The Reformed Community is known for its ability to plumb the depths of theological knowledge.  There are many great books by Reformed scholars that testify to this fact.  Whether one reads the works of B. B. Warfield, Louis Berkhof, Meredith Kline, or Cornelius Van Til.  More often than not, though, many of these authors deal with issues on a very technical level.  The practicality of their work is sometimes obscured by the technical nature in which they deal with their subject matter.  This, however, is not the case with Terry Johnson’s When Grace Comes Home.

Prayer is unquestionably a central part of the life of any Christian, or at least it should be.  To this end Dr. Bruce Wilkinson several years ago wrote a book entitled, The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life.  So, then, should not The Prayer of Jabez, a book encouraging Christians to pray a scriptural prayer, be received with open arms?

Martin Luther (1483-1546) once wrote that Genesis 1 “is written in the simplest language; yet it contains matters of the utmost importance and very difficult to understand.  It was for this reason, as St. Jerome asserts, that among the Hebrews it was forbidden for anyone under thirty to read the chapter or to expound it for others.”  It is for these reasons that Tremper Longman’s book, How to Read Genesis, is a welcome contribution.

Letham begins with the biblical data and surveys various texts beginning with the Old Testament confirming the doctrine of the trinity from Scripture.  In the section on historical development Letham traces the doctrine from the early church, through both the western and eastern churches, culminating with a chapter on John Calvin’s (1509-64) understanding.  In the section on the modern discussion, Letham explores the trinitarian thought of several important contemporary theologians, such as Karl Barth (1886-1968), Karl Rahner (1904-84), Jürgen Moltmann (1926-), and Wolfhart Pannenberg (1928-).  In the last section, Letham treats the implications of a trinitarian understanding of the incarnation, worship, prayer, creation, missions, and persons.

All Christians know that prayer is an important aspect of the Christian life.  Yet, prayer is often ignored.  Well, if prayer is often ignored, we can well imagine that fasting is ignored to an even greater degree.  John Piper is well aware of this fact because of our hunger for the things of this world.  He writes that “the greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.  It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world.  It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. . . . the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth.  For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable” (p. 14).  It is with this knowledge of the dangers of the pleasures of life that Piper makes his case for Christian fasting, which he says is “the hunger of a homesickness for God” (ibid).

Currently there are three major controversies surrounding the doctrine of justification: (1) the ecumenical question raised by ‘Evangelicals and Catholics Together,’ (2) the debate surrounding the rise of the New Perspective on Paul, and (3) the Norman Shepherd controversy.  In each of these debates questions surround the doctrine of justification: (1) Do Evangelicals and Catholics believe the same thing regarding justification, (2) What is the relationship between justification and the Law, and (3) what is the relationship between justification and good works?  It is in midst of this tempestuous time that John Piper has written a book defending the traditional Reformed understanding of justification, especially as it relates to the doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.  Piper bypasses debates (1) and (3), and deals with the challenges of the New Perspective on Paul.

This book is a collection of essays that Hart wrote over the last several years on subjects related to the doctrine of the church and especially worship.  These essays appeared in various publications ranging from Modern Reformation to scholarly journals.  This means that the book on the whole has something for everyone, the layman to the learned scholar.  Hart has organized the essays into five parts: the Church’s commission; contemporary worship; office and ordinances; Presbyterian parochialism; and worship and revival.

Many families and individuals are under the impression that they can take a vacation not only from work and school but church as well.  A common mindset is that, ‘I can take the whole week off—including Sunday!’  This, however, is a misguided understanding of vacation and especially worship on the Lord’s Day.

Few people are aware that the government of France has a department dedicated to the preservation of the French language.  This department monitors the use of language throughout the country.  Their desire is to preserve the French language from deterioration.  For example, if other nations and cultures dilute the French language with foreign words, then the people of France begin to lose their identity as a people.  They are no longer marked by their unique cultural heritage but instead bear the marks of mass marketing.  For example, many words within our own language are not actual nouns but name brands.  Today’s words were often yesterday’s brand names: Kleenex used to be tissue, Coke used to be cola or soda, White Out used to be correction fluid, Jell-O used to be gelatin, and Band Aids used to be adhesive bandages.  Due to the power of mass marketing, companies have literally changed the American lexicon and have influenced people to be walking advertisements.  This trend is not limited to the secular realm but has also found its way into the Church.