of individual books of the Bible in a Cliff Notes format: Daniel, by Stephen Miller; Revelation, by Edwin Blum; Isaiah, by Paul P. Enns; Jeremiah and Lamentations, by Paul R. House.
COMMENTARIES AND BIBLE STUDIES: 1 Samuel for You, by Tim Chester.
THEOLOGY FOR CHILDREN: The Awesome Book About God for Kids, by Sandy Silverthorne and Alisha Braatz.
DVDs: God’s Not Dead. When an atheist philosophy professor plans to forego “dusty” arguments in his class, he insists that students declare that “God is dead.” Unable to do this, Josh is challenged to defend his faith and prove to the class that “God’s Not Dead”.
BOOKS ON CD: Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. The best-selling book now on CD.
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