Education Books - Page 12

The Greatest Thing in the World

Henry Drummond

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Beautiful Sermon on Love 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Hadn't read Henry Drummond's book in years, but I recently picked it up again and re-read it and found it had lost none of its power for me. This book can be read in twenty minutes, but it's a twenty minutes that can change your perception of life and love.

Drummond, who was an inspiring liberal-thinking Christian of the 1800's, divides Paul's chapter on love in First Corinthians into three parts: "love contrasted," "love analyzed," and "love defended." He shows us what love isn't, shows us what it is, and defends it as the "greatest thing in the world." He helps us understand that it is not a burden to love - it's the easiest thing in the world!

This book is one of the most inspiring pieces of Christian literature I've ever read.

Editorial Review:

More than a century after the author delivered his meditation on the 13th chapter of I Corinthians, the need for genuine Christian love remains as great as ever. Drummond writes, "To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever". In this analysis of the love chapter, he highlights the basic truth that God is love; therefore, "everything that loves is born of God".

Coming to Peace With Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology

Darrel R. Falk

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Is a thoroughly Christian and biblically informed doctrine of creation compatible with widely held conclusions of modern science, especially biology?For Darrel R. Falk, this is not just an abstract question but one with which he has personally wrestled. A professor of biology, Falk brings together his biblically based understanding of creation and the most current research in biology. The result of his efforts to acknowledge the validity of science and the authority of Scripture is a new paradigm for relating the claims of science to the truths of Christianity. Written with the undergraduate student in mind, this book nonetheless will help anyone who is looking for a place to stand in the creation-evolution debate, fearful that they'll have to choose between intellectual integrity and the faith of the church. Calling for charitable discussions within the church, Falk shows how an original and ongoing interaction of God with creation is fully reconcilable with the kinds of development identified by current biological science.

Family- Based Youth Ministry

Mark Devries

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Family Based Youth Ministry - A must for all Youth Minsters 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This book is a wonderful companion for all who are involved in youth ministry. It focuses on the importance of relationships in the success of the ministry. It doesn't mislead by asserting that all the answers are on the pages of this book. You will be challenged to move your ministry into a more lasting phase in which the adults of the congregation become integral parts of the foundation of the teens.

All youth ministers, youth deacons, and youth volunteers should own a copy of this book.

Editorial Review:

Have you tried all the new youth programs? Have you planned one too many wacky activities? Are you frustrated about the size of the youth group? Here's an approach to ministry that takes youth work seriously.Family-based youth ministry is about adults discipling teens one-on-one and in groups. It is about involving not just the nuclear family but the whole church family--from singles to older adults. More important, it's about incorporating youth into the life of your church.So stop worrying about the size of your youth group or your budget. Mark DeVries's refreshing approach to youth ministry will show you how your church can reach today's teens and how you can keep them involved in the life of the church. Whether you are a parent, a youth pastor or a church member who cares about teens, you will find in this book an entirely different approach to youth ministry that will build mature Christian believers.

Worship by the Book

Rev. Mark Ashton, R. Kent Hughes, Timothy J. Keller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Learn How To Worship By The Book 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Too often, when Christians discuss worship, they go little further than arguments about styles of music. The "worship wars" that have plagued the modern church are a prime example of this. Many churches have fallen apart and many Christians have been deeply hurt over styles of music. Churches that have sought to be progressive and contemporary have often done away with hymns, throwing away hundreds of years of Christian tradition in the process. Other churches have refused to sing any song written in modern times, indicating an irrational bias towards days gone by. In the process worship has come to be nearly synonymous with music. Church services are often structured around a time of worship, led by a worship pastor, and this is followed by a time of apparently non-worshipful teaching led by a teaching pastor.

These worship wars are a terrible distraction, for as believers who have access to the New Testament we know that worship extends far beyond music. Worship is to encompass all of life rather than only select parts. Worship by the Book is an attempt by four men, D.A Carson, Mark Ashton, Kent Hughes and Timothy Keller, to unravel the meaning of worship as well as to suggest ways that corporate worship, done as the church gathers together, can be most meaningful and most faithful to Scripture.

The book begins with an essay by Carson entitled "Worship Under the Word" in which he builds a framework around which each of the other authors will write. The heart of the essay is a lengthy definition of worship and a twelve-point examination of this definition. It is an unusually long and detailed definition of worship, yet one that for precisely those reasons is exceedingly useful.

