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Books I Didn’t Review

Book Reviews Collection cover image

Here is another roundup of a few books I have received but have chosen not to review. Also, this week I’ll list some of the books I’ve received–ones for which I’ve not yet made a decision either way.

Encouragement: How Words Change Lives by Gordon Cheng. This little book, published by Matthias Media, seeks to teach biblical wisdom on encouragement. I stumbled across it after searching for books on encouragement and realizing that this is one of only a very few in the field. Though I read it through, I have decided not to write a full review (since it is available through so few booksellers). “According to Gordon Cheng, encouragement is not only central to our church life, it belongs to one of the most powerful themes in the whole of Scripture: the power of God’s word to change lives. That powerful word not only changes us as we hear and respond to it; but through us it changes others too.” It’s a practical book and told with a really nice amount of humor–enough to add a fun element to the book but not so much that it becomes obnoxious.

A Family Guide to the Bible by Christin Ditchfield. From the publisher: “All Christian parents want their children to gain a better understanding of God’s Word, but many of them are still searching to completely understand the Bible themselves. How can they confidently share what they believe with their families? A Family Guide to the Bible takes readers on a fun and exciting tour through all sixty-six books of the Bible and offers parents, grandparents, and teachers a better understanding of the Scriptures so they can help the children in their lives know what is in the Bible, where to find it, and how it all fits together. As Christians become more familiar with God’s Word, they will gain greater confidence as they share what they believe with their family and friends, help answer questions concerning the Bible, and encourage others to grow deeper in their walks of faith.”

Books Received

Here are some of the books that showed up this week:

The Disappearance of God: Dangerous Beliefs in the New Spiritual Openness by Albert Mohler.

Punic Wars & Culture Wars: Christian Essays on History and Teaching by Ben House.

50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning from the Spiritual Giants of the Faith by Warren Wiersbe.

Do You Want a Friend? by Noel Piper.

Courage to Flee: Living a Moral Life in an Immoral World by Jeffery Klick.

Corinthian Elders by Jack Fortenberry.

The Ever-Loving Truth: Can Faith Thrive in a Post-Christian Culture? by Voddie Baucham.

The Divorce Dilemma: God’s Last Word on Lasting Commitment by John MacArthur.

I received a few DVDs as well:

A Question of Mercy

The Late Great Planet Church: The Rise of Dispensationalism

13 Letters (This is actually a combination CD/DVD/Study kit.


  • Works and Wonders November 8

    Works & Wonders (November 8)

    This week’s Works & Wonders: the power of God, Nikon’s microscope photos, three Come, Thou Founts, a brain-injured musical genius, and Prepare Him Room live.

  • Weekend A La Carte (November 7)

    The Hutterites’ guide to technology / Searching for jobs, Gen Z feels like it’s staring into ‘the void’ / The gospel according to Peter (Thiel) / Scientism and the allure of control / Can science explain sparkling rivers? / What led to Christianity Today’s crisis?

  • I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I regret to inform you, dear reader, that heaven tourism is back. The genre possibly never went away entirely, but it did at least disappear from the bestseller lists for several years. Sadly, it has returned in Gabe Poirot’s 18 Days in Heaven.

  • A La Carte (November 6)

    Don’t despise the red flags / Your thoughts are shaping your life / Can’t you just love everyone? / Selfies are not the self: forming embodied youth in a disembodied age / Effective altruists and the spreadsheet gospel / 4 Applications for the order of love—from the home to the ends of the earth /…

  • A La Carte (November 5)

    When you feel guilty about your giving / The missing piece in John Mark Comer’s quiet time / A manifesto for phone-free church / The pull of Rome / 4 Misconceptions about spiritual warfare / Slouching toward Narnia / Kindle deals, and more

  • A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

    A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

    Netflix appears to have fallen on hard times and I have some suggestions that I’d like to think would help it: cut the sex, nudity, and profanity, and gain back the viewers it’s long been alienating.