Complete New Book List
February 2018
Almost Gone: 25 Days and Once Chance to Save Our Daughter, by John Baldwin and Mackenzie Baldwin. Frightening but true account of a Plano TX Christian family whose 17 year old daughter was “seduced” by a Kosovo Muslim in an internet chatroom, converted to Islam, and planned to leave family and faith behind and secretly fly to Kosovo to marry someone she had never met. Only a last minute intervention by the FBI saved her from a huge mistake. The story is told in alternating chapters by the father and the daughter.
With Jesus: Finding Your Place in the Story of Christ, by Brian G. Hedges. Fred Sanders calls this a very, very important book. He notes that we often turn to Paul’s letters for our understanding of union with Christ, since it is so clearly taught there. But he says this book equips us to go one step further in, as we take up the story of Jesus itself and find salvation in each of the major moments of the Gospels. Along the way Hedges shares the riches of the Puritans, the church fathers, the Reformed confessions, and in particular the great Scot preacher and writer, Hugh Martin (see other books by Martin at the bottom of this list).
Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions About Life and Sexuality, by Nancy Pearcey, author of Total Truth. Rosaria Butterfield calls this a “must-read book” which “models on every page how to understand secular worldviews in order to engage with them effectively in post-Christian America.
Some Pastors and Teachers: Reflecting a Biblical Vision of What Every Minister Is Called to Be, by Sinclair Ferguson. In 5 sections and 39 chapters, Ferguson writes on pastor-teachers who have left an indelible mark on his own life, leads us in a series of chapters on the teaching of John Calvin, John Owen, and the 17th century Puritans, and then follows with studies on such subjects as Scripture, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the nature of biblical theology, adoption, the nature of the Christian life, and preaching Christ from the OT. All in a total of 776 pages.
A Brief History of Sunday: From the New Testament to the New Creation, by Justo L. Gonzalez. The retired professor of historical theology recounts the long and complex history of corporate worship on “the Lord’s day”, before and after Constantine, through the Middle Ages, and into the Reformation and beyond.
Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology, by Randall Price with H. Wayne House. This is a lavishly illustrated book of the most significant archaeological discoveries pertaining to each book of the Bible, with full color photos, maps and charts. It is organized into three sections: archeology of the OT, the intertestamental period, and the NT.
True Feelings: God’s Gracious and Glorious Purpose for Our Emotions, by the mother-daughter team of Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre. Forword by Joni Eareckson Tada. We don’t have to live at the mercy of our emotions. This book clears away common misconceptions and mixed messages to offer us a biblical perspective on emotions and how to honor God with them.
The Story of Scripture: An Introduction to Biblical Theology, by Matthew Y.
Emerson (Hobbs College Library). Although the Bible contains 66 books written by 40 authors, it is actually one book written by one author, the Holy Spirit, with one subject: Jesus Christ. How do all these books, from Genesis to Revelation, fit together? Emerson guides the reader through the four major themes of the Bible—Creation, Fall, Redemption, New Creation—and shows how each individual book fits into the big meta-narrative centered on Jesus.
The Prayer That Turns the World Upside Down: The Lord’s Prayer as a Manifesto for Revolution, by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. The biblical meaning and theological depth of the Lord’s Prayer for 21st century believers.
The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places, by Nik Ripken. Sequel to The Insanity of God. How do we respond when Jesus tells us he is sending us out “like sheep among wolves?” A bold challenge to global discipleship, as Ripken brings decades of ministry experience in some of the most persecuted areas of the world to bear on our understanding of faith in Jesus.
Jesus the Lord According to Paul the Apostle: A Concise Introduction, by Gordon D. Fee. An accessible and concise version of Fee’s much larger academic work, Pauline Christology, dealing with Paul’s understanding of Christ as revealed in his epistles. Fee is among the most respected scholars of our time.
The Girl Empress: The Chronicle of Maud, Volume 1, by Amy Mantravadi. Empress Maud (1102-1167), commonly known as Mathilda, was the young daughter of King Henry 1 of England. At the age of 8, she learned she would be sent to Germany to marry the Holy Roman Emperor for political purposes. She must leave all she knows behind in order to lead a people whose language she doesn’t speak and whose customs she doesn’t understand, and her new husband is in the midst of a serious disagreement with the pope. She is thrust into the middle of the greatest political controversy in Europe, while still navigating the transition from girl to woman. This is a meticulously researched and factual historical novel.
CLASSIC WORKS BY THE SCOT PREACHER, HUGH MARTIN (1822-1885): In the Shadow of Calvary (Foreword by Carl Trueman). Leads us thru Gethsemane, the arrest and the trial of Jesus, in the light of Scripture’s fulfillment. John Murray said among the many gifted gospel ministers in 19th century Scotland, “none deserves more honour than Hugh Martin. No one could scale higher heights of sanctified eloquence”. The Abiding Presence (introduction by Sinclair Ferguson). Ferguson said that Hugh Martin takes us to vantage points of the life and ministry of Jesus “that other authors miss or never thought of ascending”.
The Memory of Old Jack, by Wendell Berry (Port William). Another novel set in the fictional community of Port William, KY. The LA Times Book Review places Berry in a literary class of the half-dozen living authors who “are absolutely inimitable”.
COMMENTARIES: Psalms 73-150, by C. Hassell Bullock (Vol 2, Teach the Text Commentary Series).
ADULT DVDs: The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith and Persecution, by Nik Ripken. Documentary based on the book which tells the true story of missionaries Nik and Ruth Ripken who journeyed into the depths of the persecuted church.