Latest books I acquired

It isn't always that easy to keep up the reading pace, in fact, my reading  pace is really taking a knock! At the moment I am reading Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" and "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson.

Then I have 5 books listed below that are lined up, in order that they were purchased, not necessarily the order in which I will read them, that I got as recent as today (last 2):

• God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades by Rodney Stark (the crusades interest me somewhat)
• Busted: Exposing Popular Myths about Christianity by Fred von Kamecke (I won this book via a competition from Zondervan)
• Christianity in South Africa: A Political, Social & Cultural History edited and compiled by Richard Elphick and Rodney Davenport (my church history lecturer from Bible school in the mid-80's, Allan Anderson, recommended this book on South African church history. Should perhaps read this one in conjunction with one of my other books, A History of South Africa by Frank Welsh)
• Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent & Barbara Hughes (got this book at 30% off today)
• A Visual History of the English Bible by Donald L. Brake (picked this one up today at 50% off)

I just hope I can get to them soon enough. One of the reasons I take so long to read these days is because I am studying at night, and that takes up a lot of time.

Anyway, if you have actually read any of these books, feel free to leave a short review in the comments section.

How to get Christians to pray and read their Bibles again

D.A. Carson gives a short intro into how to get Christians, even pastors, to read their Bibles and pray again.

D. A. Carson on the Gospel and Personal Devotions from CBMW on Vimeo.

D. A. Carson applies the Gospel and the Glory of the transcendent Christ to the Christian life to promote change.

HT: Andrew Smith

Does your church make time for the public reading of Scripture?

I am not speaking of the pastor reading a text here or there in his sermon.

"Among the exhortations the apostle fires off to Timothy in a staccato burst is this: "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching" (1 Timothy 4:13). If the last two facets describe preaching (and, I think, they do), the first describes the reading of Scripture to the congregation.

Mull that over for a moment. We have direct apostolic authority to read the Bible as part of our church service."

Find out about public reading of Scripture in your church service from Dan Phillip's blog post, Bible reading — in church.

Where to start reading

It is not always easy for Christians to decide where they will start reading or what they will read. On top of that, there are many wolves in sheep clothing out there, teaching heresy, leading people astray with teachings contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Well, don't despair. The good fellows at Monergism put together a list of 40 books to get you started.

Discounts on Calvin's Institutes for 2009 reading schedule

For those that want to read through John Calvin's Institutes in 2009, you can find some discounts here.

You can also find other places to buy yourself a copy of the Institutes here.

Reading through Calvin's Institutes in 2009

Reformation21 is going to read through John Calvin's The Institutes of the Christian Religion in 2009.

There are 3 blog posts of importance at Reformation21 concerning this adventure in 2009:
Why read through Calvin's Institutes in 2009? by Ligon Duncan.
All at sea with Calvin? by Iain D Campbell.
In praise of John Calvin's Institutes by Derek Thomas.

HT: Martin Downes

Calvin's Institutes can be found online for free at CCEL.

For those that prefer a book in hand, it is widely available for purchase online:
North America
Amazon - $23.76
Christianbook - Hardcover - $14.99

Europe
Amazon - Hardcover - £13.99

Africa
Kalahari - Hardcover - R408.81
Take2 - Hardcover - R265
Augustine Bookroom - Hardcover - R180

Read better!

Tim Challies, once again provides us with something worthwhile to read and make us better at something. He provides us with 10 tips to read more and better:

1. Read
2. Read Widely
3. Read Deliberately
4. Read Interactively
5. Read with Discernment
6. Read Heavy Books
7. Read Light Books
8. Read New Books
9. Read Old Books
10. Read What Your Heroes Read

To find out more on each point, read Tim's post, "10 Tips to Read More and Read Better."