Category: Book Reviews

Book Review: This Day In Christian History – Edited by A. Kenneth Curtis and Daniel Graves

366 Compelling Events in the History of the Church

The stated purpose of this book by the editors is as follows: “It is our hope and prayer that these stories provide you with a sampling that at least suggests the incredible scope and reach of the Christian message, as well as the way that God has worked through an amazing diversity of individuals and institutions in countless circumstances. This volume offers one way to take the journey through our Christian past in a go-at-your-own-pace way that we hope we will stir your interest and fascination.”

The book does this very thing – it makes you marvel at God’s sovereignty and creativity in the various mysterious ways He works through individuals in all walks of life for His ultimate glory and unstoppable plan.

From January 1st to December 31st there is a full page for each day of the year with the top event of historical significance related to the Christian church for each day of the year. Each page has three inserts which are in black and white – usually a photo related to the event or person described, and painting, map detail, or something else related to the person or event, as well as descriptions of 2-7 other important events that took place on this particular day in history.

The end of the book contains a very helpful resources page for further study on any of the events, or people in the book, as well as very helpful subject index of dates, people, places, and events.

I have taken four classes in Church History in Seminary and have read various books on Church History and still found that this book contained events and people I had never heard of. If you know a lot about church history, or know nothing at all – you will benefit from and thoroughly enjoy this wide-ranging panorama of God’s work through peasants, pastors, missionaries, and Kings.

Book Review: Following Christ By R.C. Sproul

Four Great Books In One Place

If you can find this book it is a terrific buy. It contains four books by R.C. Sproul in one. The original four books were entitled “Who is Jesus?” (1983); “Ethics and the Christian” (1983); and “God’s Will and the Christian” and “Effective Prayer” – both issued in 1984. These books have been reworked by reformation Trust as individual titles again. However, if you want to get a better bang for your buck try to get a copy of this book. R C Sproul is a phenomenal communicator and writes clearly, articulately, theologically and practically.

The Way “Following Christ” is organized is as follows:

Part One: Who Is Jesus?

1) Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

2) The Titles of Jesus

3) The Life of Jesus

Does Prayer Change Things?

4) The Place of Prayer

5) The Purpose of Prayer

6) The Pattern of Prayer

7) The Practice of Prayer

8) The Prohibitions of Prayer

9) The Power of Prayer

How Can I Know God’s Will?

10) The Meaning of God’s Will

11) The Meaning of Man’s Will

12) God’s Will and Your Job

13) God’s Will in Marriage

How Should I Live in This World?

14) Ethics and Morals

15) Revealed Ethics

16) Legalism and Antinomianism

17) The Ethics of Materialism

18) The Ethics of Capital Punishment

19) The Ethics of War

20) The Ethics of Abortion

21) Ethics and Conscience

I can’t recommend this book highly enough – whether you get the four books in one, or individually as they have been reissued – either way – with Sproul it’s always a winner!

Book Review – For The City: Proclaiming and Living Out the Gospel By Darrin Patrick & Matt Carter

How The Gospel Impacts and Transforms Culture for Christ

Darrin Patrick (Pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, MO) and Matt Carter (Pastor of Austin Stone Community Church in Texas) both tell the stories of their calling to plant churches – specifically in the city. The two pastors’ inspire existing churches to think through how we proclaim and live out the gospel, and extend a call to the masses to influence our cities with and for the gospel.

I love Carter’s description of his “church model” taken largely from His reflections on reading about Charles Spurgeon’s amazingly effective ministry in London, England in the mid-1800’s:

“Imagine an urban church so influenced by the power of the gospel that it seized every opportunity to proclaim and live out the gospel for the good of the city. Imagine that this church physically and spiritually served the poorest of the poor, but also lovingly rebuked the wealthy. Imagine this church as the epicenter of straight-up, God-fearing, Spirit-filled, revival, leading thousands of people to eternal life in Christ in just a few years. Imagine a church that built elderly housing, housed all the orphans in the city, and taught wealthy business people to have a ‘double bottom line’ so they could run a profitable business in order to support the work of the church and meet the needs of the city. In other words, imagine a church that boldly preached the gospel and lived out the values of the kingdom. Don’t you want to be a part of a church like that?”

