A Great Book and a Few Good Links
July 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I enjoy getting lost in a good book once in a while. Well, during the first three days of my trip to LA, I got myself lost in Randy Alcorn’s Edge of Eternity. I don’t think you have read it yet. As you might expect, I would encourage you to read it soon. I believe I enjoyed it more than his Safely Home - and you know that is saying big things.
The book itself is something of a modern day Pilgrim’s Progress. And in my opinion, it is better - for reasons I might give at a later date. So please, put it on your short list and check it out. You will probably finish it in a day or two (rightly so!).
In other news, I enjoyed these two posts. The first is an excerpt from Tullian Tchividjian’s upcoming book Unfashionable (one I look forward to reading as well). Money stuff.
The second is a post from Albert Mohler on the topic of education. As always, I think it’s money as well.
Sorry to overload you with more things to read. Well, actually, I guess I’m not that sorry!
Thankful for good resources (as I know you are),
Joe
‘Respectable’ Sins
June 26, 2008 | 3 Comments
Today I will be finishing up a book called Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Bridges’ aim is confront many of the sins that people in the Church seem to tolerate in themselves, while they groan about the more obvious sins of our society (like drug abuse, abortion, homosexuality, etc.).
Here’s the list of respectable sins that Bridges confronts in his book: Ungodliness (which Bridges defines as living one’s everyday life with little or no thought of God, His will and His glory), Anxiety and frustration, Discontentment, Unthankfulness, Pride, Selfishness, Lack of self-control, Impatience and Irritability, Anger, Judgmentalism, Envy and Jealousy, Sins of the Tongue, and Worldliness.
So here are my two questions for everyone:
Of the list above, which respectable sin catches your eye as one you need to read up on and put to death?
What other respectable sin does Bridges NOT mention that you think would be beneficial to address in a book such as the one he wrote?
Leave some comments, and I’ll share my answers as we converse about this.
Larry
A Timely Resource
June 20, 2008 | 1 Comment
Joe,
Along the lines of the post I made yesterday regarding piety and the pursuit of public good, check out this book by Steve Mosma called Healing a Broken World. I am reading it on Crossway’s site right now and have been impressed with what I’ve read so far. It speaks of how to be involved in the political process in a truly Christian way, with some critiques of the way ‘the religious right’ has handled things.
I’ve only read 33 pages so far, but this looks to be a book that can be helpful for those who long for their personal piety to have the salt and light influence on our society that Christ has called us to live out.
Larry
Cultivating Meditation
May 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Joe,
The other day I bought a booklet written by Tim Keller called Studies in Prayer: Developing a Strong Prayer Life. As you would expect, he cannot talk long about a growing prayer life without also talking about meditating on God’s Word. In one of the chapters he lays out a way to meditate that helps to move toward prayer.
I have been feeling a bit stagnant in my devotions over the past few weeks, so I applied Keller’s advice to my time this morning. He suggests that you ask yourself five things as you contemplate a passage of Scripture that you are looking at:
1. What does the passage tell you about God/Christ?
2. What does the passage tell you about yourself (ie. examples to follow/avoid, commands to obey, promises to claim)?
3. What is the most compelling truth you learned from this reading (There is a bit of overlap here with the first two)?
4. How would you be different if this truth was explosively alive in your innermost being?
5. Why is God showing you these things today?
He suggests (and I heartily agree) that you write down the answers to these questions, and not just keep it in your head. I would add that it is helpful to write everything out in the form of prayer to God.
I had a great time this morning using these questions to guide me in the four readings that I do daily. This afternoon I hope to give an example from my reading about how this practice worked itself out in my studies this morning.
It is not wise to approach devotions with a ‘formula’, because that can tend to make the time mechanical. But I found these five questions to be very helpful in taking the truths of God’s Word from my head to my heart. I hope they are useful to others as well.
Larry
Together for the Gospel
April 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The audio for the recently completed Together for the Gospel conference has been posted for free on the web. You can play or download all the messages here.
Video of Keller at Stanford
March 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It seems like my summary of Tim Keller’s address from Penn the other night has been a blessing to some people, so I thought some of you would be interested in a video of pretty much the same talk (I think) that Keller did in Philly, posted at Justin Buzzard’s blog. This lecture was given last week at Stanford. There’s also a video of the question and answer time, which I look forward to watching.
