Christmas Thoughts
Today’s post is sponsored by the Banner of Truth and reflects on a new collection of writings from J.C. Ryle, edited by Andrew Atherstone.
‘What does Christmas mean to you?’ This is a question you hear often during the months of November and December. For some it’s, ‘The best of times’, for others ‘the worst of times’ (to borrow from Charles Dickens). But consider this; many may hear and think of the name of Jesus than at any other time of the year. Christmas can still provide a timely opportunity for the church to share timeless truths to the world at large – as J.C. Ryle did to the people in his villages.
In his introduction to a new collection of writings, Christmas Thoughts, from J.C. Ryle, Andrew Atherstone writes:
‘John Ryle was a warm-hearted pastor and preacher in rural Suffolk, vicar of the little villages of Helmingham and Stradbroke. Often at Christmas and New Year, he wrote an exhortation to his parishioners in the form of a short tract, distributed from house to house. These tracts were hugely popular, eagerly read in towns and villages across England, each running into multiple editions in tens of thousands of copies. Christmas, and New Year, are excellent moments to pause and reflect—as scattered families regather for the national holiday, and as the calendar turns over again, with another year gone forever. Ryle urges us—in the midst of our feasting and festivities and family reunions—to make time to consider our spiritual state and our relationship with God. How is it with our souls? What do we make of Jesus Christ? What will be our future, when all our Christmases are passed?
This little book contains five of Ryle’s most popular Christmas tracts, originally published during the 1850s and 1860s. They have not been issued in this Christmas form since they were first printed more than a century and a half ago. Ryle writes in classic Victorian style, but with a freshness and crispness and direct appeal to readers in every generation. The spiritual wisdom of these Christmas Thoughts is timeless. Ryle challenges us—while we enjoy the wonderful delights of mince pies and mistletoe and mulled wine and music and merriment—to make the most of every Christmas, to consider seriously the person of Jesus Christ and questions of eternal significance.’
Don’t miss this excellent evangelistic resource, especially during a season where the world already has an ear slightly turned to the truth. Order a copy for yourself and one for a friend this Christmas.
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Free Small Group Video Studies from Open the Bible
This week the blog is sponsored by Open the Bible. If you’re looking for small group video resources that are Bible-centered, accessible, and applicable, look no further!
Led by Pastor Colin Smith and select teachers, Open the Bible Courses provide small groups the perfect resource to equip the hearts and minds of growing believers.
Courses include:Watch Your Life with Pastor Colin Smith – Our lives can adorn the doctrine of the gospel or take away from it. For our lives to reflect God’s character and will for us, we must watch our lives closely (1 Timothy 4:16). Geared for leaders but accessible for every believer, Watch Your Life will equip you to grow in godliness, cultivate your walk with Christ, and battle key challenges that confront us.
For our lives to reflect God’s character and will for us, we must watch our lives closely (1 Timothy 4:16)Colin SmithShare
Watch Your Doctrine with Pastor Colin Smith – The aim of Watch Your Doctrine is to give you a good grasp of the core doctrines of the Christian faith. You will see what we believe about God, what we believe about ourselves, and what we believe about the salvation God has accomplished in Jesus Christ. Understanding these truths is vital for every believer and leader alike.
Sustaining a Lifetime of Ministry with Pastor Colin Smith – If Jesus offered to tell you “secrets of the kingdom of heaven” for your ministry, would you listen? In this module, Pastor Colin Smith draws from Jesus’ Kingdom Parables in Matthew 13 to share foundational truths about what ministry in Christ’s kingdom is like. This is essential teaching for any gospel worker who wants to persevere in ministry over the long haul.
A Flight Through the Bible Story with Pastor Colin Smith – This 3-session journey through the Bible that will introduce you to 5 people from the Old Testament, 5 events from the life of Jesus, and 5 gifts God gives to every Christian. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you know about the Bible, “The Flight” is a great place to begin.
Pray the Bible with Author Kevin Halloran – We all face obstacles in prayer. Some are theological; we forget why prayer matters or don’t feel heard by God. Other obstacles are practical; we don’t know what to say or we simply can’t focus for prayer. Kevin Halloran believes that if we pray the Bible, we can bypass many of our struggles and go straight to fruitful prayer and deeper communion with God. The course Pray the Bible will introduce you to the benefits of praying the Bible as well as tools for doing so.Why consider using an Open the Bible Course in your small group?
Courses are free. Group members don’t need to spend money on books or curriculum. Everything you need is online at no cost with no login required.
Courses are video-based. Your people will love our engaging videos and teaching approach.
