Enjoy!

Book Review: Spectacular Sins

     John Piper put out a book near Christmas of 2008.  The title of the book was "Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ".  This is a book that takes a look of how sin is used/allowed by God for His ultimate purpose, even though it may be terrible at the time it happens.  It is a book that challenges us to view things, with God, in light of eternity.  

Readability: A

     As with any Piper book if you are a excited about growing in your knowledge of God He will please you.  It is always good to keep a Bible or a Bible dictionary near by if you are a new believer though.  I enjoy his writing style.  He typically poses questions and then uses scripture and insight to answer them, it makes it flow well.  

Scriptural Depth and Explanation: A

     This is a book that takes examples of sin in scripture and shows them for what they truly are in light of eternity.  The scriptural depth is not as deep as some of Piper's books, but still very good and the explanations as always are enlightening.  

Practicality: B

     This is not a book written to be practical.  It is a book that shows how God is ruler and controller over all, even things that seem terrible.  The application of this book would be worship.  I read this book and thought "Wow, God is so good I can do nothing else to apply this but to worship His awesomeness."  That is the application, not 12 steps, not a journey to being better, but truths that brought me to a place of worship.  

Content: A

     Piper looks at several sins in Scripture and then shows how they served the ultimate purpose of glorifying God.  These Spectacular Sins were:

• The Fall of Satan
• Adam's Disobedience
• The Tower of Babel
• The Selling of Joseph into Slavery
• The Sin of the Murder of Christ

The book also touches on the fact that all things, even evil and sinful things, were created by Jesus and through Jesus.  It is a great book!

Recommendation:

     If you have questions in regard to sin and suffering, and how they could exist to glorify God this is the book for you.  It is a quick 106 pages full of beautiful truth that points to the glory that God gets through all things forever.  

Book Review: Sex 180

     This is a review about a book that is written to encourage teens and young adults to live 180 degrees different from the world in regards to sexuality.  I went through this with one of the students in the youth ministry and we both really enjoyed it and learnt from it. 

Readability: A+

     This is a very easy read.  Chapters are short and packed with easy to follow personal stories, Biblical truth, and application.  

Scriptural Depth and Explanation: B-

     This was not meant to be a deep theological book, but rather a book that makes young people think differently about honoring God with their sexuality.  Their is scripture through out, but the basis is more on living opposite (1 John 2:15) from the world, rather than taking a passage of Scripture and learning from that truth.  The authors have went the opposite way of taking an idea and backing it up with Scripture.  There are deeper books out there on the same topic.  

Practicality: A-

     The book is practical because almost every chapter calls the reader to make a change in their life and ends with questions to get the reader to prepare to apply truth to their life.  

Content: A-

     This book is worth getting for a couple reasons, but their were two big reasons as I read. The first is the pyramid they give on what a relationship should be built on: Spiritual, Psychological, Social, Emotional, Physical.  The second was the chapter on Love vs. Infatuation.  Many young people today think they are in love and are truly infatuated.  This chapter gives a good definition of both and gives twelve ways to determine if what they are feeling is love or infatuation. 

Recommendation:

    If you have questions about how to date or seek a relationship with God as your center, this is a good book to get you started in the right direction.  There is a lot of application and is written for and to young people.  Teens desiring Christ-centered relationships, or teens who have messed up and want a better way - this book is for you!

Book Review: The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism

     I'm a Calvinist.  To some this is offensive, to me this is just a view of salvation that shows the beauty of God's mercy and grace.  I am first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ.  I agree with John Calvin, perhaps the best expositor of scripture of all time, on his view of how a person becomes saved.  In this book, "The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism"  the author (Craig R. Brown) looks at the main questions people ask in regards to calvinism.  Steve Lawson, in regard to Calvinism, says "This is not hard to understand, this is hard to swallow".  It took me a while to accept these teachings, I had to spend many hours digging, and questioning.  I had to truly seek God as to what HE says in Scripture, rather than what my feelings and desires would want to be true.  

Readability: A+

     This book is very easy to read and is a very quick read.  I think I read it in about two days (for me that is very quick!).  There is about 125 pages to the book and they are full of scripture and explanation of those passages.

Scriptural Depth and Explanation: A-

     An "A-" because the scriptural depth is incredible, but the explanation is lacking in some areas.  The book is mainly scripture, which is strong when a person is making a case for a doctrine, but at times there is a lack of explanation for every scripture used.  

Practicality: A

     This book is practical because most people who have wrestled over the view of Calvinism have asked all these questions that the book is based around.  To make it more practical the author could have given ways to share the information with others.

Content: A+

     All the questions I will list are answered in this book:

• What is the historical basis for Calvinism?
• What are the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism, and what does the Bible teach?
• If God is in complete control of everything, to the point of predetermining all human actions, how can man be held accountable for what he does?
• If we are saved by grace and not by works, why should we do anything good?
• What purpose do good works serve?
• Are there rewards in heaven for what we do here on earth?
• If God has predetermined everything that comes to pass, why should we spend valuable time in prayer or evangelism?
• If God is both sovereign and good, how can evil things happen in the world?
• If people are born totally depraved, as Calvinism says, where do babies go when they die?

He asks these questions, then gives a short summary, and then backs up all his points with scripture.  It is very clear and easy to understand.  

Recommendation:

If you are a Calvinist then read this to help clarify when you get questioned.  If you are not a Calvinist read this to see some truths in regards.  If a person wants to get an even bigger picture in a much deeper, harder to understand book then you should check out "Chosen for Life" by Sam Storms.  

     

Book Review: The Pleasures of God

     John Piper is one of my favorite authors.  I have now read a couple of his books and am growing in the grace of God more and more because of the way God is using Him.  I'm thankful for his pursuit of pleasure in God in all things that has driven his ministry.  

     The "Pleasures of God" along with "Desiring God" and perhaps his new book "Finally Alive" will be hard to beat as far as challenging a person to view God in the highest.  These three will all be books that I will read and reread.  This will be the criteria for book review: Readability, Scriptural depth and explanation, Practicality, Content, and Recommendation.

Readability: A

     This is a book that is easily read, but will take some sorting through at times.  A new Christian will be able to follow along and gain valuable insight for foundations of their faith.  The occasional word may have to be looked up, but for the most part it is a straight forward read.  A mature Christian will be refreshed by the truths inside.  

Scriptural Depth and Explanation: A+

     One of the reasons I enjoy Piper's writings and sermons is that they are not focused on the culture or our surroundings.  They are focused on the most important thing, God.  Piper bases all his stances and major points around scripture for every chapter.  

Practicality: B

     I read books that are mostly filled with depth of scripture.  I learn from these depths and know to put them into practice.  I don't typically read books that have ten steps on how to do something.  God has given me a mind for a reason, so I will use it.  I give this book a "B" because it does not have those step by step ways to enjoy the Pleasures of God, but what it does do is give discussion questions to every chapter in the back.  This would be a great way to use this book in a small group setting!  The other thing I like about this book as well as every Piper book is that He has a Scripture index.  In essence every book he writes is a commentary on many scriptures and his insight is very helpful in clarifying and understanding God's Word.

Content: A+

     The essence of this book is "The Pleasure of God in Himself".  I will not summarize the entire book, but give you a few key points.  Piper lists out the Pleasure of God in: His Son, in all He does, in His creation, in His fame, in Election, in Bruising the Son, in doing good to all who hope in Him, in the prayers of the upright, in personal obedience and public justice, and in concealing Himself from the wise and revealing Himself to infants.  There is also an appendix that is incredible "Are there two wills in God? Divine Election and God's desire for all to be saved".  This is a must read!!!

     The chapters that meant the most to me were "The Pleasure of God in His Creation" and "The Pleasure of God in Election".  Piper points out that even the smallest thing that was created and is not yet discovered God made so that He could take pleasure in it, and it has to be this way, because we haven't found it yet.  The opposite is true, the largest stars, billions of light years away have always been there, and for who and what?  They have been there for God and for His pleasure in them.  The Pleasure of God in Election is the starting point for the Appendix on the two wills of God.  This chapter is a must read for anyone wondering the process of regeneration or salvation.  In today's church man has been given a higher role than scripture depicts in regards to salvation.  Piper shows the Biblical aspect of God's election of men to Himself, and it is absolutely beautiful.  

Recommendation:

      If you want to grow deeper this is a book you need to pick up.  There are few books I will re-read in my life, but this is one of them.  Buy this book!

New Addition

I have just added something to the top right of my page.  It's the scripture I'm memorizing, along with our church, weekly.  At our church we have decided to memorize scripture weekly together and during the service someone will recite it for the congregation.  It's a great practice to write the word on our hearts and something I would encourage anyone to do.