Tag: theology books

Holidays (Other), New Year's

5 Ways to Be Discerning About Your New Year’s Reading Goals

Michelle Lesley

Originally published January 3, 2024

Good news: book nerd is in. And these days, that doesn’t just mean you have your nose stuck in a book all the time. No, you’ve really got your nerd on – you’ve got a reading goal for the year.

Whether it’s merely a certain number of books you want to read, total, or you’ve got it broken down into goals for various genres of literature, feeding your mind by reading is a worthy pursuit, especially if you’re feeding it good theology. (You might even want to join other Christians in a reading challenge such as this one from G3 or this one from Tim Challies.)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

But, as always, you’ve got to be discerning about the books you choose. In years past, I’ve seen some of my friends posting about book reading goals for the new year and asking for suggestions of Christian books. And I’ve seen some of the suggestions that have been made. Yikes. Some of those “Christian” books your friends are suggesting are written by false teachers.

Yikes. Some of those “Christian” books your friends are suggesting for your reading goals are written by false teachers. Here are 5 ways to exercise discernment about the books you choose.

May I offer some help for being discerning about the books you choose?

1.

Stay immersed in your Bible. That way, if you come across false doctrine in a book you’re reading, you’ll know it conflicts with Scripture. Need help? Check out my Bible reading plans and Bible studies.

2.

If you’re not already a faithful member of a doctrinally sound local church, find one, join it, and sit under good preaching and teaching every chance you get. This will also help you detect false doctrine when you’re reading. (Use my Searching for a new church? resource if you need help locating a good church in your area.)

3.

Vet the author of every book you read prior to reading it. Here are some quick and easy resources that can help:

4.

Don’t fall for the “chew up the meat, spit out the bones” fallacy or the “But this author has helped me so much!” argument. See #3 & 8: Answering the Opposition- Responses to the Most Frequently Raised Discernment Objections.

5.

Try a book by one of these doctrinally sound authors: Recommended Bible Teachers.

Happy (and holy!) reading!

Most of these linked resources can be found in the blue menu bar at the top of the blog.

Additional Resources:

Do You MIND? : Five Reasons for Pastors to Mind What Their Brides Are Reading

You Don’t Need A Book, You Need THE Book

Do you have a reading goal or plan for the year?
Which book(s) are you looking forward to reading this year?

Holidays (Other), New Year's

5 Ways to Be Discerning About Your New Year’s Reading Goals

Michelle Lesley

Good news: book nerd is in. And these days, that doesn’t just mean you have your nose stuck in a book all the time. No, you’ve really got your nerd on – you’ve got a reading goal for the year.

Whether it’s merely a certain number of books you want to read, total, or you’ve got it broken down into goals for various genres of literature, feeding your mind by reading is a worthy pursuit, especially if you’re feeding it good theology. (You might even want to join other Christians in a reading challenge such as this one from G3 or this one from Tim Challies.)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

But, as always, you’ve got to be discerning about the books you choose. In years past, I’ve seen some of my friends posting about book reading goals for the new year and asking for suggestions of Christian books. And I’ve seen some of the suggestions that have been made. Yikes. Some of those “Christian” books your friends are suggesting are written by false teachers.

Yikes. Some of those “Christian” books your friends are suggesting for your reading goals are written by false teachers. Here are 5 ways to exercise discernment about the books you choose.

May I offer some help for being discerning about the books you choose?

1.

Stay immersed in your Bible. That way, if you come across false doctrine in a book you’re reading, you’ll know it conflicts with Scripture. Need help? Check out my Bible reading plans and Bible studies.

2.

If you’re not already a faithful member of a doctrinally sound local church, find one, join it, and sit under good preaching and teaching every chance you get. This will also help you detect false doctrine when you’re reading. (Use my Searching for a new church? resource if you need help locating a good church in your area.)

3.

Vet the author of every book you read prior to reading it. Here are some quick and easy resources that can help:

4.

Don’t fall for the “chew up the meat, spit out the bones” fallacy or the “But this author has helped me so much!” argument. See #3 & 8: Answering the Opposition- Responses to the Most Frequently Raised Discernment Objections.

5.

Try a book by one of these doctrinally sound authors: Recommended Bible Teachers.

Happy (and holy!) reading!

Most of these linked resources can be found in the blue menu bar at the top of the blog.

Additional Resources:

Do You MIND? : Five Reasons for Pastors to Mind What Their Brides Are Reading

You Don’t Need A Book, You Need THE Book

Do you have a reading goal or plan for the year?
Which book(s) are you looking forward to reading this year?

Favorite Finds

Favorite Finds: June 9, 2020

Michelle Lesley

 

Here are a few of my favorite online finds…

 

“Behind the storyline of Scripture is the story of how God, in his providence, gave his words to us. When God spoke, he ensured that it would be preserved through a process of writing, collecting, copying, translating, and printing. After thousands of years, the Scripture that began with the breath of God now comes to us in the Book that is worthy of our supreme trust.” Check out this fascinating article from Dirk Jongkind, How We Got the Bible: The Great Story of Sacred Scripture.

 

 

Here’s an informative and helpful infographic from Crossway, How do you read the Bible? “When do you read the Bible? How often? What portions of Scripture do you tend to gravitate toward, and are there particular extra-biblical resources you use alongside your Bible to help you process and study it? We surveyed over 6,000 people to learn about Bible study habits. In some cases, the results were quite convicting.”

