Books I’m Looking Forward to This Year From Crossway

Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ – John Piper

Availability: Not yet published. Coming Sep 30, 2008

Crossway:

“John Piper delivers powerful biblical reassurances to bolster readers’ trust in the sovereignty of God and the supremacy of Christ when evil and tragedy come.

If God governs the sinful acts of men, then does the devastation caused by those terrorists, dictators, murderers, cheats, and abusers discredit Jesus’ words: “All authority in heaven and earth belongs to me”? When heart-rending news comes of the latest accident, illness, or natural disaster, can we really believe that in Jesus, “all things hold together”?

Though God has not answered all of our questions about sin and suffering, there are things he wants us to know, things he declares in his Word—such as what’s at stake in the “spectacular” sins of others and the horrible tragedies of this life; their global purpose, both historically and today; and what these events say to us personally.

As John Piper works through these biblical truths, this book will bolster readers’ trust in the utter sovereignty of God such that they’ll be less timid in their witness and less afraid of whatever may come. It is also a joy-infused declaration that because everything occurs through Christ and for Christ and his glory, they are forever secure in him.”

Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World (Foreword by John Piper)
C. J. Mahaney (Editor), John Piper (Foreword), Dave Harvey, Bob Kauflin, Jeff Purswell, Craig Cabaniss

Availability: Not yet published. Coming Sep 30, 2008

Crossway:

“This resource uncovers the presence of worldliness and helps believers learn to relate to the world while resisting its influence in their lives.

People today are saturated in technology and prosperity. They are bombarded with endless luxuries: clothes to wear, cars to buy, vacations to take, entertainment to enjoy. Yet this world, which offers so many pleasures, is actively opposed to God and the truth of His Word. How, then, is the believer to relate to the world in which he or she lives?

Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World uncovers the presence of worldliness—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has or does. Worldliness then reveals how Christians are to engage a fallen world and boldly preach the gospel, yet not be conformed and ultimately seduced by the system of this world.

As readers learn to identify the presence of worldliness in the areas of media, modesty, music, and material possessions, they can begin to resist its influence in their lives and instead pursue eternal godliness.”

Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy – Paul David Tripp

Availability: Not yet published. Coming Jul 31, 2008

Crossway:

“Through these meditations on David’s words in Psalm 51, readers discover there is mercy for every wrong and grace for every new beginning.

What do you do when you’ve really blown it? Is sin really as dangerous and is grace really as powerful as the Bible says they are? Is there such a thing as a new beginning?

Sin and grace—these are the two themes of our lives. We all blow it and we all need to start over again. In Psalm 51, David tells his story of moral failure, personal awareness, grief, confession, repentance, commitment, and hope. And because David’s story is every believer’s story, Psalm 51 is every believer’s psalm. It tells how we, as broken sinners, can be brutally honest with God and yet stand before him without fear.

Whiter Than Snow unpacks this powerful little psalm in fifty-two meditations, reminding readers that by God’s grace there is mercy for every wrong and grace for every new beginning. Designed for busy believers, these brief and engaging meditations are made practical by the reflection questions that conclude each chapter.”

What Is a Healthy Church Member? – Thabiti M. Anyabwile

Availability: Not yet published. Coming Jun 30, 2008

Crossway:

“Biblically and practically instructs church members in ways they can labor for the health of their church.

What Is a Healthy Church Member? takes its cue from Mark Dever’s recent book What Is a Healthy Church?, which offered one definition of what a healthy church looks like biblically and historically. In this new work, pastor Thabiti Anyabwile attempts to answer the natural next question: “What does a healthy church member look like in the light of Scripture?”

God intends for us to play an active and vital part in the body of Christ, the local church. He wants us to experience the local church as a home more profoundly wonderful and meaningful than any other place on earth. He intends for his churches to be healthy places and for the members of those churches to be healthy as well. This book explains how membership in the local church can produce spiritual growth in its members and how each member can contribute to the growth and health of the whole.”

Expelled Resources Galore

Many of you have probably already seen Expelled. Acess Research Network has linked dozens of Expelled resources for your convenience from reviews (both positive and negative) to videos. Click here to check it out.

(HT: STR)

Boxing Kitty

I posted this one for Jessica.  She loves cats!

