One of the privileges of working at PRTS is the weekly arrival of new books to supplement our library of 70,000+ books. I shared some new selections last week, and here are some more of note.

Inclusion in the library does not necessarily mean endorsement of contents. We often have to buy books to help students with specialist theses and also to train students to think critically. Also note that new to the library does not mean a new book on the market.

The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World by Peter Scazzero

“Going beyond simply offering a quick fix or new technique, The Emotionally Healthy Leader gets to the core, beneath-the-surface issues of uniquely Christian leadership. This book is more than a book you will read; it is a resource you will come back to over and over again.”

Longing for Home by J. Stephen Yuille

“In Longing for Home, Stephen Yuille directs our attention to the help God has given us in the Psalms of Ascent. In this collection of Psalms 120-134, we walk with our brothers and sisters through life’s many ups and downs on our way to Zion, the city of God.”

One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics by Bruce Ashford and Chris Pappalardo

“When it comes to politics, Christians today seem lost and confused. Many Christians desire to relate their faith to politics but simply don’t know how. This book exists to equip the reader to apply Christianity to politics with both grace and truth, with both boldness and humility.”

James MacGregor: Preacher, Theologian and Defender of the Faith by John W Keddie

This one is a bit hard to find right now, newly published this month. This is a biography James MacGregor (1829-1894), 19th century Presbyterian minister and theological professor. He was a minister in the Free Church of Scotland and a defender of orthodox evangelical views.

Judicial Warfare: Christian Reconstruction and Its Blueprints For Dominion by Greg Loren Durand

“The stated goal of the Reconstructionists is to ‘apply the Word of God to all areas of life.’ However, despite its wide influence and acceptance within Calvinistic circles, the theology of the movement departs significantly from the historic Reformed faith on the subject of Old Testament law, merges the Covenant of Works with the Covenant of Grace, and dangerously undermines the Gospel itself.”

Theology without Borders: An Introduction to Global Conversations by William A. Dyrness and Oscar García-Johnson

“A valuable and catalytic resource for the pursuit and practice of a deeply faithful Christianity in a world of great cultural diversity.” –Vincent Bacote, Wheaton College

Bonhoeffer’s Seminary Vision: A Case for Costly Discipleship and Life Together by Paul R. House

“…this book attempts to recover a largely unexamined part of Bonhoeffer’s life, exploring his philosophy and practice of theological education in his original context. It then builds on this foundation to address the drift toward increasingly impersonal educational models in our own day, affirming the value of personal, face-to-face seminary education for the health of pastors and churches.”

Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Swindoll’s New Testament Insights) by Wesley Hill

Although this is a controversial book, largely for its adoption of the “gay Christian” vocabulary (which I reject), there is much helpful material on how to help believers who struggle with same sex desire. ”

God’s Glory Alone–The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life by David VanDrunen

“In God’s Glory Alone—The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life, renowned scholar David VanDrunen looks at the historical and biblical roots of the idea that all glory belongs to God alone. He examines the development of this theme in the Reformation, in subsequent Reformed theology and confessions, and in contemporary theologians who continue to be inspired by the conviction that all glory belongs to God.”

Christ or Chaos by Dan DeWitt

“…Dan DeWitt helps college-aged readers wrestle with the implications of an atheistic worldview through the fictional story of a student named Zach. Addressing the tensions skeptics often face when taking atheism to its logical end, this book poses a significant question: “Can atheism really explain the world in which we live?”

Here’s an excellent address on God without Passions delivered by Pastor Gavin Beers, a pastor in Ayr, Scotland. It doesn’t answer all the questions, but it’s an accessible treatment of an important subject. For more resources on this subject, see below. For more online resources on various subjects go to Online Resources.

Confessing the Impassible God (I) | Paul Helm

Confessing the Impassible God (II) | Paul Helm

My conversation with Jürgen Moltmann | Paul Helm

The Impassible God of the Bible | Wesley Hill | First Things

The New “New Orthodoxy” | Wesley Hill | First Things

Zwingli, divine impassibility, and the gospel | Scott Swain 

The Beauty of the Impassible God (Or, Is God an Emotional Teenager?) | Mere Orthodoxy 

God, both Impassible and Impassioned | Paul Helm

Does God Change His Mind? | Fred Zaspel

Make Mine a Double! | Carl Truman

Tis Mystery All, The Immortal Dies | Kevin DeYoung

Impassibility | Phil Johnson

God Without Mood Swings | Phil Johnson and Rich Barcellos

Still Impassible: Confessing God Without Passions

And a few books.

Confessing the Impassible God 

God Is Impassible and Impassioned: Toward a Theology of Divine Emotion

Does God Suffer?

God without Parts: Divine Simplicity and the Metaphysics of God’s Absoluteness

Blogs

Change… Friend? or Foe? | Homeschool on the Croft
An old friend from Scotland reflects on changes in her life in a way that resonated with some recent changes in my own life too.

