Monthly Archives: July 2014

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Is it Enough?

Resound Slider NT

Have you ever considered how the Bible is, in many ways, much like a vivid night sky?

Every chapter in God’s word, like stars in a night sky, shouts and shines forth the glory of God in Christ, but – like certain stars and constellations – some chapters do so with incredible luminosity. Psalm 119 is one such chapter that shines with peculiar power. The Germans used to call this psalm, “The Christian’s golden alphabet of the praise, love, power, and use of the Word of God.”

At 176 verses this psalm is the longest longest chapter in the Bible, more than twice as long as its nearest competitor. You could point to verse twenty-five as indicative of the psalmist’s heart and theme.

NOT A NEW THEME

119:25, “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!” And what amazing about this one verse is how it encapsulates a main theme we see from Genesis to Revelation: the connection between God’s word and life. God’s word bring life from the dust.

All through the Bible we see that when God gives life, He does so through the power of his word. In Genesis 1 we find God creating, giving life to all things, by speaking them into existence with his powerful word. Later on in Exodus 20 we find God, through His word, speaking the nation of Israel into existence. Then there is the stunning vision in Ezekiel 37 of God giving new life to his people after their exile in Babylon. The prophet sees bones lying in the dust and God tells him to speak. Ezekiel then says,

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone . . . and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (Ezekiel 37:7,10)

God’s word, spoken through Ezekiel, brings dead bones to life. The Old Testament is clear: God’s people receive life through God’s word.

We see the same thing in the New Testament. Indeed Scripture’s teaching about God’s life-giving Word finds its consummation in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. John writes at the beginning of his gospel,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life. (John 1:1,3-4)

In the Word was life! It is through Jesus Christ – the incarnate Word of God – that we are brought from death to life and “born again” by God’s power. Paul makes the same point in Romans 10: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” he says (Romans 10:17). And Hebrews 1 says, “he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The Bible continually announces that God’s Word brings life to everything; that is a theme on which our soul is lifted from the dust of this world in which we live.

GOD’S WORD IS ENOUGH

Notice how prevalent this idea is in Psalm 119:

  • 119:37 – “Give me life in your ways.”
  • 19:50 – “Your promise gives me life.”
  • 119:93 – “Your precepts . . . have given me life.”
  • 119:107 – “Give me life, O Lord, according to your word!”
  • 119:54 – “Give me life according to your promise!”
  • 119:56 – “Give me life according to your rules.”

Psalm 119 reorients us to the primacy and life-giving power of God’s word. Here is life and life abundant! Why turn anywhere else?

How is it that God’s word can give us life? Notice the vital nuance we find in 119:2, “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.” Do you see it? 119:2 shows us that keeping God’s word is the same thing as seeking God. The psalmist doesn’t destructively separate God from His word. He knows that God’s word is an extension of Himself. To obey God’s word is to obey God. To hear God’s word is to hear God. These words are life-giving words because they are inextricably connected to the life-giving Creator of the whole universe.

I wonder what comes into mind when you think about God’s word. Tozer famously said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Psalm 119 is telling us the same is true when we think about God’s word. Here is a trustworthy saying deserving of full acceptance: You can measure a person’s opinion of God by his or her opinion of God’s word. God’s word is an extension of God Himself, so your thoughts about it reveal your thoughts about Him. A person who loves God loves His word, and a person who rejects God rejects what God has said.

THE “ENOUGHNESS” SCRIPTURE

Here then is the first implication we as a church, and you individually, must see from Psalm 119: God’s word is enough. It has the power of life and so it is enough. We dare not be surprised that God’s people are regularly tempted to slide away from the the sufficiency – the “enoughness” – of God’s word. Understand dear church that the Serpent is desperate for you and us to believe it’s not enough. To tempt us to think life is found somewhere else – anywhere else! If we run away from the fountain of life we must know that we are actually into the desert of death. Is God’s word enough for you? Enough to give you life?

This post is adapted from my recent sermon on Psalm 119 entitled, “The Word of God.”

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Jet-Fuel for Your Ministry of Prayer

Pray Persistently

Faithful pastors are ministers of the word and prayer. I don’t think I am out of line to say that most pastors struggle with the latter more than the former.

