RECOMMENDED BOOKS - CHARLES SPURGEON

Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was a British Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers." This despite the fact that he was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, against liberalism and pragmatic theological tendencies even in his day. In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times each week at different places. His sermons have been translated into many languages. Spurgeon was the pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years. Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, a commentary, books on prayer, a devotional, a magazine, poetry, hymnist, and more. Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Arguably, no other author, Christian or otherwise, has more material in print than C.H. Spurgeon.


ALL OF GRACE
Charles Spurgeon
Category: Heroes, Puritans, And Reformers
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"To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Spurgeon's masterpiece on grace from Romans 4:5 is an outstanding description of God's love and unmerited grace to those whom He saves. It is one of the clearest examples of salvation by grace ever written. Spurgeon's masterpiece is one the finest expositions ever penned on faith, repentance, and regeneration. Believers and unbelievers alike can learn from this classic presentation on faith and grace. In twenty short and clear chapters, powerful preacher Charles Spurgeon reveals the true meaning of being saved.


SPURGEON GOLD
Ray Comfort (Editor), Charles Spurgeon
Category: Heroes, Puritans, And Reformers
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Books about the life and ministry of “The Prince of Preachers” are not uncommon. However, Spurgeon Gold takes a unique approach. It has isolated the great preacher’s deep passion for the lost, many of his powerful gospel proclimations, and his convincing exhortations to Christians to share their faith. Spurgeon was an immense and prolific writer and this book will whet the appetite for much more of his writings. Furthermore, Spurgeon Gold is a literal goldmine of riveting, theologically profound, accessible, and inspiring treasures from the deep well of Charles Spurgeon's deep well of material - bound to wear out any highlighter pen!


TILL HE COME
Charles Spurgeon
Category: Heroes, Puritans, And Reformers
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Spurgeon is most famous for his pastorship at London's Metropolitan Tabernacle, where he regularly preached to huge crowds. In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to over 10,000,000 people and published over 55 books, sermons, and meditations which have been translated into 34 languages. Till He Come is a collection of addresses centered on the Lord's Supper. Some were preached to the congregation at Metropolitan, while others were spoken to small groups of Christians Spurgeon hosted on Sundays to celebrate communion. The collection addresses a diverse range of scriptures, but all stick to the common theme of Jesus' symbolic last meal. It will prove helpful to anyone looking for further insight on this interdenominational practice and will encourage believers to "do this in remembrance of me."

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - R C SPROUL

Robert Charles Sproul, (born February 13, 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American Calvinist theologian and pastor. Dr. R.C. Sproul has served the church as a seminary professor, preacher, and author for more than forty years. He is the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries and can be heard teaching daily on the radio program Renewing Your Mind, which broadcasts on more than 300 radio outlets in the United States and throughout 50 countries. Dr. Sproul has written more than 60 books and serves as Senior Minister of Preaching and Teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida.


CAN I BE SURE I'M SAVED
R C Sproul
Category: Apologetics
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Many people in the church today are plagued by doubts about their salvation. Satan whispers that it is impossible that sinners such as they could be in a state of grace, and some churches compound the problem by teaching that it is possible for believers to lose their salvation. But assurance of salvation is possible in this life. Indeed, as Dr. R.C. Sproul argues in this Crucial Questions booklet, it is the duty of Christians to make their calling sure (2 Peter 1:10). To help believers reach this goal, Dr. Sproul defines assurance, shows how we can get it, reveals the blessings it confers, and warns of the dangers of false assurance. Here is assistance for those who struggle to know where they stand with Jesus Christ.


PREACHING THE CROSS
Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, John Macarthur, C J Mahaney, Al Mohler, John Piper, R C Sproul
Category: Church
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Proclaiming the gospel is without a doubt the most important task of pastoral ministry, yet often other, seemingly more urgent activities obscure it. From time to time all pastors and preachers need to be reminded of the primacy of the gospel. Preaching the Cross does just this. It is a call to expository, gospel-centered preaching as the center of pastoral ministry. This volume showcases an unprecedented combination of pastors representing a variety of evangelical traditions. Though they differ on some secondary points of church practice, they all enthusiastically celebrate the centrality of the cross of Christ — keeping the main thing the main thing. That message every reader can take away from this book and adopt in his pastoral ministry.


