Book Reviews . Volume 01 | Issue 09

Book Notices

If you are interested in quote books, you’ll have to go to Barnes & Noble or Amazon for these particular books, but they will provide you with insight into national and world leaders. Harper Perennial publishes the books. The books contain a treasury of quotes and anecdotes. There are a number of books in the series including: The Wit & Wisdom of Winston Churchill, The Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, and The Wit & Wisdom of Benjamin Franklin.

In addition, Random House has issued a series of similar books: The Essential Franklin Delano Roosevelt and The Essential Theodore Roosevelt.

Baker Books has published a series of books from Leadership Journal. Either Edward K. Rowell or Craig Brian Lawson edits the series. Other books in this series:

Humor for Preaching & Teaching. You’ll find funny stories and one-liners, topically arranged and cross-referenced. There’s an index to help you locate the appropriate chuckle for the occasion. Each illustration includes a space to record when and where it was used.

Quotes & Idea Starters for Preaching & Teaching. For more than fifteen years, Leadership Journal has been gathering electrifying quotes, as contemporary as today’s sports page, as lasting as the church fathers. These have been compiled into one book.

Choice Contemporary Stories & Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers. Craig Brian Lawson has collected 254 powerful stories from newspapers, magazines, books and journals – sources to which a contemporary audience can easily relate. These illustrations are from Christian and secular sources, adding variety and balance to this collection. Full source information is cited for each illustration, allowing for proper attribution and further research.

Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching. Since 1982, Leadership Journal has helped pastors follow with To Illustrate’ a column that has become one of the most widely read portions of the magazine. Editor Craig Brian Lawson compiled a ‘best of’ illustration book from a decade of columns. Each illustration is topically organized, with alternate subject headings suggested and indexed.

The title 100 Bible Verses that Changed the World might be somewhat of an exaggeration, but this new Revell book by father-and-son team William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen will reassure you that the bible is indeed “living and powerful.” The Petersens introduce you to significant people and events in world history and show how the Bible played an important part in what these people were as well as what they did. The book combined history, biography and theology and makes for inspiring reading.

The 21st century edition of Operation World is now available and ought to be in every pastor’s library. Compiled by Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, and published jointly by WEC International and Paternoster, the book is a treasury of information about the spiritual conditions and needs of the nations of the world. It’s an encyclopedia of Christian missions and an atlas to guide the church in praying for a lost world. The amount of important material in this book is incredible. There ought to be several copies in the church library, and every member of your church Missions Committee should own a copy.

Dismissing God by D. Bruce Lockerbie (Baker) is must reading for people who enjoy reading great literature, the books of the ages and not just the books of the hour. The sub-title “Modern Writers’ Struggle Against Religion” explains the theme of the book. A gifted teacher and an insightful reader, Dr. Lockerbie takes us through the writings of the authors we met in high school and college and shows us what they thought about God and how they wrote about Him. The young people in your church are reading these men and women now and ought to have a copy of this book to give them guidance. Lockerbie is a scholar who writes from an evangelical Christian perspective. He is sympathetic as he explains the intellectual and spiritual positions of these famous authors, but he is forthright in answering their anti-God stance. Highly recommended for students attending secular schools where many of these writers are revered.

Kregel Publications is now issuing the expository books of John Phillips, a favorite author and Bible teacher of many preachers and Sunday School teachers. While none of us can or should duplicate his skill at building alliterative outlines, all of us can learn from his insights into God’s Word. Exploring the Scriptures is a slim volume that is packed with introductory material covering every book in the Bible. As a handy overview, it is hard to surpass. The charts help us put key events into perspective and help us understand how secular and sacred history meet. Exploring the Gospel of John reads like a friendly chat over a cup of coffee, but it’s packed with helpful information and interpretation that you can put to work in your own ministry. You’ll be tempted to “borrow” the author’s outlines, but don’t do it. Use them as guides in your own study, and even dare to disagree with them; but let the Spirit give you your message for your people.