Book Review: "Personal Declension," Octavius Winslow
New Life Presbyterian Church Blog
by Bob O'Bannon
3w ago
Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul, by Octavius Winslow Octavius Winslow lived in the 19th century, putting him technically outside the category of “Puritan,” but this book reads just as you would expect from a great Puritan work: profound spiritual insight, theological and yet utterly practical, and passionately Christ-centered.  The purpose of the book is to alert the reader to the “incipient” (in its early stages) signs of spiritual declension in areas like love, faith, prayer and doctrine, in order to prevent one from slowly drifting away from Jesus. “No child of ..read more
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Book Review: "When Home Hurts," Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson
New Life Presbyterian Church
by Bob O'Bannon
1M ago
When Home Hurts: A Guide for Responding Wisely to Domestic Abuse in Your Church, by Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson This is an important book for all pastors and ministry leaders to read. It brings great insight into the sad experience of a victim of domestic abuse, and gets into the deceived head of the abuser as well. It’s not naïve, but realistic about expectations, and at the same time presents a robust view of Biblical repentance. There is some repetition, but that’s OK – there is a lot of information to take in. With the multiple appendices at the end, this book is an excellent resource t ..read more
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Book Review: "Grant," Ron Chernow
New Life Presbyterian Church
by Bob O'Bannon
2M ago
Grant, by Ron Chernow Should Christians spend time reading biographies of people who weren’t believers? My answer to that question is yes. For one thing, all of history is God’s history, so as we learn about post-Biblical events, we are still learning about God’s providential actions in the world. Also, by God’s common grace, there are many unbelievers who displayed great integrity, courage and wisdom from which all Christians can find inspiration. And it’s always interesting to learn about the spiritual convictions of great historical figures. This biography of Civil War general and U.S. pre ..read more
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Book Review: "The Joy of Calvinism," Greg Forster
New Life Presbyterian Church
by Bob O'Bannon
4M ago
The Joy of Calvinism: Knowing God's Personal, Unconditional, Irresistible, Unbreakable Love, by Greg Forster In this book, Forster is very intentional in defending Calvinism not by systematic scripture proof, but more by philosophical explanation. So this is helpful for those who have thought carefully about Calvinism and its implications, but it’s definitely not a primer for those merely exploring the doctrines of grace. For example, in defending limited atonement, Forster explains that the non-Calvinist position requires one to believe that Jesus died for "humanity" merely in the abstract ..read more
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Book Review: "When Breath Becomes Air," Paul Kalanithi
New Life Presbyterian Church Blog
by Bob O'Bannon
5M ago
When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi At some point in their lives, all people wonder about how they will die, and the more thoughtful and reflective among us will wonder if they will die well. That's really what this book is about. Paul Kalanithi was a gifted neurosurgeon who wanted to be more than just a doctor to people – he was more like a medical pastor, seeking to care for people with sensitivity and compassion as they faced their own deaths. Little did Paul know that he would transition from doctor to patient when he was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer.  In the fina ..read more
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Book Review: "The Case for Life," Scott Klusendorf
New Life Presbyterian Church Blog
by Bob O'Bannon
6M ago
The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture, by Scott Klusendorf This book is a relentless onslaught of devastating arguments against the pro-choice position, along with a convincing plea to Christians to muster the courage to defend the weak and defenseless among us. Most Americans and many Christians are simply swallowing what the popular culture tells them about this issue, but Klusendorf supplies such an abundance of well-reasoned pro-life arguments that it makes one wonder how the pro-choice movement has so successfully won the day (so far, anyway).  At the root of ..read more
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Book Review: “The Art of Divine Contentment,” Thomas Watson
New Life Presbyterian Church Blog
by Bob O'Bannon
7M ago
The Art of Divine Contentment, Thomas Watson Today we frequently hear that people are plagued by anxiety, insecurity, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. The one condition that underlies them all is discontentment. Whatever we yearn for in our lives, in essence what we really long for is to be content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. That's what the Puritan Thomas Watson writes about in this slim volume. This book is not be confused with “The Rare Jewell of Christian Contentment” by Jeremiah Burroughs, another excellent Puritan treatment on this topic. Be assured that the Purit ..read more
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Book Review: “The Genesis of Gender,” Abigail Favale
New Life Presbyterian Church Blog
by Bob O'Bannon
8M ago
The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory, Abigail Favale I can't say I've read a lot on the transgender phenomenon, but of all the material I have read, this book is the best. Abigail Favale was brought up evangelical, but left the faith because of its anti-historical and non-doctrinal emphasis (p.19), and eventually became a committed postmodern feminist scholar. But before long, the "self-defeating" cracks in that movement became more apparent and she found herself moving back to the church, this time to Catholicism. In this book she tells her story, and also offers beautifully written exp ..read more
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Book Review: “Rembrandt Is in the Wind,” Russ Ramsey
New Life Presbyterian Church
by Bob O'Bannon
10M ago
Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith, Russ Ramsey There is something about evangelicalism that has tended to make people suspicious of the arts. In some cases, it is understandably because of the illicit content found in some movies and music, but in other cases, it's something different -- maybe a fear of the unknown, or maybe a distrust of anything that is not explicitly "Christian." But Russ Ramsey explains in this book how important it is for Christians to be perceptive about the presence of beauty in the world around them. Evangelicals are good at purs ..read more
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Book Review: “Strange New World,” Carl Trueman
New Life Presbyterian Church
by Bob O'Bannon
1y ago
“Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution,” Carl Trueman Carl Trueman is a reformed Presbyterian who released a book titled, “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self,” back in 2020. It was regarded as important enough to warrant a briefer version written for a popular audience, which is what “Strange New World Is.” If large books aren’t your thing, make sure you read this one, because both of these books do a great job of making sense of a culture today that doesn’t seem to make any sense. Basically, Trueman is arguing that our current ..read more
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