North Bushey Baptist Church

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Book Reviews

New Books

November 2011

 

 

Who Comes First? Inspiring stories from the history of the Games

By Chris Hudson, BRF, £6.99. ISBN: 9780857460486

Respect, Excellence, Friendship, Courage, Determination, Inspiration and Equality - what do these Olympic and Paralympic values actually mean for our schoolchildren? Who Comes First? gives teachers a chance to explore these big ideas with their classes in RE lessons, encouraging pupils to ask hard questions about sporting values, respond to true-life stories in a variety of ways - and reflect on the opportunities and challenges that an athlete's sense of purpose could possibly have for their own lives.

 

 

Galatians Bible study guide - Freedom in Christ

by John Houghton, CWR, £3.99. ISBN: 978-1-85345-648-0

The Galatian Christians were confused. Paul had brought them the gospel of Christ and the Holy Spirit was working miracles in their midst; but were they fully saved or did God require them to observe the Law of Moses as well? The path of lawlessness cannot save, nor can the way of legalism.

Unpack the sometimes complex arguments of Paul, understand the logic of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, and discover the truth that sets us free!

 

 

Cover to Cover: Prayers of Jesus – Hearing His Heartbeat

By Peter Hicks, CWR, £3.99. ISBN: 9781853456473

Jesus was a man of prayer but only a tiny proportion of His prayers are recorded in the New Testament, although sometimes we can find a clue to the content from the context in which He was praying. But even if none of His actual prayers had been kept for us there is so much we can learn both from the fact that prayer was so important to Him and from the way He prayed. He is our inspiring model, and this study guide is an opportunity to learn – about Him and from Him  – to come with the disciples’ request ‘Lord, teach us to pray’. As you work through these studies  – Abba, The Lord’s Prayer, prayers Jesus didn’t pray, blessing, praying for joy, in pain and mission, the writer’s prayer is that you will find much joy, many riches and the

special blessing of the praying Jesus.

 

 

Children in the Way? Creative Opportunities for Churches with Young Children

By Carrie Kingston and Isobel MacDougall, Monarch Books, £10.99. ISBN: 9780857210296

Our grasp of how children learn has developed sharply in recent years. Schools constantly review their approach, but churches frequently employ antiquated practices. Many alienate children because our methods don't meet their needs, and because we don't realise that some of the strongest messages are hidden. Without knowing it, we are inoculating our children against church. The intention is to challenge churches about their children's work; to inform children's workers about the latest research; and to provide practical ideas.

 

 

The Beautiful Disciplines: Helping Young People to Develop Their Spiritual Roots

By Martin Saunders, Monarch Books, £12.99. ISBN: 9780857210555

Martin believes that many young believers today practise a dangerously brittle faith. They need to be led deeper, to a faith rooted not in the personalities of their leaders or the hype of big events, but in a disciplined direct relationship with God. This book will provide practical tools to help youth leaders to teach their teenagers to pray, study the Bible, live more simply, and discover the value in other ancient disciplines such as confession, fasting, solitude, study and worship.

 

 

The People's Bible: The Remarkable History of the King James Version

By Derek Wilson, Lion, £9.99. ISBN: 9780745955599

This is the story of one of the most influential, provocative, ambitious projects of its day: translating the Bible into English, the language of the people. In 1604 the new King James I convened a meeting at Hampton Court to address the problem of the Puritans. The recommendation was for the authorisation of a new translation of the Bible, one that would be accessible to the common people and placed in every Church in his Realm. The result was the Authorized Version published in 1611 – this book traces its fascinating history.

 

 

The Lordʹs Prayer

R.T. Kendall, Hodder Faith, £8.99. ISBN: 978 0 340 96414 9

Bringing his insightful and down-to-earth approach to the topic of The Lord's Prayer, R.T. Kendall opens up new depths in this short prayer, exploring the full range of meaning in each line to establish firm principles for all our prayer. Starting from the initial focus on God, through asking for what God wants in our world, then on to our needs, and so finally on to the benediction with which the prayer closes, he unpacks the meaning of each line, brings personal challenges to bear on our own lives, and gives us the reassurance of God's love and care for us.

 

 

Insurrection

By Peter Rollins, Hodder Faith, £11.99. ISBN: 978 1 444 70342 9

In this incendiary new work, philosopher-theologian Peter Rollins proclaims that the Christian faith is not primarily concerned with questions regarding life after death but with the possibility of life before death. In order to unearth this, he prescribes a radical and wholesale critique of contemporary Christianity that he calls pyro-theology. Belief in the Resurrection, he says, means but one thing: participation in an Insurrection.

 

 

The Way of the Desert: Daily Bible Readings through Lent to Easter

By Andrew Watson, BRF, £7.99. ISBN: 9781841017983

In the Bible the desert is a place of punishment and discipline, but also of blessing and love's reawakening. Both Jesus and the people of Israel before him spent time in the desert, learning what it meant to be chosen and loved and holy. Yet while the people of the Exodus frequently got it wrong, providing some cautionary tales for us to learn from. Here, Andrew Watson takes us on a Lenten journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter Day.