Down At The Cross - St. Andrews Hymns

This is one of my favorite hymns, done in a contemporary style. I thought some of my readers might enjoy it. You can find more information on these performers at this link: St. Andrews Hymns

Book Review: A Theology of Luke and Acts

Here is a book for you consider adding to your library: A Theology of Luke and Acts. The author is Darrell Bock, who is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. It is in a class of reference works called Biblical Theology. As a reference work, it is not one that you would just sit down and read from cover to cover, but rather you would use it as a study aid. You would be looking for specific information about a Bible doctrine that you are studying. With this book, you would want to know what does the Bible teach in the book of Luke and Acts about the doctrine of God, or the Holy Spirit, or the church?

 

After covering some introductory information in the first part of the book (including a thorough and helpful outline of both Luke and Acts in chapter 4), Bock then begins taking a chapter at a time to look at various doctrinal teachings. Here are some examples of chapter titles that will give you the idea:

Ø  Chapter 5: The Plan, Activity and Character of God: A Survey in Narrative Order

Ø  Chapter 6: The God of Promise, Fulfillment, and Salvation: Synthesis of Texts on the Plan of God

Ø  Chapter 9: The Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts: Power and Enablement for the Promise and Witness of the New Era

Ø  Chapter 12: Israel in Luke-Acts

Ø  Chapter 17: Women, the Poor, and the Social Dimensions in Luke-Acts

Ø  Chapter 20: Eschatology, Judgment, and Hope for the Future in Luke-Acts

I think you get the idea. These chapters make up the vast majority of the book, (which is almost 500 pages!). Let me give you some of the ideas that Bock gives us in his chapter on Eschatology to help you more.

The chapter is outlined to easily follow the author’s logic in presenting the teaching of Luke. He sees the Kingdom being taught in two parts: the Already and the Not Yet. The Already teaching is the promise of a kingdom to come from the Old Testament prophecies and the ministry of John the Baptist. The Not Yet element shows what Luke teaches concerning the Kingdom “in which God’s promises will be brought to full realization. All the prophetic promises made to Israel will be fulfilled (Acts 3:19-21).”

From that point, Bock moves to talking about accountability in connection with eschatology: We are motivated to serve by “love generated by the grace of God” (Luke 7:36-50), as well as “duty of service” (Luke 17:7-10), which is thoroughly emphasized through some of the parables that Luke includes in his narrative.

The author also deals with the visit of the Messiah in connection with the Battle with Satan and his demons, with Jesus, as well as Paul as recorded in Acts, “turning people from Satan to God, showing the cosmic dimensions of the battle and the victory that comes through the one God has sent.” The theme of hope is also emphasized in Acts, mostly through the messages that are preached by Paul. This hope is always connected to the “hope of Israel” (Acts 28:20). But, as Bock points out:

Israel’s story of hope is also the world’s story of hope. So Acts ends with Paul speaking to anyone who listen about the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:30-31). This is where Luke’s eschatology takes us-to the kingdom of God and to Jesus as its Lord Messiah. Deliverance, vindication, justice, hope, and peace are found here for Luke.

This is a scholarly work, not easy to just pick up and read. Prepare yourself for some serious study. But you will gain much valuable information from it. You will be better able to explain what God wants us to know about Himself and His plan. There is a helpful scripture index at the end of the book that you can go to time and again when you are studying various passages, just to find out what someone has to say about the verses you are studying.

Zondervan provided me with a copy of this book to review and share my thoughts. They did not require to me make any recommendation. But I do recommend it for the serious Christian who wants to know more about what they believe and why they believe it.

Book Review: Age of Opportunity

Raising children is a full time job. When they become teenagers, it means overtime!  Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp is a great way to help you know how to use that extra time effectively. It will show you how to help your teenager (and you!) how to train yourself for godliness.