The past year has seen so many changes in our lives. None of them have been tragic. None of them have caused sorrow and grief – unlike the case for so many people, some of whom are known to me and very dear to me. None of the changes have broken my heart, and yet… there’s a ‘but still….

Learning from a Giant: Three reasons to read John Owen | Matthew Barrett and Michael Haykin, Credo Magazine
“Why should we read, get to know, and learn from a Puritan like John Owen? As J. I. Packer has argued, we need to read the Puritans, and John Owen especially, because we are spiritual dwarfs by comparison.”

Breaking Through the Despair of Unbelief | Tony Reinke, Desiring God
“Michael Reeves may now serve as the President of Union School of Theology in Oxford and be recognized as the author of wonderful books like Delighting in the Trinity and Rejoicing in Christ – but those affections for God were hard-won.”

3GT Short: On Grieving | Gentle Reformation
A podcast in which the participants’ recent painful bereavements are discussed in the light of God’s Word.

3 Ways Our Culture Is Different than Every Other Culture in History | Gavin Ortlund, TGC
“Here are three ways our culture is eccentric in its basic instincts about God, morality, and life”

The Beauty and Challenge of Singleness | Drew Hunter, TGC
“What does it mean to live as a single man in today’s world? Some men are single at 20, others at 60. Some are single by choice, others by undesired circumstance. Some have always been single, others become so again following divorce or the death of a spouse. How does God’s Word give us a vision for living single for his glory?”

3 Truths to Fight Pastoral Despair | Scott Slayton, TGC
“Pastors preach the gospel every week. We stand behind the pulpit, look across the room, and proclaim the free pardon of sin found in Christ alone. We remind people of the hope they have in Christ when they walk through life’s darkest valleys-then we wrestle with crippling despair ourselves as we forget the very gospel we preach to others.”

Kindle Deals

Fire, 7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black on sale for $39.99. An inexpensive tablet and a Kindle reader.

Bible Atlas & Companion by Hudson and Barrett ($2.99) Not useful for the traditional Kindle, but great for Kindle App on your tablet or Desktop.

God in a Brothel: An Undercover Journey into Sex Trafficking and Rescue by Daniel Walker ($2.99)

Relationships: A Mess Worth Making by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp ($1.99)

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts ($1.99).

And a couple of others that may interest you. Contending with Christianity’s Critics: Anwering New Atheists and Other Objectors by William Lane Craig ($0.99) The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper ($2.99)

Video

David Powlison: “Depression and Suffering: Finding Hope and Healing for Ourselves and Others” | TGC
Click through for an outline and video of David Powlison’s address on depression delivered at RTS Charlotte on January 18, 2016.

Every President has a spokesperson (or Chief Communications Officer). Although it’s an essential position, it’s generally a pretty thankless task that few last very long in because of the almost impossible demands of representing the President’s views on such a vast range of complicated issues before a hostile press pack.

Imagine then how much harder it would be to represent God (not just a man), to a hostile world (not just a pack of journalists), and on the full range of the deepest and greatest issues facing all of humanity (not just relatively trivial matters like Obamacare).

Who could fill such shoes? Who could perform such a role? Who could last a day in the role of God’s chief communications officer?

John says, “In the beginning was the Communicator, and the Communicator was towards God, and the Communicator was God” (John 1:1). Such a paraphrase of the Apostle John’s famous opening to his Gospel catches the essential truth of Jesus Christ’s job description.

God’s Official Spokesman

At various points in Christ’s life, the Father publicly announced Christ’s appointment as His spokesman. For example, in Luke 9:35, “A voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’”

But the Son of God had started this communications post long before His incarnation. John Calvin said that God never spoke directly to mankind but only and ever through His Son:

Holy men of old knew God only by beholding him in his Son as in a mirror (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18). When I say this, I mean that God has never manifested himself to men in any other way than through the Son, that is, his sole wisdom, light, and truth. From this fountain Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others drank all that they had of heavenly teaching. From the same fountain, all the prophets have also drawn every heavenly oracle that they have given forth (Institutes 4.8.5).

And even before the OT, even before there was a beginning, as John tells us, there was an official communicator, who was Himself God’s Word, God’s Communicator.

God’s Intimate Spokesman

John says that “the Word was with God.” A better translation is, “The Word was towards God,” indicating not only nearness to the Father but movement towards Him. The Son is in face-to-face intimate communion and fellowship with the Father. It’s not that He leaves the Father’s presence to be His spokesman; He remains in the Father’s presence even when speaking for Him as John later explains: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). He is speaking out of the heart of God because He is the heart of God.

God’s Effective Spokesman

Christ is the most eloquent communicator of God there ever has been or will be. So much so, that He could say, “He that has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

No matter how arrogant Jay Carney or Josh Earnest could be, they wouldn’t dare say, “He that has seen me, has seen Barack Obama!” No man can represent another man that well.

But God can represent God that well. That’s why God’s official endorsements said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). And God was never more pleased than when His Son was communicating His greatest message about God to humanity. On the cross, Jesus spelled out G-O-D in the biggest and clearest letters the world has ever seen.

