Tag: new book

Book Recommendation: “Thriving at College” by Alex Chediak

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Thriving at College a new book from Alex Chediak and Tyndale House Publishers is sure to garner a lot of attention in the next few months. It comes chuck full of glowing recommendations and looks to be an incredibly helpful resource for those getting ready to go to college this Fall. With graduations around the corner, Westminster Bookstore has a special discount on this title now through Tuesday, April 12. You’ll want to check it out and perhaps pick up a copy (now for only $7.50 for the first copy, and $9.00 for additional copies).

Here is the book description and some of the recommendations it has earned.

Book Description:
Going to college can be exciting, anxiety inducing, and expensive! You want your child to get the most out of their college experience””what advice do you give? Thriving at College by Alex Chediak is the perfect gift for a college student or a soon-to-be college student.

Filled with wisdom and practical advice from a seasoned college professor and student mentor, Thriving at College covers the ten most common mistakes that college students make””and how to avoid them! Alex leaves no stone unturned””he discusses everything from choosing a major and discerning one’s vocation to balancing academics and fun, from cultivating relationships with peers and professors to helping students figure out what to do with their summers.

Most importantly, this book will help students not only keep their faith but build a vibrant faith and become the person God created them to be.

Praise for Thriving at College
“Most Christian young people go to college without specific goals and are unprepared for the challenges that await them. While some prosper spiritually, most get derailed, and an alarming number abandon their faith. Alex has written an insightful and useful book to help college-bound people know what to expect, how to prepare for it, and what to do to avoid the pitfalls.” ~ Randy Alcorn, best-selling author of Heaven and director of Eternal Perspectives Ministries

“Written by an ‘insider’–a former student, now a professor–this book addresses all the issues a student might face. It will be an excellent gift for all high school seniors.” ~ Jerry Bridges, best-selling author of The Pursuit of Holiness

“College represents one of the most strategic transitional moments in the lives of most young Christians. In this book, Alex provides good wisdom and sound, practical advice to young Christians seeking to navigate the world of higher education while simultaneously maturing into faithful Christians.” ~ R. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“When Alex talks about thriving at college, he speaks from experience. He has spent a lot of time on campus: from undergrad to professor. Put all of that together, along with a wide knowledge of Scripture, and you have the ideal author of a really helpful book.” ~ Michael Horton, professor at Westminster Seminary California, author and co-host of The White Horse Inn radio show

“All the things I speak to college students about are here: maintaining your faith, developing nurturing friendships, having wisdom in relationships, becoming mature, finding balance, growing in spiritual maturity, seizing opportunities. A must-read for kids headed to college and those already there.” ~ Tedd Tripp, best-selling author of Shepherding a Child’s Heart

About Alex Chediak:
Alex Chediak is an author, speaker, and an associate professor of engineering and physics at California Baptist University. Alex has been involved in campus ministries and mentoring students for many years. He has published numerous articles in Boundless, an online magazine for young adult Christians, and he is the author of 5 Paths to the Love of Your Life and With One Voice. Alex has an MS and PhD in engineering from University of California–Berkeley. Originally from the Chicago area, Alex and his wife, Marni, and their three children now reside in Riverside, California. He maintains a blog at www.alexchediak.com.

I know Alex personally, and am positive this book will make an impact on a lot of Christian college students. I’ve reviewed his book With One Voice: Singleness, Dating & Marriage to the Glory of God which is one of the best resources on that topic I’ve ever read. You won’t be disappointed by Thriving at College.

Additional Extras:
Click here for a 50 page excerpt/sample from the book. Also, at this link, you can see Alex discussing the book in a short video interview.

