This is the fourteenth installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, and atonement.

“Our first point about adoption is that it is the highest privilege that the gospel offers” (J. I. Packer, Knowing God, 206).

J. I. Packer rightly considers adoption the highest privilege of the gospel--higher even than justification--because of the richness of the relationship with God that it begins.

In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship--he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge [justification] is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father [adoption] is a greater. (207)

Scripture backs Packer’s assessment of adoption as seen in passages like Romans 8:15-17 (cf. Galatians 4:4-7), in which Paul emphasizes the closeness, affection and generosity that come to us when through justification God makes us his children. As adopted children we call God “Abba!,” the Aramaic word for “father” or “daddy” and the term Jesus himself used to address him (Mark 14:36). Through adoption we also experience great generosity as we become “heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ,” which means we become the heirs and owners of all things (Hebrews 1:2; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23).

J. I. Packer goes on in Knowing God to explain how adoption must be the framework through which we view and live the rest of the Christian life. Yes, it really is that important and that essential to the Christian life.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” Praise God for that! (1 John 3:1)

2012 was a pretty good year for readers. While my reading has had to slow down compared to what it was a few years ago, I still made my way through quite a long list of books. Today I want to share some of my top picks from the year that is almost over. Let me offer the two usual caveats from my year-end roundups: First, these are almost certainly not the 7 best books of 2012 in any objective sense; Rather, they are my favorites. Second, these are not necessarily books written in 2012, but books I read in 2012. And maybe I should add a third: at the request of several readers I am posting this list before the end of the year because some people would like to refer to it as they do their Christmas shopping.

Here they are, in no particular order:

The Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler

[my review] Mohler begins the book with this challenge to both himself and the reader: “My goal is to change the way you think about leadership. I do not aim merely to add one more voice to the conversation; I want to fundamentally change the way leadership is understood and practiced.” He aims high, but then actually accomplishes what he sets out to do. His core message of the value of “convictional leadership” moves the leadership discussion far beyond the usual pragmatics and grounds it first in Scripture. [Buy it at Amazon]

Eyes Wide Open by Steve DeWitt

[my review] Here is a book that arrived with little fanfare and was even published by a very small publisher. Yet it is a brilliant book that is utterly captivating. DeWitt focuses on beauty and how we can enjoy God in everything. Yes, everything. He wants Christians to enjoy beauty and joy and wonder and to allow each of these things to lead us to the source of all that is good, true and beautiful. This short quote lies right at the heart of the book: “Beauty was created by God for a purpose: to give us the experience of wonder. And wonder, in turn, is intended to lead us to the ultimate human expression and privilege: worship. Beauty is both a gift and a map. It is a gift to be enjoyed and a map to be followed back to the source of the beauty with praise and thanksgiving.” [Buy it at Amazon]

The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon

[my review] Here is a book that begins with a very simple premise: that when Jesus told us to “love our neighbors as ourselves” he may just have been referring to our literal neighbors, as in the people who live right around us. Many Christians have made “neighbor” into a safe metaphor that allows us to love people who are far easier to love and far more conveniently placed than the people next door. But these authors don’t let the reader get away with that. Instead, they focus on being good neighbors, on taking seriously the second great commandment. I found the book a helpful and well-timed challenge. [Buy it at Amazon]

Truman by David McCullough

For years I’ve been hearing great things about McCullough’s massive biography of Harry Truman. In 2012 I saved up enough Audible credits to download it and listen to it. It was every bit as good as I had heard. I’ve long admired McCullough as a writer and biographer and am now convinced that Truman is his best work. It is very long—over 50 hours of listening and over 1,000 pages of reading—but it moves along briskly. Truman is one of those characters who is easy to overlook, but who played a critical role in bridging from the world of the Second World War to the world we know today. He is a very normal, small-town kind of guy who is very likeable and easy to relate to. I found myself almost happy to sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic just so I could listen for a bit longer. [Buy it at Amazon]

I've been at this blogging thing for ten years now and have been at the daily blogging thing for almost as long. This means that I've got an extensive backlist of articles from years gone by. I thought it might be fun to pull out some of the articles I wrote in previous months of December, stretching all the way back to 2004.

2011

The Driscolls and Real Marriage - These were some thoughts on Mark Driscoll’s book on marriage.

Money Matters: Do I Have to Give? and How Much Do I Give? - These were two entries in a series on money.

2010

I Looked for Love in Your Eyes - This is such a sad but powerful poem.

A Wikileaks Society - Here I reflected on what a Wikileaks culture might mean for the church.

2009

The Necessity of Long Division  - Too often we try to get out of doing the hard work of the Christian life.

A Day-After Christmas Reflection - A reflection on celebrating—or not celebrating—Christmas.

