Two Christian Children’s Book Coming Soon: Summer 2020

These Christian children’s books are yet to be published and will be coming out this Summer.  Thanks to the publishers for advance review copy!

Tim Ladwig. Stories Jesus Told: Looking for the Lost Sheep. Grand Rapids, MI: Our Daily Bread Publishing, August 4th 2020. 32 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

Want a children’s picture story book that you can read concerning Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep?  Tim Ladwig has done another excellent children’s book on Jesus’ parables.  I was actually excited seeing he has another volume out.  Previously I have enjoyed his book on Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son and the Good Samaritan.  In this present volume he continues the trend of making good quality children’s book.

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Review: Finding God in My Loneliness

 

Lydia Brownback. Finding God in My Loneliness.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, February 28th 2017.  174 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster |Amazon

Do you struggle with loneliness?  If so how do you handle loneliness biblically?  This book is a great resources for anyone going through the trial of being lonely.  I have not heard of the author Lydia Brownback before I read this book so I did not had any expectation in the beginning but when I finished the book I realized I was quite impressed and edified by the content of this book.  The work was refreshingly biblical and I am glad that the author is one of the senior editors at Crossway

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Review: Sophie and the Heidelberg Cat

In continuing with our blog’s “wee-kids Wednesdays” here’s a review of a Christian Children’s book.  I’m grateful for the publisher allowing me an electronically copy to read and review before its published next week!

Andrew Wilson. Sophie and the Heidelberg Cat.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, September 3rd 2019.  36 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

Want to read a good children’s book for young ones to understand sin and the need for God’s grace?  This is an excellent book for that!  The author told this story in a way that kids would relate in terms of the kinds of sins that would happen between siblings and at home and certainly my daughters felt they could identify with the main character Sophie.  Yet the story also point towards God’s grace to be forgiven for sin!  That’s quite an accomplishment for 36 pages for a children’s book on such a serious topic.  I recommend this as I have a hard time finding good Gospel books for kids that is serious about sin and serious about Grace.

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Review: From Chaos to Cosmos: Creation to New Creation

Sidney Greidanus. From Chaos to Cosmos: Creation to New Creation.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, October 31st 2018.  244 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is the fifth book I read from the “Short Studies in Biblical Theology” series published by Crossway.  This series is a wonderful introduction for the layman on biblical theology in which one see the content of God’s truth being taught according to the consideration of the flow of Scripture as it progressed in redemptive history.  I have immensely enjoyed the other four volumes.  I also enjoyed this particular volume.  This present work explores the theme of chaos to cosmos starting with the first chapter of Genesis and ending with the last chapter Revelation.  This is a theme that is literally from the first page to the last page of the Bible and yet it is not often as obvious or noted by preachers and teachers today so this book is definitely helpful.

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Review: Special God by Julie Melilli

Julie Melilli. Special God.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, September 5th 2018.  64 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

There’s many Christian children’s books out there so what makes this one unique?  In the introduction the author Julie Melilli gave some background to why she wrote the book.  She mentioned about looking for a book for her adopted daughter that had developmental disabilities and physical differences.  In addition she was looking for something that is biblical to read to her daughter while also looking for something with simple vocabulary that for non-native English speaker.  Seeing the need for such a resource Julie Melilli decided to write this book.

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Review: The Big Picture Story Bible

I know our blog has been going over some serious heavy stuff concerning Bible difficulties, alleged contradictions and Messianic prophecies the last few days.  Here’s a review of a Children’s book Bible.

David R. Helm. The Big Picture Story Bible.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, September 17th 2004.  456 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This is a children’s picture Bible published by Crossway.  The publisher stated that this book is for ages four and up but my three year old also enjoyed it too when I read it to all my kids.  It is a massive book, coming in at 456 pages but don’t worry as it is still a children’s book and my family went through this and found that the book has a good pace for our evening reading.  So the 456 pages is good if you are looking for something to go over with children ages three to six year old in terms of regular daily read.  I love how there are many pictures in the book.  Also while this book is big coming in with a dimension of 9 x 1.1 x 9 inches and weighing 3.6 pounds nevertheless I enjoyed it size so the kids can enjoy the book more especially if you are reading to multiple kids at once.

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Guest Review: Heaven. Edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson

This is a guest review by Alf Cengia.  He is a friend who reads this blog and his website can be found at Zeteo316.  Check it out.

Heaven. Edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson. From the Theology in Community series, published by Crossway (Paperback 287 pages).

