I am in the fortunate position of receiving endless numbers of Christian books. Every month or so I try to sort through them to identify the new books that seem most noteworthy and, therefore, may be of most interest to readers like you. Here is the selection for April 2020, including the publishers’ descriptions. (Note: I’ve skimmed these books, but have not thoroughly read most of them. Also note that Amazon is facing shipping delays as they prioritize household goods, so it may be more efficient to order from other retailers like Westminster Books.)
With All Your Heart: Living Joyfully through Allegiance to King Jesus by Christine Hoover. “Our hearts are made for unswaying allegiance to a king and a kingdom, a concept that Jesus talked about more than any other. Yet every day, the false kings of anxiety, approval, comfort, image, escape, power, accumulations, self-sufficiency, supremacy, and shame plot to reign over our hearts instead. Their lies about the true king are so subtle and insidious that we rarely recognize them, and we go on living with divided loyalties that stall our spiritual growth, infect our relationships, and hinder our witness. If you want to find freedom from the forces vying for your heart, let Christine Hoover equip you for the fight. In this approachable yet provocative book, she helps you root out your own misplaced allegiances so that you can live wholly as a subject of the king who made and redeemed you.” (Buy it from Westminster Books or Amazon)
Does God Care How We Worship? by Ligon Duncan. “Does God care how we worship? For thousands of years, believers have answered with a resounding yes! Ever since the days of Cain and Abel, God has emphasized right worship, and it’s clear that careless worship can have serious consequences. Worship consciously regulated by God’s Word is a distinct characteristic of the Reformed church. Yet today many churches do not understand that both the Old and New Testaments have much to say about appropriate worship before God. Ligon Duncan lays the foundations of the regulative principle in worship, providing full biblical support as well as historical context. He also answers objections: Is this ‘right worship’ essentially European? Is it flexible to different churches and contexts? Is it really still applicable today?” (Buy it from Westminster Books or Amazon)
Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson: A Christian Perspective edited by Ron Dart. “Popular philosopher Jordan Peterson has captured the imagination of Western world. For some, Peterson represents all that is wrong with patriarchal culture; for others, he is the Canadian academic prophet who has come to save civilization from dizzying confusion. Regardless of how one feels about him, his influence in North America–and beyond–is difficult to deny. While the “Peterson phenomenon” has motivated numerous articles and responses, much of what has been written is either excessively fawning or overly critical. Little has been produced that explores Peterson’s thought–especially his immensely popular 12 Rules for Life–within the context of his overall context and scholarly output. How is one to understand the ascendency of Jordan Peterson and why he’s become so popular? Does his earlier Maps of Meaning shed light on how one might understand his worldwide bestseller, 12 Rules for Life? In Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson, scholars across various disciplines explore various aspects of Jordan Peterson’s thought from a Christian perspective. Both critical and charitable, sober-minded and generous, this collection of ten essays is a key resource for those looking to faithfully engage with Jordan Peterson’s thought.” (Buy it from Amazon)
Enough about Me: Find Lasting Joy in the Age of Self by Jen Oshman. “Women today feel a constant pressure to improve themselves and just never feel like they’re “enough.” All too often, they live their daily lives disheartened, disillusioned, and disappointed. That’s because joy doesn’t come from a new self-improvement strategy; it comes from rooting their identity in who God says they are and what he has done on their behalf. This book calls women to look away from themselves in order to find the abundant life God offers them—contrasting the cultural emphasis on personal improvement and empowerment with what the Scriptures say about a life rooted, built up, and established in the gospel.” (Buy it from Westminster Books or Amazon)
Truth We Can Touch: How Baptism and Communion Shape Our Lives by Tim Chester. “Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are more than just water, bread, and wine. They are God’s promises to us in physical form. What is happening when someone passes through the waters of baptism? What’s the significance of eating bread and drinking wine together as a church on Sunday mornings? What’s the point of these physical substances? Tim Chester guides us through the Bible, explaining how the sacraments, embodying the promises of God in physical form, were given to us to strengthen our faith and shape our lives. The physical bread, wine, and water are a confirmation of our union with Christ. Chester aims to help us treasure baptism and Communion and approach them rightly, so we can receive the full benefit God intends them to physically bring us.” (Buy it from Westminster Books or Amazon)
Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes by Jonathan Dodson. “We live in an age of crisis. Financial crisis, political crisis, environmental crisis―the list goes on. We’re confronted with calamity every time we read the headlines. But behind each of these lurks another kind of crisis, one we find harder to define: a moral crisis―a crisis of goodness. Behind financial crisis is unrestrained greed; behind political crisis is the lust for power. To properly address the crises that plague our world, we must be formed as people of moral goodness. We must cultivate virtue. But the cultural headwinds are strong: outrage and fragility, persecution and affluence, injustice and impurity. In this wise and practical book, Pastor Jonathan Dodson takes us back to the Beatitudes, the centerpiece of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. Dodson examines each of the Beatitudes in the context of the new morality that buffets our society today, presenting a compelling portrait of the truly good life, both personal and social. Jesus’ vision of the good is stunning: heaven meets earth, mercy triumphs over judgment, peace transcends outrage, grace upends self-righteousness. Here is an account, not of dos and don’ts, but of genuine moral flourishing.” (Buy it from Westminster Books or Amazon)
Post-Christian: A Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture by Gene Edward Veith. “We live in a post-Christian world. Contemporary thought—claiming to be ‘progressive’ and ‘liberating’—attempts to place human beings in God’s role as creator, lawgiver, and savior. But these post-Christian ways of thinking and living are running into dead ends and fatal contradictions. This timely book demonstrates how the Christian worldview stands firm in a world dedicated to constructing its own knowledge, morality, and truth. Gene Edward Veith Jr. points out the problems with how today’s culture views humanity, God, and even reality itself. He offers hope-filled, practical ways believers can live out their faith in a secularist society as a way to recover reality, rebuild culture, and revive faith.” (Buy it from Amazon)
ESV Literary Study Bible edited by Leland Ryken. “In order to understand the content of the Bible, readers first need to understand how the content is expressed. The literary forms and features of the Bible are a crucial part of understanding the Bible’s message―both for its original audience and for readers today. Compared to conventional study Bibles that answer the what of a passage, the ESV Literary Study Bible guides readers through the Bible text, showing how to read the passage. Combining over 1,200 insightful notes with the complete ESV Bible text, this volume highlights literary features such as genre, images, plot, setting, stylistic and rhetorical techniques, and artistry so readers can more richly understand the unity, flow, and profound depth of the biblical text. First published in 2007, the ESV Literary Study Bible has been refreshed with an all-new typesetting while retaining all the same content that helps readers discover and teach the message of the Bible embodied in its literary forms and features.” (Buy it from Westminster Books or Amazon)
The Whole Counsel of God: Why and How to Preach the Entire Bible by Tim Patrick and Andrew Reid. “Expository preaching has been on the rise over the last five decades, with more and more pastors preaching carefully from the Scriptures. However, not all pastors make it their aim to preach through whole books of the Bible, let alone to preach the entire Bible to their congregations. But the people of God need the whole counsel of God to grow to full maturity in Christ. Authors Tim Patrick and Andrew Reid present the bold case for whole-Bible preaching and supply the necessary tools so that all pastors can progress toward this goal.” (Buy it from Westminster Books or Amazon)
