If you haven't checked out Themelios (the journal of The Gospel Coalition) yet, the latest one is now available for free download and it looks really good.
Sunday Nights @ 6
Tues, Wed, Thur @ 6:30p
Kaleo People:
- www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Joshua Tree Retreat 2009. Make your own badge here. 
The Perfect Christmas Present for 26 Bucks
Westminster Bookstore is selling 2-packs of the ESV Study Bible for only $52.98.
So for about 26 bucks a person you can give this awesome study Bible.
The more I use it the more I am impressed with the wealth of
information in the ESVSB.
Oh, and you can get them shipped for 4 bucks!
Just Finished: "A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards"
I just finished A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards by George Marsden. It is as the title indicates a short version of Marsden's larger biography of Edwards. Many have recommend that larger volume, so I was excited to see this smaller version. It really is a worthy read. Jonathan Edwards was an amazing who loved God with his whole mind, heart and strength. At just over 140 pages this book is very doable and is a great place to start in understanding America's greatest theologian.
For something even shorter, check out Piper's biographical message on Edwards (print and audio).
I was inspired by the book to read some of Jonathan Edwards sermons. I am going to start with A Divine and Supernatural Light and then I plan on rereading Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The later is his most famous sermon, but from what I understand not typical of him. He was not, as some think, always preaching about Hell. I first read Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God in undergrad and was deeply shaken by it - in a very good way. I highly recommend you read it.
Pilgrim's Progress Audio - Free! - This Month Only
Christian Audio is giving away the Pilgrim's Progress on audio (download) - this month only.
If you have never read (or listened to) The Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan, 1678), repent of your backsliding and start listening to it today!
Also check out John Piper's excellent audio biography of John Bunyan.
Thinking With Pictures
Here is an interesting book: The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. I first heard about it on The Reformissionary. I got it thinking that it was just about how to make simple diagrams to help convey ideas, but it turns out that it is about more than that. It's also about how to solve problems by thinking with pictures. It has been very helpful in thinking through some ideas for Kaleo.
This is a diagram that the 5:30 am Friday Men's Theology and Ministry guys and I have worked on to understand and remember four benefits we receive from Christ's work on the cross (propitiation, redemption, justification, and reconciliation). Nothing amazing (it doesn't have to be), but it helps. Just one of many I have drawing in my Moleskine.
If You're In The Market For A Study Bible - Wait!
If you're in the market for a study Bible, let me suggest you wait until October. Why? It looks like The ESV Study Bible (which comes out in October) is going to be better than anything out now - just judging from the list of contributors and the reviews it is getting. Check out their website.
If you haven't hear of the ESV (English Standard Version), it is the version I teach from at Kaleo. I have been enjoying it for about 4 years now. It is a great balance readability and faithfulness to the original text. For more information see the ESV site.
If You Only Read One Book in '08
If you read only one book in '08 make it The Reason for God by Tim Keller. I just finished it while on vacation in Coronado with Natasha. I had high expectations because Keller has been a huge blessing to Kaleo and to me personally. I was not let down, The Reason for God is one of the best books I have ever read.
There are a few things in it that will upset some Christian readers such as Keller's belief in the compatibility of the Bible with evolution and his C.S. Lewis-like explanation of Hell (like in Lewis's The Great Divorce). Neither of which get me worked up and I hope they wouldn't stop you from benefiting from this amazing book.
I originally got The Reason for God for the first half of the book in which Keller addresses common objections people have to Christianity. I didn't think much of the second half when I first skimmed the book. Well it turns out that the first half was great, but I really bought the book (in God's providence) for the second half. In it Keller does an amazing job of laying out a positive case for the Gospel. He draws clear distinctions between the Gospel and religion in ways that are so refreshing. The chapter on the Trinity (chapter 14 - "The Dance of God") alone would have been worth the price of the book. I was originally going to blog choice quotes, but they are really too numerous to pick from.
One thing is clear Keller wrote The Reason for God for unbelievers in a way similar to C.S. Lewis's classic Mere Christianity (I actually think Keller's is better, at least for our time). The cool thing is that it appears that unbelievers are buying it. It has now been on the New York Times Bestseller list (the non-fiction list, not the advice list) for 5 weeks and it isn't because Christians are buying them all. In fact I think that few Christians even know about it. Keller was very savvy in having it published by a branch of Penguin instead of by a Christian publisher making it clear that it is intended for the secular market.
I have already given it to several of my clients and colleagues, as well as, family. I been giving it specifically to those who are wrestling with intellectual objections with the Christian faith with the hope that it will be a starting place for further discussion. (Who do you have in your life that fits that description? Get them one!) An audio version is also available, as well as, a website about the book.
But even though it is written to unbelievers I was hugely blessed by it. Reading it taught me new ways to communicate the Gospel. But not only that reading it ministered the Gospel in a fresh way to my soul.
The Reason for God is not just for beginners - just like the Gospel is not just for beginners - it is for YOU to nourish your soul on.
Thanks Dr. Keller for leading us to the banquet again!
