Tag: book review

The Early Bird Gets The Link

On By joshnnomiIn Around the WebLeave a comment

Check out my review of Un-Ashamed by Lecrae

My Breakthrough in Scripture Memory

When we learn the Scriptures by heart, we’re not just memorizing ancient, enduringly relevant texts, but we’re listening to and learning the voice of our Creator and Redeemer himself. When we memorize lines from the Bible, we are shaping our minds in the moment to mimic the structure and mindset of the mind of God.

Basic Principles for Bible Reading
Good video which provides some basic rules for interpreting scripture.

13 End Times Errors to Avoid

Unfortunately, believers often cycle through a stock list of end-times errors. These mistakes discredit gospel proclamation and rob Christians of the blessings and wisdom God gives from meditating on this area of truth. Here are 13 end-times errors to avoid.

Four Steps to Kill Nagging Sins

The gospel gives us hope that all sin, even nagging sins, can be both forgiven and subdued. But because sin has such persistence and power, we must be vigilant in our struggle against it. As John Owen puts it, “If sin be subtle, watchful, strong, and always at work in the business of killing our souls, and we be slothful, negligent, foolish . . . can we expect a comfortable event?”

A Gentle Political Recalibration

I wonder if we have forgotten this. It has become a custom of our day to take to social media to vent our concerns and attack politicians. How much quieter would Facebook and Twitter be if Christians were truly praying for and personally pursuing peaceable and quiet lives?

#NeverTrump has only just started

I have made no secret of the fact that I am a #NeverTrump guy. If you want to know my reasoning behind this, you can read it here. What I want to offer here is a handful of reflections on this moment.

Book Review: Un-Ashamed by Lecrae

On By joshnnomiIn book reviews1 Comment

img_0280

Every significant life event, every birthday was a reminder that I didn’t fit in… It’s as if God had enrolled me in boot camp and I wasn’t even aware of it.

From the ashes of tragedies the Gospel arises. From the pit of death there is resurrection and from a culture which breeds hopelessness we see the Gospel miracle of hope. Un-Ashamed is Lecrae’s redemption story in which he opens up the door to his heart and soul and stands unashamed. Lecrae doesn’t stand unashamed because of past tragedies or past failures because there are plenty of those. He stands unashamed in the tragedies and failures of life because he was chosen by Christ who was unashamed to save him.

When many of us here the name Lecrae, we most likely think of Rebel, I’m A Saint or Praying for You. We think of his music. Lecrae popped on the scene of the Christian hip hop industry and produced music many have never heard before, lyrical theology, his music spread like a wildfire. But many of us don’t know his story, in  Continue reading “Book Review: Un-Ashamed by Lecrae” →

Book Review: New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional

On By joshnnomiIn book reviews, UncategorizedLeave a comment

NM

New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional Paul Tripp. Crossway. Pgs. 384. Kindle Hardcover

Do you need daily nuggets of grace and truth you can meditate on? Do you need bite size portions at the buffet table of God’s word? Let’s face it, we all need to digest the truth of God’s word daily to grow in grace. As the old saying goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Do you have a plan to soak in truth in 2016? There is a myriad of resources available to us and I want to bring to your attention to an excellent tool of grace and truth at your disposal, Paul Tripp’s book New Mercies Every Morning.

New Mercies Every Morning is a daily devotional, nuggets of truth, grace, hope, mercy, love and I could go on and on. There are 365 days of devotionals mapped out for us, so easy we just pick up the book or your kindle and let your mind and heart soak in the daily truth available to you. These daily devotionals are short, sweet but pack a punch of God’s truth with a portion of Scripture to meditate on and dig deeper.

Paul Tripp is excellent in packing truth in a short and understandable way without compromising the truth of God’s word. Here are some of my favorite quotes from New Mercies Every Morning,

Let’s start the new year admitting that there is nothing less natural for us than to live for the glory of another.

Your rest is not to be found in figuring your life out, but in trusting the One who has it all figured out for your good and His glory.

If eternity is the plan, then it makes no sense to shrink your living down to the needs and wants of this little moment.

The Bible is a big picture book that calls us to big picture living.

If God has already granted you a place in eternity, then he has also granted you all the grace you need along the way, or you’d never get there.

Only grace can deliver the deluded from the danger that they are to themselves.

God’s grace will expose what you want to hide, not to shame you, but to forgive you.

Grace shatters our darkness. Grace explodes on us with penetrating, heart exposing light. Grace illumines our dank hallways and our dark corners. The Son of grace shines the light of his grace into the darkest recesses of our hearts, not as an act of vengeance or punishment, but as a move of forgiving, transforming, and delivering grace.

This is just a drip of the ocean of grace and truth in New Mercies Every Morning.

Until Next Time

Soli Deo Gloria

Pastor’s Library: Forward: 7 Distinguishing Marks of Future Leaders

On By joshnnomiIn book reviewsLeave a comment

“Growing in leadership is crucial to pastoral ministry, especially in our rapidly changing society. Forward will help you go back to the foundation of leadership, anchoring your life and ministry on the truth of God’s word. It gently reminds you that forward leaders must minister from the outflow of God’s presence in their lives.”

Read the rest of Forward review by clicking here

Book Review: Romans 8-16 For You by Timothy Keller

On By joshnnomiIn book reviewsLeave a comment

image

Romans 8-16 For You, Timothy Keller. The Good Book Company. Hardcover Kindle

The series, God’s Word For You has done a great job in breaking down books of the Bible in a fast paced, easy to understand format. Although the series is not an exhaustive commentary, they do an excellent job in explaining the text and assisting the reader to understand, contemplate and show how the Scripture still applies to us in the twenty first century. In Romans 8-16 For You, Timothy Keller continues in the same mold and manner of previous books in the God’s Word For You series.