2008

We Shall Be Changed - Every Christmas I try to take in a performance of Handel’s Messiah.

A Great Servant; An Evil Master - We’re always in a power-struggle with our technology.

2007

Delighting in Delight - It is great to delight in the delight of another.

Longing for the Im-mediate - This was important in the run-up to my book on technology.

2006

The “S-Word” - It’s probably not the one you’re thinking of.

Prayer and the Empty Hand - We humans have a problem with grace.

2005

Certainly This Was a Righteous Man! - I’ve always loved the centurion’s statement.

Effectual Worrying - Way back in 2005 I was reflecting on the nature of worry.

2004

Church of the Dropouts, Losers, Sinners, Failures And Fools - One of my favorite Switchfoot songs.

Old Fashioned Christian - I’m just an old-fashioned kind of Christian.

December is here and with the new month I’ve got a new desktop wallpaper for you to download. This one comes courtesy of Drew Clemens. I’ll allow him to introduce himself: I live in sunny Dayton, Ohio with my beautiful wife, Melissa, and our two Lego-loving boys. God has moved me along in my career from designer to pastor to web creator, and I’m currently enjoying my role with Sparkbox, building the web and serving clients to the best of my ability every day.

A few notes: Your desktop or laptop may take any of the sizes, depending on your monitor size and a host of other considerations. You can click here to see what your resolution is. Generally you set one of these are your wallpaper by clicking on the link to the image, then right-clicking on the image (once it's open) and selecting "Set as Background," "Set as Desktop Background," or something similar. If you aren't sure, post a comment and we'll try to help you figure it out.

Your Word Came Down

Here is Drew’s introduction to his wallpaper: I’ve grown up in the church, but it wasn’t until becoming a part of Apex Community in Dayton a decade ago that Jesus taught me what it meant to really be part of His Church. The image that I’ve designed reflects what He has done in me, and it is based on lyrics from a song that I love. Written by my friends, Chad Osborne and Phil Wing, the song isn’t a “Christmas song” in style, but I’ve always felt it illustrated the purpose of Jesus’ birth in a clear and joyful way. I hope it helps others stay focused on Christ and His purposes in this season of holidays.

With Calendar: 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1680x1050, 1900x1200, 2560x1440

Without Calendar: iPhone, iPad 1 & 2, 1024x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 2560x1440

I am in the unique and enjoyable position of receiving copies of most of the latest and greatest Christian books and I like to provide regular roundups of some of the best and brightest of the bunch. Here are some of the notable books that I've received in the past few weeks.

Creature of the Word by Chandler, Patterson and Geiger. “The Reformers viewed the gospel as not merely one thing among many in the life of a church but rather the means by which the church exists. When the gospel is rightly declared and applied to God's people, the church becomes ‘a creature of the Word.’ She understands, embraces, and lives out the reality of Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection in more than her doctrinal statement. The gospel impacts all the church is and does. Creature of the Word lays out this concept in full, first examining the rich, scripture-based beauty of a Jesus-centered church, then clearly providing practical steps toward forming a Jesus-centered church.” (Learn more or buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)

The Roots of the Reformation (Second Edition) by G.R. Evans. You may remember that The Roots of the Reformation was released earlier this year, but that it was very quickly pulled from store shelves when Carl Trueman’s review showed that it was replete with historical errors and inaccuracies. Intervarsity Press quickly set out to make things right, combing through the book to make corrections. This second edition includes the following note: “All dates for people and places have been conformed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, or else the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, unless there was a good reason to depart from these. I expect that this edition maintains the strengths of the first while correcting its embarrassing weaknesses. (Learn more or buy it at Westminster Books)

On the Shoulders of Hobbits by Louis Markos. With the film adaption of The Hobbit nearly upon us, this is presumably just one of several Hobbit-themed books coming our way. It looks excellent. “The world of J. R. R. Tolkien is filled with strange creatures, elaborately crafted lore, ancient tongues, and magic that exists only in fantasy; yet the lessons taught by hobbits and wizards speak powerfully and practically to our real lives. Courage, valor, trust, pride, greed, and jealousy—these are not fictional virtues. This is the stuff of real life, the Christian life. Professor and author Louis Markos takes us on the road with Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, with looks at selected classic works of literature as well, to show how great stories bring us so much more than entertainment. They inspire and convict, imparting truth in unforgettable ways.” (Learn more or buy it at Amazon)

While most of what finds its way into my mailbox is books, I also receive a surprising amount of music. This works out well since I happen to love listening to music while going about my daily work. Here are a few new and noteworthy albums you may want to take a look at.