THE CONSEQUENCES OF IDEAS
R C Sproul
Category: Apologetics
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If you think philosophy is irrelevant to your daily life, think again. You need only observe the world around you to discover how substantially the ideas of history's thinkers affect us still. You can hear it in the beliefs of your non-Christian friends. In the media, your music, your children's classrooms. You can see it in our public policies, on every bookstore shelf, in the way we understand our very existence - even in the visible church. We like to believe that we create our little worlds from scratch and then live in them. But the reality is, we step into an environment that already exists, and we learn to interact with it. The foundational thinking of philosophy tries to lay bare all of our assumptions, revealing our false and sometimes dangerous beliefs so that we may arrive at a coherent worldview. The greater our familiarity with the ideas that have shaped our culture over the centuries, the greater our ability to understand and influence that culture for Christ.


THE HOLINESS OF GOD
R C Sproul
Category: Theology
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RC Sproul says that “when people ask me to name the Ligonier teaching material they should use to help them grow; I tell them, ‘You should start with The Holiness of God.’” This classic can help you better understand the biblical picture of God’s awesome holiness and why it is so foundational to God-centered, God-honoring theology and Christian living. In The Holiness of God , R.C. Sproul demonstrates that encountering God’s holy presence is a terrifying experience. Dr. Sproul argues that this struggle is nonetheless necessary because it is the only way to cure our propensity to trust in ourselves and our own righteousness for salvation.


THE PRAYER OF THE LORD
R C Sproul
Category: Prayer
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What is the Lord’s Prayer? In The Prayer of the Lord, Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “Jesus’ intent was to give His disciples a model prayer, an example to follow, one that would teach them transferable principles for conversation with God.” In short, Christ gave the Lord’s Prayer to teach His disciples about prayer, and Dr. Sproul, in his trademark fashion, brings out many of the truths Christ intended for His followers to learn. Readers will learn how not to pray, then will be led into a deeper understanding of such topics as the Fatherhood of God, the kingdom of God, the will of God, the nature of sin and forgiveness, the dangers of temptation, and the cunning of Satan. The final chapter includes questions and answers on various aspects of prayer not covered elsewhere in the book, and the appendix addresses the difficult question of the relationship of God’s sovereignty and prayer. The Prayer of the Lord is an eye-opening journey, one that reveals new vistas in familiar terrain.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - MARK SPENCE

Mark Spence is the Dean of Students for the Living Waters Publications online School of Biblical Evangelism. He served for a number of years as the assistant pastor of a Calvary Chapel in Southern California. In that capacity, he was the head of his church’s Bible College and the School of Discipleship. Mark is a dynamic communicator and a gifted expositor of God's word, with many years of teaching experience.


SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL EVANGELISM TEXTBOOK
Mark Spence (Editor)
Category: Evangelism
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In this 768-page comprehensive study course, you will learn how to share your faith simply, effectively, and biblically . . . the way Jesus did. Discover the God-given evangelistic tools that will enable you to confidently talk about the Savior. With 101 lessons on subjects ranging from basic Christian doctrines to knowing our enemy, from false conversions to proving the deity of Jesus, you will be well-equipped to answer questions as you witness to anyone. This study course will help you to prove the authenticity of the Bible, provide ample evidence for creation, refute the claims of evolution, understand the beliefs of those in cults and other religions, and know how to reach both friends and strangers with the gospel. As the printed version of the popular online School of Biblical Evangelism, this book provides all the lesson text at your fingertips, as well as room for you to record your answers to the study questions. This makes it a convenient format for easy reference as you put its lessons into practice.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - STEVEN SMITH

Dr. Steven W Smith serves on the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as a Professor of Preaching and the Dean of their college. Smith received his Master of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Seminary before going on to complete a Ph.D. in Communication at Regent University. Smith is at the forefront of the theological thrust to return biblical exposition to its rightful place at the epicenter of pulpit ministry and the local church. Prior to his service on the faculty of SWBTS, Smith pastored Salem Baptist Church in Richmond Virginia for eight years. Smith’s first book, Dying to Preach: Embracing the Cross in the Pulpit, has just been released.