In part one of the book, Tripp lays the groundwork for the challenge, providing an easy-to-understand definition of family (a learning community). He also gives parents their job description of the family as a theological community (loving God), a sociological community (loving others), and redemptive community (confessing your sin and need of a Savior). He concludes this part with a chapter titled “Parents, Meet Your Teenager”. Here he uses the book of Proverbs to describe the characteristics of teenagers, though you might find yourself saying “I’m like that!”  You will see yourself throughout the book, which makes it good for anyone to read, not just parents of teenagers.

Part two provides five Biblical goals that a parent has in raising their teenagers. This is the heart of the book. These goals are drawn from scripture and described by what they will look like in the life of a teenager. Here are the goals:

1.  To help them focus on the spiritual struggle they face.  Teens look at the physical world. So do we oftentimes. But our battle is more with spiritual forces.
2. To develop a heart of Biblical convictions and wisdom. Convictions are the clear-cut "thus says the Lord" direction from scripture. But most of life is full of wisdom decisions. There is no clear direction from the Bible, so we have to help out teens apply Biblical principles to decisions that they face. 
3. To teach them how to understand and interact with their culture, the world. Some of us isolate ourselves from the world, while others assimilate, or become like the world. There is a third, and better way.  
4. To develop a heart for God.  We all need to have a hunger for God, and we need to help our teens have that hunger.
5. To prepare them to leave home. They have to leave sometime and this is your last chance to get them ready! 

Part Three gives strategies to use while you were raising these teenagers. But don’t think that Tripp did not include some great ideas/strategies as he explained about the goals. He did! The first two parts had a lot of information, which caused me to think, “How can I do all of that? Where do I start?” That is what these final two chapters will do for you. It does not happen over one magical weekend, or week, or even a year. But you have to start someplace, and Tripp provides you with some great tips.

An excellent study guide is provided at the end of the book. It includes not only the typical study questions which can basically be answered by reading the chapter, but also gives great application questions so that you can see where you need to get to work. This study guide would be great for parents to use in small groups to support and encourage one another.

Age of Opportunity is a must read. It’s also an easy read, with plenty of great stories to illustrate the principles that are taught. Don’t wait any longer! Get this book and get started! You’re going to be working overtime! 

Book Review: The Explicit Gospel

The gospel of Jesus Christ is something that we as Christians cherish deeply. Matt Chandler, the pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, has written a book that should change the way you look at the gospel, with the result that you will cherish it even more.

Chandler looks at the gospel from two perspectives: 

• ·       The Gospel from the ground: this is the gospel message that is most familiar to us. It is the gospel that saves us as individuals.
• ·       The gospel from the air: this is the gospel that we often overlook. It is the gospel that is bringing the whole creation into restoration.

Both of these perspectives flow from the fact that everything is about God’s glory. Read on for why it is important that we are explicit with both perspectives of the gospel because there are dangers if we neglect either one of these two perspectives.

In part one of the book, the author looks at the gospel from the ground. The gospel for our personal salvation begins with God and the fact that the Bible is not just a message to us, but it is a message about God and His glory. But man has violated that purpose and fallen short of that glory. So God has provided a remedy in Christ. But that provision requires a response from each individual. That is the explicit gospel from a personal perspective: God, man, Christ, response.

In part two, Chandler views the gospel from the air. Here again we find four parts, this time called creation, fall, reconciliation, consummation. Whereas the gospel from the ground emphasizes the personal salvation of each individual who responds its message, the gospel from air sees the gospel as what the author calls cosmic restoration. God has created this world for His glory, with perfect harmony of all things that He created. But man has destroyed that harmony by rejecting God and His will. So God provided a way of reconciling the world to Himself through the cross of Christ, with the end result being the return of Christ when there is a new heaven and new earth.

There is a third part of the book that is particularly helpful. Chandler deals with what happens when a person (or church) spends too much time on the ground or in the air. It has some devastating results which he clearly explains. From becoming a self-centered gospel that ignores the needs of those around us, to evolving into a social gospel that rejects the sinfulness of man and thus eliminates the need for the cross of Christ, the message will be either lost or distorted. In the final chapter, we find direction for what is called “grace-driven efforts” to grow in this glorious salvation. Here he speaks of the grace weapons, killing the roots of sin, having a fear of God, being dead to sin and alive to God, and finally,  destroying sin in our life.

