Some summer book news

With training the last few weeks it's been a while since I've been able to post anything here but I thought I'd send out a quick note with some recommended reading for summer vacations.

• Here are Al Mohler's recommended summer books.  There's a lot of variety on this list so you're sure to find something that sounds interesting.
• Tim Challies recommends ten great biographies.
• Finally, the current number 1 bestseller on Amazon is Peter Lillback's (President, Westminster Theological Seminary) biography on George Washington.  Looks like it out to be pretty good and at 1,200 pages it ought to cover you for a whole week at the beach.

Ligonier Specials

Ligonier is now offering a new weekly special called "$5 Fridays."  Here is a link to this week's specials.  There's some good stuff available.

Some quick book news

Reformation Heritage Books is offering Daniel Hyde's Welcome to a Reformed Church: A Guide for Pilgrims for just $7.50 for this week only.  I haven't read this one but it looks to be a good book that covers both what Reformed churches believe but also why they have the practices that they do.  Sean Michael Lucas' On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices, and Stories is my favorite book in this category but Pastor Hyde has written some other excellent things and I'm sure this will be worthwhile.

Also, the Meet the Puritans blog has made a study guide available for John Owen's Communion with God.  This would be a great book to work through for anyone who finished Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion last year.  The guide is free as a .pdf here.

A Special on Calvin Resources

For a limited time (the website doesn't say exactly how limited), Reformation Heritage Books is offering Henry Beveridge translated edition of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion and J. Mark Beach's new book, Piety's Wisdom: A Summary of Calvin's Institutes with Study Questions for just $25.  I think the Battles translation of the Institutes is better but you can definitely do just fine with Beveridge's edition and while I haven't read it the excerpt from Beach's book certainly looks helpful.  The offer is available here.

Some miscellaneous items

You can get some more free audio books from Christian Audio.  Right now you can get John Piper's Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship.  Go here to see the details.  Also they are offering a sale on all Piper and Bonhoeffer books for just $4.98 each.

Here's an interesting blog post at Reformation 21 on the most commonly broken vow.

It's usually worthwhile to click on the clearance tabs for various Christian bookstores every now and then.  Right now WTS Books clearance includes Roland Murphy's Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature and the edition of the Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God with essays by Mark Dever and Sinclair Ferguson for 50% off their usual prices.  Both books are excellent.

Finally, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church is having a special General Synod to address the issues at Erskine College and Seminary.  These special Synods are very rare and show that they have a lot of concerns with what is going on there.  You can read more about the Synod and the issues that they're addressing in this note from the Aquila Report.

Commentary Sale

WTS Books is offering a sale on the Pillar New Testament commentaries.  If you buy two or more you get 10% off each volume (and they're already discounted well below the cover price).  This is a good series with some really solid volumes.  I would particularly recommend Leon Morris on Matthew and Romans, D.A. Carson on John, David Peterson on Acts, and Douglas Moo on Colossians & Philemon and James.  Carson's volume in particular may be the best commentary I've found on John's Gospel.  You can see the details of the sale by clicking on the Hebrews volume.

New book for children

For today only, Simonetta Carr's new book on Augustine can be picked up from Reformation Heritage books for 40% off. Carr's illustrated books are great introductions to major figures in church history for children. Could make a good Christmas gift for a child or grandchild.

Some books on sale

It's been a while but I wanted to let people know about a few books they can get on sale. Hopefully there will be a more substantial post soon.

Christian Book Distributors is offering Al Mohler's Atheism Remix: A Christian Confronts the New Atheists for just $3.99 until today. The "new atheists" are those in the mold of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens who have received a lot of media and popular attention lately.

Also, every week Presbyterian & Reformed Publishers gives a super bargain offer for surplus or imperfect stock. Right now you can find the following titles on there. Keep in mind that these are obviously first-come first-serve.

• John Williamson Nevin: High Church Calvinist by D.G. Hart - All of the volumes in this American Reformed Biographies series are good but this one is particularly interesting in focusing on Nevin. Nevin has written what I think is one of the best works on the Lord's Supper and did a great deal of work on the importance of the means of grace authorized in Scripture.
• Calvin in the Public Square: Liberal Democracies, Rights, and Civil Liberties by David Hall - This is an extremely helpful book just for the opening section that surveys prior Christian thought on church and state and the other Reformers leading up to Calvin.
• Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul by Guy Waters - This book is pretty academic but it is a great response to the New Perspective theology as Waters did his doctoral work at Duke under E.P. Saunders and N.T. Wright and so is very familiar with their work.
• Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship by Robert Letham - This is one of the better books you can find on the Trinity and you can't beat that price.
• There are also several works on their by T.M. Moore and Phil Ryken. I think that these two men are excellent examples of the right combination of pastoral skills and academic rigor and I wouldn't hesitate to say anything that they write is worth the time to read.