My answer is “yes” I do! Along the way the authors show what a gospel centered ministry looks like from their perspectives of planting and pasturing in Mid America and in the South. The subjects they address are how the gospel relates to contextualization, building community, serving in the city, equipping the saints, suffering, and sharing their weaknesses, failures, and by God’s grace – their successes too.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to grow in their understanding and application of the gospel and how to penetrate the culture with the gospel through the ministry of the local church.

Commentary Review: Holman 2 Volume OT Psalms 1-75; & 76-170 by Steven J. Lawson

Steven J. Lawson is one of the best God-centered and Christo-centric expository preachers of our time. He is like a cross between John Piper, James Montgomery Boice and R.C. Sproul. Therefore, if any of those names mean anything to you – you will love this commentary by Lawson.

All the commentaries in the Holman series are concise, homiletical in orientation, and immensely practical for teachers and preachers of God’s Word.

Volume one contains an excellent and brief introduction to the Psalms with discussion and explanations of the unique features of the Psalms, including it’s title, authors, time period, literary types, book divisions, literary style, figures of speech, acrostics, and why and how they are so life-changing.

In volume one the first 75 Psalms are covered and in volume two he covers Psalms 76-150 and each are broken down in 75 individual chapters in the following manner:

1)    A title that summarizes the topic of the Psalm.

2)    A helpful quote that delineates the theme of the Psalm – usually from a great Christian from the past – Lawson is a very knowledgeable Church historian.

3)    A commentary on the chapter from the Bible which contains – the main idea of the passage and the supporting ideas written out in an expository outline with explanation, grammatical help, and exegetical insights.

4)    A main idea review and a conclusion for the chapter.

5)    A Conclusion – usually an excellent illustration of the passage.

6)    A Life Application – typically questions, commands, and principles to be applied from the passage.

7)    A prayer based on the passages truths and applications – all very God-focused and oriented toward praise.

8)    A section on “deeper discoveries” – usually key word studies, theological insights, and historical, cultural, and textual facts & helps.

9)    A teaching outline for the passage.

10) Lastly, issues for discussion taken from the passage.

I highly recommend this commentary on the Psalms – especially if you are only going to have one or two commentaries on the Psalms. Lawson is practical, theological, and does a superb job of getting to the heart of each passage without too much discussion of the details. I find that the devotional and practical nature of the commentary makes it very suitable for personal study, as well as the communal study of God’s Word.

Dr. Steven J. Lawson is the Senior Pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. Max Anders – the editor of the series is the Senior Pastor of Castleview Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Book Review: Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle

Why Should You Bother to Read This Book? 3 Reasons:

1)    We live in a cultural and theological environment that wants to shape our own God – rather than believe in the God that has been revealed in the Scriptures as both Holy and Loving.

2)    We need to be balanced in our thinking of the character and nature of God as revealed in the Bible – He is just and loving, so how do these two aspects of God’s character work with respect to the here and now, and on into eternity.

3)    We need to develop the heart of God for people who don’t know Him intimately and personally through Jesus Christ.

Chan and Sprinkle have written a compelling and cogent book that is logical, exegetically sound, and pulls at the intellect and the emotions to lead us to action in the pursuit of understanding what God is like, and being like Him for the sake of redeeming and restoring our culture – God’s way! I highly recommend this book as one that will help you grow in your understanding in the character and nature or God and mankind and what God’s plans are for the immediate present, and the fast approaching future through the person and work of our Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ.

Book Review: Why Small Groups? Together Toward Maturity by C. J. Mahaney

Excellent Introduction Into “Why?” Any Church Should Have Small Groups

I don’t know of a better study guide than this one to begin the process of training facilitators of small groups in the local church. I have used this little guide many times over the years and find that it lends itself to the great dynamics of what it takes to build a healthy. It contains 7 lessons written by pastors with over 100 years of experience in serving the local church in the context of small groups. Their ultimate goal is to help your church be a church of small groups, rather than just with small groups.