DYING TO PREACH
Steven Smith
Category: Theology
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Drawing inspiration from the seminal preacher, the apostle Paul, Steven W. Smith takes a fresh look not just at the how of preaching, but at the whys. In 2 Corinthians 4:12, Paul describes the philosophy of his ministry as “death in us, but life in you.” Building on this scriptural framework, Steve Smith illustrates the theology of preaching through the metaphor of vicarious suffering, dying so that others might live. As he elaborates the intersection of the cross and the pulpit, Smith shows why the preacher must die to self, die for others, and die in Christ so that congregations may live.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - ROBERT SHANK

Robert Lee Shank (1918 - 2006) attended Ottawa University in Kansas and Southwest Baptist College and William Jewell College in Missouri, and graduated from Northeast Missouri State College. He was also ordained into the ministry that same year. He served faithfully in Christian ministry for over 60 years as pastor, preacher, author, lecturer, and teacher. He taught 14 years at Faith Bible Academy, Camdenton, Missouri, serving seven years as president. He lectured widely throughout the United States in churches, conferences, and seminaries, and received an honorary doctorate from Pepperdine University in 1975. In 1960 his first book was published, Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance. This was followed in 1970 by Elect in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Election. Other publications included Jesus, His Story, Sources of Power, Until, and God's Tomorrow.


LIFE IN THE SON
Robert Shank
Category: Theology
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There is currently a plethora of ridiculous straw man attacks on Calvinism in the theological marketplace. Some of them contain caricatures that are pure fabrications and offer nothing constructive for those of us who want to engage the real theological issues that lie at the heart of the historical Calvinist v Arminian debate. With this in mind I am happy to recommend this scholarly work by Arminian theologian Robert Shank first published way back in 1960. Calvinist theologian and preacher John Macarthur highly recommends this book to his seminary students because he believes Life In The Son is "the best concise argument for the Arminian position, and it is a very carefully thought-out, systematic argument." Whichever side of the fence you find yourself in the Calvinist Arminian divide, this is a book that makes a strong argument against the Calvinist doctrine of perseverance and is worth studying for that reason.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - FRANCIS SCHAEFFER

Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984) was a Presbyterian minister with an ability to see how the questions of meaning, morals, and value being dealt with by philosophy, were the same questions that the Bible dealt with, only in different language. Once an agnostic, Schaeffer came to the conclusion that Biblical Christianity not only gave sufficient answers to the big questions, but that they were the only answers that were both self-consistent and livable. With this conviction he became a man of conversation. Schaeffer taught that God is really there and He is not silent. He had spoken to man in the Bible as and a result we could have "true truth" about God and man. Knowing the dignity of man created in God's image, he placed a high value on creativity as an expression of that image. He opened his Swiss home to travelers to discuss these things. Later he began lecturing in universities and writing a number of books. Perhaps no other Christian thinker of the twentieth century, besides C.S. Lewis, has had more influence on thinking people.


HOW SHOULD WE THEN LIVE
Francis Schaeffer
Category: Apologetics
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As one of the foremost evangelical thinkers of the 20th century, Francis Schaeffer long pondered the fate of declining western culture. In this brilliant book he analyzed the reasons for modern society's state of affairs and presented the only viable alternative; living by the Christian ethic, acceptance of God's revelation, and total affirmation of the Bible's morals, values, and meaning. How should we then live has become the benchmark for Christian worldview thinking today. Though written in 1976, Schaeffer's observations reveal a firm grasp of where everything was heading and as such, are perhaps even more relevant today.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - ANDREW SACH

Andrew Sach is a contemporary evangelical Christian speaker and author. In recent years he has been a regular speaker at the Word Alive conference. After studying Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, Sach worked as an apprentice for a year at the church of St Andrew the Great, Cambridge. He then completed a doctorate at the University of York, before working for St Helen's Bishopsgate in London for three years. Whilst there he studied part-time at the Cornhill Training Course. From there went to Oak Hill Theological College (with a six month exchange to Moore Theological College, Sydney) to train as a pastor-teacher in the Church of England.


PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS
Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, Andrew Sach
Category: Theology
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With the central Christian doctrine of penal substitution increasingly under attack, these authors articulate a series of responses to specific theological and cultural criticisms. The belief that Jesus died for us, suffering the wrath of his own Father in our place, has been the wellspring of hope for countless Christians through the ages. However, with an increasing number of theologians, church leaders, and even popular Christian books and magazines questioning this doctrine, which naysayers have described as a form of "cosmic child abuse," a fresh articulation and affirmation of penal substitution is needed. And Jeffery, Ovey, and Sach have responded here with clear exposition and analysis. They make the case not only that the doctrine is clearly taught in Scripture, but that it has an impeccable pedigree and a central place in Christian theology, and that its neglect has serious consequences. The authors also systematically analyze over twenty specific objections that have been brought against penal substitution and charitably but firmly offer a defining declaration of the doctrine of the cross for any concerned reader.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - LEONARD RAVENHILL

Leonard Ravenhill (1907 - 1994) was one of Britain’s foremost outdoor evangelists of the 20th century. God used him to help bring thousands of people to Christ throughout Britain. Unlike the case with many of today’s evangelists, the conversions that Leonard helped to bring about were generally lasting conversions. That’s because he did not water down the Gospel when he preached it. Later in life, Leonard and his family moved to the United States, where he worked with Bethany House Publishers. In the 1980s, Leonard and his family moved to a home near Lindale, Texas, a short distance from Last Days Ministries. Leonard regularly taught classes at Last Days Ministries, and he was a mentor to the late Keith Green. A. W. Tozer, who was a friend of Leonard, said this about him: “Those who know Leonard Ravenhill will recognize in him the religious specialist, the man sent from God not to carry on the conventional work of the church, but to beard the priests of Baal on their own mountain-top, to shame the careless priest at the altar, to face the false prophet and to warn the people who are being led astray by him. "


WHY REVIVAL TARRIES
Leonard Ravenhill
Category: Heroes, Puritans, And Reformers
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One of the twentieth century's greatest authorities on revival, Leonard Ravenhill gives a no-compromise call to the principles of biblical revival. The heart of his message to the church is in this volume. Appalled by the disparity between the New Testament church and the church today, his message is drastic, fearless, and often radical. As timely a call to revival today as when published nearly fifty years ago, more than 350,000 copies are in print worldwide. This book is somewhat dated through no fault of the author. The dead orthodoxy that Ravenhill rails against doesn't even exist today. I struggle to find any orthodoxy - living or dead. It is important to remember this when reading this book that this is not a call to indifference to theological training, but rather that orthopraxy would follow orthodoxy.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - LOU PRIOLO

Lou Priolo is the Director of the Eastwood Counseling Ministry in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a graduate of Calvary Bible College and Liberty University. Lou has been a full-time biblical counselor and instructor for more than nineteen years, and is a Fellow of the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors.







TEACH THEM DILIGENTLY
Lou Priolo
Category: Parenting
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This is an outstanding Gospel centered and Bible based parenting manual. John Macarthur had this to say about Teach Them Diligently: "There is far more to teaching your children the Bible than merely telling them Bible stories. Unfortunately, many parents feel ill-equipped for the task, so they neglect this vital aspect of Christian parenting. In doing so, they forfeit many of the greatest blessings of parenthood. Here's a valuable aid for parents seeking help. Lou Priolo's Teach Them Diligently: How to use the Scriptures in Child Training holds a wealth of practical and biblical advice for parents seeking to fulfill the mandate of Deuteronomy 6:6-7."

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - JOHN PIPER

John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God's call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.) and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books and more than 25 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org.


BROTHERS WE ARE NOT PROFESSIONALS
John Piper
Category: Church
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Pastor John Piper says, "We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. . . professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness, there is no professional tenderheartedness. There is no professional panting after God." This is a call to all in "full time ministry" to stop being pragmatists, philosophers, and professionals, and to speak forth as prophets of the most high God!