God’s Eternal Spokesman

He’s been doing this job for a long time. Before there even was time, He was the Communicator. He’s never gone on vacation, He’s never taken a day off, He’s never had a sick-day. He’s been doing this pre-time, full-time, and will do it for for all time. He doesn’t give up or resign, no matter the opposition to His message.

God’s Reliable Spokesman

All this means that He is utterly and totally reliable. He’s never misrepresented the Godhead, He’s never been reprimanded for a mistake in His communication of the divine message, He’s never had to apologize and put things right. He’s never stepped over the line or out of line. We can utterly and totally rely upon Him and His words as the very words of God.

Let’s take every opportunity to read them, hear them, believe them, obey them, and communicate them to others too.

Blogs

Driving with Rosaria Butterfield: An Encounter with Gospel-Driven Hospitality | Leanna Shepard, True Woman
“Here’s an illustration I heard from Rosaria: A believer in Christ is like a bridge. What is the purpose of a bridge? A bridge’s job is to get walked on. We don’t like the sound of that, do we? But as followers of the suffering Savior, we should count it no great loss to sacrifice a little for the sake of the kingdom. What is one evening of our week or a few extra dollars from the grocery budget in comparison to what Christ gave up to redeem sinners from eternal condemnation?”

Biblical Counseling and Synaptic Pruning in Schizophrenics | Thinking Christianly…In a Therapeutic Culture
Here’s an article on schizophrenia revealing welcome developments in biblical counseling.

“A friend sent me a copy of an article entitled Genetic Study Provides First-ever Insight into Biological Origin of Schizophrenia. My friend wanted to know what I thought about it as a biblical counselor. Are these findings good? Are they bad? Can a Christian worldview explain these findings?”

Regular Exercise & Depression | Paul Tautges, Counseling One Another
“The author cites the following benefits to regular exercise. Exercise relieves stress and anxiety. Exercise alleviates depression. Exercise treats mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medicines. Exercise improves our mood. As has been mentioned, exercise also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in our brain that energize our spirits and simply make us feel good. Exercise sharpens our brainpower. The same endorphins that make us feel better also help us concentrate and feel mentally sharp for a task that may be at hand. Exercise is an investment in your mind, body, and soul. Exercise assists in energy gain; it has a rejuvenating effect.” (See below for link to book)

What exactly is Puritan Theology? | Jonathan Tomes, Reformation21 Blog
“‘Puritan’ has been co-opted by many Reformed evangelicals to mean ‘whatever I think is good, noble, and true’. ”

The Rich Young Blogger | Mike Leake, Borrowed Light
“This might be what the story of the rich young ruler would be like today…”

Why Drafting Women Would Be A Big Mistake | Amy Otto, The Federalist
A response to Republican insanity about drafting women. Also see Threats Of Drafting Women Reveal The Lies Of Equality.

New Book

Fit for the Master: Glorifying God in a Healthy Body by John Lehman ($15.00)

Kindle Deals

Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by David J. Garrow ($1.99)

West Point ’41: The Class That Went to War and Shaped America by Anne Cazel-Wilcox and PJ Wilcox ($1.99)

Faith Alone—The Doctrine of Justification: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters (The Five Solas Series) by Thomas R. Schreiner ($5.99)

The Gospel in Genesis: From Fig Leaves to Faith by Martyn Lloyd-Jones ($2.99)

Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series on sale for $7.99. Also on offer in this excellent series: John’s Gospels and Letters (as pictured); Mark’s Gospel; Luke and Acts; James, Peter, and Jude.

Blogs

Q+A: The Story Behind the Jesus Storybook Bible
An interview with Sally Lloyd-Jones about her her bestselling Jesus Storybook Bible which has sold over 2 million copies.

A Social Media Heart Check
Four questions to check our hearts in our use of social media.

Loneliness grows from individual ache to public health hazard
“Scientists who have identified significant links between loneliness and illness are pursuing the precise biological mechanisms that make it such a menace, digging down to the molecular level and finding that social isolation changes the human genome in profound, long-lasting ways.”

This is your child’s brain on reading
“When parents read to their children the difference shows in children’s behavior and academic performance. And according to a new study, the difference also shows in their brain activity.”

Puritan Zeal
“Many churches today are looking less like armies engaged in war and more like people taking a nap.”

8 Ways to Order Your Marriage
Nicholas Macdonald looks at different ways husbands and wives negotiate differences.

Kindle Books

God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe $2.99.

A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationships by Paul Miller (author of A Praying Life) $3.99.

Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken $3.99. I loved this Christ-centered study of 1 Corinthians 13..

Last Explorer: Hubert Wilkins, Hero of the Golden Age of Polar Exploration $1.99. Might hook a teenage boy into reading a bit more.

Video

Drywall Art Sculpture
This might seem a bit “dry,” but watch it and you’ll be astounded at the artists ability to turn such a basic material into such a beautiful creation. Made me think of how our Creator will re-create our bodies at the resurrection.