Welcome to the online home of Tim Challies, blogger, author, and book reviewer.
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Josh Harris slapped me across the face. He did it through his book Humble Orthodoxy and a little story that is adapted from the words of Jesus in Luke 18. He tells the story “to challenge those of us who trust in the rightness of our doctrine and look down on others.” In other words, people like me. One day two men went to church to pray. The first man was a shallow, uninformed evangelical. Everything about him shouted of …
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: Faithmapping by Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper. “Most of us emphasize one aspect of Christianity over another. Competing voices tell us that the Christian life is all about this or that: missions, discipleship, …
David Platt’s Radical was one of those rare books that catapults a first-time author straight to top of the charts. For two years it was a fixture on the lists of bestsellers and even today it remains a top seller in the Christian ranks. Radical was a call for Christians to escape the doldrums of the American dream and to live for something better, something that counts for far more. Books with this message are hardly a rarity today, but what …
Sell All That You Have – R.C. Sproul Jr. answers this question: “Jesus told the rich young fool that he must sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow him. Is this true for all who would follow Jesus?” Is the Sabbath Still Relevant? – Meanwhile, Ray Ortlund asks whether the sabbath is still relevant. “If we did set apart one day each week for rejuvenation in God, we would immediately add to every year over …
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by CBD Reformed and, as always, they’ve got some great prize packages for you. There will be five winners this week, and each of them will receive the following three books: The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments by Marty Machowski – Retail price $29.99 Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth Bailey – Retail Price $26.00 The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus …
It is among the most emotional—certainly one of the most stirring—scenes in The Lord of the Rings. The enemy forces have pressed hard against Helm’s Deep, they have approached in overwhelming numbers, they have raised the siege works and battered the gates and have slowly driven back the armies of the Rohirrim. Hope has grown dim and King Theoden takes to his horse to ride out for a final charge. Lingering in every mind is Gandalf’s promise, “Look to my coming …
How many times have you come across this quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi? “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I must have read it a hundred times in books, magazines, articles, tweets. It is used by believers and unbelievers to point to the hypocrisy of Christians and to call us to more and to better. Our inability to live what we preach is driving the multitudes away. Or so …
A few nights ago a friend shared a powerful little piece of writing that deals with the incarnation of Jesus. A bit of research shows that it comes from the end of a song by the rapper Json; this song closes with an extended quote from John Piper. For now, here it is. It seemed poetic, so I put it in the form of verse. In order for Jesus to suffer and die, He had to plan way ahead of …
There are many different reasons to use Twitter; there are many different good reasons to use Twitter. Some use it for pure entertainment value; some use it to share news and information; some use it to relate to other people. These are all equally valid. There are a precious few people who use Twitter to encourage others in the Lord. These are people who put in some extra effort to package truth in 140 characters or less. And for that …
eBook Sales – Evidence of a massive shift in publishing: “The publishing tide is shifting fast: E-book sales in February topped all other formats, including paperbacks and hardcovers, according to an industry report released this week.” Speaking of which, the Kindle now has a version that just barely tops $100. Future Leaders – Brian Croft has a useful article on how pastors can identity future leaders within the church. Where We Can’t Follow Jesus – This blogger went looking for …