DESIRING GOD
John Piper
Category: Theology
Click Here To OrderThe message of Desiring God is that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. In this book, Piper calls this worldview “Christian Hedonism” and explains why pursuing maximum joy is essential to glorifying God. He discusses the implications of this for conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering. Many of us have a strong aversion to the word "hedonism" because sinful men pursue their pleasure in gratifying their flesh. But the hedonism advocated by Piper in this book is something that fulfills the Westminster Catechism in glorifying God by enjoying Him forever. An awesome read, but must be read with a well grounded biblical worldview.


PREACHING THE CROSS
Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, John Macarthur, C J Mahaney, Al Mohler, John Piper, R C Sproul
Category: Church
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Proclaiming the gospel is without a doubt the most important task of pastoral ministry, yet often other, seemingly more urgent activities obscure it. From time to time all pastors and preachers need to be reminded of the primacy of the gospel. Preaching the Cross does just this. It is a call to expository, gospel-centered preaching as the center of pastoral ministry. This volume showcases an unprecedented combination of pastors representing a variety of evangelical traditions. Though they differ on some secondary points of church practice, they all enthusiastically celebrate the centrality of the cross of Christ — keeping the main thing the main thing. That message every reader can take away from this book and adopt in his pastoral ministry.


THE PLEASURES OF GOD
John Piper
Category: Theology
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One way to see the glory of God is to meditate on what makes him happy. In The Pleasures of God John Piper unfolds for us a vision of God through the lens of his happiness. What most delights the happiest Being in the universe? God's gladness in being God. If God's excellencies can be admired in his pleasures, and if we tend to become like what we admire and enjoy, then focusing on these pleasures can help us to be gradually conformed to his likeness. In other words, we will be most satisfied in God when we know why God is most satisfied in God.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - A W PINK

Arthur Walkington Pink (1 April 1886 – 15 July 1952) was an English Christian evangelist and Biblical scholar known for his staunchly Calvinist and Puritan-like teachings. From 1925 to 1928 he served in Australia, including as pastor of two congregations from 1926 to 1928, when he returned to England, and to the United States the following year. He eventually pastored churches in Colorado, California, Kentucky, and South Carolina. In January 1922 he started a monthly magazine entitled Studies in the Scriptures which circulated among English-speaking Christians worldwide, though only to a relatively small circulation list of around 1,000. In 1934 Pink returned to England, and within a few years turned his Christian service to writing books and pamphlets. Pink died in Stornoway, Scotland on July 15, 1952. After Pink's death, his works were republished by a number of publishing houses, among them, Banner of Truth Trust, Baker Book House, Christian Focus Publications, Moody Press, Truth for Today, and reached a much wider audience as a result. Biographer Iain Murray observes of Pink, "the widespread circulation of his writings after his death made him one of the most influential evangelical authors in the second half of the twentieth century." His writing sparked a revival of expository preaching and focused readers' hearts on biblical living. Yet, even today, Pink is left out of most biographical dictionaries and overlooked in many religious histories.


THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
A W Pink
Category: Theology, Heroes, Puritans, And Reformers
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The timeless appeal of this classic book, written by a preacher with a worldwide ministry during the first half of the twentieth century, demonstrates the deep hunger for a saving knowledge of God present in each generation. Arthur Pink sought to give readers not just a theoretical knowledge of God but pointed them toward a personal relationship of yielding to him and living according to his biblical precepts. The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear mental apprehension of His perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped. In this book an effort has been made to set forth some of the principal perfections of the Divine character. If the reader is to truly profit, he needs to definitely and earnestly beseech God to apply His Truth to the conscience and heart, so that his life will be transformed thereby.


THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
A W Pink
Category: Theology, Heroes, Puritans, And Reformers
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AW Pink is noted for his independent thinking. He was so well read, and had such a photographic memory, that he could give you the page and column in a host of reference works and commentaries. This book shocked the Christian world in 1919 when he published it. He fiercely defends the sovereignty of God, and all the cognate doctrines such as the Doctrines of Grace. It is a provocative read and some of the chapters are a must read for any new Christian. Pink was a Baptist preacher who held pulpits in England, America, and Australia. His early training was in scientology. His conversion was instant, and complete dedication to the cause of God and truth quickly became evident. This early book by Pink lays Scripture end to end to prove God's control over all persons and events. It is uncompromising, and as such it raises the hackles on the necks of many new students of this doctrine. Persons who knew Pink seldom objected to anything he taught, because he could literally quote hundreds of verses of Scripture verbatim on the subject under discussion. This book may be overwhelming, but it is certain that its many printings have been used of God to convince people of His sovereignty.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - RICHARD PHILLIPS

