Biblical Leadership | Matt Williams & Ken Collier

by Matt McCarnan on September 18th, 2007

Biblical LeadershipMatt Williams & Ken Collier. Biblical Leadership: Becoming a Different Kind of Leader. Ambassador-Emerald, 2004. 184 pp.

A Leader Like No Other

Leadership is influence, so the accepted definition goes. Influence is the ability to move another person in a direction you believe is important. By any definition, Jesus Christ was a leader like no other! . . .

Jesus Christ was the greatest leader the world has ever known because He was the greatest follower the world has ever known. He had a sharply focused view of exactly what His Father desired of Him. No trial, no deprivation, no conflict, no misunderstanding, and no death threat made Him swerve from following the will of His Father. What a leader! What a Follower!

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What Did Jesus Do? | Ray Comfort

by Matt McCarnan on September 17th, 2007

What Did Jesus Do?Ray Comfort. What Did Jesus Do?: A Call to Return to the Biblical Gospel. Genesis, 2005. 176 pp.

The Diagnosis and the Cure

A television documentary showed a Tibetan peasant woman making her pilgrimage around a sacred mountain. She stopped every few steps to prostrate herself on the rocky soil. She stood to her dust-covered feet, walked a few more paces, and repeated the arduous and painful ritual. She had completed the thirty-two-mile pilgrimage twenty-nine times. Asked why she did it, she smiled sweetly and answered, “We want to be reborn in heaven.”

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God’s Grace and the Homosexual Next Door | Alan Chambers

by Matt McCarnan on September 14th, 2007

God’s Grace and the Homosexual Next DoorAlan Chambers. God’s Grace and the Homosexual Next Door: Reaching the Heart of the Gay Men and Women in Your World. Harvest House, 2006. 288 pp.

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
—1 Corinthians 6:9-11

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Battling Unbelief | John Piper

by Matt McCarnan on September 12th, 2007

Battling UnbeliefJohn Piper. Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure. Multnomah, 2007. 176 pp.

Battling Impatience

In God’s Place, At God’s Pace, By Future Grace

Impatience is a form of unbelief. It’s what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God’s timing or the goodness of God’s guidance. It springs up in our hearts when our plan is interrupted or shattered. It may be prompted by a long wait in a checkout line or a sudden blow that knocks out half our dreams. The opposite of impatience is not a glib denial of loss. It’s a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience—to wait in his place, and go at his pace. And the key is faith in future grace. . . .

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Corner Conversations | Randy Newman

by Matt McCarnan on September 11th, 2007

Corner ConversationsRandy Newman. Corner Conversations: Engaging Dialogues About God and Life. Kregel, 2006. 208 pp.

Introduction

Welcome to Turnerville. I only wish this town existed someplace besides in my imagination. Everything moves slowly in Turnerville. People take time to think. They discuss issues that typically get rushed or ignored. Even the leaves seem to change colors more slowly there. When city planners drew up blueprints, they strategically placed benches all over town so people would stop and chat. The mayor boasts of a higher bench-per-capita ratio than any other locale.

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Far As the Curse Is Found | Michael Williams

by Matt McCarnan on September 6th, 2007

Far as the Curse is FoundMichael D. Williams. Far As the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption. P&R, 2005. 319 pp.

Most people—believers as well as non-Christians—cannot give a credible answer to the question “What is Christianity about?”

How do we account for this state of affairs? Given the life-and-death urgency of Christianity, we stand desperately in need of a reversal of the damning disparity between the eternal importance of the Christian faith and the apprehension of it by its advocates. Christianity is a revelatory religion. This means that God has revealed himself, his ways, and his will most clearly and fully in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Christianity is, therefore, a religion of the book. Thus, if believers do not understand the core issues of the Christian religion, it is because they fail to grasp or appreciate the Bible in some fundamental way.

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Making Kingdom Disciples | Charles Dunahoo

by Matt McCarnan on September 4th, 2007

Making Kingdom DisciplesCharles H. Dunahoo. Making Kingdom Disciples: A New Framework. P&R, 2005. 249 pp.

An Overview of the Kingdom Model

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave his final command to his church about their assignment during the interim between his ascension and his return at the end of the age. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).

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Heaven on Earth | Stephen Nichols

by Matt McCarnan on August 31st, 2007

Heaven on EarthStephen J. Nichols. Heaven on Earth: Capturing Jonathan Edwards’s Vision of Living in Between. Crossway, 2006. 144 pp.

Introduction

In heaven we will enjoy perfect, unbroken fellowship with the Triune God. We will relish the glory of God. We will savor the sweetness of Christ. We will have perfect fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Why not start now?

In heaven, bickering, complaining, and acts of injustice will all have fallen away. Peace and harmony and justice will be the order. We will love God perfectly. We will even love all our brothers and sisters in Christ perfectly. So why not begin now? There’s no reason not to. In fact, there’s every reason in the world to do so. . . .

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The Wounded Warrior | Steve Stephens

by Matt McCarnan on August 30th, 2007

The Wounded WarriorSteve Stephens. The Wounded Warrior: Survival Guide for When You’re Beat Up, Burned Out, or Battle Weary. Multnomah, 2006. 224 pp.

Wounds can make you or break you. It’s not the deepness of the wound that kills you; it’s your refusal to face reality and step forward.

Life is full of battles, and every warrior is going to sustain his share of injuries. Some soldiers incur one significant, overpowering wound; others receive numerous minor wounds. Regardless of his past history or present circumstances, every man has his gashes and broken bones.

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How to Pray for Your Wife | Mark Weathers

by Matt McCarnan on August 27th, 2007

How to Pray for Your WifeMark A. Weathers. How to Pray for Your Wife: A 31-Day Guide. Crossway, 2006. 158 pp.

Introduction

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24

I see a unique tree every day while traveling to the church building where I minister. It’s a dogwood, and for the majority of the year it looks like any other dogwood in the southeast—slender divided trunk with a bushy green top. But this past spring it caught me off guard as it was coming into full bloom. The tree boasted of both white and pink blossoms intermingled throughout its branches.

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