Tag Archives: book review

It’s the End of the World as Paul Knew It

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Carl Simmons

As C. Marvin Pate points out from the get-go, “[The apostle] Paul was a product of three worlds: Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian.” This collision of worldviews (and the sub-worldviews within — e.g., Caesar-worship, Stoicism, Platonism, and especially the “Judaizers” so … Continue reading →

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The Mystery in the Mess

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Carl Simmons

(Sounds like a Bones episode, don’t it? Anyway…) Some devotional books are dedicated to helping you feel better about your life each day…. My purpose here is to embrace the mysteries of God and then proclaim by faith that, despite … Continue reading →

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Ambition and Its Discontents

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Carl Simmons

Ambition is a tricky thing. It can be the “divine discontent” that drives us to accomplish great things for God, or it can be… well, we’ve all seen what it can be. And as a result, many of us don’t … Continue reading →

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Get Real, Get Right

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Carl Simmons

I think (hope?) that by now most Christians realize that evangelism isn’t about delivering some canned presentation—let alone about smashing nonbelievers to bits with our “unassailable” arguments—but about sharing the hope we have in Christ, the hope He has given … Continue reading →

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Doing the Impossible by God’s Grace

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Carl Simmons

Near the beginning of this book is an anecdote regarding the late evangelist D.L. Moody, which is worth reprinting here: A newspaper reporter once wrote, “I can see nothing whatever in D.L. Moody to account for his marvelous work.” When … Continue reading →

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And the Word Became the Word

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Carl Simmons

This book expands upon an idea so obvious that we usually miss it: that Jesus was intimately acquainted with the content of the Old Testament. He knew it as a Jew; He knew it as a member of the Godhead … Continue reading →

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Keeping Preaching Biblical AND Creative

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Carl Simmons

There’s a lot of materials out there for pastors to “spice up their sermons”—and admittedly those people will be (and should be) attracted to this book. What sets this one apart from many of those books is the desire to … Continue reading →

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Making Grace Irresistible to the World

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Carl Simmons

Don’t let the seeming exclusivity in the title hold you back—this is the first of hopefully many books to be published by the World Reformed Fellowship, after all. For that matter, don’t let my past kvetchings about that other term … Continue reading →

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How, How, How… No. Really. HOW?

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Carl Simmons

Let’s start with the positive here: If you’re looking for materials that will help you develop a Christian worldview, this book can help. Unfortunately, it’s this book’s appendices that will help more in that matter than the actual text. Douglas … Continue reading →

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Mercy Is a Three-Way Street

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Carl Simmons

Robert Gelinas’ first book, Finding the Groove, was a paradigm-shifter for me. Not only did its “jazz theology” help unlock my faith in a new way, but its sense of creativity was a heavy influence especially on my own Growing Others. And … Continue reading →

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