Rev. Richard D. Phillips is senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina. He serves on the council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and as chairman of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology. He earned his master of divinity degree at Westminster Theological Seminary. Prior to entering the ministry, he commanded tank units as an officer in the U.S. Army and later served as an assistant professor of leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Rev. Phillips is the author of numerous books, including Hebrews (part of the Reformed Expository Commentary series) and Holding Hands, Holding Hearts: Recovering a Biblical View of Christian Dating.


WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE
Richard Phillips
Category: Theology
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In What's So Great About the Doctrines of Grace?, the Rev. Richard D. "Rick" Phillips shows that "the doctrines of grace," those theological tenets more popularly known as "the five points of Calvinism," are comforting, faith-strengthening, and humbling teachings. In six short chapters, Rev. Phillips demonstrates conclusively from Scripture that this view of salvation exalts God and makes plain His great love for man, which drove Him to do all that was necessary to redeem a people for Himself. What's So Great About the Doctrines of Grace? is a compact, highly readable treasure chest of scriptural wisdom.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - NANCY PEARCEY

Nancy R. Pearcey, editor-at-large of The Pearcey Report, is a member of the faculty at Rivendell Sanctuary and a fel- low at the Discovery Institute. Previously she was the Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar at the World Journalism Institute, where she taught a worldview course based on her book Total Truth, winner of the 2005 ECPA Gold Medallion Award for best book on Christianity and Society. She has also served as professor of worldview studies at Philadelphia Biblical University. International news service The Economist hailed Pearcey as "America's preeminent evangelical Protestant female intellectual".


THE SOUL OF SCIENCE
Nancy Pearcey
Category: Creation/Evolution
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A metanarrative has become ingrained in our culture which states that science is the means by which we threw off our religious superstitions and entered a brave new world of reason and progress. Does this metanarrative itself need to be overthrown? In this work Nancy Pearcey explains how Christian theism has played a vital role in the historical development of science. Moreover, the next scientific revolution may bring science back to a point where it will reconsider the possibility that life was designed.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - TONY PAYNE

Tony Payne began work as Matthias Media’s first editor in 1988. Since then, he has completed a degree in theology at Moore Theological College; and he has written or co-written numerous ministry resources, and edited many others. Tony’s main responsibilities are to oversee everything published at Matthias Media (including The Briefing magazine), and to get as much writing done as possible. Tony also co-authored the highly esteemedbook on church health "The Trellis And The Vine" with Colin Marshall.


THE TRELLIS AND THE VINE
Colin Marshall, Tony Payne
Category: Church
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All Christian ministry is a mixture of trellis and vine. There is vine work: the prayerful preaching and teaching of the word of God to see people converted and grow to maturity as disciples of Christ. Vine work is the Great Commission. And there is trellis work: creating and maintaining the physical and organizational structures and programs that support vine work and its growth. What’s the state of the trellis and the vine in your part of the world? Has trellis work taken over, as it has a habit of doing? Is the vine work being done by very few? And is the vine starting to wilt as a result? The image of the trellis and the vine raises all the fundamental questions of Christian ministry. Colin Marshall and Tony Payne answer these urgent questions afresh. They dig back into the Bible’s view of Christian ministry, and argue that a major mind-shift is required if we are to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ, and see the vine flourish again.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - J I PACKER

Noted Bible scholar and author James I. Packer is currently a professor of theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has authored the classic bestseller Knowing God, as well as a number of other titles. Most recently, he served as General Editor for the English Standard Version Bible, published by Crossway Bibles. Packer is an outstanding defender of Penal Substitutionary Atonement and is an author I highly recommend although a caution is necessary due to Packer's signing of the "Evangelicals Catholics Together" (ECT) document of which many Christians hope he will recant.


