Books

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The Meaning of Marriage – Timothy and Kathy Keller

Above is an interview of Timothy and Kathy Keller on their book The Meaning of Marriage. I recently finished reading this book and though I have not read many books on marriage, this is my favorite and I would highly recommend it to married couples and singles alike. If are not persuaded by my endorsement, read Tim Challies’ review. Purchase  The Meaning of Marriage here.

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Book Review: Regeneration – J.C. Ryle

What does it mean to be “born again”? Does it matter if I am regenerate or not? How does one become born again? There is confusion on this topic still today. In his clear, straightforward bible exposition, J.C. Ryle answers these questions from Scripture in his book, Regeneration. In addition to answering these vital questions, he draws from the book of First John to give six marks of those who are born of the Spirit. Here are the marks:

1. A regenerate person does not commit sin as a habit.

2. A regenerate person believes that Jesus Christ is the only Savior by whom their soul can be pardoned and redeemed.

3. A regenerate person is a holy person.

4. A regenerate person has a special love for all true disciples of Christ.

5. A regenerate person does not make the world’s opinion their rule of right and wrong.

6. A regenerate person is very careful of their own soul.

He asks the reader to evaluate himself/herself in light of these characteristics. He encourages regenerate to grow in these all the more and warns the unregenerate to pray and ask the Spirit for the gift of a new heart and new nature. In the last chapter Bishop Ryle answers various objections in his day to his convictions on regeneration.

Overall, this was an edifying read. The first three chapters were concise, solid biblical teaching. In the last chapter on answering various objections, which was about half the book (over 50 pages!), he answers some interesting objections, but they mainly refer to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration and specifically how the Church of England adheres to it. (If you don’t know what baptismal regeneration is, it’s the doctrine that teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation.) I could see why some people might want to skip this chapter because it’s just some theological debate, but I thought it was helpful to see how Ryle interpreted and used Scripture to come to his sound, logical conclusions.

I would recommend this book to Christians and non-Christians alike. Regardless of your theological background, Ryle is very readable and I think this would be a good, short book to get a introduction to his writing.

If you are curious to get more excepts of this book, I don’t have too many quotes from this book on my blog, but you can find some here (and many other encouraging J.C. Ryle quotes).

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The Death of Hip Hop, Marriage, and Morals – Phanatik


Brady Goodwin, also known as The Phanatik of Cross Movement has recently written a new book called The Death of Hip Hop, Marriage, and Morals. For the past two years he has been out of the studio and has been in the classrooms of public schools of Philadelphia. He has been researching and taking the temperature of the culture and how believers can be wise, faithful evangelists of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This book is the fruit of his research. Buy the book at Urban Remix Project or Amazon.

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2008 Reading

Here are a list of books that I am currently reading or plan on reading by the end of the year 2008. Several of these books I’ve already started reading and am slowly reading through each. After each title I’ll give a brief blurb why I am reading it, how much I’ve read so far, etc. (Click on the image of the book for more details about it.)

I’ve been reading through this with a group of men from my church, but the group hasn’t met for a while. So far we’ve gotten through the fifth chapter. It was partly because of the fifth chapter on reading the Bible and Christian literature that I was compelled to write this post. I’m not a huge fan of his writing style, but there are many truths that have provoked me and I pray that God may use this to grow me into a more godly man.

The Atonement is a book that I decided to read for a few reasons. I have resolved to read at least one book on the cross per year and this is that book. I need to meditate frequently on what God has done for me in Christ, so that I don’t wallow in condemnation of my sin, let my feelings inform me, or slip into legalism and self-atonement. I don’t ever want to forget that Christ died for my sins. I don’t ever want to lose sight of Calvary. I picked up this book while eagerly anticipating Shai Linne’s sophomore album with the same title. I wanted to prepare myself to hear the precious truths of what Christ has done on my behalf that I could not achieve. I just read chapter two on “Sacrifice” this afternoon and it was gold.

I’ve been reading through this book with my care group. So far we have read through seven chapters. Recently was I really encouraged and challenged by my friend, Michele, who was significantly impacted by the message of this book. She realized that she was “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20) and therefore she ought to glorify God in her body.

I borrowed this book from a friend a long time ago, but I didn’t begin reading it until recently. I figured since I’m 24 now it might be a good idea to start thinking about marriage. Hopefully this book will somewhat prepare me to love one woman as Christ loved the Church (Ephesians 5:25).

Another dating, relationship-type book. I’m reading this not only in preparation for marriage/courtship, but also to learn to apply the roles of biblical masculinity and understand biblical femininity. C.J. Mahaney endorsed this book at last year’s New Attitude. I’ve read the first two chapters and it’s quite different from what I expected it to be. The author not only uses scripture, but many times draws truths from other secular resources.

I plan on reading this in the summer. My pastor and several friends highly recommended reading this book. I’ve been wanting to read a puritan book for a while because I’ve never read through a whole one yet.

I plan on reading classic with another group of men. (Hopefully, this won’t fall off like the other group.) I’ve read through about half this book, but never finished it. (I’ve written a post on it before.) I think this book will be more profitable when I read and discuss it through with other men who are older and wiser than me.

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The Reason for God by Tim Keller

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Founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Tim Keller, has recently released the new book, The Reason for God. After watching the videos below, I am definitely considering getting a copy.

Here is brief introduction to the book:

This second video is an address at the University of California at Berkley:

This next video is somewhat similar to the second, but is still worth watching:

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A Quest For More Video

I recently came across this video about Paul Tripp‘s new book, A Quest For More. This video has stirred up my curiosity to buying the book. I wasn’t even all that interested in the book until I watched this promotion video. This sounds really stupid, but I really like the background music for the video (especially towards the end). I wonder if that soundtrack comes with the book…

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Great Bookstores To Build Your Library

If you ask for C.J. Mahaney’s counsel on how to grow in godliness and affection for the Lord, one of the main things he will encourage you to do is discipline yourself to read and study. Primarily read you Bible, but also read Christian books that supplement your study of the Bible. Check out this video from New Attitude 2007. Below are some awesome bookstores that I shop at to build my library. These books that are biblically sound in order to deepen your love for the Savior. Plus it doesn’t hurt that they are at a great price!

Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore

Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore is obviously a resource for students and faculty for its seminary, but also exists to serve the broader church of Jesus Christ. They some their store in three words: “Informed. Reformed. Academic. ” Paul David Tripp (author of Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hand, Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, and father of my ex-roommate) and David Powlison (author of Seeing with New Eyes) are on the part-time faculty at Westminster Theological Seminary.

Monergism Books

Monergism Books is a Christian Internet bookseller located in Portland, Oregon. It exists to serve the worldwide church by providing the finest classic and contemporary books within the rich tradition of historic Christian orthodoxy. It claims to have the best deals on ESV Bibles. Also, be sure to check out Monergism.com, the web’s largest collection of free evangelical Christian resources (articles, essays, sermons, and lectures).

Shop away and build your library!