Book Brief - Leaving Carolina

Leaving Carolina

Tamara Leigh

Multnomah Books (September 15, 2009)

Embarrassed by her past Piper has done an excellent job of forgetting and hiding her history from those who know her. Things begin to change when she gets a phone call. Headed back to her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, she is hoping to get in and out as quickly as possible. That is not to be the case as she is forced to face the past she was running from. Fighting off her materialism and shallow faith, Piper, as you might expect, soon meets up with someone that will change her perspective.

Laced with laugh out loud humor and unique characters this breezy novel will appeal to many.

"From atop a creaky stepladder, I reach past the applesauce and snag a jar of pickled corn. I can almost taste the yellow kernels that press against the glass, as if looking out at me as eagerly as I look in at them...All ten fingers splay as I grab for something to keep the stool upright. I catch the lip of a shelf, but as the jar heads for the floor, the stool goes out from under me. I register a shriek, a crash, a spray of moisture, and a scent I was so looking forward to in a different context. A moment later my sandaled feet hit the floor, and I slam back against a shelf."

This is obviously not a book I would have picked out myself. However, with good characterization and a breezy style it is an easy and enjoyable read that I can mildly recommend for those of the romantic comedy persuasion.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Rating: Borrow

Book Review - Big Truths for Young Hearts

Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God

Bruce A. Ware

Crossway Books (April 30, 2009)

In short: Theology 101 written at a level that older pre-teens will understand while still engaging the adult reader. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

"Theology matters, because if we get it wrong, then our whole life will be wrong."

Josh Harris

"In the church growth heyday, scholars and pastors were wrestling with how to reach out without dumbing down. Today I would argue that we reach out precisely by not dumbing down. The door is open like never before to challenge people with good Bible teaching. People want to learn doctrine."

Kevin DeYoung

I've been thinking and writing a lot lately (see here) about the shallowness of the evangelical church today. Please don't think I am speaking on this from a position of strength. These thoughts and writings have been just as much a critique of my own, often, superficial understanding and knowledge of the character of God as revealed in His Word, as they are of anyone else's. I need more theology. Theology is simply the study of the nature of God. It is simply an attempt to understand God as He is revealed to us in the Bible. We are all theologians, or at least should be.

This book is the perfect antidote for moving away from the shallows into the deep. Consider it a theology primer or theology for the rest of us or, as the author's daughters note in the foreword, Theology 101. Bruce Ware has written a magnificent summary and introduction of doctrine and theology that can be used by parents, teenagers or new believers to deepen their understanding of the classic core doctrines of the Christian faith. As he notes:

"I’m aware that this book may be used in different contexts than the precise one out of which it has grown. Yes, parents may wish to read these chapters with their children, discussing these rich truths together and looking at passages of Scripture that teach aspects of our faith that we need to understand and embrace. Middle and high school students may find it helpful simply to read the book on their own, working bit by bit through some of the core teachings of Scripture on the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Homeschool and Sunday school settings are also places where this book may meet a need. Since it covers the whole range of Christian doctrine, from the doctrine of the Bible all the way through to the doctrine of last things, some may wish to use this as an introductory curriculum for young people to gain a foundational understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. Perhaps also young converts to the Christian faith, no matter what age they may be, will find here a helpful overview of Christian teaching that will give them a better grasp of the truth and beauty God is and has for them to behold."

From bibliology to eschatology (although he doesn't use those big theological terms) Dr. Ware covers it all. Splendidly written chapters explaining the Trinity, the problem of evil, the reality of hell, the work of Jesus, and our human nature, just to name a few, are written at a level that older pre-teens will understand while still engaging the adult reader. Consider this section from the chapter titled, "Sirs, What Must I Do to Be Saved?"

"This is why the Bible sometimes would answer the jailer’s question,“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30), by speaking together about turning from our sin (repentance) and believing in Christ. For example, in the very first words of Jesus recorded in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (1:15; see also Acts 20:21). Repentance involves seeing sin for the deceitful and deadly thing that it is, so that we turn from it. Belief in Christ involves seeing Christ for the gracious and powerful Savior that he is, so that we turn to him. These two acts go together in a person’s salvation. Repentance and belief are like two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one side of the coin without having the other side also."

Extensive Scripture references as well as questions for thought at the end of each chapter provoke further study and application.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. May we all burn these big truths on our young hearts to the glory of God.

This book was provided for review by Crossway Books.

Rating: Hardback

Book Brief - Limelight

Limelight
Melody Carlson
Multnomah Books (October 6, 2009)

Claudette Fiore enjoyed the limelight and can't get over the fact that those days of public attention are long past. After losing her Beverly Hills mansion to a dishonest, and incompetent, accountant, she attempts to kill herself but lands in the hospital instead. She begs her stepson in Hawaii to rescue her from her deplorable situation. Begrudgingly, she soon finds herself returning to the home her deceased mother left her and with the help of her stepson, attempts to live a "normal" life. Unfortunately, her previous movie star life of maids and servants has left her lacking any sort of homemaking or housekeeping skills at all and the comedy of errors begins.