Joy Beyond the Sorrow by Indelible Grace - Indelible Grace may well be the name most closely associated with today’s trend of setting old hymns to new music. I still remember listening to their music for the first time while driving my sister’s car around Atlanta—listening to it and loving it. Indelible Grace has just released their sixth studio album and I think it may be their best yet. Joy Beyond the Sorrow includes 14 traditional hymns set to new music. Many of the melodies are ideal for corporate worship, something that has always been a strength of their albums. Standout tracks include “From the Depths of Woe (Psalm 130),” “Did Christ Over Sinners Weep?,” and “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed.” You can buy the CD at their website or listen to the complete album (and buy MP3s) at Bandcamp.

Together for the Gospel Live II by Sovereign Grace Music. In April of 2010 and 2012, thousands of people gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, to participate in the Together for the Gospel conferences. This album contains 16 of the songs they sang, led by Bob Kauflin on piano. The tracks include traditional hymns, contemporary hymns, and songs by Sovereign Grace. While all of these songs can be found on other recordings, the joy of this album is being able to sing along with thousands of voices (mostly male) raised in the praise to the Lord. It is available at Amazon for $8.99 as is the first volume, recorded at the 2008 conference.

Come Ye Sinners by Sojourn. According to Sojourn, “Come Ye Sinners was recorded live on Good Friday, 2012 at Memorial Auditorium in Louisville. It's not just a record for that day or for the Easter season. It's a reminder—every day—that we're invited to meet God at the cross, where mercy abounds, sin is paid for, and death itself is conquered by the blood of Jesus.” I see Sojourn as the older, hipster cousin of Indelible Grace and Sovereign Grace Music. If Sovereign Grace is wearing corduroys and Indelible Grace is wearing khakis, Sojourn is wearing skinny jeans and sporting the perfect soul patch. Their music is less congregational then the others and fits more closely with contemporary musical trends. I can’t deny that I prefer their older albums to their more recent ones, and almost feel like they are trying a little bit too hard these days (I consider Before the Throne and Advent Songs their best). I may well be the exception here and certainly would not knock their musical talents. You can listen to samples and buy the new album at Amazon.

For the past few years I’ve made it a point to collect Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that may be of particular interest to Christians. While there are many places you can go online to find deals on electronics and other big-ticket items, I wanted to provide a place for Christian retailers to make their deals known to Christians who are trying to kick-start their Christmas shopping.

Last Update: Monday Morning

(If you’ve visited the page before, hold down the shift key and then hit “refresh” in your browser; this will ensure you’re seeing the newest version of the page)

Amazon

Amazon has the Kindle Fire on sale, today only, at $30 off. Use coupon code FIREDEAL. a large selection of music on sale. You can find albums by Chris Tomlin, MercyMe, Newsboys, and a lot of others (both Christian and non). Amazon sells music within the US of A only, so the rest of us get left out.

Banner of Truth

Banner of Truth has several books on sale (up to 50%) off. The rest of their inventory is priced at 30% off the usual prices.

CBD Reformed

CBD Reformed has put several of their items on sale including:

• The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set, 29 Volumes at $324.99 (regular $814.71)
• Systematic Theology, 3 Volumes by Charles Hodge at $19.99 (regular $100)
• The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler at $7.99 (regular $17.99)
• Nearly all ESV Bibles are on sale through end-of-day November 26.  For example, the ESV Study Bible in Genuine Cowhide Leather is usually $179.99 but is now on sale for $99.99
• The Jesus Storybook Bible is $5.99.

Centricity Music

Centricity Music has all of their albums at 30% off (use the code “turkey”). Among other artists you’ll find Andrew Peterson, Downhere, and Matt Papa.

ChristianAudio

ChristianAudio is having sales all day long. You’ll need to keep an eye on Twitter to find the deals.

Compass Cinema

Compass Cinema (creator of the excellent Modern Parables videos, among others) has most of their videos on sale. Coupon code BLACK25 will get you 25% off any order.

Credo House

Credo House has some significant deals on their theology courses.

Crossway

Crossway is offering a site-wide 40% off sale. That includes all of their books and Bibles. Click through to see some of their top picks.

Cruciform Press

Cruciform Press has 11 books on sale at just $4.99 each (down from the regular price of $9.99). They include titles by Joel Beeke, Curtis Allen, John Ensor, and others. You can see the selection and make your order right here.

The Good Book Company

The Good Book Company has a wide variety of resources available at up to 60% off. They include books by Steve Timmis, Tim Chester, and others.

Grace & Truth Books

Grace & Truth Books has a selection of items at 30 - 35% off.

Granted Ministries

Granted Ministries has several deals going on and depending on what you purchase, you may also earn a free book or two.

Ligonier Ministries

Ligonier Ministries is is having a substantial Cyber Monday sale. Lots of books, Bibles and teaching series have been discounted.

