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Archive for January, 2010

D.A. Carson on Evangelicalism—from ETS 2009

What defines today’s evangelicals? Is the term evangelical even useful anymore?

Dr. D. A. Carson first presents a biblical/theological definition of evangelicalism that is rooted in the New Testament’s description of the gospel, and then he proceeds to demonstrate its continuing relevance and our need for its scripturally defined boundaries.

Listen to Dr. Carson from last year’s annual ETS meeting:

Stay tuned for Carson’s upcoming release of Evangelicalism: What Is It and Is It Worth Keeping? coming in September 2010!

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January 12, 2010 | Posted in: Author,Books,Evangelism,Video | Author: Crossway Staff @ 9:47 am | 0 Comments »

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Why You Should Read A Sweet and Bitter Providence

John Piper’s brand new book A Sweet and Bitter Providence is an exploration of the book of Ruth. In the introduction, he writes,

I don’t know you or your circumstances well enough to to say for sure that you should read this book…. [L]et me simply tell you why I think you might be helped if you join me in listening to the message of Ruth.

He lists 7 reasons:

1. Ruth is the Word of God.

[T]he message of Ruth is unwaveringly true. It’s a rock to stand on when the terrain of ideas feels like quicksand. It’s an anchor to hold us when tides are ripping….

The message of Ruth is filled with God-inspired hope.

2. Ruth is a love story.

The way Ruth and Boaz find each other is the stuff of epics…. But the story is the flesh-and-blood experience of one family living the unexpected plan of God.

3. Ruth is a portrait of beautiful, noble manhood and womanhood.

In a day when movies and television and advertising and the Internet portray masculinity and femininity in the lowest ways, we are in great need of stories that elevate the magnificent meaning of manhood and womanhood….

Ruth and Boaz are extraordinary. Men and women today need heroes like this.

4. Ruth address racial and ethnic diversity and harmony.

Ruth is an “unclean” pagan Moabitess. But she is drawn into faith and into the lineage of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Her marriage is an interracial marriage. There are lessons here that we need as much as ever today.

5. Ruth displays the sovereignty of God.

Is God’s bitter providence the last word?… Everywhere I look in the world today, whether near or far, the issue for real people in real life is, Can I trust and love the God who has dealt me this painful hand in life? That is the question the book of Ruth intends to answer.

6. Ruth displays radical acts of risk-taking love.

[The book of Ruth is in the Bible] to make you a new kind of person—a person who is able “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

7. Ruth displays the glory of Christ.

[A] thousand years before Christ, this book glorifies his saving work on the cross, as we will see. Ruth is about the work of God in the darkest times to prepare the world for the glories ot Jesus Christ.

(Original post from Desiring God here).

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January 11, 2010 | Posted in: Books,Video | Author: Crossway Staff @ 10:32 am | 0 Comments »

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Jesus in Sandals or Enthroned?

In Raised with Christ, author Adrian Warnock urgently exhorts the church and believers to not neglect the resurrection.

The degree to which we neglect the resurrection is also the degree to which we neglect to think about Jesus as he really is, now. Jesus is enthroned in heaven and is reigning inside every believer. His powers are limitless, and he is at liberty to do as he wishes. While on earth he did not fully reveal his glory and divine power. To only think of Jesus as a long-haired, gentle man in a robe and wearing sandals has devastating effects on the church. This perception has permeated the attitudes of many who perceive Jesus as a weak character but a good teacher. The world seems blind to the Bible’s description of the resurrected Jesus, full of power and authority. This description is highly offensive to the world. But to worship Jesus as the artists have portrayed him, instead of as the Son of Man in all his glory, is nothing short of idolatry. (Excerpt from pp 68).

See what others are saying about Raised with Christ:

“Adrian Warnock points us all to the centrality of the resurrection for every dimension of the Christian life. Adrian is a first-rate communicator and a man whose life demonstrates the joy of Christ’s resurrection. You will be greatly blessed by this book.” —R. Albert Mohler Jr.

“Adrian Warnock presents a beautiful picture of why the resurrection matters to each of us. In Raised with Christ, the resurrection of Jesus is unleashed to its exalted place where it supplies our new birth, surrounds our new life, and empowers our new mission. With great clarity, Adrian teaches how the resurrection of Christ matters every day.”
—Ed Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research

“Thank you, Adrian, for helping to open our eyes to all the glories and the blessings of Christ’s resurrection and the power, present and future, which proceeds from it.”
—Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

“Jesus is alive! And, as my friend Adrian Warnock will help you learn, this fact changes everything for everyone.”
—Mark Driscoll, Founding Pastor, Mars Hill Church, Seattle; President, the Resurgence; President, Acts 29 Church Planting Network


Browse the book or learn more about Raised with Christ here.

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January 8, 2010 | Posted in: Books,Resurrection of Christ,Reviews | Author: Crossway Staff @ 8:15 am | 0 Comments »

Posted in Books, Resurrection of Christ, Reviews | No Comments »

Trackback Thursday – In My Place Condemned He Stood

97814335020021This week’s featured trackback title is In My Place Condemned He Stood by J.I. Packer and Mark Dever.

Check out our previous post in which Packer surveys how we have distorted the biblical gospel here. And Kindle readers, download your free copy here (available until the end of January).

A reminder of how Trackback Thursday works: Simply link to the blog post from your blog, leave a comment on Crossway’s Facebook Page, or re-tweet Trackback Thursday on Twitter @Crosswaybooks. Winners are picked on Friday morning.

J.I. Packer on what is the heart of the Biblical Gospel? (Excerpt from pp 41):

By this means justice has been done, for the sins of all that will ever be pardoned were judged and punished in the person of God the Son, and it is on this basis that pardon is now offered to us of- fenders. Redeeming love and retributive justice joined hands, so to speak, at Calvary, for there God showed himself to be “just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.”

Do you understand this? If you do, you are now seeing to the very heart of the Christian gospel. No version of that message goes deeper than that which declares man’s root problem before God to be his sin, which evokes wrath, and God’s basic provision for man to be propitiation, which out of wrath brings peace. Some versions of the gospel, indeed, are open to blame because they never get down to this level.

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January 7, 2010 | Posted in: Books,The Gospel | Author: Crossway Staff @ 7:49 am | (3) Comments »

Posted in Books, The Gospel | 3 Comments »

Noel Piper’s New Website

Crossway author Noel Piper kicked off the new year by launching her new website! Check out noelpiper.com to learn more about her, her ministry, books, and more. If you subscribe today, you’ll make it just in time for a chance to win a copy of Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God.

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January 6, 2010 | Posted in: Author,Books,Women, Wives, Mothers | Author: Crossway Staff @ 3:10 pm | 1 Comment »

Posted in Author, Books, Women, Wives, Mothers | 1 Comment »