In the Introduction of the book Keller writes,

We need to learn how to meditate and think about the Gospel until it becomes real in our hearts and the foundation of everything we do.

Romans 8-16 For You does just exactly what Timothy Keller sets out to do in this book. From beginning to end Timothy Keller is helping the reader meditate, think and learn how the Gospel has transformed us internally (in our salvation) and how it should transform us externally (how we should live now). Keller does an excellent job in explaining the the doctrines of Grace which Paul writes about and shows how Romans 8-16 is chain linked together.

Romans 8-16 For You, like the other God’s Word For You books in the series, is usable on various levels. I enjoyed it as a personal study and reflection. This book would be excellent as a family study or small group study, with built in study questions. It would also help pastors and teachers, if they plan on doing a study or sermon series through Romans.

Book Review: Worshipping With Calvin by Terry L. Johnson

On By joshnnomiIn book reviewsLeave a comment

image

Worshipping With Calvin by Terry L. Johnson EP Books 2014. Pages 460. Kindle Paperback

Calvinism (not too fond of that term) is on the rise. There is a revival of the Reformed tradition amongst us today. Colin Hansen coined the phrase “young, restless and reformed” describing the new calvinism. I am pretty sure I would be lumped in there with the “young, restless and reformed” group. As part of this group, Johnson is reaching out and issuing a call to me, new calvinism, old calvinism and everyone else to understand and worship with Calvin and the Reformed tradition.

In the first part of Worshipping with Calvin Johnson sets the scene for us. There is a worship problem in the church. Worship in many churches has become more about “my emotional experience” and the “seeker” than the worship of God. He goes on to make a case and a call for us to return to Reformed worship tradition. He covers the Reformed worship tradition in five sections. Reformed worship is God-centered, Bible filled, gospel-driven, church aware and Spirit – dependent. The rest of the book takes a deeper look into these areas.

There is much that I enjoyed and agreed with Johnson in Worshipping with Calvin. I really enjoyed the rich history that was provided by Johnson concerning each element of reformed worship. As someone new to the Reformed tradition and theology I appreciated the thorough work and study Johnson provides the reader. I have a better understanding and appreciation for worship from the Reformed tradition.

I also identified with Johnson in many areas. Our journeys are similar in the sense that I grew up and attended churches that did not follow a prescribed order of service. Churches that were not liturgical at all. I experienced the churches that Johnson describes in the book which are emotion/seeker driven. Church services which focused more on the participant than God. Johnson makes the case for a revival of theological and biblical content in our services. From our songs to our prayers, from our sermons to the sacraments.

I appreciate the depth and the journey that Johnson laid out in each chapter. He was thorough and informative. He left no stone unturned when it came to describing the worship of the reformers and the changes they called for when they broke off from the Roman Catholic church. Johnson makes the case for the reformers desire and commitment to do church “according to the Scriptures”.

With that being said, I didn’t agree with everything in the book. I know Johnson was against “contemporary worship” that was based on emotion and the seeker and I agree with him. But I have been involved in and experienced, what Johnson would call “contemporary worship services” with a praise band or hip hop worship which were rich in theological and biblical content. The Sermon was expositional and rich. The prayers were rich in Scripture and confession. The whole service was focused on God and yet it seemed like Johnson would say this was the wrong way because the church used a praise band or hip hop as the medium for worship.

Another area of contention was baptism. I know the Reformed tradition is predominantly Paedo Baptist and I am a Credo Baptist. To me, this is a minor issue. I don’t make a big deal out of it. With that being said, I enjoyed reading the history on the section of baptism.

Overall I enjoyed reading Worshipping with Calvin. I wholeheartedly recommend it to all, especially if you want to learn more about worship from the Reformed tradition. I also recommend this book be used in an academic setting. Until next time.

Soli Deo Gloria  

I received this book free from the publisher through the Cross Focused Reviews book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review; Whats Your Worldview? By James N. Anderson

On By joshnnomiIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Image

James N. Anderson. What’s Your Worldview? Crossway Books, 2014 Kindle Paperback

What’s your worldview? Now you may think, not sure I have one  and James N. Anderson would say “worldviews are like belly buttons. Every one has one, but we don’t talk about them often.” With that Mr. Anderson, not to be confused with the Mr. Anderson of The Matrix, leads us on a journey of discovery or reflection on what exactly is your worldview. He stated that a “worldview is an all-encompassing perspective on everything that exists and matters to us.” What’s Your Worldview is unique in the sense that it is like a choose your own adventure or path book. The author will ask several questions and based on your answers will lead you to which worldview you lean to. Then if you don’t like where you end up, you can have a do over and see where you would end up if you answered the other way. Great way to learn worldviews that surround us.

To be honest I was quite skeptical how this would work. But when I received the book I sat with my family and went through half of it in one night. We had a good time discovering the different worldviews that surround us. We even corrected some faulty understandings that some of my kids had. It was a great tool to learn the basics of many of the worldviews that are out there. Not sure if the author intended this, but it also helps to discern better the worldviews in the media around us. Knowledge is power and this book gives you knowledge. This book is not an exhaustive book on worldviews but gives an overview of just about every worldview that you will encounter and leads you in the right direction as to which worldview you should have.

I love books and am an avid reader of books. Sometimes a great book comes along that is new and different. Throws off the monotony of reading from introduction to the end. This book did that for me. A great primer for a worldview class for homeschoolers or small groups.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Crossway Books book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255