Book Reviews

What Do We Do with the King James Version?

It’s indisputable: No book has had a greater impact on the hearts of individuals and the course of humanity than the Bible. For much of the history of the English-speaking world, the King James Version has been the Bible. Even today, more than 400 years after its initiable publication, it continues to record a stunning percentage of Bible sales. As time continues to pass and its language continues to age, many have wondered: What do we do with the KJV? …

The Porn Problem

It was just a few years ago that the Christian world was blindsided as it learned about the size and scope of the modern-day porn problem. We learned that a vast percentage of young men, and an increasing percentage of young women, are immersed in porn and have been since their youngest days. We learned that many older men and women are into it as well. This led to a great number of books on the subject as well as …

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Love Thy Body

It is always a big deal when Nancy Pearcey releases a new book. It’s a special pleasure when that release is timed for the beginning of a new year. Such is the case with Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality. In this new work she brings her unique voice to some of the most pressing moral issues of our day. “In Love Thy Body,” she promises, “we will move beyond click-bait headlines and trendy slogans to …

PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s Evangelical Empire

In 1974, Jim and Tammy Bakker founded a little television program they called The PTL Club. It began inauspiciously in a former furniture store, but by the mid-80s had exploded into a bona fide phenomenon and a ministry that reached around the globe. They traveled the world, dined with presidents, and gathered countless millions of followers. They became rich and powerful, owners of a massive 2,300-acre ministry center and theme park. They also became almost unbelievably corrupt. By 1987 it …

Sipping Saltwater

Is there any sin we commit more but admit less than the sin of idolatry? As people who have knowingly and willingly deserted the one true God, we turn our hearts this way and that to find the satisfaction we are meant to find in him alone. We try first one thing and then the other yet never find our thirst assuaged. It is not until we rest in him that we find true rest. It is not until we …

Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids

A key component of every parent’s task is helping our children form good habits. A key component of every Christian parent’s task is helping our children form the good habit of personal devotions. We are convinced that our children are sinners in need of God’s saving grace, we are convinced that God’s Word is powerful, we are convinced that God is pleased to use his Word to convict our children of their sin and draw them to his Son. This …

Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage

We are well-served with books on marriage. Whether we are approaching our wedding day or closing in on our 50th anniversary, we’ve got lots of wise counsel to turn to: The Meaning of Marriage by Tim and Kathy Keller, Married for God by Christopher Ash, When Sinners Say, “I Do,” by Dave Harvey, and on and on. But while we are well-served with books on marriage, we are not nearly so well-served with books on divorce and remarriage. And while …

If I Had Two Lives

I feel like I should have been familiar with the name Costas Macris, but confess it was unknown to me until a biography unexpectedly showed up in the mail. Written by Dan Vorm, If I Had Two Lives is a stirring tale of an amazing life. I don’t know how it got to me, but I’m glad it did. Born in Greece, Macris was raised in a Christian home, heard the gospel, believed it, and was saved. This made him …

He Will Hold Me Fast

This isn’t normally my kind of book, not the type I am typically drawn to. But I thought I might at least read a little bit just to see what it is all about. I read the first few pages, then the first few sections, then the whole thing. It just kind of happened. And I enjoyed it far more than I would have thought. In 2014, Connie Dever (wife of Mark Dever) was diagnosed with cancer. And, as so …

A Practical Guide to Culture

Christians have an interesting relationship with culture. Culture is a word we love to use, but one we rarely pause to define. We speak of culture’s dangerous encroachment on the church, of our need to avoid it, engage it, or redeem it. But what is this culture thing anyway? It happens to be the subject of an excellent new book by John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle. A Practical Guide to Culture is meant to help those who are helping the …