 

Parents of older kids, do you have a prodigal- a child who has chosen worldliness over godliness, sin over the Savior? Hey, About Your Prodigal by our friend Michael Coughlin over at Things Above Us will bring you a great deal of peace and comfort as he walks us through the Scriptures that show us how to cope, and that God knows what it’s like to be the Father of prodigals too.

 

 

Freebie time! The good people at Monergism “believe the Church should have open access to Scripturally/Theologically sound edifying Christian literature and that one need not be held back from having a significant Christian library because of cost.” And so they offer us 575 Free eBooks Listed Alphabetically by Author. That should give all of us plenty to read for a while!

 

Here’s a brief, yet instructive video from WordBoard on Mark 2:20, What Is the Point of Fasting?

The resources listed above are not to be understood as a blanket endorsement for the websites on which they appear, or of everything the author or subject of the resource says or does. I do not endorse any person, website, or resource that conflicts with Scripture or the theology outlined in the Statement of Faith and Welcome tabs at the top of this page.
Favorite Finds

Favorite Finds ~ ALL THE FREEBIES! ~ April 14, 2020

Michelle Lesley

 

Here are a few of my favorite online finds…and this time, they’re all FREE!

Scripture TypeHave you worked all the jigsaw puzzles in the house and watched all the movies and listened to all the podcasts? How do you feel about coloring or painting? Scripture Type is offering lots of their beautiful Bible verses and Christian quotes in coloring page format (you can also download the full color originals as wallpaper/lock screen for your computer, tablet, or phone). Great for keeping the kids busy too!

Tell you what – let’s make this even more fun. You download one of the coloring pages and get crafty with it – color it, paint it, embroider it on a pillow, paint it on your car…whatever…and send me a decent quality picture of it, and I’ll feature it on my social media pages (let me know if it’s OK to include your name in the post). I can’t wait to see your creativity!

 

  But if you still have a hankering to watch a movie, you might consider giving RedeemTV a try. It is basically a “Christian” and family friendly Netflix (and yes, it’s really free!). I say “Christian” because, just having done a brief scroll through, I can already see that some of their offerings aren’t going to meet the biblical definition of Christianity. But I did notice several movies that look promising (I’ve watched some of the biographies of the Reformers, which were good, and I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews of the animated Pilgrim’s Progress movie.). You’ll need to have your discernment radar on high alert and ditch anything that doesn’t match up with rightly handled Scripture.

 

Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church (9Marks: Building Healthy Churches): Onwuchekwa, John

Or how about a good book to read? Check out John Onwuchekwa’s contribution to 9Marks’ Building Healthy Churches series: Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church.

And if you’d like to write a review of this book (or another one) as a guest post for the blog, drop me an e-mail, and let’s chat about it.

 

Trustworthy Bible Teaching and Discipleship Resources

Ligonier is going all out with the freebies! They are offering their entire library of teaching series available to stream and the study guides that accompany many of these series free “until at least June 30”. Dig in and get what’s probably the content equivalent of a seminary degree during quarantine!

 

How were people saved in the Old Testament? Ever wondered about that?

The resources listed above are not to be understood as a blanket endorsement for the websites on which they appear, or of everything the author or subject of the resource says or does. I do not endorse any person, website, or resource that conflicts with Scripture or the theology outlined in the Statement of Faith and Welcome tabs at the top of this page.
Favorite Finds

Favorite Finds ~ March 3, 2020

Michelle Lesley

Here are a few of my favorite online finds…

“Why is the doctrine of justification by faith alone so important? Luther said that sola fide is ‘the article upon which the church stands or falls.’ As R. C. Sproul puts it, ‘We are either justified by a righteousness that is in us or by a righteousness that is apart from us. There is no third way.’ This short work surveys the main tenets of the doctrine of justification in Roman Catholicism and evangelicalism.”

Enjoy reading this FREE e-book from R. C. Sproul, Justified by Faith Alone.

Have you ever wondered where Paul’s wife was when he was gallivanting all over the world preaching the gospel? Denny Burk explores  Paul’s marital status through Scripture in this excellent article, Was the apostle Paul married? Yes, he was. Here’s how we know. (Also included: the audio to Denny’s sermon on this topic, in case you’d like to listen.

Some of God’s attributes are communicable and some are incommunicable. Which of God’s attributes do humans, made in the imago dei (image of God) possess, and which attributes belong only to God? Check out this helpful resources from CARM (Christian Apologetics & Resource Ministry), What are the communicable and incommunicable attributes of God?

The Master's Seminary“By God’s help may we not retreat from the fight for truth. May we be all the more invigorated by a love for our Lord, His truth, and His people. And may this commitment be evident to all as we discern with precision, humility, and sorrow.” Reagan Rose has a wonderful article about exercising love when practicing discernment over at TMS’s blog: The Danger of Loveless Discernment.

What’s the difference between Baptists and Presbyterians and Lutherans and Methodists and all the other Protestant denominations out there? Dr. Gregory Wills of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary explains the basic similarities and differences in What’s the Difference between Christian Denominations?.

The resources listed above are not to be understood as a blanket endorsement for the websites on which they appear, or of everything the author or subject of the resource says or does. I do not endorse any person, website, or resource that conflicts with Scripture or the theology outlined in the Statement of Faith and Welcome tabs at the top of this page.