Of the Way

Presented as a series of conversations between a seasoned pastor and a young man who is beginning to ask questions about what is popularly known as “Calvinism,” this book presents the doctrines of grace accurately and pastorally.  At only 150 pages this would be the perfect book to give to somebody who is working through [...]

Ever since the the first missionaries arrived on the British Isles almost two millennia ago, I don’t know if there has ever been a period of greater spiritual decline in the history of the English-speaking world than the Victorian Era.  Ryle lived in a period that was not devoid of religious profession, but where the [...]

I’m sure that you, like me, have had situations when you labored in vain.  It is part of the toil of living in a cursed world.  The ground produces thorns and thistles which are representative of the difficulties we encounter in every vocation.  Pests infest crops; data is lost on computers; thieves break in and [...]

I’m currently reading Holiness by J.C. Ryle.  It is a very good book.  One of the things I like about it is that it makes me think even when I disagree with him.  However, his chapter called “The Church Which Christ Builds” had me flabbergasted.  Here is one of the giants in the history of [...]

This was a read-aloud book to my daughter, which I hope will become a yearly tradition.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  The book isn’t just a story about a Christmas pageant; it’s the gospel lived out.  Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners.   The Herdmans were the worst kids in [...]

He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. Remember His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations. The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant, fulfilled not merely [...]

At fifteen pages, I anticipate this will be the shortest book I will read for CRSC.  (Many magazine articles are longer.)  Warfield packs a lot of punch into his brief address originally delivered at the Autumn Conference at Princeton Theological Seminary on October 4, 1911.  He exhorts the seminarians regarding the type of spiritual lives [...]

This is must reading for any young man.  Ryle’s exhortation to young men is timeless, succinct (62 pages in this edition), and wise.  The only real qualm that I have with Ryle is that he seems to have a latent gnostic streak with regards to the material world.  (The phrase “immortal soul” shows up quite [...]

This little 41 page booklet is essentially an adaptation of the first lecture Thielicke would give to new students.  It warns new theological students of the “spiritual sicknesses” that frequently befall theology students.  He compares the period of theological training to puberty in that there are a lot of changes going on and the maturity [...]

Protestant Biblical Interpretation is a textbook of hermeneutics, which the author defines as the “science and art of Biblical interpretation.”  This was assigned reading as part of my “Thinking Biblically I” class at Christus Rex Study Center.  There is a lot of good material in this book, and there are only a couple of untranslated [...]

This is a great summary of Biblical Christianity (a.k.a. “Calvinism”).  There are four sections of this book.  “Back to Conversion” is written by Doug Wilson, an able and concise presentation of the reformed view of soteriology (the doctrine of salvation).  “Back to the Covenant” is written by Doug Jones and presents the basics of thinking [...]

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. [...]

This is a book of several essays on church life on topics ranging from the character of a minister to outreach to the sacraments.  Beyond containing several memorable quotes, the book is quite practical.  It deals directly with issues that come up again and again in the life of the church.  Wilson ably advances the [...]

Peter Leithart preached at our church this past Sunday.  As I don’t believe he ordinarily records the sermons he preaches, this is a rare treat.  It can be found here.   While you’re at it, you can also catch the last time he preached at our church (before I was there) about Naboth’s vineyard.  Don’t say [...]

My first Christus Rex Study Center (CRSC) book.  Jordan attempts to develop a Biblical worldview based on the symbolism of the Bible.  He looks at stars, trees, rocks, animals, etc., in terms of their symbolic significance in the Bible and then looks at the different “worlds” of Noah, the Patriarchs, the Mosaic establishment, the Davidic [...]