If my suspicion is correct then a remedy is needed. Prayer, as Bridges said, “is one half of our ministry, and it gives the other half all its power and success.” We will never be truly powerful in the pulpit if we are not powerful in prayer. Strategies for prayer-closet diligence abound, but let me offer one today you may not have considered before.

Here it is: spend time in your elders’ meetings praying for church members by name.

I’ll eventually get to how this relates to persistence in private prayer, but first let’s consider what praying for members by name in our elders’ meetings can look like.

WE MUST BE DOING THIS

I trust you need not be convinced that pastors ought to be praying for church members by name. But you may never have seen or heard how elders can integrate this into their regular meetings. Here’s how we do it at IDC . . .

First of all, we have two elders’ meetings each month: a “member centric” meeting and an “issue centric” meeting. These meetings usually occur on Thursday nights and run for 3-3.5 hours. Having two meetings each month gives us great ability to deal with pressing matters of oversight (normally at the “issue centric” meetings) and retain much time for shepherding through prayer.

At each “member centric” meeting we will pray through two pages of our membership directory, which is normally about 30 individuals. One month prior to this meeting, usually via email, each elder will delineate which members on the directory’s next two pages he will contact1 to discern how they are doing spiritually. From these conversations our elders arrive locked and loaded to the next month’s MC meeting with prayer request and spiritual updates.

When we come together at the MC meeting we usually settle some brief ministry matters before going into the time of prayer. Once we’re ready, we read off the first family unit (either a single member, or married couple), then elder who contacted them offers shares the update and points of prayer. After the update is given, one of the elders prays specifically for the family unit.2

The goal is to spend 5 minutes per family unit between the update and prayer, so going through two pages takes us between 90-105 minutes.

I can speak for the rest of our elders in saying we believe this is the single-most important and life-giving thing we do as elders.

HOW IT FUELS PRIVATE PRAYER

Now, back to the original point of this post: how does this practice fuel the pastor’s private prayer?

First, it helps me have somewhat recent knowledge of how every member of our church is doing. So as I pray through one page of the directory each day I am able to pray with specifics in mind.

Second, I find I am more burdened to pray for members after the MC meeting. It has an unexpected power in driving me to my knees in intercession.

Which leads to a third point. Faithful pastors are those growing in intercession and supplication. We are prone to focus all our prayer time on personal petitions for our family and skill in ministry, but we must balance that with the lifting up of others to God. Practicing intercessory prayer in the elders’ meeting flexes my prayer muscles and prepares them for diligence in private prayer.

Just as private prayer fuels public prayer, I’ve found this maxim to be true: group prayer fuels private prayer.

———————————————————————————————————

  1. Face to face contact is preferred, phone call is second, and email is last. ↩
  2. We just go around in circle praying for each unit, so sometimes the elder who provides the update prays for the member or members himself. ↩
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3 Diaries Every Pastor Should Read

Pastors and Reading

Several years ago it was a normal practice to ask Christian friends to reflect upon what things stirred their affections for God.

It was always fun to see how, in God’s creative providence, there were several things which received almost universal mention: beholding God’s glory in creation, the power of music to move the soul, and stirring effect of spiritual conversation with godly brothers and sisters in Christ.

WHAT STIRS YOU TO HOLINESS?

One wrinkle I now add to the conversation started is this: “What things stir your soul to pursue holiness?” Having your affections stirred for God and soul stirred for holiness are not mutually exclusive realities, but they are distinct nonetheless.

You know what might just be the most common thing I’m told that stirs people to pursue holiness? Reading Christian biography and the journals of mighty saints.

There is a peculiar power in reading about God’s “oaks of righteousness” from centuries gone by. And the Bible actually tells us why. Philippians 3:17 says, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” Notice that Paul doesn’t merely say keep your eyes Christ or His apostles. He says, “Keep your eyes on anyone that follows the Christ-centered apostolic example.” Here then is a principle for life: wherever you see a life lived in the ­power of Christ, according to the word of Christ, for the glory of Christ, “keep your eyes on that life.”

And that’s exactly what we get to do with Christian biography and old diaries. You can check out my previous post to see my recommendations on “Biographies Every Pastor Should Read“, so let me today suggest three diaries that will encourage you unto holiness.

