Dog Eared Pages - multiple thoughts

October was a good month for reading. Instead of highlighting each book in its own post I'll mention a few briefly. Let me start by saying I recommend each of these books, but I'll begin with the one that was my favorite of the three.

Today's Gospel: authentic or synthetic? by Walter Chantry really focuses on a problem in much preaching and evangelism today. That being many messages are man centered and not gospel centered. Mr Chantry explains in greater detail some of the essential elements in evangelism, which include:
1. Preaching the Character of God
2. Preaching the Law of God
3. Preaching Repentance Toward God
4. Preaching Faith Toward God's Son
5. Preaching Assurance of Acceptance with God
6. Preaching with Dependence upon God

God's High Calling for Women by John MacArthur is a basic outline of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 and the role of women in the church. I know that in our liberal feminist society today this is a bit of a touchy subject, but not one that can be ignored.






Found: God's Will by John MacArthur is a short booklet. I'd be my guess that most believers want to know God's will for their life. This booklet is not exhaustive, but affirms God has revealed His will in the scriptures. In a nut shell, MacArthur says that your desires are inline with the will of God if you make sure you are saved, saturated in the scriptures, living a holy life, submitted to authority, and prepared to suffer for doing right.

Dog Eared Pages - Evangelism & The Sovereignty of God

In the book Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God author J.I. Packer dives into the discussion of the apparent antinomy between the Christian's evangelistic task, man's responsibility, and the sovereignty of God in salvation.

In other words, Packer states, that we Christians have a responsibility to share the gospel with the world, those who hear the gospel have a responsibility to respond to the gospel in faith and repentance, and know that God is in control of all things including saving men (He has elected those who are going to believe).

I highly recommend this book if you've struggled with the question 'If God elects people why do we have to share the gospel' or any similar question. Packer explains how God's sovereignty prevents evangelism from being pointless, because it creates the possibility and certainty that evangelism will be fruitful.

I could say much about this small but powerful book, but reading the book would be much more beneficial to you than just reading some quick review. The book is short and and easy read, but packed with truth. I recommend it for all.

Dog Eared Pages - Rising From Katrina

Rising From Katrina - How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered by Kathleen Koch was a tough read. It wasn't the reading level, nor the way it was written. The book flowed very easily and chronologically it told of the days leading up to the storm and the days, weeks, and months that followed. It wasn't just some story book, it was the real stories of real people on the coast, some of whom I've met, some are public figures you hear about on a daily basis, and others, who like thousands on the coast, have a story of survival and loss.

I've seen picture book after picture book of what remained in Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Lakeshore and the gulf coast. All which contain pictures that each speak a thousand words and are awe striking and heart aching. But this book wasn't just pictures of seemingly nameless and unrecognizable properties. It shared the lives and stories of those who stayed and rode out the storm, those who left and returned to find everything in disarray - It shared those stories of those properties that used to be just another picture in another book and the lives that once dwelled in those homes.

I began reading this book just a couple days after the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I can tell you in the four years I have been on the coast after the storm I've heard heart wrenching stories, things I thought I couldn't forget. But as time went on stories began to slip my mind. This book brought back a lot of the things I was told in my first year I was in Lakeshore. Things that reminded me and showed me how far things have come, how lives have changed, and the resolve of the people on the coast who pulled up their boot straps hours after the storm passed to help their neighbors, help themselves, and not wait or expect others to come in and pick up the pieces despite the lack the basics of food, water, and shelter. As well as stories of the believers I know who clung to the only solid thing there was, Christ and His Word.

I can say without a doubt, of the books about Hurricane Katrina I have read, this is one of the best and I highly recommend it.