IN MY PLACE CONDEMNED HE STOOD
J I Packer, Mark Dever
Category: Theology, Heroes, Puritans, And Reformers
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An important anthology that reaffirms the classic doctrine of substitutionary atonement and counters the ongoing attacks against it. If ever there was a time and a need for an enthusiastic reaffirmation of the biblical doctrine of substitutionary atonement, it is now. With this foundational tenet under widespread attack, J. I. Packer and Mark Dever’s anthology plays an important role, issuing a clarion call to readers to stand firm in the truth. In My Place Condemned He Stood combines three classic articles by Packer—“The Heart of the Gospel”; his Tyndale Biblical Theology Lecture, “What Did the Cross Achieve”; and his introductory essay to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ—with Dever’s recent article, “Nothing but the Blood.” It also includes an outstanding bibliography compiled by Ligon Duncan.


KNOWING GOD
J I Packer
Category: Apologetics, Theology
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A lifelong pursuit of knowing God should embody the Christian's existence. According to eminent theologian J.I. Packer, however, Christians have become enchanted by modern skepticism and have joined the "gigantic conspiracy of misdirection" by failing to put first things first. Knowing God aims to redirect our attention to the simple, deep truth that to know God is to love His Word. What began as a number of consecutive articles angled for "honest, no-nonsense readers who were fed up with facile Christian verbiage" in 1973, Knowing God has become a contemporary classic by creating "small studies out of great subjects." Each chapter is so specific in focus (covering topics such as the trinity, election, God's wrath, and God's sovereignty), that each succeeding chapter's theology seems to rival the next, until one's mind is so expanded that one's entire view of God has changed. The lazy and faint-hearted should be warned about this timeless work - God is magnified, the sinner is humbled, and the saint encouraged.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - MICHAEL OVEY

Michael Ovey is Principal-Designate of Oak Hill Theological College. He has a PhD in Trinitarian theology from King's College, London.










PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS
Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, Andrew Sach
Category: Theology
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With the central Christian doctrine of penal substitution increasingly under attack, these authors articulate a series of responses to specific theological and cultural criticisms. The belief that Jesus died for us, suffering the wrath of his own Father in our place, has been the wellspring of hope for countless Christians through the ages. However, with an increasing number of theologians, church leaders, and even popular Christian books and magazines questioning this doctrine, which naysayers have described as a form of "cosmic child abuse," a fresh articulation and affirmation of penal substitution is needed. And Jeffery, Ovey, and Sach have responded here with clear exposition and analysis. They make the case not only that the doctrine is clearly taught in Scripture, but that it has an impeccable pedigree and a central place in Christian theology, and that its neglect has serious consequences. The authors also systematically analyze over twenty specific objections that have been brought against penal substitution and charitably but firmly offer a defining declaration of the doctrine of the cross for any concerned reader.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - JOHN MURRAY

John Murray (1898-1975) was born in Scotland and, following army service during the First World War (in which he lost an eye), he was educated in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Princeton. He spent most of his distinguished career teaching systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He wrote "Redemption Accomplished And Applied", "Principles Of Conduct: Aspects Of Biblical Ethics", and the volume on Romans in the "New International Commentary On The New Testament" series. Murray was regarded by many as the foremost reformed theologian of his time.


REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHED AND APPLIED
John Murray
Category: Theology
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For thoughtful Christians since the time of the Apostle Paul, John 3:16 has started, not ended, the discussion of redemption. Yet few recent interpreters have explored in depth the biblical passages dealing with the atonement as penetratingly or precisely as John Murray, who, until his death in 1975, was regarded by many as the foremost conservative theologian in the English-speaking world. In this enduring study of the atonement, Murray systematically explains the two sides of redemption: its accomplishment by Christ and its application to the life of the redeemed. In part I Murray considers the necessity, nature, perfection, and extent of the atonement. In Part II Murray offers careful expositions of the scriptural teaching about calling, regeneration, faith and repentance, justification, adoption, sanctification, perseverance, union with Christ, and glorification.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - IAIN MURRAY

