What is the Mission of the Church?, Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert (Crossway, 2011) The title of this book has been a cultural hot topic lately. Many believe the church should spend less time proclaiming, and more time getting their hands dirty in the more important business of cultural renewal...

God at Work , Gene Edward Veith, Jr. (Crossway, 2002) Do you ever feel like you could do more for God if only you didn’t have to work in that pesky job of yours? Do you get frustrated about how much time you spend doing secular work? Sometimes I long to retreat from my household chores and...

The Fruitful Life , Jerry Bridges (NavPress, 2006) We are using this book for a small group study in church. Here was one of my favorite sections in the first chapter, Taking on God’s Character : Growth in godly character not only is progressive and always unfinished, it is absolutely necessary for...

Think , John Piper (Crossway, 2010) This book is meant to encourage thinkers. To be honest, I’m not a big reader of Piper’s books. One thing that I do appreciate from him that I forgot about was his passion for God. It is so apparent on every page. Here is one excerpt of the book geared toward...

(Yes, Again!) Living in God’s Two Kingdoms , David VanDrunen (Crossway, 2010) Sunday really is an important, meaningful day for worship. Have you ever wondered why the Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday after Christ’s death and resurrection? It’s really quite amazing. As noted earlier, there...

Living in God’s Two Ki ngdoms , David VanDrunen (Crossway, 2010) Since I’m doing a couple of articles on church, I though VanDrunen’s book would be a good reading recommendation. Oftentimes, we want to know how our faith affects our life, but do not really spend the time learning the content of our...

Knowing Scripture , R.C. Sproul (InterVarsity Press, 1977) This book is an oldie but goodie (well, old for contemporary authorship that is). It is a great read on learning the basics of studying the Bible. But let’s look at the beginning problem: It is important to note that the theme of this book...

Made in America , Michael Horton (Wipf & Stock, 1991) Okay, so I went digging for this excerpt and I own more Horton books than I realized. I’ve spent the better part of an hour sifting through underlined treasures of my favorite living theologian. This one is pretty basic, but has always stuck...

Almost Christian, Kenda Creasy Dean (Oxford, 2010) I’ve reflected on a portion of this book before, but in light of my last article, I thought Dean’s commentary on “nice” would be fitting. WHAT’S WRONG WITH NICE? As a social lubricant, “nice” is a cheap and versatile adjective; it offers a nod...

Religious Literacy, Steven Prothero (HarperSanFrancisco, 2007) The subtitle of this book is What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn’t . The statistics Prothero gives are stunning. I thought I would share a few. You’ll have to read the book to see if you agree with him on how we should be taught...

The City of God , St. Augustine (The Modern Library, 2000) Although this particular edition that I have is from 2000, Augustine was an ordained priest at Hippo, and completed this book in the year 426. I read this book years ago, but I like to pick it up every now and then for a little spiritual...

If You Bite and Devour One Another , Alexander Strauch (Lewis & Roth, 2011) The theme of this book is found on page 8: When conflict arises, our attitudes and behaviors should reflect our new life in Christ given by the Holy Spirit who lives within us. We are to display the fruit of the Spirit...

Feminine Threads , Diana Lynn Severance (Christian Focus, 2011) There are so many awesome women shared in this book (along with some characters). I wanted to pass on a bit of wisdom from America’s first English poet, Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672). Anne and her husband, who was the governor of...

Modern Reformation magazine/ July/August 2011 So I received my last free copy of Modern Reformation since they published my essay last fall. Sigh. It was like getting a major reward in the mailbox every other month. Ralphie’s dad thought his leg lamp was special… Anyway, I was joyfully surprised to...

Girls Gone Wise, Mary Kassian ( Moody, 2010) This summer I am doing a mother-daughter book club using this book. We are about to meet for our second study. One chapter is on the differing roles of men and women. This is an interesting subject to discuss with 11 and 12-year-olds. Kassian spends some...

I came across a Tim Keller sermon this weekend that’s got me thinking like crazy. You can listen to it here . **It’s awesome.** I stumbled upon it on Carolyn McCulley’s blog. The whole theology behind our eternal rest has been an interest of mine lately, so I was eager to hear Keller’s teaching on...

Last night our family celebrated the Fourth West Virginia style. Let me explain. About seven years ago my husband and I, and our two daughters, moved out of our home state. We had lived in Frederick, Maryland (my hometown) for the first seven years of our marriage. In search of a bigger yard that...

My pastor asked me to “fix up” the church library. It was in need of some updating, and hasn’t really even been used much lately. When my daughter, Solanna, and I first meandered in the modest space, she proclaimed her obvious reason for its abandonment: “Ooh! This place majorly needs new carpet!”...

The Screwtape Letters , C.S. Lewis (Lord and King Assoc., Inc., 1976) This passage came to my mind after I wrote my last article, so I dug it up as I found it to be fitting. If you are not familiar with this book, Screwtape is a type of devil, or demon, who is mentoring a younger demon, Wormwood...

Servanthood as Worship , Nate Palmer (Cruciform Press, 2010) My favorite part of this short read was the appendix, A Brief History of Service in the Church . I kind of wish it was the first chapter. Anyway, I really liked what Palmer had to say about self-control: Self-control is often seen in our...

Bringing the Gospel Home , Randy Newman (Crossway, 2011) This is an interesting topic for a book— Witnessing to Family Members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well . Who couldn’t use help with that? I’ve found it to be a helpful read, and wanted to share a longer portion than usual because...

Sexual Detox , Tim Challies (Cruciform Press, 2010) Cruciform Press is a new, small publisher that does things a little differently. In light of the technological changes that are affecting the publishing industry, they have a mission to embody our new realities. They publish one book a month,...

Christians Get Depressed Too , David Murray (Reformation Heritage Books,2010) I have enjoyed listening to David Murray on his podcast with Tim Challies, The Connected Kingdom . While I don’t follow regularly, I find myself drawn to Murray’s wisdom and humility in speaking. I recently ordered this...

The Gospel Commission , Michael Horton (Baker Books, 2011) When Jesus pronounced what we call the Great Commission: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy...