Jesus on Every Page by David Murray

Book: Murray, David. Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament. Thomas Nelson, 2013.

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Point: Jesus is not merely a New Testament figure, rather, he is the focus of the entirety of the Scriptures.

 

Path: From a Covenantal point of view, Murray leads the reader on a personal journey through the Old Testament. He pauses to point out the sign posts of the Messiah, the pictures of his plan, and the intricate descriptions of his person. He also gives warnings of approaching any of the Scriptures without Christ in mind.

He begins by asking whether the NT authors really believed that Jesus was the center of the OT. With a definite affirmation, Murray dives in and looks for himself. Jesus can be seen in Creation, the Characters, the Angel of the LORD, the Law, History, Prophets, Types, Covenants, Proverbs, and Poems (table of contents).

 

Sources: Poythress, Guthrie, Greidanus, Wright, Edwards, and a variety of other OT and NT scholars

 

Agreement:

I appreciated the tone of the book, personal and pastoral.

The book as a whole helped me to love Christ more. I found myself eagerly awaiting my OT reading to discover how it pointed me to Jesus.

His critique of moralism was extremely helpful.

The way he divided the book and gave overviews suits it well to be a base for future study. It is not merely a “here are the references to Jesus in the OT” book, it is “here is what you need to look for as you read, study, listen, and meditate on Scripture.”

I’ve never been a big alliteration person, but I have to point out that he definitely takes it seriously! His titles helped me to follow his train of thought better.

 

Disagreement: From a more dispensational viewpoint, I found some to deny, some to disagree with, and some to learn from. Perhaps a surprise for the author, I agreed with much of it and think that other dispensationalists would as well!

The system through which a covenant theologian views Scripture is a very tight system, and there is much to agree with. It is a system though, and because of that, there are passages which have to give beneath the system and are forced to fold. Neither Covenant theologians, nor dispensationalists from any stripe, have it all figured out.

 

As a formatting note, the book would have been so much better if the endnotes would have been footnotes. The content really needed the verse references right on the page.

 

Personal App: If the Old Testament truly does focus on Christ, am I giving it the proper place in my own personal reading, meditation, teaching, and preaching?

 

Favorite Quote: There were many, but this one caught my attention: “He created sheep so He could teach sinners about how He is the Good Shepherd. He created birds to help His redeemed people live less anxious lives. He created camels to teach how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter heaven. He created lilies and roses so He could compare Himself with them. He created water to explain how He refreshes and revives the thirsty” (47).

 

Stars: 4 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it. I plan on reading it again, and referencing it as I teach through various Old Testament genres.

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What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him Yawn, Byron Forrest by Byron Yawn

Book: Yawn, Byron Forrest. What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him. Harvest House Publishers, 2012. 

Pages: 180

Point: Sons, hear me. Manhood is about recognizing one’s identity in, and responsibility to, Christ the risen King. 

Path: Yawn walks through crucial applications of the Gospel in the life of a young man, and any man, who still has breath. To the steady stream of valuable Biblical advice, the author adds humor, stories, illustrations, and plenty of punches to the gut of “self worth.” According to the table of contents, he addresses Fatherhood, Grace, Masculinity, Affection, Ambition, Sincerity, Accountability, Confidence, Marriage, Wives, Sin, Sex, Pornography, Eternity, Consistency, Thinking, Work, and Integrity. Those are the themes, but he addresses much more than that.

Sources: He is the biological son of a distant father, the adopted son of a godly man, and the spiritual son of a Heavenly Father. He also has sons of his own.

Agreement: I really enjoyed reading this book. His humor, insight, and bare knuckle punches were both interesting and convicting. His focus on the Gospel kept it from being a moralistic pat on the back or challenge of self will. He helped me to focus on Jesus Christ more in every area of my life.

Personal App: Am I finding my identity in Christ? Am I finding my strength in Christ? Am I finding my hope in Christ?

