For the next 48 hours, you can purchase a copy of Tim Witmer’s new book, The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church, for $5.00 at Westminster Bookstore. Tim Witmer is currently Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary where he is Coordinator of the Practical Theology Department, Director of Mentored Ministry and [...]
Category > Books
Finally Alive (Ch. 3)
Piper begins with a quote from John Calvin that summarizes the main idea of the chapter and gives us a proper perspective on our own salvation. “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” (p. 45) These two [...]
J.C. Ryle Giveaway
Like free books by dead guys? Ok…it’s fine if you simply like free books. Well, Erik Kowalker over at J.C. Ryle Quotes is giving away a free set of Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels. You can enter the drawing seven different ways which also gives you seven opportunities to win (if you choose to [...]
Finally Alive (Ch. 2)
Piper finishes up his three part answer to the question What happens in the new birth? by stressing the understanding of the new birth as new creation instead of simply the “improvement of your old human nature.” (p. 37) As Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old [...]
Finally Alive (Ch. 1)
Just as Jesus is straightforward with Nicodemus, so Piper is straightforward with us from the very beginning of this first chapter. This book does not set out to simply discuss theories on the new birth. As Piper says, “Eternity hangs in the balance when we are talking about the new birth.” (p. 26) The new [...]
Finally Alive (Intro)
Alright…we’ll not waste any time with lengthy salutations and monologues. Let’s jump right in to our reading.
What is the aim of this book? What is it about? John Piper sets out to give an explanation of what it means to be born again according to the Scriptures. He contends that there is a misconception among [...]
Reading Books Together
I have been experimenting with an idea at my church involving books and a blog. I’ve set up an online reading group where the lot of us select a book, read a certain amount each week, and then I post some thoughts on our class blog to our weekly discussion over the reading. The jury [...]
Free Desiring God Download
This month’s free audio book download at christianaudio is Desiring God by John Piper. You can download it free for the entire month of November. This could be a great way to work through Piper’s primary work on Christian hedonism if you don’t have the time to read it.
Radio Theatre: The Screwtape Letters
Focus on the Family is putting together an audio production of C.S. Lewis’ classic book, The Screwtape Letters. If you are not familiar with the book, you should hop over to Westminster Books and pick up a copy. It is the story of several “conversations” between an elder demon and his nephew. What Lewis reveals [...]
The Gospel: Our Greatest Weapon Against Sin
In chapter 9 of The Mortification of Sin, John Owen lays out several symptoms of sin. It is dangerous for us when we have become callous to sin, seek to justify sin, experience sin’s success over our will (even if our bodies don’t comply), or allow sin to remain despite discipline. Our greatest weapon against [...]
