D. A. Carson

Pointing to the Pasturelands

Theology

“Some writers find it difficult to be boring; Jim Packer was one of them. How many evangelicals do you know who could (or would) write a column titled ‘It’s wrong to eat people’? Or there’s Jim avowing that he is God’s plumber and sewage man. I think I read every one of these pieces when they first appeared; I am grateful beyond words that this new format allows me to read them again.”

Portrait of an Apostle

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Most treatments of the authenticity or the pseudonymity of Ephesians and Colossians churn over well-trodden ground. In addition to evaluating the standard arguments, MaGee breaks new ground in the controls he introduces as he evaluates the portrayals of Paul in these letters as compared with portrayals of Paul in letters that all sides agree are pseudonymous. . . . No one studying or writing in this area in the future can afford to ignore MaGee's work.”

Possessed by God

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Peterson's treatment is far from hackneyed or trivial. His aim is to show that much of the New Testament treatment of sanctification stresses what used to be called 'positional sanctification' or the like--and that much godly living, Christian assurance, stable faith and Christian maturity stem from a firm grasp of what the Bible says in this regard.”

Preaching as the Word of God

Preaching & Worship

“How can we conclude that what we preach is the Word of God--God himself speaking through the sermon--as the Reformers insisted? In this important study, Sam Chan demonstrates that Luther and Calvin have it right, provided we focus on the New Testament insistence that rightly proclaiming the gospel is what is meant by preaching the Word of God. Chan then uses speech act theory to clarify his argument. The work is important not only for students of the Reformation, but for preachers who need to see that the faithful proclamation of the gospel is precisely what authorizes them to insist that their preaching is the word of God.”

Providence

Theology

“In what is perhaps his most important book so far, John Piper demonstrates with great cogency and exegetical skill that God’s providence ‘is his purposeful sovereignty in which he will be completely successful in the achievement of his ultimate goal for the universe.’ This book will enlarge your vision of God and thereby strengthen your faith.”

Reading the Bible Supernaturally

Christian Living

“Not many books should be recommended for both beginning Bible readers and mature Bible readers, but this is one of them. Utilizing brief and pointed expositions of often overlooked Bible verses, John Piper helpfully explains why we should be reading the Bible, the work of the Spirit in our Bible reading, and the fundamental skills and habits of faithful Bible reading. I cannot imagine a serious Christian who would not benefit from a thoughtful reading of this book.”

Rediscovering the Holy Spirit

Theology

“You don’t have to agree with everything that Michael Horton says in this important book, but the main lines of his thought are certainly right and utterly transforming. The Holy Spirit is not “shy.” Nor is he the member of the Godhead who fills in the bits and pieces of our experience that the Father and the Son neglected to take on. By displaying the sweeping work of the Spirit across redemptive history, Horton not only deepens our understanding of Scripture but our grasp of what it means to confess God as triune. And that calls us to deeper worship.”

Renewing the Evangelical Mission

Theology

“Projecting from earlier work by David Wells, Mark Noll, and Cornelius Plantinga, this important collection of essays attempts to prescribe the way forward for the disparate movement called evangelicalism. This is not the sort of book that marshals a wide swath of readers to agree with everything it says; rather, it is so consistently stimulating and provocative that no reader will agree with everything and all readers will come away with horizons enlarged and understanding deepened. Ignore this book and you will be impoverished; wrestle with it and you will be enriched.”

Righteous by Promise

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Deenick arrives at nuanced definitions of both physical circumcision and circumcision of the heart. His study sheds fresh light not only on many Old Testament passages, but also on Romans 2–4, much of Galatians, Philippians 3, Colossians 2, and Acts 7 and 15. Better yet, it suggests an integrating line of development across the canon.”

Road to Renewal

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“Most of us need help now and then with our prayer lives. . . . One of the ways to teach prayer is to work through some of the prayers in scripture, understanding what the prayers mean, and in effect teaching us to pray similarly. This is what Wayne Baxter has done in this book: he has expounded a number of intercessory prayers, taking up the mantle of teaching others to pray.”

Romans

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Within its constraints, this series includes some outstanding volumes.”

Romans

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Within its constraints, this series includes some outstanding volumes.”

Salvation to the Ends of the Earth

Evangelism & Missions

“The second edition . . . aims, no less than the first, to trace the theme of mission across the Bible's story-line. Instead of envisaging mission as a late post-resurrection afterthought, it teases out the organic wholeness of the theme from Genesis to the Apocalypse. Nevertheless, most of the book has been re-written and updated, and some of it has been re-cast.”

Scribbling in the Sand

Arts & Literature

“Countless books circulate on what it means to be 'creative,' on what 'art' is; relatively few are written from a distinctively Christian perspective. There cannot be many more qualified than Michael Card to fill this glaring gap. Here we learn, powerfully, that creativity, rightly conceived, is a response to God: it is worship. To his own evocative reflections Michael Card appends the musing of several other Christian artists and critics. This is a book to be cherished and savored.”

Sealed with an Oath

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Few will be the readers who will not learn a great deal . . . and who will not appreciate the firm but respectful way Dr. Williamson disagrees with his dialogue partners. And perhaps some of those who are much too indebted to atomistic exegesis, unable to see how the Bible hangs together, will glimpse something of the comprehensiveness and wholeness of God's self-disclosure in Scripture, and find their worship of the covenant-making God enhanced.”

Single, Gay, Christian

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“To say this book is important is a painful understatement. It is the candid, moving, intensely personal story of a gay young man who wants to live his life under the authority of King Jesus and who refuses to accept the comforting answers proffered by different parts of the culture. Superbly written, this book stands athwart the shibboleths of our day and reminds us what submission to King Jesus looks like, what it feels like. This book needs to be thoughtfully read by straight people and by gay people, by unbelievers and by Christians. It is not to be read with a condescending smirk, but with humility.”

Taking God At His Word

Christian Living

“This little book is a highly readable introduction to Scripture’s teaching about Scripture that preserves the contours of a responsible and informed doctrine of Scripture, without getting bogged down in arcane details. Buy this book by the case and distribute copies to elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, and anyone in the church who wants to understand a little better what the Bible is. Bad doctrine springs in part from ignorance. Blessed are those teachers and preachers in the church who, like the author of this book, combat ignorance by getting across mature theology in a lucid style that avoids generating theological indigestion.”

Thanksgiving

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Very few treatments of this theme in Paul comprehensively reflect on the theology of thanksgiving and how such theology is deeply embedded in Paul's thought, and in the gospel itself. Pao supplies the lack, and does so in a way that is both informed and edifying. His study is not only the stuff of biblical theology and grist for many sermons but will prove to be the occasion for self-examination, repentance and a new resolve to be thankful.”

The Assurance of Salvation

Theology

“This treatment of assurance weaves together a rare combination of biblical study and practical outworking. The former includes the assurance built into the promises of the gospel, the confirming work of the Spirit, and the attesting witness of a transformed life; the latter deploys many stories and years of pastoral experience. This book promises to bring godly confidence and quiet comfort to many troubled believers.”

The Atonement

Theology

“Jeremy Treat reminds us of what every thoughtful Christian should know about the atonement while calling us to understand the cross, to worship, and to pick up our cross and follow the Master.”