Courses are designed for discussion. There’s no need for a lot of prep work when our discussion questions will help cultivate fruitful conversations.
You can go deeper with extra resources. Each session has a downloadable transcript, optional reading, and assignments. You could even turn these courses into a full-fledged lay leader training course at your church.
The content is transferable. The practical teaching and application make this a great resource to pass on to others.What people are saying:
I have enjoyed what otherwise would have been a very difficult theological study. I would say, “THEOLOGY MADE SIMPLE.” Thank you very much for taking me to another level in my spiritual growth. —Isaac J. On Watch Your Doctrine
I gained SO MUCH WISDOM in Watch Your Life. I will certainly be using the wisdom and notes to help equip others. Every church leader should take these courses! —Alma E.
Preview a session of Watch Your Life titled “Discerning God’s Will.” Download a transcript or discussion questions.
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How To Elevate Your Street Smarts
I have benefited a lot from Greg Koukl’s books Tactics and The Story of Reality. And while I have undoubtedly forgotten much of their content, there are a number of takeaways that have stuck with me. The foremost is that when we speak to people who are not Christians, we have not failed if they make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. While that may be our ultimate desire for them, a good and noble goal for any spiritual conversation is to simply put a proverbial pebble in their shoe—to give them something to think about, something that will challenge their worldview, something that may nag at their souls in the days or weeks to come. Where some people understand evangelism only through a “harvesting approach” in which anything less than conversion means failure, the “gardening approach” means we are content to do the planting or watering, trusting that God may give someone else the joy of harvesting.
That approach is again on display in his new book Street Smarts, which is not quite a sequel to Tactics, but is still related to it. If you haven’t read Tactics you will benefit from Street Smarts, but if you have read the former, you’ll find that the latter furthers the principles with concrete teaching related to today’s foremost challenges to believing the gospel.
“There are few things that cause more nagging guilt for Christians than sharing their faith,” he says. “They feel guilt because they don’t witness enough. They don’t witness enough because they are scared. And they’re scared for good reason. Sharing the gospel and defending it—apologetics—often feels like navigating a minefield these days. For most of us, engaging others on spiritual matters does not come easy, especially when people are hostile.” And this is the reason we tend to “stay off the streets.” Just as we avoid parts of a city where we feel unsafe, we avoid contexts and situations in which we feel especially vulnerable.
The purpose of Street Smarts is to provide training that will equip readers to address the most common contemporary challenges to their convictions. It is to give Christians a greater degree of confidence as they engage with people who do not share their Christian faith and who may be antagonistic toward it. The way Koukl does this is not to provide responses to every criticism or answers to every question. Rather, he teaches a technique that he has used for years and taught to many others. Those who have read Tactics or been to one of his seminars will recognize it as his “Colombo” technique. Where in Tactics he addresses common objections to Christianity, in Street Smarts he focuses on the larger issues that stand behind those objections—atheism, abortion, the supposed contradiction between science and faith, and so on.
His training consists of two parts. First, he explains the challenges and provides compelling answers to them. In this way, the reader comes to understand not only common concerns and appropriate responses but also the weaknesses inherent in the common positions. Second, he shows how to make use of the knowledge of those weaknesses to tactfully expose them in a precise way. This is meant to give Christians shrewd but gentle confidence in their engagements with skeptics. “Simply put, he says, I want to make a hard job easier for you—much easier. I am going to show you how to maneuver effectively and comfortably in conversations using questions to answer the challenges you face as a Christian. I will give you both the content you need and the plan necessary to employ it. By confronting the giants one by one, I will shrink them down to size for you. I will show you how to make the case that the Christian view of reality is true.”
How effectively does he do this? Quite, I would say! The book would fail if it was meant to teach a specific response to each challenge to the gospel. That would simply be too much content to remember when it was needed. The reader would have to remember a precise series of facts, know when to bring each one to bear, and be left silent when the conversation didn’t go his way—an issue we have probably all run into at one time or another in the past. But Koukl teaches a technique, a way to listen attentively and then ask questions meant to expose flaws. This simplifies the task of the evangelist or apologist and accounts for fluidity in conversation.
Those who read this book will be better equipped to have productive “pebble in the shoe” conversations with people who hold to atheism, who insist that the existence of evil disproves the existence of God (or, at least, of a God who is good and merciful), who believe science and faith contradict one another, who spurn Christianity because it denies the morality of abortion, and who are convinced that Christianity is evil because of its positions on marriage, sex, and gender. They will be equipped to understand what the Bible says about those issues and to have productive conversations about them—conversations that will use respectful questions to expose flaws and, hopefully, promote further thought, further questions, and, potentially, saving faith. For those reasons among others, it is a book well worth reading.