Amazon customers most popular "tags" for this book are Christian fiction, inspirational fiction and religious fiction. Fiction it is (I assume). Christian? Only if you strip Christianity of a holy God, hell and sin. (which many are happy to do for obvious reasons.) Inspirational? Only if constant complaining, an entitlement attitude and incest inspire. Religious? I suppose that depends on how you define religious.

From its depiction of homosexuality to it's "strawman" of God to it's selfish and stuck-up protagonist this insidious novel is neither Christian nor inspirational. Moralistic and shallow "Christian culture" such as this, from a very popular Christian author, is just another indication of how far Christianity has strayed from contending for the deep, rich and God-centered faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. (Jude 1:3)

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Rating: Avoid

We surf...so you don't have to - Dec. 29

Top 10 Stories of 2009

What would you include?

A Word About Resolutions

As you think about your New Year's resolutions.

Airport Security in the Clouds

Underwear doesn't kill people, people kill people.

Quote - Christ Did Not Come to Add to Our Comforts

"The Scriptures systematically strip away the veneer that covers the real truth of the Christmas story. Jesus did not come to add to our comforts. He did not come to help those who were already helping themselves or to fill life with more pleasant experiences. He came on a deliverance mission, to save sinners, and to do so He had to destroy the works of the Devil (Matt. 1:21; 1 John 3:8b).

Those whose lives were bound up with the events of the first Christmas did not find His coming an easy and pleasurable experience.

Mary and Joseph's lives were turned upside down.

The shepherds' night was frighteningly interrupted, and their futures potentially radically changed.

The magi faced all kinds of inconvenience and family separation.

Our Lord Himself, conceived before wedlock, born probably in a cave, would spend His early days as a refugee from the bloodthirsty and vindictive Herod (Matt. 2:13-21).

There is, therefore, an element in the Gospel narratives that stresses that the coming of Jesus is a disturbing event of the deepest proportions. It had to be thus, for He did not come merely to add something extra to life, but to deal with our spiritual insolvency and the debt of our sin. He was not conceived in the womb of Mary for those who have done their best, but for those who know that their best is "like filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6)--far from good enough--and that in their flesh there dwells no good thing (Rom. 7:18). He was not sent to be the source of good experiences, but to suffer the pangs of hell in order to be our Savior."

Sinclair Ferguson, In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life

HT: Take Your Vitamin Z

Sermon Notes - Seeing His Coming Clearly: A Christmas Message

Seeing His Coming Clearly: A Christmas Message, Mark 10:45
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended December 20, 2009

1. See Him clearly

He refers to Himself as Son of Man fourteen times in Mark. Eighty times throughout the gospels. It is His preferred description. Why?

Is it a reference to His humanity? He is both God and man, but He is not just a son of man but the Son of Man, so this is probably not the main reason.

Daniel 7:13-14 talks of someone coming “like a son of man”. It then goes on to describe how this “son of man” is given dominion and is a highly exalted sovereign king.

Jesus’ reference to Himself as the Son of Man is not referencing His humanity but His divinity. He is the authoritative king, the promised one of Daniel 7.

Those hearing this reference at the time would have known this prophecy of Daniel and the implications of this term. He is thus worthy of attention, affection, adoration and praise. This should be a celebration of the king who came to rule on earth.

2. See His coming clearly

The one prophesied in Daniel has come! This implies He was somewhere before He came. He already existed. In fact, He has eternally existed, before his birth, or coming, on earth. (John 1:14)

Psalm 123 describes looking up in our suffering. This is an acknowledgement of a reality greater than this world. Our biggest problem couldn’t be solved by just looking up though. He had to come down to solve our biggest problem – sin. We are looking, here on earth, at the One we were looking up to.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1) because what we needed most could not be taken care of from Heaven. He had to come to earth to accomplish our salvation.

3. See the reason He came clearly

He didn’t come to be served. This is an unbelievable statement when we see Him clearly. If anyone could have been served it is the One in Daniel 7.

He didn’t come just to be an example however, He came to serve – serve you. How is this king from Daniel serving me? How is that possible? Remember how the disciples felt in John 13:1-20.
Before you serve Jesus you must let Jesus serve you. How? A hostage is not free until something, a ransom, is paid for his freedom. Anyone who sins doesn’t just become a sinner but a slave to sin. They are unable to set themselves free. We have no authority over sin. He didn’t just buy us back He declared our independence from sin.

He got us out of a mess we got ourselves into. We are not innocent victims. We declared our independence. We didn’t want His authority. We did it to ourselves and He still came. He frees us from that which we deserve most. (Colossians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 16:22)

We must be served by Him not because we are greater than Him, but because it is the only means by which we must be saved.