Shalom
March 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I look forward to hearing all that you say on Sunday while unpacking that statement you put in bold print in your last post.
The hope of Christianity is a perfected relationship with God enjoyed in perfect community with other people on a perfected and glorified Earth.
I like the way you place an emphasis on relationship. For over the past few days, I have been listening to two sermons/lectures by Tim Keller. In them, he described the biblical reality of Shalom. I don’t have the time or wisdom to unpack it all here, but a primary point Keller made was that Shalom has a great deal to do with proper, flourishing relationships. Relationship with God. Relationships with other people, with the physical world, with your own mind and emotions, on and on down the list. The word means much more than peace (as it is usually translates). It points to the joyous flourishing that occurs in all of life when everything is in proper relationship to one another. And so much more.
You may or may not have listened to these. If you have not, I would encourage you to do so quite soon. Though you may have heard much of what he says in there already, the way it is packaged with such clarity of vision is very helpful. I was stirred to say the least. The first session (and actually, both of them include two short sessions) is called Bible Teaching on Treasure and Justice. He focuses on money here. Again, you may have heard most of it, but it is well worth listening to again. The second is called Reaching the 21st Century World for Christ. I loved this one especially. Adopt this vision and you will change the world.
That is enough for now Lar. Just thinking about your statement and all that Keller had to say about Shalom makes me long for the day when the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, where He shall reign forever and ever. Perfect joy. Perfect relationships. Perfect Shalom. Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus!
Laboring to be an agent of Shalom,
Joe
p.s. If you want to read more about Shalom for your Sunday sermon, you can find clarity in Cornelius Plantinga’s Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be. I’m not sure where it is in my house, but it should be there somewhere. (I received it as a Christmas present and naturally wasn’t home to put it in its proper place). Check it out and let me know what you find. Maybe you can put a good quote on Shalom up here next week. I look forward to reading it when I get home.
The Chronicles of Narnia
March 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
You have two good books to finish brother! Heaven and The Call are two that I thoroughly enjoyed. I would encourage you to soak in both of them. I agree with both points you made, but interestingly enough, they were reasons that I enjoyed both books! Alcorn can be a bit on the imaginative side, but they helped me. Kind of enlarged my vision of the New Earth and helped me do the same with my imagination. Of course, I won’t get it all right, but I just figure, no matter what I (or he) imagine, it will be ten thousand times better!
As for The Call, I should have warned you. Indeed, everyone who reads that book should be warned. For it isn’t necessarily a ‘practical’ book. It is more theoretical in a big respect. But I view this as one of its strengths. For it’s as if Guinness is writing to renew the mind and inner spirit. He is out to give a vision and stir something within the reader that helps him better understand the nature and importance of calling. It’s different, but I found it effective. Though, as you mentioned, the way the book is set up does not lend itself to reading lengthy portions at one time.
Anyhow, I am supposed to be giving a February recommendation of my own! Here it is: The Chronicles of Narnia.
Now, I realize that those are seven books, but they fit together as one. Indeed, there is a one version Chronicles out there. Actually, that is the one I linked to. And, though they are 230-270 pages a piece, there was only one that took me more than a day. I just couldn’t put them down and certainly could not go to bed before finishing them.
I remember reading that C.S. Lewis once said that some things are best said through fairy tails. After reading Chronicles, I agree with him. In particular, the visions of Jesus he gave in his descriptions of Aslan (w/ only one exception) were soul-stirring. Also, descriptions that pointed to Christian conversion and experience, set as they were in a fantastic story, encouraged me in my journey as well.
True, these books are written for children. Erin is reading them to Abigail right now (they are on book 5). And Abigail does love them and talks about them and flips through them time and again. But she can’t appreciate the depth that is found within these pages. I would dare say that every Christian ought to read these books, particularly if you have children. They are that good.
What are they about? Well, just read them and you will find out. Lose yourself in them, in fact. Pick a day and finish book one. It’s a day well spent.
Could say more as always Lar. But that is enough for now. I really do love books! Praise God for so many good ones!
Thankful for good books,
Joe
February Book Recommendations
March 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I am following your lead on the book recommendations. I have already mentioned two other books I read this month in a few other posts. What’s So Great About America? by Dinesh D’Souza and The Purity Principle by Randy Alcorn. I may say more about them sometime, but I will highlight a few others today.
First, Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy. I read it in two days, I believe. Just couldn’t put it down. I marvel first, because God wrote the script of this story. And as you read, you can see His hand all over it and marvel. That is one reason why memoirs and/or biographies are so enjoyable to read (especially by Christians). Because they are meant to help you see beyond the story to the Storyteller, and ultimately, to His great Story of redemption in Jesus Christ. This book did just that.
It’s also one that was a great encouragement to me as a professional athlete. He loves the Lord and lives in the world I live in. Naturally then, I can relate to his story. Also, particularly personal to me, are the various lessons he has learned in coaching. My desire to enter into that field grows stronger and stronger, and this book served to encourage me in that direction. It also showed a coach who, in my opinion, is doing things the right way. A coach who really knows what he is doing and what he is after and how he plans on getting there. That is great stuff.
I’ll also say this about this book: there is a need for more books like this one. For this book is a memoir/biography of a Christian man who is not a missionary or minister. I think that is big. Really big actually. Because if you do a search for Christian biography, you are bound to have a difficult time finding books about businessmen or coaches or other normal people. Usually, you find missionaries and ministers, etc. This isn’t all bad, of course. But I would argue that it is very dangerous. After all, people like me need heros. We need people to look up to. And we need to know their story. I am inspired by missionaries and ministers, no doubt. But they don’t live where I live and therefore, their story just can’t hit home in the same way. Indeed, though their stories are certainly inspiring, they can oftentimes be discouraging, because they can easily lead you to think you ought to be somewhere else.
That being said, I need to go on a hunt for Christian biographies in various spheres. Please let me know (Larry and everyone else) of good biographies to encourage the common man.
I was going to comment on another set of books I read this month, but I will leave that for another day. Common men and women living uncommon lives to the glory of God. Here is where the Lord is seen in power. Here is where the kingdom of God comes.
Thankful for books,
Joe
Sexual Purity
March 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
Have you read Randy Alcorn’s The Purity Principle? If not, find a copy and take an hour or so to do so. It’s one of those quick reads that are well worth the time. As usual, Alcorn does a great job of giving the reader a vision for sexual purity, while backing things up with many practical words of wisdom. He does not hold anything back. And considering the topic, who would want him to?
The book is addressed to both men and women, but naturally, Alcorn (seeing he is a man himself) ends up addressing men quite a bit more. Either way, I think this book should be mandatory reading for every Christian. I know I say that a lot it seems, but this one can honestly fit the bill, because it is short, while packing a powerful punch. Buy a few copies. Read one and give the rest the way with a few ultimatums added! Those on the receiving end will thank you.
I would also like to take this time (as if there were a limit) to exhort the men reading here to dialogue on this issue more readily with one another. Reading this book together in a small group setting may serve as a healthy catalyst to just that.
Also, one more thing. In his book, Alcorn references this document: Guidelines for Sexual Purity. This is one he drew up and would review with his daughters and the young men who wanted to date them. Great stuff! I am saving a copy for Abigail and Lord willing, Naomi one day. You should do the same for young Halle. The young men may be a bit nervous, but our daughters will be honored and everyone will be better off for our applying this document and living the book.
Battling for holiness,
Joe
What’s So Great About America?
February 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Lar,
I’m not asking the question, but simply conveying my recommendations on a book by that title. The author is a man named Dinesh D’Souza. I had heard about him before and was interested to read something by him. This book happened to be the first one that came my way. I had a hard time putting it down.
Now I don’t claim to have an expertise in anything, but I am certainly most comfortable speaking about works of theology or theology itself. This book isn’t that. On the back, it places its subject matter in “Current Affairs.” And considering it was written in 2002, it is not hard to see why. But the book itself covers much more than current affairs. Though it is true that D’Souza addresses how the United States should respond to Islamic Fundamentalism, he does much more than that in this work.
What he does exactly is very difficult for me to explain, but I like it. I like it a lot. (Profound, I realize). He deals with topics such a racial reparation and the various sins of the West (or America in particular) that are consistently pointed out by our enemies and liberal Americans themselves. And he does a wonderful job arguing against them. He really understands America. And though I have lived here all my life, I cannot say that I have. Of course, maybe I don’t fully understand America precisely because I have lived here all my life. How much can a fish tell you about the ocean?