“Appointed to Preach: Assessing a Call to Ministry” by David W. Hegg

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

“A strong case can be made that we presently have too many men in pastoral ministry; too many who have taken the mantle of leadership upon themselves without having been selected and formed by God for that purpose.” (pg. 23)

“Isn’t it about time that we expected more from those who would stand before us as God’s ministers?” (pg. 51)

When is the last time you read anything like the two statements above? Following the lead of such great men as Charles Spurgeon and Richard Baxter, David W. Hegg displays a holy zeal to protect the office of the pastor. In his book Appointed to Preach: Assessing a Call to Ministry (a recent re-release from Christian Focus Publications), Hegg raises the bar for pastoral ministry and recovers the lost art of a thorough ordination process.

An experienced pastor who serves on the regional ordination council of his denomination, Hegg has seen the good and the bad when it comes to ordinations. Too often, the process becomes an empty formality or an opportunity for cranky old men to ridicule a youngster in public. Avoiding either extreme, Hegg envisions ordination as a careful and slow process whereby unworthy candidates for ministry are weeded out and faithful men of God approved and affirmed to their calling.

The book addresses the role of ordination, the character qualities the Bible expects of a pastor, and the path for a man seeking ordination. Wise advice is given both to aspiring ministers and those who would seat the ordination council. A blueprint is also furnished that can be adapted to fit the particulars of a variety of conservative denominations. A helpful appendix of recommended reading rounds out this handy volume.

At a mere 154 pages, the book can be read in one sitting. Yet Hegg’s practical wisdom and insightful comments deserve more extended reflection. Useful as a handbook for all involved in the ordination process, it also offers a wake-up call to the church at large. How we view the pastoral task matters both for how we practice ordination and how well our churches are pastored. We need faithful men behind our sacred desks. May many men and churches be blessed through the counsel David W. Hegg shares in this book. I recommend this book highly.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Christian Focus Publications for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Learn more about this book at the Christian Focus BookNotes blog. You can purchase a copy from Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, or direct from Christian Focus Publications.

Book Recommendation: “Life of John Knox”

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments


I recently received a copy of a sharp looking small biography of John Knox from Attic Books (an imprint of New Leaf Publishing). This book has the look and feel of an antique, with frayed page edges and type-set looking font. It’s a compact, attractive size and contains a reproduction of an 1833 original book published by the American Sunday School Union.

John Knox was the fiery Scottish reformer. He doesn’t get the press Calvin and Luther receive, but his story is sure to inspire. Attic Books describes the book as follows:

Rare vignettes featuring the Protestant Reformation’s fiercest defender! John Knox had a life of exciting adventure, harsh imprisonment, and brilliant scholarship. Fighting battles both political and religious, Knox bravely defied royalty, nobility, and the established power of the Papacy to speak the truth. A fiery and inspirational preacher, he fiercely upheld the authority of Scripture and salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. In perilous times, Knox risked his life daily in a fearless and tireless defense of the faith!

This title was originally published by the ASSU, now called American Missionary Fellowship.

The book has 140 small pages with large easy to read font, so there’s no excuse not to read this book. You can pick up a copy of this title at Monergism Books, Amazon.com or direct from Attic Books. If you consider purchasing this title, be sure to check out their other classic biographies: Life of Luther, Life of Andrew Jackson, and Life of George Washington.

I thought they did a great job on the book trailer, too. I previously shared their Life of Luther book trailer so I thought I’d share the Life of John Knox trailer here, too.

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

Book Excerpt — Singing the Songs of Jesus: Revisiting the Psalms by Michael LeFebvre

~ Bob Hayton

I’m reading through a new Christian Focus book entitled Singing the Songs of Jesus: Revisiting the Psalms by Michael LeFebvre. In this book, the author explains why singing the Psalms was so precious to saints through all ages, prior to the rise of the 18th century hymnwriting movement. LeFebre succeeds in making the Psalms come alive and in equipping the modern church with tools for recovering the use of the Psalms.

I wanted to offer an excerpt which has captivated me. LeFebvre describes the difference between singing to Christ, and singing with Christ. He avers that when Christians sing the Psalms, we are singing with Christ in a unique way.

