Preaching through John’s gospel, I have paused to meditate upon the person and work of John the Baptist. Here was one who came as a “witness, to bear witness about the Light” (Jn. 1:6). Consistently (1:7, 14, 20), we are told that the Baptist was not the Light but a witness to the Light. The biblical record elsewhere tells us that John came to “prepare the way of the LORD” (Is. 40:3) and would be the messenger of the Lord for that very purpose (Mal. 3:1). The Baptist’s ministry has several important factors, each of which contributes to our understanding of the gospel.

In the various worship wars that continue to rage, there is one element (no pun intended) that is more dangerous than any other. I am not referring to the guitar vs. organ or the suit vs. casual debates. Nor I am referring to the debate about the role of women in worship. Rather I’m thinking of the duty vs. privilege debate. I was recently told that worship is not a duty of man, but a privilege. Man is therefore free to take or leave the worship of God as he pleases. This rampantly individualistic and unbiblical approach to worship leads to far greater conflict than any of the above debates, real or imagined as they may be.

I recently preached on the first miracle of our Lord in John 2:1-11. It was a fascinating and rewarding experience for me.  Commonly known as the miracle of the “water to wine”, we encounter our Lord, his mother and some disciples at a wedding feast in Cana.  Running out of wine at the wedding, our Lord turns the water contained in six large water pots into wine.  As I studied this passage, one thing in particular struck me with regard to John’s intention in gospel-writing.  He wants his reader to believe that “Jesus Christ is the Son of God and believing Him you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).  He demonstrates this point by a selective (20:30) record of Christ’s signs (and teachings).  John tells us (2:11) that Christ manifests his glory in His performance of signs and wonders.

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?

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.