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New and Notable Christian Books for March 2024
As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new titles in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I have included the editorial description for each. I hope there’s something here that catches your eye!
Cloud of Witnesses: A Treasury of Prayers and Petitions through the Ages, edited by Jonathan W. Arnold & Zachariah M. Carter. “Throughout history, Christians have sought guidance to bolster their spiritual walk with Christ and life of prayer. Even Christ’s disciples would ask, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). But in our current individualistic culture, it’s almost too easy to neglect the wisdom of those who came before us. To restore a love of historic Christian tradition, theology, and practice, this comprehensive anthology combines prayers and petitions of the greatest figures throughout the formation of the church, continuing through the medieval, Reformation, and modern eras. Editors Jonathan W. Arnold and Zachariah M. Carter provide context for each prayer through expert introductions, commentary, and biographical explorations. Ultimately readers will be encouraged in their faith as they learn the importance of prayer and witness the hearts and struggles of the saints.” (Buy it at Amazon)
Rebel to Your Will: A Story of Abuse, Father Hunger and Gospel Hope by Sean Demars. “Emotional and raw, Sean DeMars tells his story of a life turned around. It is a tale of two families: one scarred by brokenness, another renewed by grace. In his storytelling, the tragedy and horror of his early years are punctuated with the beauty of restoration evident in the life he now leads. Abandoned by a father and abused by a mother, his search for a father finds a home with the King of heaven who graces him with love and sonship. Follow his journey through abuse, drugs and prison, across the battlefield and mission field and into marriage, family and ministry in this personal, engaging and honest testament to God’s grace. As his life and his church are turned around, their stories become a platform to display how God chooses the nothings of the world. His story is the story of every sinner saved by grace: once a victim and rebel, now redeemed and reconciled.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
Make the Most of Your Productivity: A Guide to Honoring God with Your Time by Ana Ávila. “Many people today idolize achievement, driven by validation, status, or financial gain. Others lack self-discipline and motivation altogether. How can Christians pursue healthy, biblical goal-setting that avoids extremes? In this user-friendly guide, Ana Ávila teaches 6 principles to help you honor God with all you have and reflect his character through your creativity. Along with a gospel-centered perspective on life, you’ll learn skills to increase efficiency, such as forming healthy habits, using productivity tools, creating tasks and projects, and more. Whether you are achievement-oriented or struggle with discipline, Ávila will show you how to reorient your time, boundaries, decisions, focus, habits, and tools around God’s main design for productivity: serving him and helping others.” (Buy it at Amazon)
Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life’s Most Important Questions by Tony Reinke. “Navigating the Christian life in a secular world will inevitably stir questions in the lives of thoughtful believers. Motivated by the need for sound biblical advice, Ask Pastor John was created, a podcast featuring pastor-theologian and bestselling author John Piper’s answers to audience-proposed questions about life’s toughest topics. Podcast episodes have been played over 230 million times and have become a staple in the lives of Christians around the world. In this unique book, Ask Pastor John host Tony Reinke summarizes and organizes ten years of their most insightful and popular episodes into accessible, thematic sections. Readers will be able to quickly and systematically access Piper’s insights on hundreds of topics including Bible reading, dating, social media, mental health, and more. We discover afresh how asking good questions strengthens faith and grows our understanding of God’s word.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
A Call to Contentment: Pursuing Godly Satisfaction in a Restless World by David Kaywood. “While the Bible not only encourages contentment, but commands it, it can feel like a vague, fleeting, unachievable goal. David Kaywood’s helpful book begins by moulding our understanding of what it means to be content. Do you find yourself worrying, coveting, grumbling, giving way to unrighteous anger, or dwelling unhealthily on the past or the future? You might be discontent – and it might be leading you into all sorts of other sins. He tackles three common areas of discontentment – money and possessions; pain and suffering; success and work – and digs into the reality of our desires. Ultimately, Kaywood invites readers to focus on Jesus: the God who became poor for us and suffered for us, and who calls us to work for him. The final chapter includes eight rules for contentment. These are practical steps you can take to increase the godly satisfaction in your life. The book also includes discussion questions to guide conversations on these issues with friends. If you are looking to live a life of contentment, start by reading this book.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
Hebrews: A Mentor Commentary by Robert J Cara. “New Testament professor Robert J. Cara’s addition to the Mentor Commentary series highlights the timely message of Hebrews to persevere in Christ. Bringing a particularly Reformed viewpoint, Robert J. Cara underscores the presentation of Jesus as the Son and high priest. In a letter written to encourage and exhort the believers, Cara uncovers how the superior person and superior work of Jesus is broadcast loud and clear to draw back hearts tempted to drift from this glorious reality. Cara’s love for studying God’s word shines through this comprehensive and clarifying commentary. He connects God’s word to God’s world and brings each section to a close by culminating with a personal reflection that encourages us to delight in and absorb the glorious truth on display. An essential guide to understanding, enjoying and applying Hebrews; rediscover the supremacy of Christ and respond with rekindled affection.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible: Theology Rooted in the Word of God. “Theology should, first and foremost, be rooted in God’s Word. In order to develop a solid understanding of God, humanity, sin, salvation, and eternity, the ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible explores the doctrines of the Christian faith and how they arise from the pages of Scripture. In this expanded edition, notes from the ESV Student Study Bible provide additional insight into the biblical text and make studying systematic theology easier than ever. Over 400 in-text mini-articles connect Christian beliefs to specific Bible passages, 25 articles explain important theological topics in greater depth, and introductions highlight the unique ways each book contributes to the whole of Christian theology. This resource will help Christians better connect what they believe about God with the very words of Scripture, strengthening their confidence in the truths of his Word.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
The Return of the Kingdom: A Biblical Theology of God’s Reign by Stephen Dempster. “The biblical story begins and ends with God as king. Human beings rebel, however, rather than fulfilling their royal calling to rule creation on behalf of their Sovereign–and the world became enslaved to the rule of a dark, serpentine lord. In this volume of IVP Academic’s Essential Studies in Biblical Theology, Stephen Dempster traces the themes of kingship and kingdom throughout Scripture, illuminating the challenges, pain, and ultimate hope that the Bible offers. The story of God’s kingship is ultimately the fulfillment of a promise, a promise to restore the rightful rule of humanity over creation by defeating sin and death and to establish a world of peace and justice. Essential Studies in Biblical Theology (ESBT), edited by Benjamin L. Gladd, explore the central or essential themes of the Bible’s grand storyline. Taking cues from Genesis 1-3, authors trace the presence of these themes throughout the entire sweep of redemptive history. Written for students, church leaders, and laypeople, the series offers an introduction to biblical theology.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
Defeating Evil: How God Glorifies Himself in a Dark World by M. Scott Christensen. “Revised, adapted, and condensed for a broader audience, this companion edition to Scott Christensen’s lauded What about Evil? shows how sin, evil, corruption, and death fit into redemptive history. Exploring the storyline of Scripture and addressing practical concerns, Christensen shows that God’s ultimate end in creation is to maximize his glory before his image-bearers by defeating evil through Christ’s atoning work.” John MacArthur says this about it: “The problem of evil is widely considered the hardest of all theological conundrums: If God is omnipotent, sovereign, and good, why does evil exist? Where did it come from? Why does it persist, if a benevolent God has the power to eliminate it? Scripture is full of truths that shed light on those questions, and Scott Christensen skillfully brings them together in this helpful, insightful, and ultimately satisfying analysis. As a matter of fact, the ultimate biblical answer to the problem of evil is condensed and implied in this book’s title and subtitle: Defeating Evil: How God Glorifies Himself in a Dark World. I don’t know of a better or more readable unfolding of that truth than Scott’s excellent, well-written work.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)
A Short Guide to Gospel Generosity: Giving as an Act of Grace by Nathan W. Harris. “We live in a possession and money obsessed culture. The normal American has far more than they need, yet still feel incredibly insecure, needing to grasp it all tightly and continue to gain more. This isn’t just true with our acquisition of things, but also in the way we approach all resources that God has given to us: our time, gifts and talents, our families, and our lives themselves. What is the solution to this problem? Throughout Gospel Generosity you will see how the answer to our obsession with possessions is turning to the Gospel. It’s only in the Gospel can we find the type of life transformation that enables us to turn our focus from ourselves to others, to give generously, and follow the way of Christ. God has modeled generosity throughout redemptive history, culminating in the gift of His Son, and this sacrificial generosity is the basis of true gospel generosity. Readers of this book will be called to consider all of their resources and gifts from God that are to be held loosely, ready to be used for God’s purposes. Everything is His anyway.” (Buy it at Amazon)
Pivot Points: Adventures on the Road to Christian Contentment by Marvin Olasky. “Whenever we pivot in life, freedom from fear requires either a colossal ego or a colossal God. Ego leads us to grab what is not ours. The path to contentment starts with faith in God. In this sequel to Lament for a Father, Marvin Olasky first describes his journey from Judaism to atheism to Marxism to Christ and then his adventures in evangelical, conservative, compassionate, and journalistic circles.” (Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books)