Calvary Hot Springs

Exalting Christ Through the Ministry of the Word

Book Review

June Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
Finally Free
by Heath Lambert

With practical and biblical direction, Heath Lambert walks you through eight gospel-centered strategies for overcoming pornography. Whether for personal use or to come to the aid of another, this book is meant for those who are ready to do battle. With the subtitle, Fighting for purity with the power of grace, the author explains, “This is book is not about pornography… this book is about something much better… the amazing power of Jesus Christ to free you from pornography.” He further asserts, “No matter how intense or long-standing the struggle, it is the work of Jesus Christ to set people free from such sin.”

Each chapter of this book explains an essential grace motivated and empowered strategy in being free from porn. These strategies include biblical sorrow, accountability, radical measures, confession, your spouse or your singleness, humility, gratitude and a dynamic relationship with Jesus. The final chapter is a refreshing call to holiness and hope, refreshing because holiness is the heart cry of every follower of Christ and because God’s grace gives hope (confident expectation) that heart cry can be answered.

Reviewed by Matthew Lim

May Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
Valley of Vision

Prayer is one of most vital spiritual disciplines, yet for many of us it is not nurtured and practiced as it should be. The Valley of Vision is a collection of Puritan prayers from the likes of men like C.H. Spurgeon, John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter and others. These prayers that have been written down will be an encouragement to your soul as they help cultivate great thoughts about God, the depths of our sin and the riches that we have in Jesus Christ. The Valley of Vision is a great book to add to your daily routine of Bible study and prayer.

April Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
Household Gods
by Ted & Kristin Kluck

In the midst of a Christian subculture that idolizes families, an evangelical history of overcelebrating families, and a secular culture that overprograms families, one American family identifies the danger they’re in the midst of and embarks on a radical adventure. Household Gods offers an examination of the culture that spawned family idolatry and the steps we can take to flee this idolatry and escape to the Cross.

It’s time to free your family . . . and free yourself.
When we look to our families to give us significance and fulfillment . . .
When we elevate and worship our families when they succeed . . .
When we feel devastated if our families fall short of the Joneses . . .

We have a problem.

We call it family idolatry. It’s a blight that affects families everywhere who search for their identities in sporting events, theater productions, classrooms, churches, or anywhere other than through the One who created them. There’s an ever-present sense of failing or falling short that families just can’t seem to escape.

It’s time to expose and throw away our household gods once and for all. Join authors Ted and Kristin Kluck as they examine the culture that spawned family idolatry and lead you through the steps you can take to flee its traps and escape to the Cross.

We found a good price for this book here.

Review from the back cover.

March Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
Lord, Teach Me to Pray
by John MacArthur

This book is “an invitation to intimate prayer” and sidesteps much of the unnecessary mysticism that some writers would ascribe to prayer.

Many Christians across our nation view prayer as simply an option and something that is not really necessary except during times of trouble.

In easy-to-understand English, John MacArthur shows Christians from The Word of God how it is God’s will for all His children to pray and that He wants us all to pray consistently.

The book also covers aspects of prayer including confession, praise, petition, hindrances to prayer and motivation to prayer.

Finally, throughout the book are sample prayers by John Macarthur and Charles Spurgeon.

We found this book Here.

Reviewed by Tom Scheimo

February Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
When Good Kids Make Bad Choices
by Elyse Fitzpatrick, James Newheiser, Laura Hendrickson

Writing from personal experience each of the contributing authors lend words of encouragement and hope for parents whose “dream families” has been turned upside down. This is an honest biblical approach to the reality of home life turmoil that helps struggling parents to look to the gospel.

The book is divided into three parts. The first, Seeking Comfort and Wisdom As a Parent, addresses the choices kids make and why they turn out the way they do. The second, Understanding the Ways of Your Children, gives guidance on “fruit inspection.” It also includes a discussion on medicinal remedies. The third section, Dealing Wisely with Your Children, speaks to the issue of spiritual warfare and the hope that we have in Christ. The four appendices of this book offer further help and resources that might prove to be very helpful.

