A book to be on the lookout for is The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler (Crossway, April 2012). In the introduction to The Explicit Gospel, Matt recounts how he became concerned several years ago during a “Celebration Weekend” at The Village Church. There were a number of testimonies and baptisms taking place and several of the testimonies sounded very much alike. These men and women shared that they had grown up in the church, walked away from the church, and recently had heard the gospel for the first time, which brought them back. The fact that these and many other people have grown up in the church, but seem to have missed the gospel bothered Matt for some time. As Matt began to dig deeper into this problem, he came to understand that what many of these twenty and thirty-somethings were taught was not the gospel, but rather moralistic, therapeutic deism. It’s a shame that this seems to be such a common experience within the church of our day. In response to this problem, Matt calls his readers to remember that the gospel is of first importance, noting that the explicit gospel will transform our lives, increase our joy, and change how we see the world around us.

Related Media:

“The Explicit Gospel” by Matt Chandler from Crossway on Vimeo.

Where to Buy:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Crossway

Book Details:
Author: Stephen J. Nichols
Illustrator: Ned Bustard
Publisher: Crossway (2010)
Binding: Hardcover
Page count: 32
ISBN: 978-1433514722

Recommendation:
Review Date: 12/1/2011 by Shaun Tabatt
Rating: Highly Recommended

Review:
Just as it is important for us to teach our children about the Bible when they are young, it is also important to introduce them to the people that played a key role in church history. One particular book that that I have found quite helpful in this regard is The Church History ABCs: Augustine and twenty-five other heroes of the faith. Using the twenty-six letters of the alphabet as a starting point, this book introduces children to the following heroes of the faith:

• A – Saint Augustine
• B – Anne Bradstreet
• C – John Calvin
• D – John Donne
• E – Jonathan Edwards
• F – John Foxe
• G – Jane Grey
• H – Hippolytus
• I – Ignatius
• J – Absalom Jones
• K – John Knox
• L – Martin Luther
• M – Monica
• N – John Newton
• O – John Owen
• P – Patrick
• Q – Queen Jeanne
• R – Nicholas Ridley
• S – Charles Spurgeon
• T – Tertullian
• U – Zacharias Ursinus
• V – Antonio Vivaldi
• W – The Wesleys
• X – Francis Xavier
• Y – Florence Young
• Z – Ulrich Zwingli

Each page introduces readers to a new letter and a new hero of the faith, with approximately 1-2 paragraphs talking about their life and what it is that made them an important part of church history.  The last four pages of the book have additional biographical information about each of the  men and women from church history introduced earlier in the book.  My wife and I found this book to be ideal for reading to our children at dinner time, but I suspect it would also work well for reading at bed time.  If you read one page per day, you can get through all twenty-six heroes of the faith in just under a month.  I highly recommend this resource for helping your children age four and older learn their ABCs and some church history all at the same time.

Author Information:
Stephen J. Nichols (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is research professor of Christianity and culture at Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School. He has written several books, including Pages from Church History (P&R Publishing, 2006). He lives with his wife and two sons in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Illustrator Information:
Ned Bustard, a graphic artist, has written and illustrated many children’s books, including Ella Sings Jazz, The Story of Sir Galahad, and The Sailing Saint.

Where to buy:

• Amazon
• WTS Books

Related Media:

• Sample Pages

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Crossway for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

I just received my copy of Family Shepherds:  Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes by Voddie Baucham (Crossway, 2011).  If it’s anything like the other books I’ve read by Voddie, I’m thinking it’s gonna hit me like a ton of bricks, but since I’m striving to grow and improve as a husband and a father, I say bring it on.    The book it divided into 5 parts:

• Part 1:  The Need to Equip Family Shepherds:  Gaining a More Biblical View of the Family
• Part 2:  Family Discipleship and Evangelism:  Equipping Men to be Priests and Prophets in Their Homes
• Part 3:  Marriage Enrichment:  Equipping Men to Love Their Wives as Christ Loved the Church
• Part 4:  The Training and Discipline of Children:  Equipping Men to Raise Kingdom-Minded Warriors
• Part 5:  Lifestyle Evaluation:  Equipping Men to Count the Cost of Family Discipleship

Be sure to check out this brief promotional interview Crossway has put out for a good idea of what to expect in the book:

The full companion video to John Piper’s new book ‘Bloodlines’ is now available online.

Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

Every month ChristianAudio.com offers a free audiobook. This month (October 2011) they are offering Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God. The recording is narrated by Wayne Shepherd. Click the image below for details.

There has been a bit of buzz around the Christian blogosphere recently for Bloodlines:  Race, Cross, and the Christian.  This new book by John Piper is published by Crossway and is set to release September 30, 2011.  In Bloodlines, Piper shares from his personal experiences of growing up in the segregated South, talks about the ongoing problem of racism, and suggests that the gospel of Jesus Christ is where we should turn for an answer / solution to this problem. Piper has a 20-minute documentary available as well and I’ve included the trailer below. Collin Hansen offers a very helpful review of Bloodlines at The Gospel Coalition web site- LINK.