Sale on Mike Horton's newest book

I'll have a more substantial post up later today or tomorrow but I wanted to let everyone know that WTS Books is selling Michael Horton's newest book, The Gospel-Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World, for the special introductory price of $10.99. This is 45% off the cover price. This book is the follow up to his Christless Christianity and in it he suggests some solutions to the problems that he identified in the first book. This ought to be a good one.

Calvin books on Sale and Trueman on new Calvinism

Just a few quick things to highlight for you today. First, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary recently held a conference on Calvin and following it they are offering a number of books on the Geneva Reformer on sale through Reformed Heritage books. You can get all the details here. Howard Griffith, who spoke at the Shady Grove PCA conference on Calvin, suggested in a class I took with him that Herman Selderhuis might be the world's foremost scholar on Calvin today and you can find his most recent book on this list. I would also strongly recommend getting Calvin in the Public Square: Liberal Democracies, Rights, and Civil Liberties by David Hall. A very interesting book that not only deals with what Calvin's political and social theology was but also places it in the context of Augustine, Aquinas, and the earlier Reformers like Luther, Zwingli, and Farel. A very helpful book.

Second, here is an article from Carl Trueman about the new Calvinism movement, called "young, restless, and Reformed" in the book by Collin Hansen of the same title. I don't always agree with everything that Dr. Trueman rights but he is always insightful and thought-provoking. Take a look at his article and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Some book news

I will put some recommended reading on John Calvin up tomorrow on the anniversary of his birth but here is some other book news that's out there. First, Monergism books is offering free shipping for the month of July (in honor of Calvin's birth). You can get all the details here. Lot's of good books are available there at fair prices so check it out.

Second, Reformation Heritage Books is offering The Hope Fulfilled: Essays in Honor of O. Palmer Robertson on sale for 40% off (just $18). There are some helpful essays in this book and it's worth that price.

Finally, a new book will be coming out from American Vision Publishers in July that looks fantastic. Edited by Joel McDurmon, Presuppositional Apologetics: Stated and Defended by Greg Bahnsen will soon be available. Bahnsen is best known for his "Great Debate" with Dr. Gordon Stein over the existence of God. I think that we can hold that he was one of the greatest apologists in church history and was also gifted in distilling apologetic method in a way that it is understandable. At just a little over 300 pages this ought to be a gold-mine for studying apologetics.

A few book sales

Two quick sales on books that I wanted to mention. First, Reformation Heritage books is offering Thomas Watson's "Body of Practical Divinity" containing A Body of Divinity, The Ten Commandments, and The Lord's Prayer for just $28. Second, Monergism Books is offering free shipping on all orders of at least $35 this weekend. Here are the instructions.

An affordable version of Calvin's Institutes

I've maintained that John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion are an invaluable book that even lay people in the church should study and read. A new edition has recently been published that includes the full text in a single hardcover volume. It is available at Amazon for a $16.47 and at Reformation Heritage books for just $15. It does use the Henry Beveridge translation, which is a little older for modern readers and probably not quite as readable as the Ford Lewis Battles translation. On the other hand, it's also available for about $35 less.

Sunday School Reading - May 3, 2009

We did not make it into the doctrine of the church yesterday but instead finished our discussion of the signs of the times. Accordingly I do not really have many new recommendations for books. I will relist the same books from last week with one addition due to our discussion of the sign of the Antichrist. Please see last week's post for some recommendations from Presbyterian and Reformed systematic theologies. Finally, at the bottom of this e-mail are links to some free or on sale resources that are currently available. Definitely check out the sale on Reymond's work!

First, here are the book recommendations. As I mentioned earlier, all but one of the books on this list are repeats from last week.

• Christ and the Future: The Bible's Teaching about the Last Things by Cornelis Venema - This is the first book that I recommend on these topics. Venema has written a great deal on eschatology and approaches these topics from an "optimistic amillennial" perspective. I think that you'll find this book very satisfying. I'm seeing if the church can get several copies to put on the church booktable to make it easier for people to get.
• The Promise of the Future by Cornelis Venema - This is the earlier and larger work that Venema did on the last things. The topics covered are very similar to what he covers in the above book. The difference is that this is a longer (just under 500 pages) and more scholarly treatment of the subjects. This is a fantastic book and my personal favorite on eschatology but I think that most people (and their wallets) will be satisfied by the shorter book above.
• The Bible and the Future by Anthony Hoekema - This is an older but still very good work on eschatology from an amillennial perspective that Venema borrows heavily from. Hoekema is especially helpful in his critique of dispensationalism. I do want to note that I disagree with Hoekema on his interpretation of "all Israel will be saved" in Romans 11:25-26 (though if you take his side you are certainly in good company with Bavinck, Ridderbos, and others).
• The Man of Sin: Uncovering the Truth About the Antichrist by Kim Riddlebarger - I have to be honest and confess that I have not read this book but if it is on the same level as his Case for Amillennialism then it will be a helpful read. Pastor Riddlebarger is one of the co-host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast, Senior Pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, and an adjunct professor of theology at Westminster Seminary California.

