New Books–June 2010

Complete New Book List

June, 2010

Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wrong, by Mary A. Kassian. Insights from Proverbs on the differences between a saucy, seductive Wild Thing and a smart, biblically savvy Wise Thing. Susan Hunt says this book is a “much needed message regarding the ethics of biblical womanhood”.

66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God that Invites You Into His Story, by Dr. Larry Crabb. A fresh, relational look at Scripture, book by book. Presented as a dialogue between one man and God, this book explores each book of the Bible as a letter from the Creator to you, with the scarlet thread of Christ Himself woven through the pages.

Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels, by Tullian Tchividjian. A re-telling of the familiar story of Jonah, which Jerry Bridges says “helps us see that there is something of Jonah in all of us, and that we stand in need of the same grace of God every day”.

Run to Win the Prize: Perseverance in the New Testament, by Thomas R. Schreiner. NT teaching about how God will not fail to save those He has elected and brought to saving faith, balanced by the necessity of persevering faith, love and good deeds.

The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer That Changed the World, by Stephen Mansfield. In Ireland of the early 1700s when the Guinness family started brewing beer, the water was undrinkable but gin was plentiful and cheap. Arthur Guinness was an evangelical Christian who wanted to provide a drink that would be safer and more nutritious than what was currently available. Because of his deep faith, as his business became successful, Guinness became active in social causes, founding SundaySchools and hospitals for the poor. Future generations of the Guinness family continued with socially responsible activities and providing high wages and generous benefits to their workers. The founder’s spiritual legacy included grandson Henry Grattan Guinness, who was such a firebrand of faith in his time that his name would be mentioned with Moody and Spurgeon as one of the greatest preachers of his age. Henry’s daughter married J. Hudson Taylor’s son and spent her life working for China Inland Mission. The Guinness family legacy had an impact not only in brewing and banking, but in church history as well.

Jesus and Israel: One Covenant or Two? by David E. Holwerda. A Reformed, covenantal understanding of promise and fulfillment, with special emphasis on the relation of Israel to the church. Focuses largely on the NT’s use of OT themes of Israel (holy people), temple, land and law. It relates all of these themes to fulfillment in Christ, in agreement with the idea of inaugurated eschatology.

The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith, by Peter Hitchens. The brother of prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens, chronicles his personal journey through disbelief into a committed Christian faith.

Where Sin Abounds: The Spread of Sin and the Curse in Genesis with Special Focus on the Patriarchal Narratives, by Robert B. Gonzales, Jr. Eugene Merrill says that many OT scholars “limit the discussion of sin and the Fall to the first three chapters of Genesis, with perhaps a nod to the Flood narrative”. However, Gonzales makes a strong case for “the ongoing permeation of sin and its after-effects into the human experience” which are documented in the patriarchal narratives that tell the rest of the Genesis story. Bruce Waltke says he eagerly anticipates “turning again and again” to this fresh and detailed comprehensive work which “the contemporary evangelical church, corrupted by the Marcionite heresy, needs desperately to hear”.

The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men, by Richard D. Phillips. What it means to be God’s man.

It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement, by Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence. Chapters include The Passover (Ex 12); Crushed for Our Iniquities (Isa 52-53); Ransom for Many (Mark 10:45); Becoming a Curse for Us (Gal 3:10-13); and 10 others.

An Alphabet of Promises: A Little Book of Big Promises. A winsome compilation of photos and biblical promises, designed and compiled by ex-CBCer Sally Rackets.

Kingdom Without Borders: The Untold Story of Global Christianity, by Miriam Adeney. The 21^st century has opened up a rapidly changing map of global Christianity. In a richly illustrated journey around the globe, Adeney presents stories of the Gospel’s progress in different countries around the world, and beckons us to expand our vision.

Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living, and Speaking the Gospel, by J. Mack Stiles. The author says evangelism is not rooted in a method, but in something much deeper. It is found in what makes us whole and healthy messengers of God’s truth about Jesus. D.A. Carson says “I do not think I have ever read a book about evangelism that makes me more eager to pass it on than this one”.

Church Planting is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-Up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things, by Mike McKinley. Thabiti Anyabwile says “Mike knows a lot about the ups and downs of church planting, and he writes about it with all the honesty and humor necessary for laboring in God’s grace”.

Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters, by Philip Graham Ryken (Preaching the Word). In this exposition, Ryken says the book of Ecclesiastes is about the meaninglessness of life without God. But because the writer never gives up his belief in God, his ultimate purpose is to show us how meaningful life can be when we see things from God’s perspective.

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, by David Platt. A challenge to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. Then the author tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a “successful” suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.

Global Awakening: How 20^th Century Revivals Triggered a Christian Revolution, by Mark Shaw. The last century has seen the revolutionary remaking of Christianity into a global faith no longer dominated by the West. Mark Shaw’s provocative thesis is that far-flung revivals are at the heart of new and vital forms of devotion around the world. Mark Noll says this is “the most impressive study of worldwide Christian revival to have appeared in a very long time”.

Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry, by Michael Lawrence. Relates biblical theology to systematic theology, and then applies both to the ministry of the church. Michael Horton says that “for everyone who believes that theology needs the church and the church needs theology, this will be a welcome resource”. Lawrence is associate pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in WashingtonD.C.

Jesus and the Land: The New Testament Challenge to “Holy Land” Theology, by Gary M. Burge. Recognizing the powerful impulse to a territorial dimension in much of Judaism, this book reflects on NT texts, especially those by Luke, John, and Paul, to see how Jesus and the early church distanced themselves from any territorial dimension to faith.

In the Days of the Kings, by Michael Wilcock. A narrative of the 450 years in which God’s people were not just a nation but also a monarchy. Places each king of Judah and Israel in his own time and place, pointing how a particular king either feared or did not fear the Lord, and what the consequences were.

Preaching Christ from Genesis: Foundations for Expository Sermons, by Sidney Greidanus. Analyzes 23 Genesis narratives and discloses the message for Israel as well as the likely purpose of the author, and explores various ways of preaching Christ from each narrative. Not only useful for preachers, but also for those wishing to study or teach Genesis.

War, Peace, and Christianity: Questions and Answers from a Just-War Perspective, by J. Daryl Charles and Timothy J. Demy. Explains Just-War Theory, without giving license to violence, but attempts to morally and responsibly address the issue of the proper use of force.

Roman Numerals: The Second Art West Adventure, by Ben Witherington III and Ann Witherington. Ben Witherington, a prominent NT scholar at Asbury who also holds a degree in English literature, and his wife Ann, who is also a professor at Asbury, continue their turn to fiction in their second Art West novel. Here, archaeologist West seeks out the meaning of the mysterious symbolic number 666 while exploring sites in Egypt and Turkey. Set in the context of Middle Eastern tensions, West also gets tangled up with terrorists.

OTHER ADULT FICTION: Indivisible, by Kristen Heitzmann; Here Burns My Candle, by Liz Curtis Higgs; Predator, by Terri Blackstock.

ADULT/FAMILY DVDs: Billy: The Early Years of Billy Graham, starring Academy Award winner Martin Landau, Lindsay Wagner, and country singer Josh Turner (a movie about Billy Graham’s early career).