Following Carson's introduction, each of the three co-authors is given one chapter to provide insight about worship within their tradition. The first of these is Mark Ashton, who is vicar of the Round Church at St. Andrew the Great in Cambridge, England. His essay is entitled "Following in Cramner's Footsteps" and he proposes that the Anglican Church recover the principles Cramner used to draft the Book of Common Prayer. He suggests each aspect of a worship service needs to meet three criteria: is it biblical, is it accessible and is it balanced? Despite coming from a tradition that seems far removed from mainline evangelicalism, I suspect the bulk of believers with agree with most of what he writes, at least until the final paragraphs where he writes about infant baptism and presumptive regeneration. I was a little bit concerned about a vague, underlying spirit of pragmatism that seemed to lie under the surface of some of what he wrote. Within the sample services, for example, is an outline of a guest service in which they have dumbed-down their Bible translation, opting for the Good News Bible in place of the New International Version. Despite this, there was much within his essay that was of practical value.

The second essay was written by Kent Hughes, pastor of the College Church in Wheaton, Illinois. At the heart of Hughes' essay, "Free Church Worship," were his six distinctives of Christian worship: it is God-centered, Christ-centered, Word-centered, consecration, whole-hearted and reverent. I especially appreciated his emphasis on reverence, as this is sorely-lacking in many contemporary churches. He closed with some useful thoughts on music in corporate worship.

The final essay was written by Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in New York City. Keller is seen as a trend-setter within the Presbyterian Church of America, so I looked forward to his essay which was entitled "Reformed Worship in the Global City." Keller contrasted and compared contemporary worship and historical worship and proposed a middle-ground, but not one as simple as an even distribution of elements from each. His essay was built around an examination and defense of the Reformed worship tradition. He examined its variety, sources, balance, core, traits and tests. I particularly enjoyed his explanation of the service structure at their church and the cycles of praise, renewal and commitment.

While it was generally a strong essay, it seemed to come apart a little at the end. The author wrote about the importance of including unbelieving musicians in the worship team as a way to evangelize them, arguing that God's common grace given to musicians brings as much glory to Him as do believers using their talents in His service. I much preferred Kent Hughes' take on this same issue. In the previous chapter he wrote "Musicians must see themselves as fellow laborers in the Word and must lead with understanding and an engaged heart. Those who minister in worship services must be healthy Christians who have confessed their sins and by God's grace are living their lives consistently with the music they lead. The sobering fact is that over time the congregation tends to become like those who lead." I was also a bit disappointed by the content of the bulletin inserts of Redeemer Church that were included within this essay as they seemed to favorably quote Mother Teresa, writing that the most important need of the poor is to be wanted.

Despite a few small missteps, I found this book fascinating and convicting. I would encourage any pastor or worship leader to buy this book and to read it through at least a couple of times. It will provide valuable insight into planning worship services that will lead believers into a time of worship that goes far beyond the music. Worship like these men describe is becoming increasingly rare. I hope this volume can help many churches recover worship that is done by the Book.

Editorial Review:

A how-to book on corporate worship for the twenty-first century: how to be authentic and contemporary without being glitzy or faddish.

The Parables of Jesus Participant's Guide: Six In-depth Studies Connecting the Bible to Life (Deeper Connections)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Excellent Bible study (not "cheesy") 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I am glad I happened to come across IA's review shortly after it was posted. IA's review is not only unacceptable but incomplete. If you're looking for one opinion about the dvd format and production, he/she may be of help. However, he/she even states "I am sure the teaching is great, if only I could stand to watch it" which implies that the review has nothing to do with the (outstanding) teaching but his/her opinions of camera angles and eye contact. Allow me to briefly introduce you to the actual content - the main reason why people buy Bible studies like Deeper Connections.

Unlike IA's experience, my small group and I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from this Bible study. The guide (or presenter) is actually over in Israel as he introduces each teaching, thus helping bring the text and teachings to life. Simply getting a glimpse of where Jesus walked, taught, etc. helped me to connect to the text in new ways. Moreover, his presentations were not cheesy, but informative and natural.

IA may not like the lack of eye contact, but we personally thought it was insightful (plus, why give a 1/5 stars for something like that?). It felt more like the teacher was part of the small group instead of having someone talk 'at' me. The difference with eye contact was noticeable at first, but my small group quickly and easily adjusted and it never became a problem. Please do not write-off this Bible study series based on a poor review. You will be missing out on quality teaching from these six professors who have a pastoral heart and a gift to communicate God's Word to His people. Zondervan has done an excellent job (also, the Participant Guide is excellent as well).