Here are some essays and articles that you can read online for free about these topics:

• "What about the Great Tribulation?" by Kim Riddlebarger
• "The Nature of Apostasy" by John Owen - This comes from John Owen's commentary on Hebrews.
• "Apostasy: Hebrews 6:4-6" by A.W. Pink - Note that both this and the next article come from Pink's commentary on Hebrews.
• "A Warning Against Apostasy" by A.W. Pink
• "Prophecy Makes Stranger Bedfellows: On the History of Identifying the Antichrist" by Stephen Nichols
• "Eighteen Sermons on 2 Thessalonians 2 on the Description, Rise, Growth, and Fall of the Antichrist" by Thomas Manton

Finally, as promised, here are some cheap or free resources not necessarily related to eschatology that you should look into:

• Westminster Theological Seminary Audio Resources - WTS has made their online audio archives available for free to anyone who registers. This means that lectures and sermons by men like John Murray, Cornelius Van Til, J. Greshman Machen, Ed Clowney, Richard Gaffin, Vern Poythress, and Scott Oliphint are now available at no cost. This is definitely something to take advantage of!
• A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 2nd Edition by Robert Reymond - Monergism Books is currently offering this book for 50% off today only. While I do have some minor quibbles with a couple of things in here I still think that Dr. Reymond has done a marvellous service to the church in providing us with a modern, readable systematic theology. And it's going to be hard to beat the discount.
• Finally, for anyone who does not have a pocket copy, Banner of Truth Trust is offering copies of the Westminster Shorter Catechism for just $1 each. Pick up a copy and memorize it!

Book Sale

I just wanted to let people know that Christian Book has listed this week's Fabulous Friday sale. Some items I noticed in here that are worth looking at are the New Testament Commentary Set by William Hendrickson and Simon Kistemaker for just $80 (this set is already available in the church library but if you want to have a commentary set at home then this is a good cheap one to pick up) and two versions of the ESV Study Bible on sale. Check it out!

Miscellaneous

I'm going to hold off on the next post for apologetics to link to a few things this morning. First, a book deal for you. Monergism books is offering a 50% discount on all of the books published in the Reformed Expository Commentary series. All of the volumes in this series should be excellent and well worth having for personal study. These commentaries are written by men who are both pastors as well as trained teaching theologians. The volumes on Matthew, Esther & Ruth, Daniel, Hebrews, and James are particularly valuable.

Second, here are a few things from John Frame. First, an older post linking to his four favorite books on the Doctrine of Scripture. Every single one of these books is worth having. About a century later the Warfield book remains one of the best books on the subject. Frequent readers know that I highly recommend Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics in general though as Professor Frame notes you'll find him particularly helpful on this topic. Kline's The Structure of Biblical Authority is a fantastic work and not that lengthy. I will warn you that it is very technical and it's a tough read. I would probably put it last on the list for that reason. I do highly recommend both of the articles in The Infallible Word that Professor Frame mentions. The article by Van Til is probably the best thing you will ever read on the relationship between natural and special revelation. One book that I would add to Professor Frame's list is E.J. Young's Thy Word Is Truth. This is probably a better introduction to the topic than Warfield so I would recommend starting here.

Also, Professor Frame posted an article last week titled "The Bible and Joe the Plumber." I found this to be a very good article showing that the Bible does have a lot to say about economics. I recommend giving it a quick read.

Finally, Derek Thomas at Reformation21 posted that Sean Lucas has accepted a call as Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Hattiesburg, MS. I haven't seen a confirmation of this on Covenant Seminary's or Dr. Lucas' websites but assuming that it is true praise God for providing a shepherd for his flock there and pray for Dr. Lucas, his family, and the congregation in making the transition. Dr. Lucas is the author of On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices, and Stories, a fantastic primer on Presbyterianism that I highly recommend. He also wrote a biography on Robert Lewis Dabney that is very helpful in familiarizing ourselves with some of our heritage as Southern American Presbyterians.