John Piper: Bloodlines Documentary Trailer from Crossway on Vimeo.

Yesterday I was excited to receive another new review book from the Amazon Vine review program.  This time it was Am I Really a Christian? by Mike McKinley (Crossway, 2011).  Mike’s goal in this book is to convince you that you may not be a Christian.  After all the apostle Paul encourages us with the following words from 2 Corinthians 13:5:
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

While we may not want to admit it to our friends or family, many of us have doubts about our faith from time to time.  We all know there are times when our actions don’t match up with who we say we are and who we seem to be on the outside.  Mike is not intending to be harsh in this book, he brings a pastoral heart and a genuine concern to bear in this work.  A couple of points of clarification from the introduction may help you to better understand the spirit with which he has written this book.

• “I don’t think that I’m any better than you. I stand in the same place as you. I need to examine my life just as I’m asking you to examine yours.” (page 15)
• “This book is intended for people who claim to be Christians or want to be Christians. If you know you are not a Christian (say, because you are a Muslim or an agnostic or anything else) you are welcome to keep reading, but you may find that other books will do a better job of speaking to your questions and issues.” (page 15)
• “I don’t think that I’m an expert in these matters. You shouldn’t believe anything just because I say it…my goal is to show you what the experts have said. I want to go to the Bible and see what Jesus and the authors of Scripture have said on the matter.” (page 15)
• “I realize that a lot of people who are genuine Christians struggle with assurance. As a pastor, I often meet with brothers and sisters with sensitive consciences who feel every failure and struggle acutely. If that describes you, then you may want to enlist the help of some friends as you read through this book.  Ask them not only to challenge you, but also to encourage you with God’s grace in your life.” (page 15-16)

The chapter headings will also give you some further idea of what to expect in the book.  The chapters are as follows:

• Chapter 1 – You Are Not a Christian Just Because You Say That You Are
• Chapter 2 – You Are Note a Christian If You Haven’t Been Born Again
• Chapter 3 – You Are Not a Christian Just Because You Like Jesus
• Chapter 4 – You are Not a Christian If You Enjoy Sin
• Chapter 5 – You Are Note a Christian If You Do Note Endure to the End
• Chapter 6 – You Are Note a Christian If You Don’t Love Other People
• Chapter 7 – You Are Note a Christian If You Love Your Stuff
• Chapter 8 – Can I Ever Really Know If I Am a Christian?
• Chapter 9 – A Little Help from Your Friends

I am continually amazed and the depth and challenge that I find in the books published by Crossway.  This is another book I eagerly look forward to reading and reviewing.  If Am I Really a Christian? is of interest to you, it is widely available from various internet book retailers including Amazon and WTSBooks.

About the Author:
Mike McKinley received his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary and is the author of several articles and reviews. He served on the pastoral staff of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC, and in 2005 was called to revitalize Guilford Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia.

In addition to receiving review books from publishers, I have also received a number of books and other items for review from the Amazon Vine review program. Just today, I received a review copy of King Solomon:  The Temptation of Money, Sex, and Power by Philip Graham Ryken (Crossway, 2011). This new book looks at the life of King Solomon from the time of his coronation as king to the end of his life.  In his day, Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest king, but that did not make him immune to temptations of money, sex, and power. These same temptations are alive and well and in many ways more easily accessible today.  We would all do well to study the life of Solomon and pray that by the grace of God we would be able to avoid those same pitfalls.  In the process, perhaps we will begin to see how we can use even money, sex, and power for the glory of God.

King Solomon:  The Temptation of Money, Sex, and Power is 256 pages long and its contents is divided amongst thirteen chapters.  Chapter headings are:

• Chapter 1 – Long Live the King!
• Chapter 2 – Putting the Kingdom First
• Chapter 3 – Solomon’s Wish
• Chapter 4 – The Wisdom of Solomon
• Chapter 5 – The Peaceable Kingdom
• Chapter 6 – Inside Solomon’s Temple
• Chapter 7 – Better Homes and Gardens
• Chapter 8 – The Ark of the Covenant and the Glory
• Chapter 9 – Solomon’s Choice
• Chapter 10 – Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
• Chapter 11 – Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
• Chapter 12 – A Royal Tragedy
• Chapter 13 – The Fall of the House of David

At the end of the book there is a 28 page study guide as well as notes, a general index and a scripture index.  King Solomon:  The Temptation of Money, Sex, and Power is widely available from book retailers including Amazon, WTSBooks and elsewhere.

About the Author:
Philip Graham Ryken is the 8th President of Wheaton College and, prior to that, served as Senior Minister at Philadelphia’s historic Tenth Presbyterian Church. He has written several books for Crossway, and has lectured and taught at universities and seminaries worldwide. Dr. Ryken and his wife, Lisa, live in Wheaton and have five children.

The winner for day 10 of Bible Geek Gone Wild’s 12 Days Before Christmas is:

• Esteban Vasquez (voxstefani.wordpress.com)

Many thanks to Random.org for making it possible to choose fairly. Also, many thanks to Crossway Books for sponsoring the prize for day 10.