Reading Fiction

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I have frequently at this blog commended broad reading including fiction and have defended and advocated the reading of fiction in other venues. I was pleased then to find (via Justin Wainscott) this article by Mary DeMuth titled, “Why Should Christ-Followers Read Fiction?” DeMuth deals with common arguments against “wasting” one’s time on fiction.
I also recommend Doug Bond’s lecture “Teaching Truth with Fiction.” Bond’s fiction is wonderful and I have commended it often at my other blog.

So this summer take up some good fiction and read. If you don’t have any ideas on where to start with your fiction reading I mentioned some last summer in a post of ideas for summer reading. Here are a few more fiction books that I have greatly enjoyed:
A Tale of Two Cities, C. Dickens
The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien
John Buchan’s novels: The Thirty-Nine Steps, Greenmantle, Mr. Standfast, Courts of the Morning, Huntingtower, etc.
In the Reign of Terror, G. A. Henty
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (a more profound book than movie representations suggest)
The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc., C. S. Lewis

The list could go on and on (feel free to suggest some in the comments). There are many good options. Take up and read!

Readers’ Greek NT, Again

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I am really enjoying reading my copy of The UBS Greek New Testament: A Reader’s Edition which I have already commended. Along the way I realized another potential use of this edition. I did not at first realize that it has a glossary at the back of all words occurring more than 30 times in the NT. This makes it also a great way to review your basic vocabulary. Since this glossary is 22 pages long, then by reviewing one page of vocabulary each day you will rehearse this essential list in less than a month. You would then cover this list more than 16 times a year at this slight pace.

This is my favorite single tool for using and learning NT Greek.

Here is the Church

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Here Is the Church, by Anita Reith Stohs
Illustrated by Kathy Mitter
(Concordia Publishing House, 2009), hb., 32 pp.
Ages 2-5

This simple little book is aimed at young children to encourage their engagement in the worship of the church. It begins with the well-known little children’s rhyme:

Here is the church, and
Here is the steeple,
Open the door to
See all God’s people.

It then continues the rhyme walking through the key parts of a Lutheran worship service. Coming from a Lutheran publishing house it of course reflects that theological understanding. However, most of it will fit orthodox evangelicals in general. Comment is made, for example, on prayer, choir, congregational singing, Bible reading, preaching, communion, baptism, and an offering. I particularly liked the closing bit addressed to parents where the author encourages parents intentional teaching of children about what goes on in corporate worship. She goes on to encourage family worship as well.

In a day when the church is so often minimized or disparaged, it is great to see a children’s book like this. The inside cover front and back also have Eph 3:21 printed. This is a very thoughtful, though simple, book for children to help them understand what goes on at church. It will be a good resource.

I would like to see my own denominational publisher produce something similar in a Baptist vein.

Preaching Apocalyptic

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Last week Justin Taylor posted a link to a booklet by David Helm on Preaching Apocalyptic. I have printed it and looked it over. It looks really good and I commend it to other preachers. Interestingly, the Sunday before this was posted Chad Davis, one of my fellow pastors, preached on Daniel 7, an apocalyptic passage. Chad’s sermon is a good example of handling these difficult passages well. Even though he had not had yet seen Helm’s booklet he made several of the same points in his introduction. Rather than getting bogged down in speculations about things the scripture does not tell us, Chad pointed us to the grand truths which are the key concern of the text- evil powers will continue to rise and assault God’s people, and we must hold fast knowing that the day will come when Christ will subdue the all powers and crush his enemies.

I commend this pamphlet and sermon to you as helpful resources as we seek to preach faithfully the whole counsel of God.

The Twelve Ordinary Men

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The Twelve Ordinary Men 6pk (Arch Books), by Kelly Skipworth
(Arch Books, Concordia Publishing House, 2009), pb., 16 pp.
Ages 4-9

The Arch Books Bible Story Series has been around for more than four decades. I enjoyed some as a child and we still have some older ones. They are typically faithful to the text, tell the story in simple language, and are written in poetic form. This book is one of the latest installments in this series.

This book aims to introduce children to each of the twelve disciples and succeeds. With some disciples there is not much information and the author acknowledges that without stretching to make something up. There are a few quibbles. Thomas’s doubting is the only thing highlighted though he makes some other very positive statements elsewhere in John’s gospel. Then, it is said that Simon the zealot put away his sword to follow Jesus when in fact Jesus told his disciples at one point, “whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one” (Luke 22:36). And certainly Peter still had a sword at the Garden of Gethsemanee.

However, overall these are small quibbles. The book is not intended to give a deep treatment but to provide a brief, catchy overview of these 12 men. In this, the book succeeds well.

Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys

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Amazing Tales for Making Men Out of Boys, by Neil Oliver
(William Morrow, 2009; previously published in the UK by Michael Jospeh, 2008)
Hb., 364 pp.
Ages 6+

We just found this book at Sam’s tonight, but I wanted to go ahead and mention it because I love the concept. Just note these lines from the back cover:

Stories of heroism, exploration and sacrifice that will inspire boys to be courageous, honorable and open to adventure. TALES OF BRAVE AND SELFLESS DEEDS used to be part of every boy’s education. We grew up sharing stories with our fathers, uncles and grandfathers of how great men had lived their lives, met their challenges, reached their goals and faced their deaths. Becoming a young man was about comradeship and standing by your friends whatever the circumstances. And it meant that sometimes it was more important to DIE A HERO THAN LIVE A COWARD’S LIFE.

