Tags: book

• review: captured by grace

  Encountering God’s grace changes lives forever, and this beautiful three-part volume is truly a keeper as it consistently initiates a fresh experience of God’s grace on almost every page. It tracks the dramatic stories of John Newton, Paul and the author himself in the freeing power of permanent forgiveness and unending mercy. Captured by Grace drives home that none of us, no matter what we have done, are beyond the reach of grace and forgiveness. Dr. David Jeremiah’s writing challenges [...]

• essential Piper: 2of6 hedonism

  In this little mini-series from one of my helpers in the faith, the inimitable John Piper. This entry looks at Christian Hedonism, which at it’s core, is the truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. An immense and punchy truth!! ” We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we [...]

• essential Piper: 1of6 purpose

  ,….and nothing of the Pied-piper sort! “Don’t waste your life!” is pure-spiritual-adrenalin and a call-to obedience by one of my favourite authors, John Piper. Definitely a Top-Fifty book of all time for me…. Despite Julie not being a big fan, I’m going to aim for a six-entry-weekly-taster from Piper’s best books and key thinking. ” It is possible to waste your life. Few things make me tremble more than the possibility of taking this onetime gift of life and wasting [...]

• a better me,….. (please!?)

  Last night I started reading John Ortberg’s; The Me I Want to Be. I am only one chapter in…and already loving this book. I’m not a slow reader, so a slow read-is the greatest of book-compliments I can give! The more pen-scribbles all over it the better…..! Ortberg begins by answering questions I think that you and I both wrestle with… For instance, I often have a hard time discerning what a more healthy, alive, godly me looks like….. And [...]

• the Jesus manifesto

  Over the history of Christianity we have made the gospel more about so many things and positions and less about Christ. We have placed religious doctrines, ideas concepts, and techniques outside and above an understanding of who Christ is in our lives. We can speak the Christian talk, we know how to play the game, but there is often very little we offer…….. In the light of this, The Jesus Manifesto moves us to answer the question Jesus asked of [...]

• what kind of man-heart? review

  Howard Thurman said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive”. God designed men to be dangerous, says John Eldredge. Simply look at the dreams and desires written in the heart of every boy: To be a hero, to be a warrior, to live a life of adventure and risk. Sadly, most men abandon those dreams and desires—aided by [...]

• the brain in love!

  Boy meets girl. They talk. They laugh. They fall in love. Little do they know what’s going inside their brains. Dr. Earl Henslin explains some of the latest findings in brain research and how brain imbalances can have a bad affect on your love life in his newest book, This Is Your Brain In Love. With stories from his clients as well as scientific research, Henslin pinpoints five common types of lovers and offers tips and solutions. This book seek [...]

• amidst seasonal pressure!

  Some of you know what it is to experience Christmas as a very stressful holiday! Perhaps the stress comes from those who try to create just the perfect Christmas experience. Or it may come from anticipating Christmas dinner as others face losses, absence or aloneness….. Craig Barnes, in his book The Pastor as Minor Poet, writes insightfully about how the Bible reveals God as the achiever and ourselves as the receivers. Far too often we live with much stress because [...]

• primal possiblities…?

  We have a capacity to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it with one commandment: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In Primal Mark Batterson explores the four elements of Great Commandment Christianity: compassion, wonder, curiosity and power. Along the way, he calls Christians to be a part of God’s reformation, starting in their own lives. “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you?” asks Batterson. “A place where your [...]

• confidence in a chaotic world

  Dr. Jeremiah uses a vast array of biblical passages and principles to resource all that our hope absolutely must lie in Jesus Christ if we are going to have any hope at all. In ten chapters Jeremiah explains Christ’s message of hope in a repeated ‘C’ theme. He stresses the need for Christians to rise above the world spinning out of control and demonstrate the practicality of Christ’s peace. Dr. Jeremiah encourages and challenges the reader to live in a [...]