The Eight Chapters are divided as follows:

1)    C. J. Mahaney writes the opening chapter and delineates the fact that healthy small groups result in a community of believers that grows in their sanctification, mutually cares for one another, shares intimate fellowship, and experiences and expresses various out workings of the spiritual gifts.

2)    James Loftness addresses what biblical fellowship really looks like, as well as what it doesn’t look like.

3)    Greg Somerville writes about the many ways that the members of the small group may commit themselves to the group using their gifts, talents, abilities, and passion to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit to build up the Christian community.

4)    Mark Mullery builds a case for the complementarian characteristics of a great leader – committed, of proven character, submitted, having a love, in a commendable marriage (if applicable), trained, consistent in the spiritual disciplines, able to lead, a tither, and male.

5)    Mickey Connolly deals with the “art of care and correction. He provides some great insights into resolving conflicts, confronting sin in others, and confessing our own sins – in order to create a community of repentance and restoration.

6)    John Butler looks at how to challenge your group toward outreach and assimilation – to never be comfortable – but missional.

7)    Dave Harvey writes an excellent chapter on the different “viruses” that can attack a group and how we can build up the local church body as a community that works together for the common good of the church.

8)    Walt Russell pens the appendix, which should not be overlooked. He writes an excellent article addressing how to properly interpret the Scriptures, and then apply them. In essence he says, “The meaning of a text never changes. Our first goal is to discover this fixed thing. In contrast, the significance of the text to me and to others is very fluid and flexible.”

All the sessions are based on Biblical passages, and approximately 10 questions per chapter for group discussion based on the reading, and Scripture references discussed by each author. Each chapter contains sidebars, which contain quotes, verses, passages for further study, and helpful suggestions and ideas for further discussion. I recommend this resource highly for anyone who is interested in “Why” you should have small groups in your church – it will motivate you to begin right away!

Book Review: Trusting God by Jerry Bridges

I just finished leading a group from my church (my third time) through this book. I don’t know who benefits more, the people I take through this book, or myself. As far as I’m concerned the two greatest truths we as Christians should have a good grasp on are the Gospel and God’s Sovereignty. There are excellent books on both these subjects, but the most practical book (in my opinion) on the latter topic is this one by Bridges.

The reason God’s Sovereignty is such an important subject is that the Christian life is a life of faith in God’s promises, His character, nature, and plans – all of which require our trust when we can’t see what’s in front of us, or why things happen the way they do. The more we know what God is really like – biblically – the more we are able to trust Him daily.

Jerry Bridges covers the following topics with biblical support, practical insight, and wise application:

1)    Can You Trust God?

2)    Is God in Control?

3)    The Sovereignty of God

4)    God’s Sovereignty Over People

5)    God’s Rule Over Nations

6)    God’s Power Over Nature

7)    God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility

8)    The Wisdom of God

9)    Knowing God’s Love

10) Experiencing God’s Love

11) Trusting God for Who You Are

12) Growing Through Adversity

13) Choosing to Trust God

14) Giving Thanks Always

The author provides a myriad of reasons in this book into the how, why, what, and when’s involved in trusting God and His infinite trustworthiness for living the Christian life. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It’s been a tremendous source of encouragement for me in incredibly tough seasons of life.

Study Guide Review: Gospel in Life by Tim Keller

This is a Workbook is an in depth course on the Biblical Gospel is to be lived out in all of your life—internally, and externally (in your community and in the world). It is specifically designed for use in a small group that is working through the companion DVD called “Gospel in Life.” If you want to have a better understanding of how the gospel applies to your life not in the past, and not in the future, but NOW – then look no further than this book.

Anything Tim Keller writes is theologically deep, contains biblically sound teaching, and is penetratingly Christ-centered. This study guide is no exception – as a matter of fact, I almost wish it wasn’t a study guide – so more people would read it, and work through it as a workbook. In my opinion he is the finest communicator of the gospel in America today.