The Explicit Gospel needs to be not only understood, but also proclaimed by the church as well as each individual Christian. Chandler writes in a way that makes it easy to read. Except that reading this book is more like listening to a sermon (and an excellent sermon at that!) 

The Transforming Power of the Gospel

I admit it. I am a big fan of Jerry Bridges. I have read several of his books, with several more still to read on the shelf. His newest book, The Transforming Power of the Gospel, takes many of his ideas from his earlier books and shows us how the gospel not only provides us with the only way of being saved, but also the only way of being sanctified, which is the Bible word for changing us to be like Christ.

The early chapters deal with the gospel message itself, beginning with the holiness of God, which serves to highlight how sinful we really we are (the topic of the following chapter). The answer to our sinfulness, of course, is the work of Christ on the cross. This is where Bridges does a masterful job of explaining what happens to us when we are justified by God. The chapter is called “The Great Exchange” (a title of one of his other excellent books). What exchange, you ask? It is my sin being exchanged for His righteousness. And in a beautiful explanation of the grace involved in that exchange, he shows that not only are we counted by God as having never sinned, but we are also counted as though we have always obeyed! What an exchange! No wonder it is called Great!

Bridges then begins to show how this glorious truth should be used by every believer as the change agent in their life. He has frequently spoken of dependent responsibility in the Christian’s life to describe how God transforms us into the likeness of Christ. We depend on the Holy Spirit to do the work of changing us without removing from us the responsibility to be obedient to what the Bible says we need to do. 

So Bridges provides some excellent guidance on what is our exact responsibility, noting not only that it is what we ought to do, but it is what the Christian should desire to do. He uses the term “instruments of grace” (sometimes called spiritual disciplines). These include spending time alone with God that would involve three activities: embracing the gospel, Bible reading, and prayer. Other grace instruments are also discussed such as memorizing scripture, meditation on the Word, hearing the Word being taught, and a full chapter is written that speaks of how adversity is used by God to bring about spiritual transformation.

If you want to see your life change in to the image of Christ, this book will help you. I like the fact that there are discussion questions at the end of each chapter. These would have value for couples to use as they read the book together. Or, you could use them in discipling another person, perhaps an older child or friend. However you might use this book, this is for sure: Use it. You’ll be glad you did.

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism

In his book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Mark Dever has written a challenge for every Christian to become involved in the Great Commission. He does so by asking and answering questions about such a task. Each chapter is titled in a question format:

Why Don’t We Evangelize?

What Is the Gospel?
Who Should Evangelize?

How Should We Evangelize?
What Isn’t Evangelism?

What Should We Do After We Evangelize?

Why Should We Evangelize?

Each of these chapters is easy to read and full of practical examples and ideas, as well as biblical support for everything that is taught. Dever speaks about the need for honesty in our evangelism (tell them the whole truth of the gospel, not just an “easy-believism” message to get a positive response). Not only do we bring the gospel to people with honesty, but also with urgency. They need to respond to God’s call now. Don’t wait. But there is also a need for joy in sharing the gospel; people need to know that this good news of a restored relationship to God will bring them great joy.

Dever’s conclusion, “Closing the Sale” provides a great balance for us as we share the gospel. It is not our job to close the sale, to get a decision, to force a choice. God does all of that. We are called to share the message. And the book provides you with great ideas and challenges you to do that. But it is God who is going draw the person into the kingdom.

What was my big “takeaway” from this book? There are many, but in the chapter on How Should We Evangelize, Dever does not recommend a simple, one-size-fits-all method, but rather suggests some general principles that should be a part of our personal evangelism opportunities. I particularly like two of those suggestions. First, use the Bible so that people know that you are sharing God’s plan for salvation, not your own. Second, use the church. That means not only invite them to church, but also let them see the church (God’s people, God’s temple) in action. Let them see how “attractively different” the Christian community is. What a great suggestion!

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism is a book that every Christian needs to read. You will find it easy to follow (and very easy to read!). It will challenge you. It will help you.