3 DIARIES EVERY PASTOR SHOULD READ

9780851519548The Diary and Journal of David Brainerd edited by Jonathan Edwards. In the mid-18th century David Brainerd took the gospel to various Indian tribes in New England. His self-denial, courage through suffering, and holiness of life were the stuff of legend. He eventually crossed paths with Jonathan Edwards and even died in the Edwards home of tuberculosis. After his death Edwards edited Brainerd’s diary and journal for publication, and it created a firestorm of mission activity. Brainerd’s short words inspired such missionaries as William Carey, Henry Martyn, Robert Morrison, David Livingstone, and Robert Murray M’Cheyne in the nineteenth century and Jim Elliot in the twentieth. Edwards wrote in his preface to the diary, “In twenty-nine years David Brainerd (1718-1747) made a deeper and more lasting impression on the world in which he lived than most men make in a long lifetime.”

EdwardsThe Diary of Jonathan Edwards.I will grant I am somewhat biased on this work. Few things have been as used to God to so immediately change my life as Edwards’ diary entries. No one has yet published the diary by itself, so you’ll have to either read it online or spend some precious pennies on Volume 1 of his collected works. You’ll never regret the purchase. It’s here you will discover his famous Resolutions and find your soul transfixed by his single-minded pursuit of godliness. Edwards’ diary paints a compelling picture about the role of God’s beauty and an eternal perspective in “striving for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

0851510841mMemoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne by Andrew Bonar. The circulation of this work underscores the timeless allure of M’Cheyne. First published in 1844, within twenty-five years it went through one hundred and sixteen English editions. In 1910 it was estimated that, including translations into other languages, not less than half a million copies were in circulation. M’Cheyne’s diary is not as long as the other two, but it is has an atomic force of pithy gravity. It’s here the reader is invited into the mind and “Personal Reformation” of a man so holy that people were known to weep at just the sight of his godly countenance.

Spurgeon, in a lecture to his pastoral students, said, “Read McChyene’s Memoir, read the whole of it, I cannot do you a better service than by recommending you to read it; there is no great freshness of though, there is nothing novel or striking in it, but as you read it, you must get good out of it, for you are conscious that it is the story of the life of a man who walked with God.”

Check out my past suggestions in the “3 Books Every Pastor Should Read” series here.

I see now that preaching once on a Sabbath may work God’s purpose as well as if I preached from morning to night. For, if God speaks from heaven once, and for only a minute, yet that voice should be felt in the parish all the week, yea, for months after. – Andrew Bonar

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2 Foundations for Public Prayer

Public Prayer

Our liturgy at IDC finds me ordinarily in charge of three particular elements: the pastoral prayer, sermon, and Lord’s Supper. I find the pastoral prayer to be the most daunting.

By far.

Every week, for six to seven minutes, I stand before my congregation and petition the Lord to answer our needs and send His gospel throughout our city, country, and world. I’ve never been able to adequately put into words exactly why I find the work so formidable . . . until yesterday.

In the course of my afternoon reading I came across Andrew Bonar’s journal entry from December 30, 1835 in which he wrote,

I saw . . . that in prayer the speaker ought to try to move the heart of God and not the feelings of man, and that I should be much more fervent in private prayer.

I put a star next to the sentence, dog-eared the page, laid the book aside, and spent some time in solemn examination for Bonar’s words cut me to the quick. If you, dear pastor, spend any time in public prayer remind yourself this week of these two simple steps to freedom in public prayer.

TWO STEPS TO FREEDOM IN PUBLIC PRAYER

#1: Pray to move the heart of God, not the feelings of men. It is a sad indication of my prideful soul that I often pray with a mind to impress my congregation. What pompous piety. With Paul I cry, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” When we stand before the people of God in intercession and supplication on their behalf, let us fix our gaze on the heart of God, not the praise of men. Let us cry out to Him with loving affection, instead of stilted spiritual jargon mean to paint us as more fervent than we are.

#2: Be persistent in private prayer. We should not expect to have freedom in public prayer when private prayer languishes. Our private familiarity with the throne of grace is God’s catalyst for fervent joy when praying in public. Samuel Miller’s first exhortation to excellence in public prayer is well worth a mention here: “None can hope to attain excellence in the grace and gift of prayer in the public assembly, unless they abound in closet devotion, and in holy communion with God in secret.”