Favorite Quote: “To the adult son who looks back and regrets, there is hope. To the confused husband who looks down on his life with despair, there is a means to victory. To the father who looks ahead to the future of his own children, there is a way. In every case it is the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Kindle Locations 146-148)

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

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Corrie ten Boom: Heroine of Haarlem by Sam Wellman

Corrie ten Boom: Heroine of Haarlem by Sam Wellman 

Product Details

Paperback: 207 pages

Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc. 

Point: The author traces Corrie ten Boom’s life from early childhood through her death. Her experiences are shared in a story format.

Agreement: This book was a good glimpse of what her life was like. It was written in an easy to read way. Containing much heartache and sorrow, this biography shows how Corrie ten Boom was able to see God working in her life in many ways. I felt that it probably showed realistically some of her struggles in life and how she didn’t always feel super spiritual or like she wanted to do what was right, but she continued in her progressive sanctification throughout life.

This book also contained many good reminders of the evil of which man is capable, and the goodness of God. It was a good reminder of what went on in WWII and how God’s people (among many others) were unfairly treated.

Corrie had to learn to forgive many people who had sinned against her, and I thought that this was also wisely brought out in the story.

Disagreement: There are quite a few mentions of visions, how God showed Himself to Corrie and one of her sisters through visions. They believed that they saw the Lord or that He showed them specifically what they were supposed to do, etc.

Also, I don’t know if this is how the author portrayed it or Corrie, but I don’t agree with the concept of asking Jesus into your heart. Using this terminology can be quite confusing or misleading when trying to explain the Gospel and salvation.

Personal App: Do I find joy in my trials?

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

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Evangellyfish by Douglas Wilson

Evangellyfish by Douglas Wilson 

Product Details

Hardcover: 228 pages

Publisher: Canon Press

Date Published: 2012 

Point: The average must not rejoice when the lofty falls.

Path: This is a novel. a very racy, too realistic, novel. Through use of irony, satirical characters and often too true circumstances, Wilson warns the reader that all that glitters is not gold, as a contemporary cliche reminds us.

Sources: This story could have been taken from any number of front page articles in the past ten years. It is full of typical Wilson, blazing critiques, witty remarks, underhanded jabs, and painful, thought provoking evaluations.

Agreement: I appreciated that although he painted the mega church in a poor light, he was not without criticism of the small reformed guys. Obviously there was a great difference between the sins of the former and the latter in magnitude and repercussions, but they both are present.

Disagreement: I am not sure that the exaggerations helped me to foster the same view as John Mitchell came to in the end. But maybe it was needed for me to see the path.

Personal App: How do I view the mega church, sin, and repentance? Soaring numbers, beautiful buildings, and expert presentations do not always reflect what is inside. And how do I view sin and repentance? The big churches are not the only ones with problems.

Favorite Quote: “Uncertainty was part of the appeal. That was just one problem with ministering to the youth of today – riding the wave of cool and contemporary youth ministry was like surfing the big ones, and with one false move, there you were with sand in your trunks.

Stars: 3 out of 5 – The idea gets a 5. The content around which the story grows (homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, lustful thinking, etc) gets a 2.5.

I don’t know that I would read it again. There may be a handful of people that I would recommend this book to. I am still trying to think through who that might be.

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John Newton: The Angry Sailor by Kay Marshall Strom

John Newton: The Angry Sailor by Kay Marshall Strom 

Product Details

Paperback: 125 pages

Publisher: Moody Press 

Point: Strom shows how God can change lives and save sinners.

Path: Through story format, the author tells the story of John Newton’s life, starting with his childhood and sharing experiences and struggles and blessings up to the point his death.

Agreement: This is an easy and quick read. John Newton is shown how he really was before conversion. I appreciate how the author also shares struggles that Newton had in his sanctification after salvation.