There are 8 Studies in the Guide that are designed for use with the Gospel in Life DVD:

1)    The City – The World That Is

2)    The Heart – Three Ways To Live

3)    Idolatry – The Sin Beneath The Sin

4)    Community – The Context For Change

5)    Witness – An Alternate City

6)    Work – Cultivating The Garden

7)    Justice – A People For Others

8)    Eternity – The World That Is To Come

Each session contains an inductive Bible study on the theme, discussion questions based on the DVD, and home studies consisting of exercises, projects, readings, questions, and quotations to help you dig deeper into the topic at hand. A very helpful extensive section of notes is included for those who lead the small group through this study.

I can’t recommend this DVD and Study Guide highly enough – I think it’s a Top 5 (along with His study on “The Prodigal God” and “The Reason for God”) resource to be used in any church that is serious about the Gospel, being missional, church planting, living in community, and fulfilling the great commission.

Book Review: Can I Know God’s Will? By R. C. Sproul

A Good Introduction for Discerning God’s Will For Your Life

R. C. Sproul did not mean for this book to be an exhaustive treatment on the subject of the will of God, but carefully, analytically, and articulately addresses four aspects on the subject of discerning God’s will for your life:

  • One – The Meaning of God’s Will – He addresses the fact that the Bible speaks of the “will of God” in various ways and goes on to specify the different categories in which the Bible addresses this topic. Dr. Sproul discusses the distinct aspects of God’s will by discussing in four categories: His decretive will; preceptive will; will of disposition, and His hidden and revealed will. He gives excellent biblical, philosophical, and practical ways that God’s will manifests itself and how we should respond to His preceptive and revealed will according to the Scriptures.
  • Two – The Meaning of Man’s Will – In this chapter Dr. Sproul address the whole issue of the abilities and inabilities of our freedom with a penetrating look at Jonathan’s Edwards poignant insights from his outstanding work on the “freedom of the will.”
  • Three – God’s Will and Your Job – Here R. C. asks and answers questions related to calling, vocation, responsibility, and motivation in how to best to discern how to wisely use our God given talents and abilities for God’s glory.
  • Four – God’s Will In Marriage – R. C. answers five key questions: 1) Should I Get Married?; 2) Do I Want to Get Married?; 3) What Do I Want in a Marriage Partner?; 4) From Whom Should I seek Counsel?; 5) When am I Ready To Get Married?

As with most books by R.C., this one being no exception, it is thought provoking, biblical, clear, concise, and practical. It’s a great place to begin if you have never wrestled with the idea of “God’s will” – also, with R.C. he always gives “new” material or insight on any subject he covers, so even for those who have read in this area, you will be given fresh insight by a master theologian and communicator of Biblical truth.

*Note – This book was originally part of a short series of books called “How Can I Know God’s Will” in the 1980’s that have been reissued – and also a part of four sections of a book called Following Christ (both published by Tyndale). I say this upfront, because I always get frustrated when I buy a book that I already have purchased under a different name.

Book Review: God Isn’t In A Hurry by Warren W. Wiersbe

Help For Impatient People

I am someone who struggles with waiting. As such, I am grateful for this book. There are various topics covered in these 30 devotionals penned by this godly and wise pastor to pastors – Dr. Warren Wiersbe (once the pastor of the Historic Moody Memorial Church in Chicago). This book is the third of it’s type – the other two being Turning Mountains into Molehills, and The Bumps Are What You Climb On.

The subtitle of the book is really what all the devotionals center around: “Learning to slow down and live.” I have read this book daily for a month several times, and have flipped through it trying to find the right title to suit whatever I’ve been going through during a difficult time.

This book is full of Biblical insights and principles, encouragement, and will definitely help you to be reminded of God’s sovereignty and goodness in your life. He also encourages you by showing how important your life is in the overall plans of God. I come to this book again and again to slow down and rest in the Lord.