Tag: Christian book

The Reformed Expository Commentary Series, 50% off at WTSBooks.Com

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

I highly recommend the Reformed Expository Commentary Series from P & R Publishing. The commentaries are written by superb pastor-teachers from a Reformed standpoint. They deal with the exegetical questions but make sure to apply the text pastorally. And the series explicitly aims to be Christ-centered in its approach.

You can read my detailed review of Daniel Doriani’s commentary on James here. After reading that commentary, I have wanted to get the whole series. With this new sale at Westminster Bookstore, just announced, I was able to pick up the last volumes I don’t already have.

Here’s the scoop: if you purchase three or more titles, you can get a 50% discount. If you purchase the set, it’s 52%. Individual volumes are discounted 45%. Plus, if you purchase a few volumes you can qualify for the $1 shipping with UPS. On my order, it was only 1 buck total for shipping — you can’t beat that.

Check out the sample pages from the latest volume in the series, 1 Kings by Philip Graham Ryken.

Watch the trailer below, and read the series description, then go check out Westminster Bookstore’s sale.

“Smart Faith: Loving Your God with All Your Mind” by J.P. Moreland & Mark Matlock

~ Bob Hayton

Today’s Church is facing a growing epidemic. Our young people are leaving Christianity by the droves. They survive through high school, but often hit the eject button at some point during their college years. What’s wrong?

J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock think they have an answer to this crisis. In their recent book Smart Faith: Loving Your God with All Your Mind published by NavPress, they expose part of the problem: “We now live in a Christian culture so deeply committed to a nonintellectual way of understanding the Christian faith that this perspective is now embedded within us at a subconscious level.” They continue: “Faith is now understood as a blind act of the will — a decision to believe something independent of reason…” The gospel we share has been reduced to “primarily… a means of addressing felt needs.” “We give testimonies of our changed life and tell people that Christ is the answer to troubles.” But this lacks true transforming power. “Religion has… become personal, private, and too often simply a matter of how we feel about things.” (pg. 24-26). In sharp contrast stands the rest of life which demands the use of our intellect in today’s ever-secular world.

The 58 percent of church-attending teenagers which Barna researchers tell us “won’t be attending church by their thirtieth birthday”, were likely “missing the intellectual aspects of faith.” (pg. 25). Moreland and Matlock aim to cultivate a robust, Christian intellect through their book. Along the way, they hope to fortify their readers against the siren call of our world’s increasingly anti-Christian culture.

The book describes the problem and how we got here. It explores faith and knowledge, and aims to elevate the importance of the mind. It then goes on to apply Christian intellect to evangelism and apologetical persuasion, personal devotion and study, worship, and more. The book provides case studies of complex real world scenarios that young people face that could present a problem. In the end, these case studies are fleshed out with an intellectually honest and faithful approach to integrating our Christianity with all of life.

The authors are irenic and patient, not to mention painfully honest. Slowly and surely the attentive reader is prodded and nudged in the right direction. The book is not a heady read. It’s written in a light and straight-forward manner, and at 175 pages, it isn’t too long. Still, it covers some important ground. More important, the authors achieve their goal: they offer a book which will ground the faith of young people and encourage a deep-rooted faith in Christ.

This book would make a great gift for a high school graduate. Youth ministers will want a copy of this book both for their own benefit and to recommend to others. Smart Faith earns a high recommendation.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by NavPress. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

You can purchase a copy of this book from any of these fine retailers: Christianbook.com, Amazon.com or direct from NavPress.

“A Visual History of the King James Bible” by Donald L. Brake — A Video Review

~ Bob Hayton ~ 10 Comments

Today is the 400th Anniversary of the printing of the King James Bible. In honor of that, I tried my hand at my first video book review. Below, you’ll find a video review of A Visual History of the King James Bible by Donald L. Brake. While there are a few audio glitches, the stunning visual beauty of Brake’s book is put on full display. I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy of this book as a way of celebrating this momentous occasion.


A Visual History of the King James Bible — A Video Review from Bob Hayton on Vimeo.

The book can be purchased from these retailers: Christianbook.com, Amazon.com or direct from Baker Books. Also, be sure to check out Dr. Brake’s other book: A Visual History of the English Bible (Baker Books, 2008).

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Baker Books. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Book Recommendation: “Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures” by Dennis E. Johnson

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

At The 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference, this book was highly recommended. I thought I’d highlight the book again, since my review was posted way back in April of 2009.

What would a Christ-centered reading of the Old Testament look like? How can we best preach Christ from the Old Testament faithfully and with respect to what the Old Testament text itself actually says? These questions and more are explored by Dennis E. Johnson in his book Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures.

Part hermeneutic manual, homiletic textbook and preaching guide, the book first explains why apostolic, Christ-centered preaching of the Old Testament is needed today and then carefully fleshes out what this kind of preaching will look like. Johnson’s redemptive historical hermeneutic includes tracing out overarching biblical themes and giving close attention to the New Testament’s allusions to the Old Testament. His example sermons and outlines bring the theory to life and makes the book extremely useful. If you are looking for a single, comprehensive resource on Christ-centered, Old Testament preaching, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Him We Proclaim.

You can preview the table of contents, and chapter 1. You may also want to read my full review here.

The book can be purchased from these retailers: Christianbook.com, Westminster Bookstore, Monergism Books, Amazon.com or direct from P & R Publishing.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by P & R Publishing. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Dr. Donald Brake Interviewed on the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

At Haven Today, a nationally syndicated Christian radio show and podcast, Dr. Donald Brake was recently interviewed on the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible. Dr. Brake is the author of A Visual History of the English Bible (Baker Books, 2008) and the recently released A Visual History of the King James Bible (Baker Books, 2011).

I just completed reading through this fascinating book and will be putting my review up soon. The 400th anniversary of the King James Bible is next week, May 2nd. Dr. Brake’s interview will be very informative. Here are the links to the interview: Part 1 (April 25, 2011), Part 2 (April 26, 2011). More information is available on the interview at HavenToday.org. These interviews are only about 15 to 20 minutes long minus the commercial breaks (which is just music on the web-player), but they’ll whet your appetite for this book.

To see an excerpt of Dr. Brake’s A Visual History of the King James Bible, click here. You can order the book through Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, or direct from Baker Books.