My favorite quote is from John Newton as he was in his last days, “My dear friends, my memory is now almost gone. But there are two things that I can still remember perfectly well. I can remember what a great sinner I was, and I can remember what a great Savior Jesus Christ is!” (Page 124)

Personal Application: It is a blessing to read over the words of the hymn “Amazing Grace” seeing where the author had been and how he had seen the truths of the song in his own life. It is humbling and encouraging to realize that God’s grace is just as great and amazing in my own life.

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

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“With” by Alvin L. Reid

With: a Practical Approach to Informal Mentoring by Alvin L. Reid 

Product Details

  1. Publisher: NavPrss
  2. Date Published: 2012

Point: You can mentor others by involving them in the everyday elements of your life.

Path: Reid explains why we must mentor others and how we can do so in our everyday life. In four short chapters he gives definition to the word “mentoring,” the example of Christ, and practical examples of how it looks.

Sources: A lifetime of ministry experience and books such as “The Be-With Factor” by Boshers and Poling, and “The Master Plan of Evangelism” by Coleman.

Agreement: This mentality is commonly ignored in the land of bountiful programs and busy schedules. We would rather fill out an outline with a “disciple” than fill a grocery cart or work around the house.

Disagreement: This is a short book. There could have been a lot more written. I would have appreciated hearing a little less about the pastors of mega churches, and heard more practical ideas for mentoring.

Personal App: Am I involving others in my life to help move them toward Christ?

Favorite Quote: “We overestimate the impact of our words when we stand before a group to teach” (loc. 95)

Stars: 3. 5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it. I am looking for a more comprehensive book, but one that is still accessible.

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Your Family~God’s Way by Wayne A. Mack

Your Family~God’s Way: Developing and Sustaining Relationships in the Home by Wayne A. Mack 

Product Details

Paperback: 227 pages

Publisher: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company

Point: God wants to help each of us have family relationships that honor Him.

Path: Wayne Mack starts his book with several chapters on the roles of different family members, covers communication for the next eight chapters, and ends with several chapters on family conflict.

Agreement: This is a great book to use as a tool whether you are a new believer or someone who needs to refresh over biblical principles and be encouraged to follow God’s Word and plan for life. Mack uses a great deal of Scripture and includes helpful “study and application assignments” at the end of each chapter. These assignments include surveys to test your own heart and also many Bible passages to read over and questions to ask yourself. This would be a great book to study as a group or as a couple.

Personal Application: As I read through the chapters on communication, I was challenged to check my heart and actions to see if I was honoring God through my communication habits. There are many ways that we may not even realize we are sinning and/or impeding good communication in our relationships, and this was a good reminder of that.

Stars: 4.5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

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Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson – worth reading!

Book: Robinson, Marilynne. Gilead: A Novel. Macmillan, 2004.

Gilead

Audio: 8.8 hours

Point: Life can be sweet. Life can be hard. Life can be disappointing. Life can be fulfilling. Almost never is it spectacular, but also never is it not worth evaluating.

Path: This novel is set in rural Iowa and reads as the final memoirs of a Congregationalist minister who had lived in that town his whole life. You hear his loves and his heartaches, which are not necessarily experiences, but people.

Sources: Excellent representation of the inner thoughts of a small town pastor.

Agreement: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It made me think of my grandfather ministering in a small town in Montana, and my wife’s grandfather and the various ministries he held over his years as pastor. I felt as though it were written to me and I was opening a treasured journal of a beloved grandfather.

Some may see it as having no plot, but that is part of the beauty of the writing. He was a small town pastor whose “plot” of life was not defined by great experiences, but normal people. John Ames, the writer of the memoirs, spent much of his time sitting, thinking, and writing. Something each of us could do more of. The plot of the book is his working through various issues in his heart and life.

The reader of the audio book was fantastic. I have not heard a better voice to book relation in all of our book listening.

The book also walks through the various stages of Protestant Christianity in the US. There are abolitionists, fighters, pacifists, liberals, and small town pastors.

Personal App: Do I wrestle with my true thoughts and character as I should, or do I sweep them away under the rug of busy living?

