A Must Read!

It is rare that I will say that a book is a “must read”—generally when I find a book that is pretty good I may suggest it to people who are in need of hearing the specific message of that book, or I may promote a book that will enrich people’s spiritual lives or cause them to understand theological truths better, but you probably won’t see me give this high of approval or strong of a recommendation again for some time.

The book I’m recommending is The Ascension: The Shout of a King, by Derek Prime. I first heard about Derek Prime from Alistair Begg who wrote a book with him titled On Being a Pastor. I picked up The Ascension for a paper I’m writing for a class. This book may be one of the best kept secrets of modern Christianity that should be on every shelf, and read regularly—it should be a classic, but it’s hard to find and is available through Amazon only by special order. Prime’s explanation and exposition of the Scriptural teaching on the ascension of Jesus Christ—an almost forgotten and neglected yet powerful, necessary, and exclusively Christian Gospel of the Kingdom Truth—is both simple and direct, and yet stirring and profound. This central teaching of Christianity far too long neglected is explored, captured, and announced with great zeal in The Ascension. It is a short and simple read, yet its effects upon those who dig into its troves will be a strengthened faith and freshened affections and fire. This 139 page, $ 11.99 book is nothing short of gold!

There are a few other books that I have been reading this semester that I would recommend.

Ken Sande’s The Peace Maker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict is probably the best book on this subject. Due to time restraints, I only read a couple of chapters for a paper I’m writing, but the book has received great reviews from R. Albert Mohler, Mark Dever, John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, and a whole list of well known evangelicals.

The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson is a very well written and extremely helpful book for understanding the “who” and “what” of the third person of the Trinity.

Dr. Russell Moore’s The Kingdom of Christ is a slower, more difficult and scholarly read, but it’s content is quite helpful and chapter four on ecclesiology is especially beneficial—but you must read the entire book to really grasp and appreciate chapter four. His explanation of the theology of the Kingdom will serve any Christian who has an understanding of the basic doctrines of the faith in putting together their theology in a more structured way, and Moore deals quite profusely with practical issues related to the understanding of the already/not yet reality of the Kingdom.

John Polhill’s Paul and His Letters is not a book that one should just read through in one sitting (few people in the history of the world have had that kind of patience or reading ability), but it is quite helpful for understanding the situation and the overview of the content of Paul’s epistles and his life situation. It will be best used to complement one’s reading of Acts and the thirteen Pauline books in the New Testament.
John MacArthur’s The Book on Leadership is probably the finest overview of the general principles of a leader that I have read. It is a quick read as MacArthur exposes leadership skills and characteristics in the life of the Apostle Paul.

Still working on the theological posts... Okay, who am I kidding, I do not have enough time to work on them; but I do have a couple things concerning which I hope to post within the near future.