Iain H. Murray, born in Lancashire, England in 1931 is a Reformed theological historian and co-founder of Banner of Truth Trust, which reprints many classic Christian materials. Murray has deep respect for the Puritans and seeks to distinguish true revival from the charismatic, emotional, and pragmatic views prevalent today. He is also a modern proponent of postmillennialism. Murray was educated in the Isle of Man and at the University of Durham and entered the Christian ministry in 1955. He served as assistant to Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel (1956-59) and subsequently at Grove Chapel, London (1961-69), and St Giles Presbyterian Church, Sydney (1981-84). Although remaining a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, he currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, where the Banner of Truth Trust (of which he is founding trustee) has its main office. Murray has written numerous biographies, all of which, are highly acclaimed by great preachers and teachers the world over.


JOHN MACARTHUR: SERVANT OF THE WORD AND FLOCK
Iain Murray
Category: Biography
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Through more than forty years, John MacArthur has opened and taught the Word of God in one local congregation, Grace Community Church, Los Angeles. Consequences have followed which no one anticipated, and which the preacher attributes to the sovereign hand of God. A people united to Christ, and to their pastor, became a channel for blessing across the earth. It has been a ministry marked by characteristics that re-appear in every spiritual advance - not concern for relevance not special attractions for young or old, male or female; but love for God and dependence on his Word and promises. MacArthur has proved, without ever intending to do so, that true preaching of the Word of God is international, because if you teach the Bible it transcends every border, every language, every culture. It is as relevant today, and will be tomorrow, as in all the years since God put it down. That is why his sermons are heard or read in more than two hundred countries around the world today. But this is also a human story, including the shaping of his youth, the strength of marriage and family, the refining influence of trials and controversies, and the building of a man whose staff have never known to be angry. There are friends who, for all their love of his ministry, say his life is his best sermon.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - JOHN R MUETHER

John R. Muether (MAR, MSLS) has served since 1989 as Library Director of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, where he also holds appointment as Associate Professor of Church History. Previously he served on the Harvard Divinity School library staff and has directed the libraries at Western Theological Seminary (Holland, Mich.) and Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. He is the coauthor of several books including Reference Works for Theological Research (1992), Fighting the Good Fight: A Brief History of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (1995), With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship (2001), and Seeking a Better Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism (2007). Most recently he has authored The First Forty Years: Reformed Theological Seminary and Cornelius Van Til: Reformed Apologist and Churchman (2007). Mr. Muether serves as a ruling elder at Reformation Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Oviedo, FL.


WITH REVERENCE AND AWE
D G Hart, John R Muether
Category: Theology
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“Reformed Christians,” write D. G. Hart and John R. Muether, “are increasingly divided over how they ought to worship their God.” Considering it an urgent matter “to recover a biblical view of worship,” the authors have written With Reverence and Awe. Drawing on Scripture and Reformed confessions and catechisms, the authors answer such questions as: When are we to worship? How do we worship with reverence and joy? How does the regulative principle guide our worship? What is the place of the means of grace? How do the elements of worship differ from its circumstances? Finally the authors tackle "the most divisive issue" - music! This book is both thorough and compelling.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS - HENRY MORRIS III

Dr. Henry Morris III holds four earned degrees, including a D.Min. from Luther Rice Seminary and the Presidents and Key Executives MBA from Pepperdine University. A former college professor, administrator, business executive, and senior pastor, Dr. Morris is an articulate and passionate speaker frequently invited to address church congregations, college assemblies, and national conferences. He is the eldest son of Institute For Creation Research's founder Dr. Henry Morris.


THE BIG THREE
Henry Morris III
Category: Creation/Evolution
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Creation, The Fall, and The Flood with the promise of Christ. They are cornerstones of the Christian faith, they are events that literally changed the world forever. Yet, the foundations of these biblical truths are rooted in Genesis, a book that too many in the Church now treat as an allegory or a metaphor, as anything but the precise and inerrant Word of God. The Big Three refutes all of the popular compromises and much of the baggage that goes with it. Dr. Henry Morris III reveals a consistent and powerful thread throughout the Word of God. After Eden, the Gospel message became the overreaching message of the Scripture; after Eden, the Creation became the foundation for the Gospel message; after Eden, the promise contained in Creation became the hope of the Gospel.