Preaching is not just for preachers. Every Christian can, and, I’m increasingly convinced, should be educated about the task and calling of the preacher. I am convinced that there is great benefit in all Christians becoming students of preaching. This applies even to those who will never stand behind the pulpit and bring the Word of God to His people. The book I would recommend to laypersons wishing to learn about preaching and to pastors wishing to learn how to preach better, is Al Mohler’s He Is Not Silent. Just released by Moody Publishers, this book is a brilliant and insightful look at the task and challenges of preaching in a postmodern world. It is not a how-to guide and is not a dry exhortation valuable only for those with theological degrees; instead, it is a compelling, winsome, biblical case for understanding the utter centrality of preaching to Christian worship.

Some books receive titles that are a little bit mysterious, only hinting at what the book contains. There are others that just give it all away in the title. Biblical Teaching on the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell pretty well says it all. Edward Donnelly simply turns to Scripture to see what God says about these important doctrines of heaven and hell.

A review of Tullian Tchividjian’s new book.

There can be no question more important to a person than this one: “Do I know God?” Those who do know Him have the privilege of being adopted into the family of God and being assured of an eternity in His presence. Those who do not have no such privilege and no such hope. In America the vast majority of people claim to be Christians and claim to know God, but so many lives simply do not bear this out. People may know about God, but they do not know God as He is. And so many will perish, going to the grave with some kind of false assurance, thinking they know God when really they do not. It does us all good to ask not once but throughout life, “Do I know God?”

Before I started into the text of The Truth of the Cross I read the three endorsements that came with it, one by Thomas Schreiner, one by Scott Clark and one by Bruce Waltke. It was Waltke’s that caught my eye when he said, “The Truth of the Cross is the best book on the cross I have read.” A man of Waltke’s age, Christian maturity and status must have read more than a few books on the cross, making this no little statement. Having read the book, I know it was no exaggeration. The best book on the cross I’ve ever read is Frederick Leahy’s The Cross He Bore, a book I’d consider a must-read for any Christian. Could this one be as good, as beautiful as that?

I typically try to avoid posting book reviews two days in a row (especially after posting both reviews at Discerning Reader), but I wanted to be sure I drew sufficient attention to Richard Phillips’ new book Jesus the Evangelist. I have written about the book once before (link) while reflecting on what I learned from studying the account of Jesus at Jacob’s Well. But that was just one of the many beneficial lessons I drew from the book. So I’m going to post the review here today in the hope that you will also be excited by this book and consider purchasing a copy of it. Many Christians are convinced that Reformed Christians do less than their share of evangelism. A book like this should help prove that there is no theological reason that Reformed Christians should be anywhere but on the front lines of sharing the gospel with others.

A person does not have to be married for long to realize that marriage is a lot more difficult than it may seem. Certainly it is a lot more difficult than God intended for it to be. With the fall into sin came the rise of the self, with the loss of perfection came the dominance of sin. Even the best marriages are now tainted by sin, by selfishness, by a distinct lack of love. Every marriage represents the joining of two sinners. Though they love each other, they fight constantly to love each other as much as they know they should.

The doctrine of penal substitution doesn’t, on the face of it, sound too glorious. It is a doctrine involving curse, punishment, blood and death. It is little wonder that people object to it so strenuously. Indeed, this teaching has been at the very center of a rift within the church—a rift that seems to be growing ever-wider and ever more visible. Once the realm of scholars cloistered away in the ivory towers of academia, the battle against this doctrine has recently reached the popular level and it has come under attack by influential and popular evangelical leaders. Needless to say, controversy has followed, and for good reason.

You may experience a sense of deja vu when reading Preaching the Cross since this book is the product of last year’s Together for the Gospel conference. Several thousand men were in attendance and many have since read summaries of the sessions or have listened to the audio recordings. While the chapters are not mere transcriptions of the messages delivered at the conference, they are, as we would expect, very similar. Of course they are also more polished and are now nicely packaged in a hardcover book.

The task of overseeing the book, which is dedicated to “the next generation of preachers of the cross,” and of writing its introduction fell to Mark Dever. He explains the connection between the book and the conference in this way:

On one of John Ensor’s web sites, “Heartbeat of Miami,” is a most sobering map. Showing the locations of each Miami’s abortion facilities in red and ultrasound-equipped pregnancy help centers in blue, the red dots outnumber of the blue by a margin of fifteen to one. As leader of “Heartbeat of Miami,” Ensor hopes within the next two years to increase the number of adequately equipped pregnancy help centers to at least 4. From his work directing this organization that constantly sees people at their most broken comes Ensor’s third book, The Great Work of the Gospel.

In an uncertain world, there are at least six things we can always count on. These six are the focus of J.D. Wetterling’s new book, No One…. Quoting Jesus’ words from the book of John we know that:

• No One can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
• No One can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him.
• No One comes to the Father except through me.
• No One takes it [life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
• No One can snatch them [true Christians] out of my hand.
• No One will take away your joy.

These six “no one” statements form the framework for the book. Each one receives thorough, Gospel-centered treatment. Each chapter concludes with the promise that “these are unshakable certainties in an uncertain world.”