Lifeway

Lifeway has a few deals on Bibles, books and music. You’ll need to hunt around a little, but will find discounts on books by Francis Chan, on The Jesus Storybook Bible ($5) and on Lecrae’s album Gravity.

NeuYear

NeuYear, a company that makes awesome wall calendars, has their 2013 calendars on sale. Use coupon code Challies12 to get 40% off.

New Growth Press

New Growth Press has Cyber Monday deals that include the Gospel Story Bible, Old Story New and Long Story Short, along with a few other titles. The Gospel Story Bible is buy one, get one.

P&R

P&R Publishers is offering 40% off your order with the coupon code NOV12, plus free shipping on domestic orders over $25. This deal runs from the 23rd to the 26th.

Reformation Heritage Books

Reformation Heritage Books has quite a few noteworthy deals. You can get three of Paul Washer’s new book for $10 each, the Building on the Rock series for just $20, and a 3-pack of A Puritan Theology for $90. Also, they have reduced the Kindle price of A Puritan Theology to just $9.99 (down from $29.99).

Revive Our Hearts

Revive Our Hearts has a selection of books with deep discounts. Authors include Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Mary Kassian, and Kimberly Wagner.

Shepherd Press

Shepherd Press has their complete catalog of books on sale. All ebooks (Kindle, iPad, etc) have been dropped to $1.99. Most print editions are at $4.99, but you will have to add a book to your cart to see the lowered pricing. There is a maximum of 5 books per person at this discounted These deals will last until Monday.

Vyrso

Vyrso has a list of ebook deals.

Other Deals

Here are a few other deals that may be of interest:

• Visual Verses will have everything at 40% off (use coupon code THANKS) on Friday and Saturday.
• Significat, which offers handcrafted plaques, will have everything at 30% off with coupon code BlackFriday30.
• HopeInk has their items at 30% off with coupon code GIVETHANKS2012.

If your company or ministry has things on sale that would fit this round-up, please do let me know.

This is the thirteenth installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, and revelation.

Stated simply, atonement refers to the act by which someone or something is cleansed from sin.

The concept is first introduced in reference to the installation of the priesthood and the consecration of the tabernacle for Israel’s worship (see Exodus 29:35-37).

Atonement is then applied to the rest of the nation when God institutes the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in Leviticus 16. This is the day every year when, through animal sacrifices and a scapegoat, the high priest would symbolically cleanse the priests and tabernacle from the defilement of sin, and then do the same for all the people of Israel.

As the storyline of Scripture progresses, we begin to hear of a greater atonement that God is preparing for his people, one that will fully and finally deal with sin and be eternally effective (see Ezekiel 16:59-63). We see in the New Testament that this sacrifice is the death of Jesus Christ.

The author of Hebrews links the death of Christ to the old covenant concept of atonement, and then shows how much greater Jesus’ sacrifice is:

Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:11-14)

The glory of Christ’s atonement is that it is no longer limited to a particular nation (Israel) or location (the tabernacle) and neither is it merely symbolically represented through animal sacrifices. By his own blood Jesus has reconciled us to God genuinely and forever, and he holds out this reconciliation to all who trust in his sacrifice on their behalf.

Thanksgiving is once more just about upon us, and by “us,” I mean “you” if you are American. I have written about this holiday and the Canadian equivalent several times over the years. Here are a few that you may find beneficial.

A Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving - This is a beautiful prayer drawn from The Valley of Vision.

Tears at Thanksgiving - This was an excellent article by my mother. She expressed some thoughts on divorce and its awful ramifications on families.

Thanksgiving for Thanksgiving - Here is a story that illuminates the point that it is really only the privilege of the Christian to be thankful.

A Canadian Thanksgiving - I have a short history and celebration of Thanksgiving in Canada, as well as some additional thoughts on the theological importance of it.

A Thanksgiving Proclamation - The proclamation by Abraham Lincoln that made Thanksgiving a national holiday in the US.

Thanksgiving & The Appropriate Number of Prepositions - “While everyone likes to give thanks for things at Thanksgiving, what has often been lost is the fact that we do not merely give thanks, but give thanks to.” (There is some overlap between this and the “Canadian Thanksgiving” post above, but that’s often the way I do things around here—build on a theme over the years.)

Infographics have become all the rage over the past few years and are used to display all manner of information. Last year I found myself wondering if infographics could be used to display theology in a helpful and visually-appealing way. I soon spoke to a few graphic artists and commissioned a series of twelve infographics, each of which dealt with a particular point of theology. I made these graphics freely available to copy and download and also offered them for sale for those who wanted them professionally printed. Here is a round-up of those twelve graphics. And yes, for those who are asking, I do hope to have a new series early next year.

Simply click on any of the graphics to see it full-sized, to download it for free, or to purchase a poster.

The Order of Salvation

The Attributes of God

The Books of the Bible