"Jesus The Messiah"

At the first of the year, we will begin a new series at Goshen on the last week of Jesus' life from the Triumphant Entry to the Triumphant grave. And so I have been reading on the life and passion of Christ. While I was in college, I took a class on the life of Christ and one of those books was written by Dr. Robert Stein, "Jesus the Messiah: A survey of the Life of Christ," and I really enjoyed it. And so, the first book I turned to (which would be my third reading!) was Stein's monumental work.



Of all of the books I have read about Christ, this is perhaps the best. By that, I do not mean that it is the most thorough or the most exhaustive. As the subtitle implies, this is only a survey of His life, not an intimate look into His ministry.

Stein balances deep scholarship and careful glances at the major moments in the life of Christ. This is not the easiest book to read. Throughout it, Stein zooms in on issues relating to Source and Textual Criticism, apparent contradictions in the Gospel accounts, and other deep and difficult topics. But he does so with clarity and simplicity. Most persons, with some experience and prior interaction with the Gospels, can understand these difficult issues through the words of Stein. The author does not shy away from difficult issues, but rather engages them and shows us why the Gospels are reliable, relevant, and inspired.

But at the same time, Stein walks his readers through these monumental events in Christ's life and ministry. This walk takes the reader to new heights beyond where they had gone before in understanding Jesus Christ. Stein reminds us of both His divinity and humanity through this survey.

I strongly recommend this book. For those who are new to the faith and Jesus Christ, perhaps you may want to go elsewhere first (I would recommend Charles Swindoll's book on Jesus titled, "Jesus: The Greatest Life of All"). But for those who want more than what you have gotten in Sunday School and Sunday morning worship, I can think of a no better place to go than Stein's, "Jesus The Messiah."

"God In The Manger"

My favorite author/pastor today is Dr. John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in California and host of Grace to You radio show. The first major Christian book I read by MacArthur was "The Murder of Jesus," and I continue to return to it. I had the chance of meeting MacArthur and had him sign my copy of this book.

Being that it is Christmas and since I am in the middle of a short series of sermons on Christmas, I turn to MacArthur for help. He has written an excellent book on the subject called, "God In the Manger: The Miraculous Birth of Christ."

If anyone wants to take a closer look at the birth of Christ, one needs to look no further than MacArthur. MacArthur brings the experience of a pastor and the mind of a scholar. He has done his research. He has done his pastoral duty. The birth of Christ is about more than just Magi and Mary, but about Christ. The Christ, the Song of God, who came to us so that we can get to Him.

Perhaps this is the best part of the book. Christmas is about the cross. Let us not forget that. If we neglect the cross, then Christmas is nothing more than a cute story to tell kids about a baby born many years ago that remains influential today. The climax of Christmas is at the cross and the empty tomb.

Being that this is the case, MacArthur shows us this plan of salvation in the Christmas narrative. One interesting place he finds it is in the virgin birth itself. Many want to doubt it's truth and others want to write it off as insignificant. But MacArthur disagrees. If Christ was not born a virgin, then He is not the perfect substitute we need. In fact, He is no substitute. His whole life would have been a waste. Therefore, he calls on his readers to embrace the doctrine of the virgin birth primarily because of what it says about Christ. If we get this wrong, we will get the gospel wrong. That is a strong statement.

I recommend anyone wanting to get a closer look at the Christmas story read "God in the Manger." It is an easy read with a lot of depth. While your at it, pick any of his books and thank me later!

"Breach of Faith"

I have a certain fascination with the Presidents of the United States. I have read a number of biographies on some of them and just in general love to learn more about them: their policies, their politics, their agenda's, their worldview, their faith, etc.

Perhaps the most controversial presidency in American history is of Richard Nixon. If there ever was a person groomed for the Whitehouse it was President Nixon. Nixon served in both houses of Congress. He was selected to be President Dwight Eisenhower's Vice-President (though he did very little other than foreign policy). Afterward, Nixon ran for President and lost to John F. Kennedy. Afterwards, he ran for governor of California. He again lost and vowed to never return to politics primarily because of the unfair treatment he felt came from the mainstream media.

But history would have a different course for Nixon. Just years later, after the Presidency of Lydon B. Johnson, Nixon ran and won. Four years later, Nixon won in a 49 state landslide (only lost Massachusetts and Washington DC). Just years later, however, Nixon would resign under threat of being impeached.

I recently did a sermon on King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from Daniel 4. The story is intriguing and as I was thinking about it and studying it, President Nixon came to mind. Nixon was paranoid and did unfathomable things. He wiretapped the Whitehouse in hopes of locating the source of some of the leaks finding it's way into the press. Nixon trusted nobody. Many in the Whitehouse had their phones tapped, their conversations recorded, and they even flirted with video conferencing in order to evaluate the facial expressions of others. Nixon was a secretive paranoid person. And it led to his downfall.

