Category: Books

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Your Church Is Too Small Zondervan Book Blog Tour

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

This is an update letting you all know about this blog tour for John Armstrong’s new book Your Church Is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ’s Mission Is Vital to the Future of the Church. If I hadn’t spent a day and a half in and out of hospital rooms taking care of my daughter, I’d have my review ready for this tour. (Don’t worry, she’s fine.)

Check out the other reviews of the book from the sites at the link above. I think the book has some good things to say, but much that needs careful discernment as well. I’ll be reviewing the book in the next couple days.

“Raven’s Ladder (The Auralia Thread series)” by Jeffrey Overstreet

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

The best fiction transports the reader into the setting of the book. The adventure written becomes an adventure experienced. Characters aren’t just described by the author, they are befriended by the reader. This is when reading becomes an engrossing, consuming experience, and books become a work of art rather than a mere production. Jeffrey Overstreet wields this kind of book magic in his “Auralia Thread” series.

Raven’s Ladder (book #3) was my first encounter with the series, and as the story developed I felt like I had stepped into a well-developed, alternate world. The members of a fallen House are struggling to survive in a wilderness, and a mysterious danger lurks below ground. A young king believes in childish myths about The Keeper and risks everything to follow his mystical guides. A group of devious seer-types control an economic stronghold where the people worship moon spirits and follow their own pursuits and pleasures wholeheartedly. And a malady which turns men to beasts has destroyed another House and threatens all the land.

The tale is so different it takes a while to feel comfortable in the story. And when you begin to sense the grandeur of the tale, glimpses of connections to Christianity make the tale all the more alluring. Auralia’s vivid colors mesmerize all who remember them, and visions of beauty stand out all the more starkly against a pervasive and widespread ugliness. Whispers of The Keeper and the mystery of a long forgotten past make figuring out this world much less easy than it seems.

As the tale progresses, high and low points ebb and flow. The conclusion will leave you begging for more, and wondering what is in store for young King Cal-raven and the other heroes of the book. And after finishing this book, you may feel the urge to read the first two books to enjoy the world Jeffrey Overstreet has created to its fullest extent.

Disclaimer: this book was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

You can pick up a copy at Amazon.com or directly from Waterbrook Multnomah.

“Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue (The Knights of Arrethtrae: Book 4)” by Chuck Black

~ Bob Hayton

The appeal of fantasy fiction is wrapped up in its other-worldliness. On film, Peter Jackson captured this well in his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Of course, the books themselves are more effective at transporting the reader to another time and place.

In the “Knights of Arrethtrae” series, Chuck Black takes the grand Biblical story of redemption and crafts an allegorical, fictitious world to match it. Following John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress legacy, Black interweaves Christian themes into his fantasy tale.

The series is based on his earlier 6 part Kingdom series, and offers vignettes of followers of the King across the Sea. “The King reigns and his Son!” is the rallying cry of the Prince’s Knights in the Kingdom of Arrethtrae. Shadow Warriors and evil knights battle Silent Warriors and the Prince’s knights, in a battle for the souls of men.

In Lady Carliss, we find a fascinating tale of treachery, deceit, a dark plot and mystery. Carliss battles more than just the dark forces, as she must master her heart and its attraction to her brother’s best friend Lord Dalton. Along the way, she faces the dreadful choice of saving the life of one she can’t help but love, or saving the lives of friends who count on her.

At the end of the book, a discussion guide is included with pointed questions about the allegory and the story, chapter by chapter. The peril of a pleasure-inducing substance that sends people into an alternate reality provides a platform for addressing the problem of escapism in today’s world. The questions also come with answers and make this book, and the others in the “Knights of Arrethtrae” series, ideal for parents to read with their teens, or for youth groups to read together in a church-based book club.

The story moves along at a fast clip and includes surprising twists and turns. The style is straightforward and action-oriented, suitable for teen-age readers and a shorter sized fantasy book. The allegory is at times very direct, and detailed descriptions of the meaning are included at the end. Still the story stands on its own right, and entering the world Black creates is both enjoyable and instructive.

The meta-narrative or grand story of the Bible is indeed alluring. We need to remind ourselves that an alternate reality has nothing on the redemptive plan of our Savior. We, like Carliss, need to learn to trust the Prince and follow him in spite of our feelings and uncertainties. And our Lord will prove True and Faithful, every time.

Disclaimer: this book was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

You can pick up a copy at Amazon.com or directly from Waterbrook Multnomah.