D’Souza is different in that he is first, an immigrant, and second, someone who has studied a whole lot more than I ever will. His perspective is one that I have determined to not only understand, but be able to articulate himself. For some actual information about him and the book, check out his website. After all, I realize that I have not been much help here.
But seriously, check it out. I am sure it will take me a while, but somewhere down the line, I will get you to read one of his books. He is a sharp thinker and deserving of some attention. That’s why I am going to order a few more of his works sometime soon.
Until later,
Joe
Mahaney’s Testimony
February 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Yesterday I listened to this message from C.J. Mahaney about his conversion and the history of Covenant Life Church. As C.J. says at the beginning of the message, his desire in sharing it was that all who listened would say, ‘What a Savior we have in Jesus Christ.’
C.J’s desire was accomplished in me; I hope you’ll say the same if you have a chance to listen.
Book Reviews — January (1)
February 7, 2008 | 2 Comments
I made very few New Year’s Resolutions this year, but one goal that I set was to read a book per week. At the outset I thought this might be a bit ambitious, but I wanted to set the bar high rather than low. If I aimed at 52, hopefully I would at least read 35 or 40.
Each month, I will post briefly on what I read, so as hopefully to point all of you readers to some valuable resources. Another resolve was to diversify my reading list. Joe has been a big help with this, challenging me to read more than just books about theology and the character of God. So here are the four books I read in January, followed by a very brief overview of my thoughts on each one.
So as to make my posts brief, I’ve posted my first two reviews in this post, and will make another post later today with reviews of the other two books I read in January.
The Reason for God, by Tim Keller – This book actually has not been publicly released (it’s due out on 2/14), but thanks to a friend I was able to read an advance, unedited copy of it. Perhaps the book will be changed slightly from this version, but I think it was pretty much the book that will be released. I enjoy reading or listening to anything by Keller, and I enjoyed this books a lot. But I must say I think I was a bit disappointed by this book. Probably this is because my expectations were unreasonably high; I expected this to be the book I could hand to any skeptic so as to prove them the reasonableness of the Christian faith and worldview!
Of course, no such book exists. But as I read this book, it seemed suited toward only a certain kind of skeptic: one who is quite an intellect and enjoys reading. Simply put, this is not a great book to give to any doubter, but one who really wants to do the intellectually-demanding work of rethinking his worldview and considering a different one. If you know people like that, I highly recommend the book. But if you’re thinking of giving this book to someone who is not a deep thinker, you may be a bit disappointed. I would suggest reading and re-reading this book yourself (which I plan to do when I get my official copy of it), and mastering its thought so that you can communicate it clearly and simply to the skeptics in your life.
Questioning Evangelism, by Randy Newman – This book was recommended to me by my pastor, and he did not let me down. I really enjoyed this book. In essence its purpose is somewhat similar to Keller’s book, except this one is specifically directed toward equipping Christians to share their faith with unbelievers. The author’s main premise is that using questions to draw out the feelings and presuppositions of those we’re ministering to is way to do evangelism that is in harmony with the ministry of Jesus. While Newman seems to place a bit more of an emphasis on getting people to ‘make a decision’ than I would probably stress, this book has a great deal to offer.
There are helpful ‘sample dialogues’ to show how to put the material of the book into practice, and a large section is devoted to engaging with others about some of the most common questions about Christianity in our day. I’d say this book both strengthened my desire to be sharing with others and gave practical strategies on how to do that more effectively.
Both these books are valuable resources, but I would suggest Newman’s book to the light reader, and Keller’s for the one who enjoys thinking more deeply through complex issues.
New Keller Sermons
February 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I was on the Redeemer website this evening and noticed that a new series of messages has been released for free download. The series is titled The Trouble with Christianity: Why It’s so Hard to Believe, and features 7 messages that are related to Keller’s new book The Reason for God which is due out next week.
I am eager to hear these messages, and hope that you will be blessed by them too. May God grant us all to be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks us for the reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
Mahaney Blogging
February 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
For those who may not have seen it, CJ Mahaney is now blogging. To start out, he’s answering the three questions he is most frequently asked. #1: What books on the Cross have most influenced you? Check out the blog for his answer.
I trust this site will be well worth a bookmark!
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