He did not just come to reveal to us the character of God or to show us how to live as moral people. Jesus came to die.

4. See His calling clearly

His birth demands a response. By not responding, you are responding, and accepting the penalty of death. He is the only ransom.

Sermon Notes - The Word On the Way

The Word On the Way, John 17:17
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended December 13, 2009

The church often teaches that we just need to believe the right facts. However, to be saved though we must respond the right way to those facts. We know a lot about Jesus but we don’t look a lot like Jesus. We must believe and respond correctly. Christianity is often cultural rather than genuine. It isn’t a distinct way of living anymore it seems.

John 17 is a prayer from Jesus for the disciples and for us. (John 17:20) This is what Jesus would pray for us if we asked Him to pray for us. He states His purpose for the disciples, “…so that the world may know.” His disciples, and us, are left here in such a way that everyone might know Him through them. They are reflecting Christ by the way they live. They are to be “distinctively” Christian.

Ultimately His prayer is that they be sanctified (John 17:17), or to be more like Christ.

The work of sanctification is primarily a work of God. He didn’t turn to the disciples and say, “Be sanctified!” He turned to the Father. (Philippians 2:12-13, Philemon 1:6)

No one seeks after God unless God seeks after them. 1 Thessalonians begins and ends with God’s work.

God’s primary means by which He accomplishes His work is through His Word. (John 17:17) Remember Matthew 7 and the small gate and narrow path, or the big gate and the wide path? The gate is the gate of justification.

The gate and the path are inseparable. You can’t go through the narrow gate and then walk the broad path. The narrow gate continues on a narrow path. This is the path of sanctification. The gift of the Holy Spirit, the church and the Bible are given to you when you enter that path telling you how to walk on that path. (Psalm 119:105) You must expose yourself daily to the primary means by which He has chosen to fulfill His work within you.

It is a hard path to walk (Hebrews 12) but the Bible gives us encouragement, it keeps us on the right path when others tell us we are going the wrong way, it reminds us of who we are, it reminds us of the pitfalls and it gives us mentors (Joseph, David, etc.) along the way. We will never be distinctively Christian unless we are people of the Word.

Desire for Bible reading often falls short due to lack of priority, lack of a specific plan, and failure to respond to what you are reading.

All scripture demands a response. If you view it that way it will be an “active” reading and every response will draw you closer to Christ.

The Greatest Threat to Christianity - Final Thoughts

Shallowness and lack of discernment within the church is nothing new. It was a problem in New Testament times (Ephesians 4:14-15, Hebrews 5:12-6:1) and it continues. In 1957 in The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer wrote of the state of the church:

“The idea of cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast-flowing dramatic action….We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.

…we have accepted one another’s notions, copied one another’s lives and made one another’s experiences the model for our own. And for a generation the trend has been downward. Now we have reached a low place of sand and burnt wire grass and, worst of all, we have made the Word of God conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the very pasture of the blessed.”

Chasing personal comfort and utterly preoccupied with self. Do we not just look to be a part of the club sometimes? If they carry their, self-identified, Christian club card then we look no further. It is so much easier than doing the hard work of study. Why should I study the Word on what a church should actually be doing? I don’t have time and I am comfortable at that church. Why should I devote time to examining that particular doctrine? The pastor gets paid to do that and he has his theology degree.

We “outsource” our theology, our parenting and our spiritual formation to the detriment of our souls and Christ’s honor.

You can find all the posts in this series here.

Sermon Notes - Deep Friendship

Deep Friendship, 1 Thessalonians 3:1-13
Larry Parsley, Valley Ranch Baptist Church, attended December 6, 2009

If Christ is coming again, how should we live?

How would you live if you knew you weren’t going to be around much longer? Kelly Pruitt dug his own grave.

The theme from 1 Thessalonians 3:12 should give us a clue – love increases and overflows. [How can we love them the most? Warn them of the impending judgement!]

What does that look like? Look at what Paul has done with the Thessalonians. He had a brief ministry there, noted in Acts, but was run out of town before he could see the fruit of his labors. However, a connection [?] happened with that church and Paul models what abounding love looks like.

Paul sent Timothy to the city when they needed help and he was left alone. Paul sacrificed to send him on. [Did Paul really look at that as a sacrifice?]

1. Love abounds through sacrificing – The essence of Christ is sacrificial love. Paul anguished over the news in 1 Thessalonians 3:2,5 so we know he sacrificed. [?]

2. Love abounds through cheering others on – Supporting them. As firefighters rely on each other while fighting a fire so the “fire” of persecution caused the disciples to rely on each other. [I don’t follow this point.]

3. Love abounds through praying – The overflow of Paul’s feelings comes out in prayer. Prayer is often all we can do. [Prayer is the best thing we can do, not “all we can do”.] Romans 8:34.

We should live as though it is the night before an amazing family reunion in heaven..