 Purchase: Crossway | Amazon

It seems I can’t get enough of books on heaven. When I first saw this in our Church Bookstore I ignored it as I already had a backlog of books to read. Besides which I already had two Randy Alcorn offerings, John MacArthur’s Heaven and Charles Spurgeon. I’m glad I eventually capitulated.

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Initial Thoughts on MacArthur’s Biblical Doctrines: A Positive Observation and A Constructive Criticism

I’m at the Shepherd’s Conference right now where the most sold book in the conference’s history occurred this year with the new Biblical Doctrines edited by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue.  There’s talk of this book published by Crossway will be translated in many other languages.  I’m looking forward to hear what God can do with this work to equip God’s Church to know God’s truth more accurately in a systematic fashion.

Now I know with every new systematic theology the question some would immediately ask would be “What are its strengths and weaknesses and how will the book present doctrines?”  Systematic theology has also gotten more complex with works discussing or at least accounting for aspect of historical theology, biblical theology, philosophical theology, etc.  While some have criticize systematic theology as “proof texting” I think the game has actually gotten more rigorous and more inter-disciplinary (at least with the various theologies).  For example I think of Crossway’s Foundation Of Evangelical Theology Series and the most recent work I reviewed God the Son Incarnate by Stephen Wellum and how it has dimensions of apologetics, epistemology, biblical theology and historical theology.

So looking at this new work by MacArthur here’s my initial observation.  I’ll be sharing first what I see is a big plus about the book and also one constructive criticism.  I share the constructive criticism humbly, especially when I imagine the incredible amount of hard work that was put into the volume and I am just a lowly reader of theology.

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Review: Work and Our Labor in the Lord

James M. Hamilton Jr. Work and Our Labor in the Lord.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, January 31^st, 2017.  144 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

Over the years there has been more books coming out on a biblical view of work and vocation but what I like about this particular work is that the author James M. Hamilton Jr. takes a biblical theology approach to the topic.  By biblical theology I mean a study of what Scripture has to say with the consideration of the progressive revelation of the Bible in terms of redemptive history and the canonical context of passages that is cited.  I have been enjoying more and more books taking a biblical theological approach to a subject as it helps avoid some of the claims that systematic theology is merely engaged in proof text.

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Review: God the Son Incarnate by Stephen Wellum

My first book review for 2017!

Stephen J. Wellum. God the Son Incarnate.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, November 30th 2016.  480 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

This book is a part of Crossway’s Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.  I appreciated the series overall and this work on Christology is now among my top favorites in the series.  It is quite a meaty work and reading it was no small undertaking.  Reading this book makes me appreciate just how much Christian scholarship exists and how much that I still need to tap into.  I learned a lot reading this book.  In my opinion I think Stephen Wellum’s work is ideal as a seminary text book and for those who desire to seriously study the doctrines related to Christ more deeply.  In this review I am going to first summarize each parts and chapters of the book and end with some brief constructive criticisms.

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Review: Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas

Nancy Guthrie. Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, August 1^st, 2008.  142 pp.

5 out of 5!

First let me say that I have a hard time with devotional books; I prefer heavier theology books since I find most devotionals to be rather shallow.  But I enjoyed this particular collection of devotional readings for the Advent.  So if I enjoyed this book in light of my bias against devotionals, I think that this work might be something worthwhile for others too.

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Review: The Difficult Doctrine of God’s Love by Don Carson

Don A. Carson. The Difficult Doctrine of God’s Love.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, December 10^th, 1999.  93 pp.

5 out of 5

This book is by New Testament scholar Don Carson who wrote this book that is accessible for a popular audience.  Carson tackles on the doctrine of God’s love which he noted that this is not an easy doctrine.  The book has four chapters and I found that I learned a few things and the book also helped organized my thoughts better concerning God’s love.  In my review below I will focus more on the first two chapters.

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Review: The Story of Everything: How You, Your Pets, and the Swiss Alps Fit Into God’s Plan for the World by Jared C. Wilson

Jared C. Wilson. The Story of Everything: How You, Your Pets, and the Swiss Alps Fit Into God’s Plan for the World by Jared C. Wilson.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, October 31^st, 2015.  240 pp.

This book is about how a biblical view of Christianity shapes one’s interpretation and view of everything.  Because of the truth about God and His works the point of the book is that life and everything else is meaningful.  Ultimately everything exists for the glory of God.  In ten chapters the author Jared Wilson explores what a Biblical view has to say about God’s plan and our world.  His discussion ranges from creation, history, art, science, work, pain, rest and marriage.