Chaos in the Print Shop

Mark Dever Sermon Series on Gender Identity and Roles

Mark Dever is pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C.  Dever has influenced me in a number of ways but one way in specific is my view of the local church and it’s reform.  He is commited to the exposition of the Word and is both a scholar and a pastor although he would consider himself a pastor first as how most would view him.  Below is a recent series on gender roles.

• Gender Identity in Creation – Genesis 1:27
  

• Gender Identity in Redemption – Galatians 3:28
  

• Gender Roles in the Family – Genesis 2:20-24
  

• Gender Roles in the Church – 1 Timothy 2:12

(HT: Denny Burk)

Some Helpful Advice on Writing

I have not always been a writer.  In fact I still do not consider myself a real writer per se although I do want to improve on this skill.  I often tell friends that I wish I had more of an appreciation for writing earlier in my years.  As the old adage suggests “practice makes perfect”.  Although I can’t even fathom perfection at this point considering I still get confused as to when to use a semicolon I still think that every Christian should take the time to practice his or her writing abilities.  One reason is that writing or in this day and age typing allows the person to express in readable form what the mouth can’t adequately say at times at least in the spur of the moment.  

Writing allows you to think through your thoughts and effectively organizes them.  We all don’t have recorders but we all have pens and pencils and most of us have some type of access to a computer.  With all the instricate details of the heart and how God has wired us why wouldn’t we want to express our experiences of our Savior.  Lest you think I’m getting all mystical on you my point is that writing has a way of giving a more precise expression of the heart if done well.  In my case I hope writing serves me well by allowing me to romance my wife whether through poems or a simple note on an index card, which I have not done in a while.  Well, there you go another benefit is that reminders come about just like writing a love note to my fiancee, which I plan to do tomorrow.

Andree Seu has given some helpful advice on writing in a post at Boundless.  Click here to read the whole article.

Excerpt:

Good writing is confident and lean. Compare the first sentence of this essay with an alternative: “There are perhaps many helpful tips for writing, but in my opinion, one of the most helpful may be to try to fit everything you have to say into an essay of approximately 800 words.” Zzzzzzzzzzz. You’ve already gone to the kitchen to make “s’mores,” right?

 

Replace generalities with vivid details (“gone to the kitchen to make ’s’mores’” is slightly better than “gone to the kitchen for a snack” — which is hands down better than mumbling about the reader’s “waning interest”). “Brief fame”: forgettable; “15 minutes of fame”: a keeper. And if Abe Lincoln had said “Many years ago,” instead of “Four score and seven years ago,” he’d have been right that the world would “little note nor long remember.”

 

Thou shalt not resort to clichés. Thou shalt not hold out for the “best” of all leads — a good lead will do. Thou shalt not try to produce the definitive piece on St.Patrick — a helpful one will do. Thou SHALT use parallelism from time to time, to spice things up.

Fighting the Sin of Pride in the Midst of Praise

If you haven’t checked out John Piper’s short articles called Taste & See you are missing out.  They are a treasure trove of wisdom especially for those who need a quick spiritual boost to reality during the day.  They go back to 1984.  One reason I love them is because I do not have much time to read during the day apart from the books I’m already reading as well as other daily obligations I’ve got going on.  I usually will try to read a quick one during my break at work.  It will usually take me about 2-5 minutes to soak one in depending on the length.  There is so much application for the heart!  I have made easy access to this article in particular due to my on going battle with pride.  Click here to read the whole article.

Excerpt:

I call to mind that I am not self-existent; only the triune God is. Only God is absolute, but I am contingent. I remind myself that I am utterly dependent on God for my origin and for my present and future existence. I call this to mind and ponder its truth.

I remember that I am by nature a depraved sinner and that, in all my sinning, I have treated God with contempt, preferring other things to his glory. I take stock that I have never done a good deed for which I don’t need to repent. Each one is flawed because perfection is commanded. Therefore I realize that God owes me nothing but pain in this life and the next.

I ponder that this condition of mine is so desperate that it could only be remedied at the cost of the horrid death of the Son of God, to bear my punishment and provide my righteousness. And I revel in the forgiveness and righteousness that is mine in Christ.

I meditate on those Scriptures that say, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,” (1 Peter 5:5-6; see James 4:6-10). And, “He who is least among you all is the one who is great” (Luke 9:48; Mark 9:35; Matthew 20:26).