Transforming Power of the Gospel

by Jerry Bridges

Endorsements

“Jerry Bridges loves the gospel and wants us to love it too, knowing that as the grace of God captures our hearts, it transforms our lives. As impossible and contradictory as it may seem, grace leads to godliness. I have learned so much of this gospel motivation from Jerry Bridges through the years, and I praise God for this new book that expresses the power of the gospel with such tender and compelling love for Christ.”

– Dr. Bryan Chappell, president, Covenant Seminary; author of Holiness by Grace

“Jerry Bridges encourages God’s people because he writes as one who is constantly discovering and delighting in the deep riches of the gospel. In this book, we hear of not just God’s holiness but also His majestic mercy and the transforming power of His grace. Here, in accessible form, is an overview of the Christian life framed in terms of the completed work of Christ, the empowering presence of the Spirit, and the real call of the believer to respond not in fear but in freedom.”

– Dr. Kelly K. Kapic, professor of theological studies, Covenant College; author of Communion with God: The Divine and the Human in the Theology of John Owen

2012 Giveaway #1

It is the second week of January, and I’d just gone through a few chapters of Tchividjian’s book Jesus + Nothing = Everything. What can I say? I am literally blown away by the magnitude of God’s grace as found in the gospel. Tullian truly writes about the gospel and he understands it very well.

An excerpt may help when he talks about the “secret of maturity”:

The gospel’s secret of maturity is this: we become more spiritually mature when we focus less on what we need to do for God and focus more on all that God has already done for us…. We actually perform better in life as we grow in understanding that our relationship with God is based on Christ’s performance for us, not on our performance for him. (185)

Published by Crossway Books, 2011. Retail: $18.99

This is an exciting book to own, so gear up for this giveaway.

To join read the Guidelines.

Scroll down until you reach the “Leave a Reply” portion.

Draw Date: February 10, 2012 (for Philippine residents only).

Four Nativity Hymns: A Repost

It is December once again, and as we remember Christ’s birth during the advent season, let us reflect from the Gospel according to Luke the four nativity hymns. These hymns according to Ryken may well be considered as the last of the Psalms and the beginning of the new covenant hymns. May this Advent truly bring the meaning of the Incarnation, and may it serve to help us trust more and more on this Great Savior–the glory of Israel!

Mary’s Magnificat (1:39-55)

Zechariah’s Benedictus (1:56-80)

The Angels’ Gloria (2:8-20)

Simeon’s Nunc Dimittis (2:21-38)

Salvation Accomplished by the Son

The Work of Christ by Robert A. Peterson

Endorsements

“Peterson conducts a full-orbed tour of Christology, particularly highlighting the often neglected role of Christ’s resurrection in our salvation. Peterson writes with a pastor’s heart, as is evident in the biblical fidelity and remarkable clarity that marks this work.”

-Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Robert Peterson has produced a comprehensive study of Christ’s saving work that puts the cross at the center, but also shows how it is part of a wider plan. He shows how the atonement must be seen in the context of Christ’s whole life and ministry without compromising the essential truth of his penal substitutionary sacrifice for us. This is a refreshing and insightful study, which is much needed at the present time and deserves to be widely read.”

-Gerald Bray, Research Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School

“Dr. Peterson told me in correspondence, ‘my work is not [systematic theology] as much as laying biblical foundations for systematics.’ Well, people can define terms as they like. But I think Salvation Accomplished by the Son is systematic theology at its very best. It deals with doctrines of systematic theology by bringing them into closest proximity with the biblical texts that justify them. That is the kind of systematics of which we need much more. To explore any question about Jesus’s incarnation, atonement, or resurrection, this is the book to which, after Scripture itself, I would turn first.”

-John M. Frame, J. D. Trimble Chair of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

Advent Giveaway

Thanksgiving. I hope we’re not just thankful for the turkey but to our gracious Heavenly Father who is the giver of all things. So with thanksgiving and the Advent season just apart by a month, we are thankful to Dr. Michael Horton and the White Horse Inn for sponsoring this giveaway. They have graciously given three copies of the book by Dr. Horton.

Three winners will be drawn for the revised edition + DVD of Putting Amazing Back Into Grace: Embracing the Heart of the Gospel.

To join read the Guidelines.

Scroll down until you reach the “Leave a Reply” portion.

Draw Date: December 24, 2011.

Submission of comments CLOSED.

The three winners are: Jovy, Sahara and Hanniel. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Keren for joining the Reformation giveaway.

Give Them Grace

Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Fitzpatrick, Elyse M. and Thompson, Jessica

Endorsements

“So many Christian parents fall into the trap of asking the law to do in the hearts of their children what only grace can accomplish. Armed with threats, manipulation, and guilt, they attempt to create change that only the cross of Jesus Christ makes possible. It is so encouraging to read a parenting book that points parents to the grace of the cross and shows them how to be instruments of that grace in the lives of their children.”

- Paul Tripp, President, Paul Tripp Ministries

“Elyse Fitzpatrick continues her never-ending quest to churn out grace-filled, Christ-centered, gospel-saturated books. And now she’s done it again with her daughter, Jessica, coauthoring this excellent parenting book! If you are a parent, get online and order your copy of Give Them Grace today!”

- Deepak Reju, Pastor of Biblical Counseling and Families, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

“The authors—mother and daughter—remind us that parenting is not only hard but also impossible. Yes, we need to nurture, teach, discipline, train, pray, and model, but we must not depend on our parenting skills to change the hearts of our children. Instead, they counsel parents to ‘rely on the faithfulness of Jesus, our great high priest, to change their hearts.’ Grace for both parents and children flows through the pages of this book; I only wish I had read it at the beginning of my parenting instead of the end.”