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Free on PDF! Redeeming Philosophy: A God-Centered Approach to the Big Questions by Vern Poythress

I just posted a few minutes ago but this is too good not to share right now!

Dr. Vern Poythress of Westminster Theological Seminary has just had his book Redeeming Philosophy published just a few weeks ago last month.  Apparently he has made this book available for free online as a PDF!

You can download the file if you click HERE.

Here’s the book’s description from the publisher’s website:

Who am I? Why am I here? Where do I find meaning?

Life is full of big questions. The study of philosophy seeks to answer such questions. In his latest book, prolific author Vern Poythress investigates the foundations and limitations of Western philosophy, sketching a distinctly Christian approach to answering basic questions about the nature of humanity, the existence of God, the search for meaning, and the basis for morality.

For Christians eager to engage with the timeless philosophical issues that have perplexed men and women for millennia, this is the place to begin.

Here is the table of content:

Table of Contents

Part 1: Basic Issues in Exploring Big Questions

1. The Big Questions about Life
2. The Bible as a Resource
3. Opposite Approaches to Philosophy

Part 2: Metaphysics: What Is There?

4. Inadequate Philosophies
5. Christian Metaphysics

Part 3: Perspectives

6. Introducing Perspectives
7. Multiperspectivalism
8. Perspectives on God
9. Perspectives on the World
10. Perspectives through Language
11. Implications for Theology

Part 4: Examples of Metaphysical Analysis

12. Metaphysics of an Apple
13. Metaphysics of Walking
14. Metaphysics of a Bookmark
15. Perspectives in Combination

Part 5: Other Subdivisions of Philosophy

16. Ethics
17. Epistemology
18. The Soul, the Mind, and Psychology
19. Logic
20. Aesthetics
21. Specialized Branches of Philosophy

Part 6: Interacting with Defective Philosophies

22. The Challenge of Philosophies
23. Immanuel Kant
24. Edmund Husserl
25. Analytic Philosophy

Appendix A: Cosmonomic Philosophy
Appendix B: Perspectives on the Trinity
Appendix C: The Structure of a Bookmark

 

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Free on PDF: Chance and the Sovereignty of God by Vern Poythress

Earlier this year Crossway published a 368 page book by Dr. Vern Poythress titled Chance and the Sovereignty of God: A God-Centered Approach to Probabiliy and Random Events.  I appreciate how Dr. Poythress has made many of his books  available to the public for free as a PDF.  This new book is now among them!

You can download the PDF by clicking HERE.

The description of the book on the publisher Crossway’s website is as follows:

What if all events—big and small, good and bad—are governed by more than just blind chance? What if they are governed by God?

In this theologically informed and philosophically nuanced introduction to the study of probability and chance, Vern Poythress argues that all events—including the seemingly random or accidental—fall under God’s watchful gaze as part of his eternal plan. Comprehensive in its scope, this book lays the theistic foundation for our scientific assumptions about the world while addressing personal questions about the meaning and significance of everyday events.

Here’s the table of content:

Table of Contents

Introduction: Experiences with Unpredictable Events
Part 1: The Sovereignty of God
1.  The Bible as a Source for Knowledge
2.  God’s Sovereignty
3.  Unpredictable Events
4.  Disasters and Suffering
5.  Human Choice
6.  Small Random Events
7.  Reflecting on Creation and Providence
8.  God’s Sovereignty and Modern Physics
9.  What Is Chance?
Part 2: God as the Foundation for Chance
10. Regularities and Unpredictabilities
11. Trinitarian Foundations for Chance
12. Responding to Chance
13. Chance in Evolutionary Naturalism
14. Chance and Idolatry
Part 3: Probability
15. What is Probability?
16. Predictions and Outcomes
17. Theistic Foundations for Probability
18. Views of Probability
19. Subjectivity and Probability
20. Entanglement of Probabilities
21. Probabilistic Independence
22. Independence and Human Nature
23. Is God Probable?
Part 4: Probability and Mathematics
24. Pictures of Probability
25. Mathematical Postulates for Probability
26. Theistic Foundations for Some Properties of Probability
27. Limitations in Human Thinking about Events and Probabilities
28. Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix A: Why Gambling Systems Fail
Appendix B: The Real Problem with Gambling
Appendix C: A Puzzle in Probability
Appendix D: Interacting with Secular Philosophical Views of Probability
Appendix E: Permutations and Combinations
Appendix F: The Birthday Problem
Appendix G: Diseases and Other Causes
Appendix H: Proofs for Probability
Appendix I: Statistics
Appendix J: The Law of Large Numbers versus Gamblers

Enjoy!

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