Complete New Book List
March, 2017
Knowing God and Ourselves: Reading Calvin’s Institutes Devotionally, by David B. Calhoun. Calvin intended his Institutes to be a guide in reading Scripture, and a companion to his commentaries. He wanted his readers to respond with love for God and obedient lives. This new book is a short and lucid guide to the Institutes, which is in turn a guide to the Bible.
Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun and a Renegade Monk, by Michelle DeRusha. A fascinating look at one of the most well-known Christian couples of all time—the first family of the Protestant Reformation. A growing love accompanied by joy, sorrows, and faith in God’s providence.
The Last Adam: A Theology of the Obedient Life of Jesus in the Gospels, by Brandon D. Crowe. Jesus redeems through his life as well as through his death. Michael Bird says Crowe “shows us that the Evangelists describe Jesus as the last Adam who saves people by his vicarious obedience to his messianic mission”, explaining “not only why Jesus died, but why he lived”, and how Jesus is “the covenantal head of a new community”. Tom Schreiner says Crowe demonstrates that while Jesus’s obedience is “vital to the narrative and theology of the Gospels”, it is a theme that has “not been sufficiently emphasized in NT studies”. After completing it, Schreiner tweeted that he “learned a lot from this book”.
Letting God: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls, by Dave Harvey and Paul Gilbert. How to care for the prodigal who has strayed, and how to love and forgive those who have hurt or abandoned you.
HISTORICAL NON-FICTION: Lincoln’s White House: The People’s House in Wartime, by James B. Conroy. The first book devoted to capturing the look, feel, and smell of the executive mansion from Lincoln’s inauguration in 1861 to his assassination in 1865. Brings to life the people who knew it, from servants to cabinet secretaries, enabling the reader to see how the Lincolns lived and how the administration conducted day-to-day business during four of the most tumultuous years in American history, based on fresh research and with a character-driven narrative.
Finding God In My Loneliness, by Lydia Brownback. Young or old, married or single, male or female—at some point in life, we’re all confronted with loneliness. We try to fill the void, or change our circumstances. But what if our pangs of loneliness are meant to point us to something greater—an abiding hope in the friendship of Jesus Christ?
Sons in the Son: The Riches and Reach of Adoption in Christ, by David B. Garner with Foreword by Sinclair Ferguson. Rarely addressed throughout church history, the doctrine of adoption has seen fresh attention in recent years. J.I. Packer calls this book “a gem: a precious, mind-clearing, heartwarming achievement”. Also recommended by Russell Moore, Nancy Guthrie, Richard Gaffin, Jr. et al.
The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament, by Matthew W. Bates. Offers a new historical approach to the doctrine of the Trinity by exploring the way 1st and 2nd century Christians read the OT in order to differentiate the One God as multiple persons. The earliest Christians believed they could metaphorically “overhear” divine conversations between Father, Son and Spirit when reading the OT. Recommended by Lewis Ayres, Larry Hurtado, and Joel Green.
Reading Romans with Luther, by R.J. Grunewald. Organized by significant themes in Romans, the book offers highlights from Luther’s commentary and how these themes are relevant to our lives today. And weaved throughout is beautiful full-color artwork.
Practicing the Power: Welcoming the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Your Life, by Sam Storms. Sam Storms terms himself an amillennial, Calvinistic, charismatic, credo-baptistic, complementarian, Christian hedonist. This book is recommended by Jack Deere, Matt Chandler, Gregg Allison, and Andrew Wilson.
Preaching Christ from Psalms: Foundations for Expository Sermons in the Christian Year, by Sidney Greidanus. Reveals the richness of the Psalms and helps us to discover their theological and Christological significance, including typology.
Isaiah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics, by Ben Witherington. Reading Isaiah in its original context is the crucial prerequisite for understanding its citation and later interpretations, including the NT writings. By reading “forward and backward”, Witherington advances the scholarly discussion of intertextuality and opens a new avenue for biblical theology.
COMMENTARIES: Daniel, by John E. Goldingay (Word Biblical Commentary).
ADULT FICTION: Still Life, by Dani Pettrey (Chesapeake Valor #2); Justice Delayed, by Patricia Bradley (Memphis Cold Case); Moving Target, by Lynette Eason (Elite Guardians #3).
CHILDREN’S BOOKS: Lily: The Girl Who Could See, by Sally Oxley and Tim Ladwig. Story of Lillias Trotter who forsook a promising art career for the mission field.
MOVIES ON DVD: The Light Between Oceans, from DreamWorks (rated PG13 for some sexual content within a marital context). Lavish drama about the long-ranging impact of bad decisions made by good people, of forgiveness and sacrificial love; Lady Jane, from Warner Brothers (rated PG13 for some sexual content within a marital context), starring Helena Bonham Carter. Drama of the true story of Lady Jane Grey, who found herself Queen of England for nine days at the age of 16 in the midst of political and religious turmoil. She held true to her Protestant convictions and suffered death by beheading.