Yeah!! How can a book that says this not be good! This is exactly what I want for my boys. In the book the author recounts D-day and Omaha Beach, the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Alamo, Shackleton’s Journey, Scott in the Antarctic, John Paul Jones, and Thermopylae and other stories.

I think that the cover could be done better, but I am excited about this book and my 7 year old asked on the way home when we would begin reading it.

P.S. The trailer for the book is well done also! Note the comment that morals are handed down through good stories. This is a key point that was well understood in days past but often forgotten today.

Difficult Ministry

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This week I came back across some scribbled notes that had come to mind in the midst of a sermon.I find sermons to be very stimulating to my thinking.A main point will send me off thinking of application in different areas.So, while listening to a sermon on 1 Samuel on a time of difficulty in David’s life, I began to ponder the difficult places of ministry so many brothers find themselves in from time to time.I am not actually in a difficult place at the moment, but I often talk to brothers who are.Thinking of them in light of the text this is what I jotted down:

Is it the Lord’s will that I suffer so at the hands of difficult people?That I labor to so little result amongst non-responsive people?Would not the Lord use me?Is such pain and uselessness the will of God?

Consider Moses, the promised Deliverer.He ended up fleeing for his life which led to 40 years of watching sheep in the desert.Yet, God was at work preparing him for use.

Consider also David, the promised King.He had to suffer rejection, conspiracies against his life, living on the run and hiding in caves before God placed him on the throne.

Consider also Jesus, Himself, who accomplished his great work precisely in the midst of his great suffering.

God is at work, and we must relinquish the demand to see the results in our own time.We may be blessed to see the work of God flourishing in our hands (and if so do not fail to recognize what a blessing that is!). Or we may be called upon to labor faithfully never seeing the result.Either way let us labor faithfully, believing that what we see is not all there is (2 Cor 4:16-18). Let us trust God and say “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58).

Video Teaching on Nehemiah and Exodus

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Jeremy Rasnic has now posted the video of two January Bible Studies I have done. All seven sessions of a study through Nehemiah a few years ago (at FBC Columbus, MS) is available and the first and last sessions of a study through Exodus done this past January at Poplar Heights Baptist Church in Jackson, TN is available. Jeremy, whose business did the work of recording, lighting and editing, is selling the complete Exodus study.

Nehemiah is, I believe, the account of a great reformation among the people of God as they returned to the word of God. In the seventh Exodus session I was particularly struck with Moses and Aaron as positive and negative examples of pastoral ministry in and around the golden calf incident. Perhaps some of these will be useful to you.

The Spy Who Came in From the Sea

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The Spy Who Came in From the Sea, by Peggy Nolan

(Pineapple Press, 1999), pb., 129 pp.

Ages 8+

This book was a disappointment.It is based on a great idea but fails to deliver in several ways.

First, the idea and setting of the book is great. I did not previously know that during World War II German spies had been dropped off by U-boats on American beaches in New York and Florida for sabotage missions (you can see an official description of this story at the FBI site). This book is built around the landing of one of the spies in Florida.The story is fictional but incorporates some of the facts of the real case.In the story a boy happens to see the spy come ashore and tries to alert authorities.However, due to his tendency to exaggerate no one believes him, except two friends.He and these friends then do their sleuthing alone, risking danger and eventually expose the spy and avert real danger.This is great stuff for story-telling and fun history to learn about.

However, as I noted above, the book itself was disappointing.The writing is only fair.With this sort of material I hoped for a powerhouse!Instead this book limps along.But it is the overall values of the story that made it not a fit for us.Since we found the book in the Veritas Press catalogue we had certain expectations of the book.However, my boys readily picked up that this book did not represent “us” in ways that other books that we have read do.In general this book had the feel of a typical kids’ book one might find today. The book was filled with language we do not approve of- not outright profanity, but “gosh,” “darn,’ and words like that. The mother is quite flighty and there is a lack of strong adult characters.The main character is a real braggart and while this is eventually shown to be negative, it was more than we would want.Then the dating scene is more prominent in this book than in our family.The 14-year-old main character is pursuing girl friends, dances, and his first kiss.He is proud to have reserved his first kiss for someone special.That is alien to my boys for whom dating is a non-issue, kissing is something married people do, etc.Now, those reading this review may think we are the weird ones, and that is fine. My aim is for you to know where this book is coming from.

There are many better books on the World War II era and we would not particularly recommend this one.

It Began with a Parachute

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It Began With a Parachute, by William R. Rang
(Inheritance Publications, 2000), pb., 93 pp.
Ages 6+

This story takes place in occupied Holland during World War II. Twelve year old Bert takes it upon himself to help an Allied airman who is shot down near his town and in the process discovers that his parents are deeply involved in the Dutch resistance. This is a well told story of courage, suffering, perseverance, hope and faith.

While this book is not as nuanced or rich as one of Douglas Bond’s it has many of the basic staple characteristics, including a strong father who leads his family through difficult times showing how to stand for and risk oneself for what is right. The interaction of the main family, their connection to other involved families and the contrast with the traitors provides good pictures as you read to your children. Also, the faith of the main characters is no mere side issue but an essential element of life.

This book also provides a compelling picture of what it was like to live under Nazi occupation, with the intimidation, the shortages and the yearning for deliverance. It also shows how people had to make difficult choices between capitulating, doing nothing or taking the enormous risk of opposing the evil around them.

We all enjoyed this book and commend it to you.