Everyone wants to be somebody. By that I don’t mean that everyone is necessarily seeking his identity or that he is muddled in some measure of a mid-life crisis. But I do mean that everyone wants to achieve some measure of measurable and recognized success. They want to do something so that they will be […]
Read More Book Review: Memoirs of an Ordinary PastorEarlier this week, Keith asked me, “what’s the best book you’ve read on your sabbatical, so far?” I offered several different titles that I enjoyed, but none stood out as “the best.” Now I have a title for him. Not only is Pierced for Our Transgressions the best book I’ve read on sabbatical, but it’s […]
Read More Book Review: Pierced for Our TransgressionsIn the last year or so, I became aware of the ministry of Art Azurdia, and the treasure of sermons available from his ministry as a pastor for some 20 years. Having heard a number of his sermons, I purchased his book, Spirit Empowered Preaching. After hearing a broad variety of other preachers and kinds […]
Read More Book Review: Spirit-Empowered PreachingI finished reading John MacArthur’s book, The Truth War this morning — on the same day that the main headline in my newspaper (referring to the question of Roger Clemens’ supposed steroid usage) was, “Testimony hits no closer to the truth.” The headline is a revelation of the time in which we live. We tear […]
Read More Book Review: The Truth WarArnold Dallimore has written numerous biographies, including ones on Spurgeon, several on the Wesley family, and the definitive two–volume work on George Whitfield, which he latter summarized into a more manageable, one-volume, 200-page book: George Whitfield: God’s Annointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century. (This latter book also may be accessed through […]
Read More Book Review: George WhitfieldI regularly look for and purchase and read books about Jesus Christ — and particularly Christ and the cross. The cross is of first importance for the believer. We cannot think about it too much. We often think about it too little. So when I read an encouragement by Tim Challies to purchase The Cross […]
Read More Book Review: The Cross He BoreI stumbled onto Kris Lundgaard’s first book, The Enemy Within, at a second-hand book store. I was unfamiliar with the book, but knew the reputation of the publisher, and seeing the commendation from J. I. Packer on the back, I ventured the few dollars for the book on the hope they would be worthwhile. They […]
Read More Book Review: Through the Looking GlassFleeces, open and closed doors, impressions, “peace” (or a lack of it) — all these are common means for believers attempting to discover the sovereign will of God for their lives. To that idea, pastor Gary Gilley counters in his book Is That You Lord? that there is a better, more God-exalting, Scripture-trusting, and freedom-giving […]
Read More Book Review: Is That You Lord?“I do believe; help my unbelief.” This cry from the father of the mute, demon-possessed boy is in some way the genuine condition of the hearts of all who believe in and follow Christ. There are areas in our lives in which we know the truth of God and believe that truth is sufficient and […]
Read More Book Review: Battling UnbeliefWhile in seminary, I remember a classmate (who will remain nameless for the simple reason that I cannot remember who it was) saying that it was his goal to go for his entire ministry without quoting Charles Haddon Spurgeon in a single sermon. Not knowing much about Spurgeon at the time, I remember being neither […]
Read More Book Review: Spurgeon – a New BiographyIn the past few years, I have found myself increasingly gravitating to books on the cross of Christ. One reason is that since I lead our church through communion each month, I need to read things that keep the truth of the cross fresh and exciting to me. But the most significant reason is that […]
Read More Book Review: The Truth of the CrossJohn Owen’s The Mortification of Sin is considered a classic, and 350 years after it was published, is still probably one of the best books on hamartiology (the doctrine of sin) and specifically, how to mortify sin. It has taken me far too long to read it; I purchased it three years ago, and it […]
Read More The Mortification of Sin (John Owen)I recently finished reading Steve Lawson’s first book in his new series, “A Long Line of Godly Men:” The Expository Genius of John Calvin. It is more than a biography; it is an examination of his sermon style that has as its aim “to raise the bar for a new generation of expositors.” Several things […]
Read More John Calvin’s Expository GeniusWhen I purchased my first good camera in college (35mm film and everything), I determined that if I could get one or two, or perhaps three excellent pictures from each roll of film that it would be money well spent. I’ve taken a somewhat similar approach to books — if I can find two or […]
Read More Listening to the GiantsI just finished reading Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching. It is admittedly written to pastors and for pastors. But the principles in the book will apply well to anyone who would teach the Scriptures. Two chapters are particularly worthy of consideration. Sinclair Ferguson considers the topic, “Preaching to the Heart.” This principle […]
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Words of Grace 