My latest book review for Reformation Trust is a new book by R.C. Sproul called “The Prayer of the Lord.” This book goes through each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer and discusses how to apply it to our prayer lives. Prayer for me always has it’s ups and downs and I found this book to be very encouraging, helpful and easy to read. I have always found R.C. Sproul’s books to be easy for us laypersons to understand and have appreciated how he explains theological truths in a very clear manner. Many of us use the ACTS acronym in our praying and he shows how the acronym relates to the prayer that our Lord taught. Most Christians have memorized the Lord’s Prayer but may not have realized the significance in what Christ was teaching about prayer. The past few months I’ve have been writing down my prayers so that I can stay on track (especially because of all the distractions at my house) and this book is a great help in keeping me focused on what is honoring and glorifying to God in prayer and what is not. There is a very useful appendix at the end of the book titled “If God is Sovereign, Why Pray?” This is a question I’m sure many of us have asked during our Christian life and Dr. Sproul really helps make clear why God has called us to pray and how our prayers are used for His glory, our growth and for the carrying out of His sovereign plan.

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up…Pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:13-18

Catchy title isn’t it? While I was hanging out at the surgery center with George last week I was able to read a new book I got through Reformation Trust titled “The Christian Lover” by Michael A.G. Haykin with Victoria J. Haykin. This is a great little book containing love letters between noted authors, preachers, and theologians and their wives from the 16th century through to the 20th century. Each chapter gives historical information about the relationship between the spouses, challenges they endured and their love for God followed by a few letters between the couple. The book contains letters between well known reformers Martin Luther and his wife, John Calvin and his wife, as well as lesser known believers such as the Hemuth and Freya con Moltke (Helmuth was involved in trying to overthrow the Nazi regime and was put to death because of it). The authors who put together this anthology pointed out the fact that the reformers and the Puritans had a biblical perspective on marriage that is not seen today. I really appreciated this book because it gave me a glimpse into the lives and hearts of the couples and showed me how their faith was essential to maintaining their strong marriages. I will end my review with a quote in the book by Richard Baxter (1615-1691):
“It is a mercy to have a faithful friend, that loveth you entirely, and is as true to you as yourself, to whom you may open your mind and communicate your affairs, and who would be ready to strengthen you, and divide the cares of your affairs and family with you, and help you to bear your burdens, and comfort you in your sorrows, and be the daily companion of your lives, and partaker of your joys and sorrows. And it is a mercy to have so near a friend to be a helper to your soul; to join with you in prayer and other holy exercised; to watch over you and tell you of your sins and dangers, and to stir up in you the grace of God, and remember to you of the life to come, and cheerfully accompany you in the ways of holiness.”

My latest review for Reformation Trust Publishing is Sinclair Ferguson’s “In Christ Alone.” I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book other than I’ve read other books by S. Ferguson and knew that he is a great author and theologian. “In Christ Alone” is a treasure trove of truths about Christ and the gospel that explains why Christ is sufficient. Much of the book centers on the book of Hebrews and is perfect for new Christians wanting to learn more about Christian doctrine. I also found it to be a great reminder of all that the bible has to teach us about Christ and God’s plan of redemption. Each chapter is just a few pages long making it great for devotional reading. What I appreciate most about the book is that while each chapter teaches theological doctrine, at the end of each chapter he directs questions at the reader to inspire the reader to apply what they have learned to their own relationship with Christ. The first half or so of the book focuses on why Christ is “enough” for our salvation and toward the end of the book he focuses more on teaching that Christ is not only our savior but also our lord and challenges us in our submission to his lordship. His writing is easy for a layperson to understand yet at the same time challenges and stretches your thinking. I have to say I had anticipated finishing the book and coming away with great theological reminders and while that did happen, I have also come away with increased devotion and commitment to my Savior and Lord. May this be true of all who open the pages of “In Christ Alone.”