These two points are like immovable cinder blocks of wisdom on which to build your practice of public prayer. Lean on them and lean into them.

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In Need of a Good Commentary?

We just wrapped up a ten-month series in Mark and will soon move on, Lord willing, to a study of Job. And so I find myself in a grand stage of sermon prep when hefty shipments of commentaries land on the doorstep.

Nothing shakes the book budget like starting a new sermon series, for good commentaries are no cheap addition to one’s library. Discerning which resources are worth the cash money can be difficult for preachers young and old. Thus, it is always good to have a few friends on speed dial when deciding on which commentaries to purchase. Here are a few companions I have found most helpful:

COMMENTING ON COMMENTARIES

9780801039911mOld Testament Commentary Survey by Tremper Longman. Even though Longman has, in the past decade, gone too far in questioning things like the historicity of Adam his survey of OT resources is still quite useful. The publisher says, “The fifth edition has been updated to assess the most recently published commentaries, providing evaluative comments. Longman lists a number of works available for each book of the Old Testament, gives a brief indication of their emphases and viewpoints, and evaluates them.”

9780801039904mNew Testament Commentary Survey by D.A. Carson. Carson’s survey is an absolute must have for every pastor. Exactly how the man continues to publish individual works, teach, preach, and still stay up to date on the most recent works published on each NT book is beyond me. The man is, flat out, a gospel-drenched machine. If you are soon to preach a series on any New Testament book, buy Carson’s survey before you purchase anything else.

Keith Mathison’s Top 5 Commentaries on Every Book of the Bible. Mathison is academic dean and professor of systematic theology at Reformation Bible College. He is author of many books, including From Age to Age: The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology and a personal favorite on the Lord’s Supper entitled, Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. A few years ago he started a series of posts over at Ligonier on the top five commentaries on particular books of the Bible and I find myself rarely disagreeing with his assessments. If you are looking for quick hit, trustworthy recommendations Mathison is a fantastic friend to consult.

Challies’ Best Commentaries on Each Book of the Bible. Challies writes, “Over the past couple of years I have focused on building a collection of commentaries that will include only the best volumes on each book of the Bible. I know when I’m in way over my head, so before I began I collected every good resource I could find that rated and reviewed commentaries. I studied them and then began my collection on the basis of what the experts told me. Since I did all of that work, and since I continue to keep up with the project, I thought it might be helpful to share the recommendations.” His focus, admittedly, is on recent publications, but it is nonetheless helpful in synthesizing the various recommendations of conservative evangelical scholars. Very useful.

Commenting & Commentaries by Spurgeon. If you’ve never used it before, spend some time with Commenting and Commentaries for two reasons: 1) Spurgeon will point you to valuable and lesser known commentaries from centuries gone by, and 2) his remarks are pointing and often funny. Consider what he says about Caryl’s infamous work on Job, “Caryl must have inherited the patience of Job to have completed his stupendous task (it took Caryl over twenty years to get through the book). It would be a mistake to suppose that he is at all prolix or redundant; he is only full. In the course of his expounding he has illustrated a very large portion of the whole Bible with great clearness and power. He is deeply devotional and spiritual. He gives us much, but none too much. His work can scarcely be superseded or surpassed.”

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Recent Reads

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in the hope that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

9780802422996mReverberation: How God’s Word Brings Light, Freedom, and Action to His People by Jonathan Leeman. Two years ago I read this book and loved it. Two years and one re-read later I love it even more. Leeman fully understands the sufficiency of Scripture for the life of God’s people and communicates with winsome clarity. His imagery of the word going out from the pulpit and then reverberating through the church’s conversation, conduct, and mission is excellent. The book serves church leaders well as it gives consistent application for how a church runs and worships. Reverberation will help any Christan appreciate the power of God’s word to grow His church, and is one of the best discipling tools a pastor can have in his arsenal.

Big GodBig God: How to Approach Suffering, Spread the Gospel, Make Decisions and Pray in the Light of a God Who Really is in the Driving Seat of the World by Orlando Saer. I picked up this book based on the glowing recommendation of Mark Dever and, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed.  Expectations were too high I guess. I do love Saer’s intent: show how a big God (read: a God sovereign over all things) relates to our suffering, evangelism, and prayer. Yet, in spite of having content utterly grounded in Scripture, I found the book – on the whole – to be rather verbose (as the subtitle bears out). The wordiness of Big God is largely due to the overabundance of illustrations. I would have like to see him trim down the anecdotes so that the rich truth he offers doesn’t get muddied in the process.