You can learn more about the book at Christianfocus.com, and in the next couple weeks, I’ve heard this book will be showcased at their new Christian Focus Booknotes blog, too.

Without further ado, I provide an extended book excerpt. For more, you’ll have to get the book!

In the Gospels, Jesus often took the Psalms to his lips as his own praises. He sang Psalm 41 as his own song: ‘My close friend in whom I trusted…has lifted his heel against me’ (Ps. 41:9/John 13:18). He sang Psalm 118, not as a common experience of God’s people but as his own experience as our true king: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’ (Ps. 118:22/Matt. 21:42). Jesus identified himself as the anointed king in psalm 110: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand.”‘ (Ps. 110:1/Mark 12:36). In these and other examples, Jesus frequently showed himself to be the Son of David by taking the Psalms of David to his lips as his own songs (e.g., Matt. 27:46/Ps. 22:1; Luke 23:46/Ps. 31:5; John 2:17/Ps. 69:9).

In fact here is Jesus’ own explanation about his relationship to the Psalms of David:

As Jesus taught in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’ David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son (Mark 12:35-37, quoting Ps. 110:1)?

Jesus says that David wrote Psalms for a descendant who would be greater than himself — the coming Christ. In the Holy Spirit, David understood that his songs would ultimately be taken up by the Christ.

Peter makes a similar point in his sermon at Pentecost. Peter preached from a string of Old Testament texts, including several Psalms (Pss. 16, 89, 110, 132)…. According to Peter, David wrote the Psalms ‘knowing’ that God had promised the Christ would come from his line. And he wrote Psalm 16 ‘foreseeing’ the resurrection of Christ. The Psalms were born out of the experiences of David and his heirs, but David wrote with awareness of the coming Son of David who would ultimately take the Psalms to his lips as our perfect king and songleader.

From the beginning, the Psalms were composed for Jesus — as his songs. No wonder the New Testament church never set the Psalmbook aside. They took up the Psalms in great delight, singing in them with Jesus.

Let me offer a word picture to anchor this principle. Imagine that a friend of yours has invited you to a concert. A famous choir is in town, and your friend bought two tickets. As you slip into your seats in the concert hall, a one hundred voice choir lines the platform before you. And the music begins. The singing is superb. It could not be better. It is such a pleasant evening, you and your friend decide to return the next week for another concert.

The next week, you return to the hall and find the same choir singing again. This time, however, a world famous tenor is going to be on the platform with them. As you sit in the audience listening, you are entranced by the beauty of the soloist’s voice, surrounded majestically by the hundred-voice choir behind him. Perhaps you will come again another time to hear more.

What is the difference between these to, imagined performances? In the first, the audience is listening to the voices of a hundred singers. The song is the choir’s song. In the second performance, however, the audience is listening to the voice of one singer accompanied by a hundred others. But it is the one singer in front who stands under the spotlight. His song is being performed, and the rest join him in singing it.

In Christian worship, God is the audience of our singing. Many congregations today see themselves as that hundred-person choir singing to God. They imagine that they stand as a mass of worshipers, singing their songs of faith to him. That is the expectation behind modern hymns and praise songs. Modern hymns do not say, for example, ‘What a friend I, Joseph Scriven, have in Jesus.’ Hymnwriters compose songs for the congregation to sing as their song to God, with the song’s original author and his experience disappearing from view.

This is where the Psalms are radically different. The Psalms are composed for a use like the second performance imagined above. Our divinely appointed leader, King Jesus, leads our praise. Jesus sings his own songs in his own words (composed prophetically for him). They are his praises of the Father which he calls us, as his subjects, to join him in singing. Rather than disappearing from view, we are supposed to sing in conscious identification with Jesus as our Psalm leader, and with his experience of the cross and resurrection before us.

[emphasis added, from pg. 51-54]

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

You can pick up a copy from Amazon.com, Monergism Books, or direct from Christian Focus.