Over the next few weeks leading up to Easter I’ll be reviewing 3 new books that are all about the Resurrection which seems appropriate given the time of year…
When I started to flick through this new book from The Good Book Company, I was excited by the thought of getting into the Bible, even though this book is aimed at families with pre-school children, it just looks great fun!
This is a new series of Bible study notes for parents to do with their children. Each session consists of an ‘appetiser’ introduction with ideas for chats and games, a main course with prayers, Bible story, and sticker time, and a snack time, a little nugget to keep kids thinking.
There’s a page at the back where you can photocopy and cut out the little snack nuggets and take them out with you during the day… I’m 24, and I think this sounds fun… in fact I might just have to start making babies (after getting married) so I can do it with my kids!!
The notes are written by Alison Mitchell and Jo Boddam Whetham, and produced by The Good Book Company. They’re just £5, which is a bargain with the stickers and fun stuff to do. You can get your hands on one of these from the 1st February… do it!
Read online sample (pdf)
Well you could use the TK way… that’s the “Tim Keller Way”… who tends to be quite insightful on the subject of preaching and idols…
Here’s a little video about his latest book:
At Cornhill we’re doing some stuff about the theory of preaching. Much of the latter stuff on application comes from Tim Keller’s stuff on ‘Preaching to the heart‘ from his lectures at Oak Hill last year.
The good news is that this teaching is also going to be made available in book form as the guys at Cornhill get going on some editing for it. I’ll let you know if and when this book comes to be published, should be a good resource.
Also, there’s another Tim Keller book coming out now called ‘Counterfeit Gods’ all about the false promises of idols. It’s available from Amazon, hardback for less than £9 – pretty good deal me thinks.
Every now and then I try and watch some films or read some books that I wouldn’t normally read… sometimes just to get a better understanding of what “popular culture” is liking at the present time, or specifically to be illustrations for talks. One such film is Atonement, staring Kiera Knightley and James McAvoy… originally it’s a novel by Ian McEwan.
Apparently it’s not the kind of film that a guy should be watching on his own… I should be watching Die Hard, or Dark Knight… but research is a good excuse. So anyway, this is genuine research as I prepare to preach on Leviticus 16 – The Day of Atonement… to be thinking about the question of atonement and how the world understands it.
Here’s my thoughts on how atonement is portrayed in this film:
I was hoping in watching this film to pick up a good illustration that pictures what atonement is… but it’s not really atonement at all, at least not that which we find in the Bible… atonement in the Bible is between man and God, it’s God’s initiative, his motivation is love, it costs him his Son, and he does it for his glory!
I love the debates between Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens is so arrogant, witty, quick, has a way with words, is persuasive, and oozes intellect. Doug is measured, thought through, firm in what he believes, picks the right arguments, thinks outside the box, and actually attacks the foundations of the Atheist worldview, rather than simply defending the Christian one.
…all this is why I’m quite excited by the forthcoming release of the DVD of Collision, a documentary following the lives, interactions and debates between these two men. It’s due to be released on the 27th October 2009. You can pre-order from Amazon in the States, no word on the UK site as yet. Check out the preview below:
Also, I just found out there’s a book on their debates – ‘Is Christianity good for the world?‘ – looks good, I’m gonna get it. Just £6.40 at Amazon, looks like a bargain as well. This book has the main content surrounding their initial private correspondance and then their public debates.
I’ll post a few more resources in the coming weeks, but I think we’ve had enough of Hitchens really, while I do admire the way he debates in many ways it does seem to be a case of who can shout loudest!
I’m a bit of a Matt Chandler ‘fan’… his teaching via podcast has often been a great encouragement to me. The good news is that he’s still preaching through Luke (part 39), although he’s been doing some thematic stuff on the Church and repentance… on the subject of thematic preaching Matt has a classic quote:
“I’ve got no problem with thematic preaching, as long as it’s done exegetically!”
I’m always intrigued by what makes people like Matt Chandler tick, below I copy Matt’s FAQ page from the Village Church…
Also, check out his blog…
“It is not my calling to help you to have chipper feelings while the whole of creation groans. My job is to put the kind of ballast in the belly of your boat so that when these waves crash against your life, you will not capsize but make it to the harbour of heaven battered and wounded but full of faith and joy”
John Piper, Spectacular Sins [pg. 28]
‘Porn-Again Christian‘ is the punningly named title of a new e-book written by Mark Driscoll and published online (for free) at The Resurgence. Driscoll doesn’t mince his words, hence the sub-title – “a frank discussion on pornography and masturbation”… and that’s what it is; real, honest words to men about the issues surrounding lust, with a grasp of both the theology and practicalities of the issue.
Because the book is very frank I won’t go into details… but there’s two focuses of the book… firstly the theology – what is lust, why do we lust, why do we sin, why do we reject God for the inferior pleasures of lust? and secondly the application of that, how practically can I avoid temptation and fight it when it comes… it covers porn, masturbation, godly sex in marriage, being a man, and some Q&A.
The book concludes with something very profound, and very disturbing. It is an interview with Ted Bundy, American serial killer who explains in an interview with a Christian leader James Dobson how experiences of soft porn started a slippery slope into more hardcore, more violent materials and then ultimately to sexual violence and murder in the real life. What’s frightening is that Bundy had a ‘normal’ upbringing… a stable family and a Christian home, but the images of pornography and the violence of films changed him. There’s also an appendix looking at the real, current effects of prostitution and sexual slavery in the world today.
“In closing, sin leads to death. Jesus died for your sin. You are in a war. Be a man. Put your sin to death.”
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