9781433541766mWomen of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds by Jen Wilkin. This is a good book. A really good book. As a pastor who has seen how often women’s Bible studies can do everything but study the Bible, I deeply resonate with Wilkin’s attempt to restore a rich place to digging deep into Scripture. She rightly says, “I believe there is nothing more transformative to our lives than beholding God in his Word” (18). The book aims to help women by first reorienting what Bible study is: God before me, and mind before heart. She then offers the five-step method of studying with purpose, perspective, patience, process, and prayer. To continue the alliteration scheme, Women of the Word is at times profound, regularly pithy and practical, so pick up and read!

The FarmThe Farm by Tom Rob Smith. I enjoyed Smith’s “Child-44 Trilogy” enough to quickly move on to his most recent novel. The Farm represents a sharp departure from Smith’s previous three books as the book consists almost entirely of one character’s recounting seminal events; a la Flynn’s recent blockbuster. The book begins with a Londoner named Daniel getting a strange visit from his mother, Tilde, unexpectedly returned from a Swedish farm. With terror and purpose Tilde proceeds to explain a labyrinthine tale about life on the farm involving sex trafficking, poison and, yes, murder. At some point in the discourse Daniel’s father calls to say, “Everything your mother believes is a lie.” And so the reader is left trying to discern what parts of Tilde’s fanciful account are true, mistaken perceptions, or outright lies.

Structuring a thriller like this is terrifyingly difficult, and Smith has a hard time with it. The book is strongest when Smith evokes the beauty and menace of rural Sweden; his skill at giving readers a sense of place is what made the Child-44 novels so compelling. Yet, as 75% of the book occupied with Tilde’s narration, the book was always going to rise or fall on her monologue. I guess it’s only fitting that her monologue feel less than lucid.

Click here to find other entries in the Recent Reads series.

It’s a notable Scripture (Heb. 13:7) to show that the ministers of the Word should be eminent in their conversations every way, and that all those to whom they speak the Word of God should see in their conversations the beauty and excellency of the Word of God they speak to them, for people look at the lives of ministers as well as listen to their words. It is not good enough only to be a good man in the pulpit unless it is in the constant way of their conversations. – Jeremiah Burroughs

Gospel Conversation, 35.
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The Best Way to Serve Your Pastor

Pray for Your Pastor

What is the single best thing church members can do for their pastor? Pray for them.

Any other answer—encourage, attend, serve, give, etc.—are flickering candles when compared to the sun-blazing power of prayer.

The great apostle knew full well the power of prayer. He appealed to the Romans “by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf.” He begged the Ephesians to pray “also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Pastors need the prayers of their people to not only survive in ministry but thrive in faithfulness and fruitfulness.

How to Pray for Your Pastor

I imagine few church members need any convincing of the simple point that pastors need their prayers. Yet, at least in my experience, while convinced of the need to pray for their pastors, church members often think, “What exactly should I pray for?” Of course, the easiest way to find out his prayer needs is to simply ask. Another thing a caring church member could do is peruse the Pastorals and pray for God to give what He commands of pastors. But life is busy and demands are many, so I decided to go ahead and put that list together.

Here then is a list of things you could pray for your pastor and be simultaneously certain of two things: 1) they are in accord with God’s will, and 2) they are things a healthy pastor always desires. Pray that:

  • He would warn against false doctrine (1 Tim. 1:3-4).
  • He would do all things in love that flows from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5).
  • He wages the good warfare and not reject his conscience (1 Tim. 1:18-19).
  • He would be active in prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-5).
  • He would be above reproach,  sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, and hospitable (1 Tim. 3:2).
  • He would increase in his ability to teach (1 Tim. 3:2).
  • He would not give himself to drunkenness, violence, quarrels, or the love of money (1 Tim. 3:3).
  • He would love his wife after the model of Christ and faithfully lead his children (1 Tim. 3:4-5).
  • He would train himself for godliness (1 Tim. 4:7).
  • He would set his hope in the living God (1 Tim. 4:10).
  • He would be exemplary in speech, conduct, and purity (1 Tim. 4:12).
  • He would devote himself to reading Scripture and preaching Scripture (1 Tim. 4:13).
  • He would not neglect his gift (1 Tim. 4:14).
  • He would keep a close watch on himself and the teaching (1 Tim. 4:16).
  • He would do nothing from partiality (1 Tim. 5:21).
  • He would not be hasty in decision-making (1 Tim. 5:22).
  • He would grow in contentment (1 Tim. 6:6).
  • He would flee sin and pursue righteousness, steadfastness, and gentleness (1 Tim. 6:11).
  • He would take hold of the assurance of eternal life in Christ (1 Tim. 6:12).
  • He would warn against worldliness and the vanity of money (1 Tim. 6:17).
  • He would guard the gospel (1 Tim. 6:20).
  • He would not be ashamed of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:8).
  • He would joyfully suffer for the gospel (2 Tim. 1:8).
  • He would be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:1).
  • He would be active in discipling (2 Tim. 2:2).
  • He would gain wisdom in everything (2 Tim. 2:7).
  • He would rightly handle the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).
  • He would avoid gossip (2 Tim. 2:16).
  • He would pursue peace (2 Tim. 2:22).
  • He would have nothing to do with foolish controversies (2 Tim. 2:23).
  • He would be kind to everyone (2 Tim. 2:24).
  • He would patiently endure evil (2 Tim. 2:24).
  • He would correct with gentleness (2 Tim. 2:25).
  • He would avoid false teachers (2 Tim. 3:5).
  • He would preach the word (2 Tim. 4:2).
  • He would always be ready with the truth (2 Tim. 4:2).
  • He would reprove, rebuke, and exhort with patience and clarity (2 Tim. 4:2).
  • He would be active in evangelism (2 Tim. 2:5).
  • He would be disciplined (Titus 1:8).
  • He would hold firm to sound doctrine (Titus 1:9).
  • His teaching would be saturated with sound doctrine (Titus 2:1).
  • He would disciple all generations to godliness (Titus 2:2-10).
  • He would lead with confidence (Titus 2:15).
  • He would disciple church members to be ready for every good work (Titus 3:1-8).
  • He would be wise in church discipline (Titus 3:10-11).

Take those 45 points and just pray for a few each day. You’ll never know the life it will bring to his soul and to your church as a whole.

Save

Save

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Book to Look For

9781433543500Good books are vital friends in pastoral ministry. I hope you need no convincing on this point.

I am a firm believer that a the majority of a pastor’s reading, outside of Scripture saturation, ought to be of those books published long ago. Yet, we need to pay attention to recent publications for two reasons: 1) these are the books our members are more likely to read, and 2) many new books are outstanding resources for edification.

Case in point: Greg Gilbert’s 2010 book What is the Gospel? It’s a model of brevity and clarity on matters of first importance. If ever there was a recent publication worthy of finding its way into your church’s bookstore and discipling ministry, Gilbert’s work on the gospel is one of them.

So it is with high expectation I await the publication of his next book, Who is Jesus? Here’s what Crossway has to say about it:

About Who Is Jesus?

A famed historian once noted that, regardless of what you think of him personally, Jesus Christ stands as the central figure in the history of Western civilization. A man violently rejected by some and passionately worshipped by others, Jesus remains as polarizing as ever. But most people still know very little about who he really was, why he was really here, or what he really claimed. Intended as a succinct introduction to Jesus’s life, words, and enduring significance, Who Is Jesus? offers non-Christians and new Christians alike a compelling portrait of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, this book encourages readers to carefully consider the history-shaping life and extraordinary teachings of the greatest man who ever lived.

Table of Contents

  1. What Do You Think?
  2. An Extraordinary Man, and Then Some
  3. King of Israel, King of Kings
  4. The Great “I AM”…
  5. …Is One of Us
  6. The Triumph of the Last Adam
  7. Lamb of God, Sacrifice for Man
  8. Resurrected and Reigning Lord

    A Final Word: Who Do You Say He Is?

It’s due to drop on January 31st, so you’ll have to wait half a year. Given Gilbert’s recent track record, I’m sure this will be a book you’ll want to buy and distribute with great liberality.

Tolle lege!