The Comeback

Filled with personal stories from his life partnered with stories from scripture The Comeback by Louie Giglio is a good read. Written by a pastor expect this book to be encouraging and to make you feel good. Easy to read and it held my interest enough to finish it, however I did not see any major theological revelation here. I also felt that the chapters were somewhat disconnected and didn’t really flow together. Instead of a complete story it seemed to be several stories about one subject. Inspiring and encouraging enough for e to look past these I think the book is useful to those who are in need of encouragement that things are not over and there is more to do with your life and with God’s help you can get there. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Parables

Parables by John MacArthur is a good book for someone wanting a deeper understanding of the context of the best teaching tool Jesus used. While it was a bit more academic than I was expecting after a while I didn’t seem to mind. I think that if you are looking for a quick read that is full of powerful application you may be disappointed, however if you want a solid understanding of the why of Jesus using certain stories then you will find it here. I will use this book as a reference when preaching to enhance the lesson I am giving on the parables McArthur covers here but as far as a devotional work I just think this book is a bit of a stretch. As a part time preacher and student of the bible I found some of his points good but also thought he was stretching a bit on some of what he calls parables. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

NIV Bible for Men

The “NIV Bible for Men” is a pretty good bible. I don’t think that you are going to find anything profound in the study noted and devotionals if you are a student of the bible. This bible is geared to men 20-35 years of age and I think that it does a good job of hitting that dynamic. The topics covered in the studies are marriage, sex, pornography, money, selfishness, things that men typically have to deal with in there life. I see this Bible being great for a new or “younger” Christian with in the age group or at least an older teen. Over all the studies are good and thoughtful and the NIV is a very trusted text and remains the standard. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Man Enough

How does one define himself as a man? This is a question that has attempted to be answered by countless people over the coarse of modern history. To often in the church we are faced with a compelling counter cultural view of manhood. We are faced with images daily that scream “manhhood”, images like sport stars, models, beard wearing chest thumping man’s men and completely overly macho. However when we compare these images with that of Christ we run into some issues. Yes Christ was a carpenter and probably knew his way around tools but to often in Church we try to fit him into what society says is a man, instead of really looking at how He defines manhood. In “Man Enough” Nate Pyle unapologetically does just that. He rips back the cover of societies expectations of men and lay bare the reality that the man we are to be like is in fact soft, kind, serving and full of grace. Not exactly the Braveheart warrior that we hoped for, but rather the fighter this world needs. The fighter that is focused on what is really important for the kingdom. “If men are to fight, then we need to be clear what it is we fight for. Peace. Reconciliation. Grace. Justice. But let’s be clear: We are mad not for conflict but for action” (Man Enough, p. 76). This quote really caught me and probably is one of the best from the book. We in the Church have for to long been trying to “man-up” the gospel that we have missed again the fact that we are ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18). We are not fighters in the worldly sense we are called to action on the Godly sense and Nate Pyle does probably the best job of pointing that out that I have ever read. Being a father of boys this book calls to me to be more like Christ and less like “The man” that society feeds them. I believe that also women will benefit from reading this book too, while I think his intended audience was men, Pyle has written a great work on identifying yourself in Christ no matter who you are now.

NIV Zondervan Study Bible

Let me start by saying that the NIV Zondervan Study Bible is not a bible that you will want to haul back and forth to church with you. Nearly 300 pages and close to 5 pounds it will be better used at you desk at home. That being said I absolutely love this study bible. I have reviewed and used several study bibles over the years and this one has really set a new standard. The commentary is probably the most exhaustive of any I have seen and the typeface is beautiful and very easy to read. This bible is full of maps, timelines and other useful tools that are all presented in full color. Several people have commented on the actual commentary contained in the book, I found it to be fair to the text I did not agree with everything I read but that is to be expected. The book introductions are the best I’ve read of any study bible, also the theological articles are concise and well written. I have and will continue to use this bible for my study bible at home simply, again because the size does not lend itself to be carried easily. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Looney Experiment

The Looney Experiment by Luke Reynolds is wonderfully crafted and a pure joy to read. You enter the mind of Atticus, a middle school student who has a very active imagination that seems to take over his mind when it wants and not always at the ideal times. Dealing with some issues that so many middle-schoolers face, bullies, the cute girl and a Dad who left this book is a relevant work that was enjoyable to read. Atticus encounters Mr Looney a sub in his English class. Through Looney’s teaching Atticus finds his own way to navigate the problems he faces. This book will be great for any middle-school aged kid because they are all going to face one or more of these issues. I loved that Atticus’ imagination was a character unto itself in this book. As light hearted and fun to read this book also doesn’t stray fro dealing with the issues its character faces. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

NIV Dad's Study Bible

Okay so I am probably like most fathers out there who seek to be Godly men and lead there family in the right way according to scripture. I am probably also like most fathers out their that feel as though we are failing miserably at this task. I received the NIV Dad's Devotional Bible and started looking though it and spent a couple weeks going through several of the devotionals that it has to offer. I think this book is good, it is not, however an exegetical look at how to be a biblical father. It is a very good guide to help find those biblical principles that are needed to guide you children and family through this life. The answers are not found in the devotionals, as it should be. The devotionals give you some real world examples of how a particular scripture may apply. Some of the devotionals are great and some are a little hooky but that is the case for pretty much any devotional book. I think that one of the nice features of this bible is that it is the NIV text in full so you can use it as your everyday study as well as your going to church bible. Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”