Whether you are in the midst of the battle, know someone who is or just want to be equipped and prepared, When Good Kids Make Bad Choices is an excellent resource for you to read and to have on hand.

Reviewed by Matthew Lim

January Suggested Book of the Month

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SUGGESTED BOOK OF THE MONTH
Comforts from Romans
by Elyse Fitzpatrick

In the book Comforts from Romans, Celebrating the Gospel One Day at a Time, Elyse M. Fitzpatrick takes the first eight chapters of Romans and breaks them into 31 devotional-like chapters, beginning with our ruined righteousness and ending with how nothing can separate us from God’s love. She is quick to point out that the book of Romans is not a book about us, but it is a book about all that Christ has accomplished for us.

Many devotional books turn out to be fluff with a verse tacked on at the end. This is not the case with Comforts from Romans. Elyse unpacks Romans 1-8 in a way that is, at the same time, convicting, encouraging, healing, full of hope, and full of proclaiming the greatness of Jesus our Savior and how the gospel can and should affect us every day.

If you are looking for a good devotional to start off the New Year, this is a great one!

Reviewed by Kellie Lim

The Biggest Story

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Book Review

by Kevin DeYoung

With vibrant illustrations, and storytelling that will keep the attention of children (and I dare say, adults), The Biggest Story tells, well, the biggest story of the Bible.

Following the theme of the promised Snake Crusher in Genesis, Kevin DeYoung pulls out the over-riding theme of the Bible shown in God’s faithfulness to his promises despite man’s failure to live in obedience to God —over and over again. As he re-tells major stories from the Old and New Testaments, DeYoung points out types of Christ in Adam, in prophets, in priests, in kings and in judges, to name a few. This book is not your average children’s Bible storybook. It is a valuable tool for any one to use to tie together the familiar smaller stories of the Bible into the big picture. That is, mankind fails and sins with alarming consistency, but God is our ever-faithful Savior. And as we see that he kept his promises to his chosen people, we know that we can trust him to keep his promises not yet fulfilled.

Reviewed by Liz Tramp

A Peculiar Glory

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Book Review

A Peculiar Glory, by John Piper

“The glory of God is the ground of faith. It is solid ground.” – John Piper

 

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A Peculiar Glory by John Piper is an argument for the reliability of Scripture. But it is an argument with unusually compelling and powerful evidence – the testimony of Scripture itself and the revealing power of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of men so that they can see with an undeniable impact the glory of Jesus Christ by means of the Scripture.

The book begins by discussing the existence of the biblical text itself. What books are legitimate for the Old Testament? What about the New Testament? Are the words that we have now actually what the apostles and prophets wrote? Piper argues that the surest way to answer these questions is not through scholarship (although that is valuable) but through the testimony of Scripture itself.

A following section evaluates what Jesus and the Apostles believed and said about the Bible. Scripture indicates that the apostles and prophets and especially Jesus Himself loved and trusted the same books and words that we have today.

The final two chapters are the meat of Piper’s message in this book. His concern is that we too often think that Scripture is reliable because there is such a preponderance of evidence from outside the Bible when in fact the most compelling and foundational reason that we believe the Bible is that God has done something tremendous in believers. Grounded in 2 Corinthians 4, Piper argues that Christians believe the Bible because God has sovereignly opened once-blinded eyes and exposed the “peculiar glory” of Jesus Christ to our hearts. There is no arguing with or explaining away of such an experience and nothing makes the Word of God more delightful than the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

A Peculiar Glory makes the case for the authority of Scripture in a way that is clearly Biblical but often overlooked by Christians. It does so by looking away from man-centered views that appeal to reason and by looking toward a God-centered view that appeals to His sovereign grace. Every true believer has experientially undergone the blindness removing the power of Scripture, but our sinful minds still want to claim credit for our faith. This book is a valuable asset.

Review by Isaac Stanley