The following are a handful of posts from Crossway authors that caught our attention in the blogosphere this week. Enjoy!
It’s far too easy for Christian parents to fall into the trap of parenting by the law instead of by grace, forgetting that a child’s fallen human nature can’t be effectively shaped by law. In Give Them Grace, Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson show parents how to rely on the love and grace of Christ rather than rules to raise godly children. Check out what reviewers are saying:
Tullian Tchividjian
“It’s the best parenting book I’ve ever read because it takes the radical, untamable, outrageous nature of the gospel seriously and applies it to parenting. It’s nothing short of revolutionary—not because the gospel theology in it is so new but because the gospel theology in it is so old.”
Jamie Caldwell
“The two words that best describe my reaction to this book are Shock and Awe. Shock because even though I have been a follower of Jesus and a pastor for quite some time, I have not allowed my parenting to be distinctly marked by the simple truth of God’s grace. Awe because even though I have sinfully neglected the grace of Jesus in my parenting, it is still there.”
-kd316
“You don’t even need to be a parent to sit and just drink in the focus on grace in this book by Elyse and her daughter. I finished it being encouraged in my personal life and also more to want to be a parent one day and how hard that task is going to be!”
Tota Scriptura
“This one of the better parenting books out there and one I would gladly recommend for its unyielding devotion to God’s glory as seen in His grace given through Christ our Lord and Savior and how all of this is relevant to the task of parenting.”
Gospel Community Culture
“I think possibly my favorite part of this book is the writing style and intentionality of the language…Give Them Grace was not written in Christianese, but in a blunt, culturally relevant dialect. The gospel is explained repeatedly, grace is explained and then applied with surgical precision to the heart of the reader.”
Bargain Books and Previews
“The concepts here are so simple yet have a significant impact. It is one of the best parenting books I have ever read.”
Bought by the Blood
“If you want to apply the gospel to parenting and have your parenting be saturated in the gospel then I could not encourage you enough to buy this book.”
While We Sojourn
“They don’t give readers a formula for parenting; there are no “three steps”… Instead, they remind us that it is God, and not parents, who determines a child’s destiny in this life and the next, and that we need His grace as much as our children do.”
Learn more about Give Them Grace.
Guest post by Christopher Morgan, co-editor with Robert Peterson of Crossway’s Theology in Community Series
“As clowns yearn to play Hamlet, so I have wanted to write a treatise on God.”
Such are the opening words of the 1973 classic by J. I. Packer, Knowing God. What humility! And yet this humility does not keep Dr. Packer from writing a remarkable book about God, for just as he feels the burden of his finitude, he also knows that “God has spoken.”
Still the challenge is enormous. How can we clowns construct good theology? Though that massive question requires more time, space, and insight than I have, five contours of such an answer include:
Theology that is biblical, humble, sound, church-centered, and applied—this is precisely what Robert Peterson and I are trying to foster in our series, Theology in Community.
The volumes in the series now include:
Upcoming volumes in the series include The Kingdom of God, Sin, Heaven, The Love of God, The Resurrection of Christ; and more.
It is our prayer that these volumes will assist pastors, teachers, students, and church leaders as God uses them to strengthen his church.
Money is a terrible master. It doesn’t seem to start that way though. First we simply desire it. Then we become tenacious in our pursuit of it, vicious in our protection of it, committed in our devotion to it, and finally we find ourselves in love, deceived, and enslaved.
Josh Moody, author of No Other Gospel, gives us some helpful reminders as we think about money today:
Adapted from Am I Really a Christian? by Mike McKinley
How do you know if you’re really a Christian? This can be a dangerous question if taken the wrong way, so you have to check your intentions (not asking as a means to judge others or to beat yourself up for an area in which you think you fall short).
At the same time there’s a concerning trend: There are far too many people who think that they are Christians, but aren’t actually in Christ. We have a genuine love and concern for those in the church who may assume salvation is by association. Are we depending on church attendance, family background, and good intentions?
Genuine faith shows evidence of regeneration. Scripture gives us five criteria by which you can evaluate faith. If these things are present in your life, they are indications that you are truly being transformed by a vibrant and real faith.
Learn more about Am I Really a Christian? or read a sample chapter.
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