A Commentary for Children?? Author Nancy Ganz Explains

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Nancy Ganz has written a commentary series for children on the first four books of the Bible. Shepherd Press’ blog recently shared a four part interview with Nancy about her books. I plan on reviewing the first book in the near future, but thought I’d share excerpts from this interview series for my readers.

The commentaries were birthed out of a Sunday School curriculum that Ganz developed. They are written in a clear easy style that children can comprehend. The books look like they would make the perfect material for Family Bible Time, or as others call it, Family Worship.

I’m selectively choosing some answers and questions from the original four part interview. I encourage you to read the entire interview as it is both a blessing to read as well as an insight into the perspective of these books.

Jay Younts (Shepherd Press) – Nancy, as a follow up – tell us when you actually decided to write these commentaries.

Nancy Ganz – I decided to write this book when I was sitting in the National Arts Centre Theatre in the capital of Canada. The National Ballet Company of Canada was performing The Nutcracker and I was thinking, “The world takes a silly little story like this and tells it to the children so beautifully and meaningfully that they remember it for the rest of their lives. The church takes the most beautiful and meaningful story ever told–the salvation of God’s people–and somehow turns the most exciting events and amazing facts in all human history into unimaginably boring lessons. How is this possible?” It was that thought in that moment which motivated me to write this book in this way.

JY – I have always appreciated your title for the series – Herein Is Love. Would you tell our readers why you chose to emphasize love in the title?

NG – Each of the commentaries is part of the “HEREIN IS LOVE” series, because God’s LOVE shines forth in every book of the Bible, in every chapter of every book of the Bible! This is part of a New Testament quote: “Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us – and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (I John 4:10). That has to be one of the most important verses in the entire Bible.

JY – …what is the value of children being familiar with the book of Leviticus?

NG – The book of Leviticus is essential to understanding the New Testament. How can you understand what John the Baptist means when he says about Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” if you don’t understand the place of the sacrificial lamb in the 0ld Testament? God was impressing upon us the severity of our sin and our need of a Savior by the continual shedding of blood, morning and evening, day after day, year after year. Sometimes I feel sick just thinking about all the bloodshed. Good. That is what I am supposed to feel. Sin is sickening and the price it required was much more than the blood of innocent animals. It required the blood of the Holy Son of God.

Why did God give us the book of Leviticus? He wanted to impress something awful upon us. And He wanted us to recognize the Lamb of God and His Sacrifice, when He laid down His life upon the cross for us. This wasn’t an accident. It didn’t just happen. God was showing us the blueprints of His Great Plan (in books like Leviticus) many hundreds of years before Jesus Christ even entered this world.

JY: We tend to look at the first books of the Bible as dry academic history. By contrast, your prose in retelling these stories is both lively and conversational. Why is this important for children?

NG: God imparts biblical history to us, not in a dry academic way, but through the exciting lives of real people. God’s truth is revealed to us in a very stimulating way–in peoples’ stories. There are some dry facts communicated too (such as long lists of numbers in the book called Numbers) but this never lasts very long. One time in Russia, my husband and I were having a tour of the Jewish Ghetto that was liquidated in WWII. The historian was imparting to us historical facts: lists of the numbers of people exterminated in different places and the dates when the massacres took place. At the end of the tour I asked the man to recount for us his personal story of that terrible time. At first he refused, saying it was unimportant. I contradicted him and said his personal memories were of utmost importance to me and to the world. I do not remember a single statistic that he told us, but I remember his story almost word for word. That is how God has imparted historical information to us–in the midst of exciting stories. This is not just important for children. It is important for all of us!

Here are links to the entire interview: part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4. I recommend these books and encourage everyone to take advantage of a special offer from Shepherd Press.

UPDATE: Special Offer from Shepherd Press – From now through Wednesday March 10, use coupon code FRGANZ4 to get the set of all 4 children’s commentaries for $29.95, a savings of $16 off the normal set price, and $23 off the price of each book individually. More details about this discount is available below.

The sale will run today through Wednesday, March 10th. The code is FRGANZ4.

Using the coupon code from the Fundamentally Reformed Blog, purchase the Herein is Love Set for only $29.95!

You may need to be logged in to the website for the coupon code to work.

To enter the coupon code, add the Herein is Love Set to your shopping cart. Click “View Cart” on the right side of your screen. At the bottom of the shopping cart page is a field titled “Redeem a discount coupon.” Enter the coupon code there and click “Submit”. Then proceed with the checkout process.

This is a limited time offer. The coupon code may be used once per customer. Up to three sets may be purchased at the discounted price.