I was excited when I received the opportunity to review the book “The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards” by Steven J. Lawson because earlier in the year the devotional I use (Tabletalk) had some articles about Jonathan Edwards and I made a mental note to find a book about him. This book examines Edwards life, his theology, and his legacy. Jonathan Edwards was a puritan preacher during the early 1700′s and is thought of as “the theologian of the First Great Awakening.” He is considered one of the greatest theologians our country has ever produced and is well known for his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” I remember studying him in church history class in high school but never considered reading about him on my own until recently. What intrigued me the most about Jonathan Edwards was his passion for holy living and as a late teenager he began writing a list of resolutions for how he would live a holy life. This list of resolutions ended up totaling 70 and he evaluated himself by them each week as well as kept a diary of his progress in his pursuit of holiness. This book reviews many of these resolutions and discusses what Edwards journals reveal about what he learned about himself, the struggles he had in putting his sin to death, and God’s sanctifying work in his life. At first glance it may seem like a list of legalistic pursuits to try and earn God’s favor. But for Edwards this was not the case. His entire life centered around bringing glory to God and that was the reason for his writing his list of resolutions. I know I frequently attempt to write a list of things in my life that I want to improve or fruits of the spirit I need to demonstrate but I never seem to give it my all as Jonathan Edwards did. Yet he never forgot that he could not do anything without God working through him as is seen by the introduction he wrote to his list “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.” Here is a sample of a few of his life long resolutions: “1) Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever. 7)Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life. 67) Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.” This book has given me the opportunity to not only read about Edwards list of resolutions, but also to learn more about his life, his writings, his pastorate and his theology. There are many books written to instruct Christians in how to live a Godly life but this one shows someone who did live a Christ-like life, who resolved to grow in holiness, who trusted God’s work in his life to that end and who did it all for God’s glory. May that be my aim as well.

My latest book review is “John Calvin: A Heart For Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology” edited by Burk Parsons. I can imagine some of my readers are already yawning and moving on to the next post, but hear me out:) As many who know me well know, I love to read books on theology and while this book does contain theology it is so much more than that. It is the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birthday and in honor of that a number of highly respected theologians, pastors, and teachers (for example: Jerry Bridges, Sinclair Ferguson, John MacArthur, Pillip R. Johnson, Philip Graham Ryken, etc.) have written chapters in this book about John Calvin’s life, his passion for the word, and his love for the church. I have read some of John Calvin here and there and of course have been taught from his teachings since before I can remember, but I knew little about the man himself. This book has opened up the door for me to learning about how he came to the Lord, about his life as a pastor and teacher, about his work in missions, the persecution he endured, his faith, his trails, his compassion for the hurting as well as his teachings and theology. This book shows the amazing work God did through John Calvin during a very challenging time in church history. The number of sermons he preached each week, the number of books and commentaries he wrote and the number of pastors and missionaries he trained would astound any reader. I encourage anyone who has resisted reading any of his works for fear of it’s difficulty to read this book as it will give you a hunger to read Calvin’s works directly. And I challenge anyone who has only heard negatively of Calvin to read this for your eyes will be opened to see a man full of passion for Christ and for the lost that you too will desire to read more. As for me, I will be putting the Insitutes on my Christmas wish list this year:)

I was excited when Reformation Trust gave me the opportunity to read and review a new book by Susan Hunt titled “Sammy and His Shepherd.” We have enjoyed two children’s devotionals written by Susan and I was excited to see that she had written a children’s picture book. This book is a fictional story about two sheep, Sammy and Precious, and is based on Psalm 23. Psalm 23 is one of the most well known passages in scripture and I remember memorizing it in Sunday school as a young child. Regular readers of my posts will know that I am always looking for books to read to the boys that are well written, well illustrated and solidly biblical. Well this is one I will add to that list. In “Sammy and His Shepherd,” Susan Hunt uses a fictional story about a sheep named Sammy who is cared for by a loving and kind shepherd. Sammy meets another sheep whose shepherd is not kind and she is thin and poorly cared for. Sammy teaches her about his Good Shepherd and before long, she is bought by Sammy’s shepherd and begins to learn for herself about the Shepherd’s love. The book is divided into chapters where each verse of Psalm 23 is taught through the story of the two sheep friends. At the end of each chapter, the book directs the parents to a page at the end of the book where there are discussion questions for parents to use to discuss how the story relates to our Good Shepherd. This book is a great way for children to learn theological truths through a simple story; learning about God’s love for his children and his work of grace at the cross. “Sammy and His Shepherd” will help children understand how our Good Shepherd has paid for us, provides for us, watches over us, teaches us, disciplines us, and leads us in righteousness. I definitely recommend this book, so much so that I’ve already given one to one of our little friends for her birthday:)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11.