Favorite Quote: “We agreed it [magazine article] must have been fairly widely read in both our congregations, because on one page there’s a recipe for that molded salad of orange gelatin with stuffed green olives and shredded cabbage and anchovies that has dogged my ministerial life these last years, and which appears at his house whenever he so much as catches cold. There should be a law to prevent recipes for molded salad from appearing within twenty pages of any article having to do with religion” (145).

Stars: 5 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

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Here is a great series of blog posts about how to read the book

The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men by Richard D. Phillips

The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men by Richard D. Phillips

Free on Kindle today here

Product Details

  1. Kindle: 174 pages
  2. Publisher: Reformation Trust
  3. Date Published: 2010 

Point: God has called all men, from the Garden of Eden to suburbs of Minneapolis, to work and keep. This refers not only to the land, but also to the hearts and lives of individuals.

Path: Part one begins by explaining Genes 2:15. Phillips outlines the mission given by God to man – to work and keep. This is possible and necessary because of man’s position as God’s image bearer and representative over creation. The second section (roughly two-thirds of the book) is comprised of the practical outworking of this mandate in marriage, work, parenting, friendship, and the church.

Sources: John Calvin, Diedrich Bonhoeffer, and Eric Alexander are referenced along side of Ted Tripp and Kent Hughes.

Agreement: This is a helpful, quasi-topical look at manhood. His principles are biblical. His examples are helpful. His rebukes are fair (I appreciated the fact that he explains the error of “Wild at Heart”).

Disagreement: Some disagree with the translation, “work and keep” thinking that it should be “worship and obey” (see Sailhammer). I don’t follow this interpretation, but there is a group out there who does.

I disagree with various comments he makes concerning singleness. Though God’s plan for humanity includes marriage, something which is very good, it is not his plan for every human. A single person can be godly, growing, and useful in the work of the ministry by the grace of God – just as a married person can be godly, growing, and useful. The end goal is not marriage, it is Christ-conformity.

Personal App: Am I actively working and keeping? Can this be seen in my marriage, family, church, friendships, and workplace? Where I am I resisting the Spirit and the Word?

Favorite Quote: “Indeed, this is what modern and postmodern masculinity has been all about – men behaving like little boys forever, serving themselves in the name of self-discovery” (9).

Stars: 4 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

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Sproul, R. C. Can I Trust the Bible?

Book: Sproul, R. C. Can I Trust the Bible? Revised, expanded. Crucial Questions. Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009.

Can I Trust the Bible?

Pages: 65

Point: The Bible is reliable and deserving of our attention and obedience.

Path: Sproul walks through the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy which was drafted in 1978. This book is an explanation and application of that statement. He directly addresses in various chapters the authority of Scripture, the concept of revelation, the reality of inspiration, the parameters of inerrancy, the Scriptures and truth, and the Bible’s position in the life of a believer.

Agreement: This was a helpful book for anyone seeking clarity on the issues of inspiration, infallibility, revelation, and inerrancy.

It was short, 65 pages, so it is easily read in one sitting.

The manner of writing lends itself to quoting for those who are working on doctrinal summaries, or church statements of faith.

You can get the free kindle version here.

One draw back is that this work is not as “recommendable” as I was looking for. It is inappropriate to critique an author for a book he didn’t write. However, I was hoping for a book that I could hand to someone new to the faith, or one learning about our faith. It isn’t that book. It is very helpful in what is above, but not necessarily one you would hand to someone new to these topics.

Personal App: Am I cognitively recognizing the authority of Scripture while practically denying it?

Favorite Quote:

“Here the advance of science helped the church to correct an earlier misinterpretation of Scripture. Thus, to say that science cannot overturn the teaching of Scripture is not to say that science cannot aid the church in understanding Scripture or even correct false inferences drawn from Scripture or actual misinterpretations of Scripture.” (Kindle Locations 456-458).

Stars: 4 out of 5

It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.

 

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