- Rose Marie Miller, missionary; speaker; author, From Fear to Freedom

“This is not just a book on parenting; this is deep training in the gospel. Elyse Fitzpatrick shows parents how to model themselves after the heavenly Father, who changed his children not by wrath and the law but by grace. A lot of books talk about gospel-centeredness in theory; this book shows you how to apply it to one of life’s most important relationships.”

- J. D. Greear, Senior Pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, North Carolina

“In our human attempts to raise good and godly kids, we often forget that God extended his best grace to us. We are not full of grace on our own; we desperately need his grace. Elyse Fitzpatrick and her daughter, Jessica, provide a great tool to guide parents down the road of gracious parenting. I commend it to you.”

- James MacDonald, Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Chicagoland Area; radio teacher, Walk in the Word

Quote

I love the smell of new books; they look good and feel good. Anyway, one of the newest book that got through the mail is Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick (Crossway 2011). The title alone is telltale of gospel-saturated-raising-kids teaching. Even though I have adult children now, I still need to go back to showing grace to them. And this book helps.

“Lie to Your Child to Make Him Good

So much of what we’re advised to do as parents is so that our kids will feel good about themselves. This advice has roots in the self-esteem movement, which claimed that a child’s success in life is based on whether or not he feels that he is good. Although the modern self-esteem movement began in the 1950s and 1960s, this was no novel lie. It has been around for thousands of years. It’s the same deception that Eve believed in the beginning. Yum, she thought; this fruit looks good and it will make me good. I think we’ll have it for dinner tonight. Since the fall of the human race, we’ve been alternately telling ourselves that we are good, that if we try hard enough we’ll be good enough, or that being good is an impossibility so we should just give up and have fun. After all, nobody’s perfect!” (p. 42)

Reformation Day 2011

This has been a quiet Reformation Sunday for me because I preached this day on the topic of Fasting and Feasting. I was asked to speak at three services, and the first two services were conducted the usual way. By the third service, I had a huge surprise. I could hardly imagine it, but out the blue the worship leader said, “Today is Reformation Sunday.” And I could hardly contain my joy because the 16th century reformation has not been forgotten altogether. Before I started preaching, I jokingly said I was almost inclined to change the topic and speak about the reformation.

Sola fide. Once again, we are reminded of the call to justification by faith alone. That justification is imputed righteousness; the righteousness that is required of us which we cannot never live out. Yet Christ lived it for us–his perfect obedience was the only way that we can be accepted by God.

Thank God for the recovery of the gospel. Happy Reformation Day!

Reformation 2011 Giveaway

Reformation Day is just a few days away (October 31st). So that we might not forget that day when Luther nailed the 95 Theses (on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences or Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum), I am giving away a two-book bonus. You may also use this bulletin insert for Reformation Sunday to commemorate this important event in church history. To join the giveaway, be sure to add your name in the comment section.

Reformation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by Carl Trueman (reprint 2011)

Retail Price: $10.99

Get Wisdom!: 23 Lessons for Children about Living for Jesus by Ruth Younts (2010)

Retail Price: $8.99

“Ruth Younts has produced a wisdom character manual like I have never seen before. Forget that it was written for children, I need it! I wish I had been given such a fun, street-level and Christ-centered tool when my children were still at home. By the way, Ruth isn’t able to talk about wisdom with such practicality and grace because she did graduate work in wisdom. No, Ruth has spent years at the feet of her Heavenly Father listening. She knows that he is not only the source of all true wisdom, but is Wisdom himself.”

- Paul D. Tripp

Draw Date: November 23, 2011.

Congratulations to James ‘Yacky’ for joining the 4th giveaway.

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

by Tullian Tchividjian (twitter.com/PastorTullian)

Endorsements

“In an evangelical culture where so many of us are unaware that the gospel isn’t just what we believe to save us but also what sustains us and carries us into maturity, this book hammers home the gospel’s power for the believer. Whether you have been in church your whole life or recently converted, this book will fuel your affections for our great God and King.”

- Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor, The Village Church, Highland Village, Texas; author, The Explicit Gospel

“There’s loads of talk about the gospel these days. Some people think that talking about the gospel is ‘trendy’ and that after a while we’ll all calm down and get over it. Oh, I hope not. I hope that the gospel and the desire to move further into the gospel will grow and grow until it transforms our sin-wearied, unbelieving, moralistic, forgetful hearts and sets us aflame for Jesus. Jesus + Nothing = Everything will remind you of the ancient yet ever-fresh truth that everything we need is found in the perfections of Christ—not in ourselves, not in our reputation, our relationships or wealth or accomplishments—in Christ alone. If you’ve never rested in the finished work of Christ this book is for you. If you’ve rested in it for decades like I have, this book is for you, too. Why? Because we forget; And, although we love Jesus, we’re blind to the ways in which his work connects to our daily lives and we wonder why joy and zeal are foreign concepts to us. Buy this book. Read it. It will help you push deeper into the gospel and push the gospel message more deeply into every corner of your life. Tullian Tchividjian understands like few others how the gospel shines like a beacon of hope in times of despair. Listen to him, he’ll help you love the Savior more.”

- Elyse M. Fitzpatrick, counselor; speaker; author, Because He Loves Me and Comforts from the Cross

“Tullian Tchividjian writes like he preaches, as a man consumed with Jesus and the life-giving power of God’s grace. The message of the gospel changes everything and everyone who embraces it. This book reminds us that Jesus is not only all we need—He is all we want!”

- Jack Graham, pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church; former President, Southern Baptist Convention