As I begin to think about Nixon, I wanted to find a good biography that went into detail into the downfall of Nixon. I wanted someone who had an inside look at the subject and I came across Theodore H. White's book, "Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon."

I found the book to be fascinating. It was not boring history, but detailed story into the daily life of a Whitehouse crumbling. White writes as one who was there, who knew the people involved, who was aware of what was going on, who knew Nixon, and who watched history be made up close. If anyone is interested in this subject regarding one of our modern presidents, I recommend White's work. This is neither dry nor boring and will keep the reader engaged.

One of the things I found most intersting was Charles Colson. Colson was put in jail for his part in the Watergate scandel, and rightfully so. But as a fan of Colson, I enjoyed being reminded of who he was compared to who he is now. White is not interested in the spiritual transformation in the life of Colson primarily because this book is not about Colson. However, this is something that I cannot ignore. Colson was greedy who enjoyed politics and power. And it took hitting rock bottom for him to turn to Christ. Truth is, most of us can relate.

My Best of 2008

Many bloggers are posting their favorite books they have read in 2008. I would say that of all years, I have read the most books this year (and not just because of my Thesis research). Here is the 10 best books I have read so far this year.

1. What's So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza
2. The Faith by Charles Colson
3. Letters To A Young Conservative by Dinesh D'Souza
4. The Courage To Be Protestant: Truth Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World by David Wells
5. He Is Not Silen: Preaching In a Postmodern World by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
6. Death By Love by Mark Driscoll
7. Billy Graham: His Life and Influences by David Aikman
8. The Reason For God by Timothy Keller
9. Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex & Bret Harris
10. Why We're Not Emergent: By 2 Guys Who Should Be by Kevin Deyoung & Ted Kluck

Well, here is my list. What would some of yours be?

For my list of the 5 best books I have read of all time, click here.

"What is a Healthy Church Member?"

What does a Biblical church member look like? That's the question that Thabiti Anaybwi wants to answer in his book, "What is a Healthy Church Member?" Anaybwi continues the conversation began with Mark Dever's books, "9 Marks of a Healthy Church," and "What is a Healthy Church?" The author, instead of speaking of the church in general, focuses on the member.

This is a breath of fresh air. As a pastor, minister, and seminary student, I hear a lot about what the church is supposed to be like, but I hear very little specifics about the role of the members. Anaybwi seeks to solve that riddle.

First, the member must be rooted in the gospel. And in order to be rooted in the gospel, the member must know what the gospel is. Herein lies the responsibility of the church to preach, teach, and live out the gospel. The gospel is more than just, "love Jesus" but involves complete repentance and commitment to be His slave.

Secondly, the member must be Biblically driven. This involves the hard task of theology. Though it might be different, it is necessary. Therefore, the pastor and staff must make theology both imperative and understandable. A proper theology leads to a proper understanding of the gospel, which leads to evangelism, and church.

Thirdly, which is the authors first point, the member must be an "Expositional listener." Here, the author calls on the member to be driven by expositional preaching as the ultimate source of Biblical truth, theology, and application.

Overall, I really enjoyed Anaaybwi's book. For the average church member, I highly recommend it. Take it seriously and apply it to your Christian walk.

"Humility"

Currently, we are walking through the basics of Christianity at church. We began with submission, moved to servanthood, and are now discussing humility (selflessness to keep the aliteration going). And I can think of a no more simpler and yet profound book on the subject than CJ Mahaney's book simply titled, "Humility: True Greatness."

Mahaney has written a short book that anyone can read and understand. It reminds me of the apostle John's writings: very simple to read and understand yet rich in content, theology, and depth. Mahaney walks the reader on the importance of humility and how we can live humble lives.

I want to briefly discuss what was perhaps the most compelling part of the book. In one chapter, Mahaney discusses the importance of seeing evidence of God's grace in everyone. His example for this is the Apostle Paul and his letter to the Corinthians. Though Paul had to deal with a lot of difficult issues in this letter (and in his 2nd letter, not to mention the letters that we do not have that he wrote), he nonetheless begins the letter thanking God for them.

Why? They certainly didn't deserve it. Paul knew that God had saved them and He was sanctifying them. Therefore, Paul was grateful for their, though infantile, knowing that God was still working in them. As a minister, I am constantly confronting with people whom I want to ignore and write off. Not so with Paul. Though the Christians in Corinth were struggling, Paul leaned on God nonetheless.

Paul saw in himself the same selfishness that characterized the Corinthians and thus points them to the cross. There is nothing more humbling than the cross. It is a constant reminder that God is good even though I am so bad. The cross means that I can not save myself, I must fully rely on someone else to get me out of the mess that I have made. That is humility.

More could be said about this fascinating and much needed little book, but this should suffice. I believe, and so does Scripture, that pride is the root of every sin. As CS Lewis wrote, pride is what made the devil the devil. Lewis also considers pride to be the great sin, and he is exactly right. As Christians, we must slay this dragon and live lives that reflect God's glory and we can do that by being humble Christians always reminded of the cross.