Editorial Review:

This series of Bible Study guides with DVDs provides the depth for a more thorough study of the Bible, allowing participants to make deeper connections with a knowledge of historical background of the Bible, biblical text, and real life applications.

Helping the Struggling Adolescent : A Guide to Thirty-six Common Problems for Counselors, Pastors and Youth Workers

Les Parrott III

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A must have for anyone working with youth! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I have been in youth ministry for nine years and this is the best comprehensive book I have for youth in crisis. It deals with every imaganable problem young people are facing and uses sound biblical, theological and sosiological information on how best to help as a youth pastor or youth leader.
As a matter of fact I don't even know where the text is right now because it is in such high demand from my youth sponsors.
Helping Stuggling Adolescents uses many tools to help the reader get into the mind of the struggling teen. One example is it uses case studies. It also has test that can be used in assessing problem situations.
In my view this is a must buy for any new youth pastor and an important tool in anyone's hand who works with youth in a Christian enviornment.

Editorial Review:

This practical resource tool and handbook for counselors, pastors, and youth workers details over thirty common teenage problems arranged alphabetically from abuse to suicide, including such hot topics as anger, depression, drugs and alcohol, homosexuality, loneliness, masturbation, peer pressure, pornography, and shyness. Bound into the back of the book is a Counseling Guide that includes information on special issues in counseling and 43 Rapid Assessment Tests.

New Interpreters Bible Handbook of Preaching (New Interpreter's)

John Rottman

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Editorial Review:

An essential resource for any preacher or church leader.

This Is Our Faith: A Catholic Catechism for Adults

Michael Francis Pennock

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Used in my RCIA class, I found it exceedingly helpful. 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I have recently been enrolled in RCIA classes, leading to full communion with the Catholic Church at Easter. Being a new student of Catholicism, I found this book to be an ESSENTIAL companion to the Catechism, as it offers explanations that are far easier to comprehend than those contained in official Vatican documents.

Regardless, many life-long Catholics who are in my RCIA class as sponsors believe that the book is an essential tract to read to gain a fuller understanding of Catholicism.

Highly recommended!

Great book to tell you what, perhaps not as great for why. 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I thought this book did a wonderful job of explaining Catholic beliefs in a straightfoward manner. It touches on pretty much every topic that you could be interested in, and I especially like its question-and-answer format. I believe that one of the best aspects of this book is that, for the most part, you can skip around. If you just have questions about the sacrament of marriage for instance, you can just read that chapter to get your information; it doesn't depend too heavily on all the chapters before it (although everything leading up to it is certainly important also, specifically things like the basis of the Catholic faith)
What I don't feel is covered as well is the reasoning behind the beliefs. In many sections of the book, references are made to the bible as well as various papers the Vatican has composed. However, I feel that many of the topics warrant much more information about the history behind them, how certain decisions were made, etc. After thinking about it though, I think perhaps that is outside the author's intention for this book; I'm sure someone could write a book on the history of each topic alone.
Ultimately, this is a great no-nonsense book about the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic church. You'll have to look elsewhere to find out WHY they believe and teach it, though.

Editorial Review:

This catechism is specifically designed for Catholic adults, for those who are new to the church, and especially for those who are journeying through the Rite of Chrisitian Initiation.

The Life You've Always Wanted Participant's Guide: Six Sessions on Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People (Groupware)

John Ortberg

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

The book is much better... 3 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

When our small group decided to study together John Ortberg's "The Life You've Always Wanted," we couldn't decide whether to read the book or watch the DVD with companion study guide. So, we decided to do both.

Though there was understandable repetition between these two resources from the same author about the same topics, that was actually a good thing for us, as the principles were more fully embedded each week. Ortberg is a great teacher, so his teaching segments on the DVD were solid. In addition, the accompanying study guide provided a host of solid questions to use in response to the teaching time.

My greatest critique of the participant's guide in conjunction with the DVD was that it left me wanting more each week. Especially because we were reading the book at the same time, I was aware of how much more Ortberg had to say than he was able to include in 13 minutes of video teaching. And it was very common for our discussion to center around the text in the book that we had read earlier in the week more than the video that we had just watched.

I found this participant's guide to be fully functional and ultimately worthwhile. However, if I were to recommend "The Life You've Always Wanted," I would suggest that you just read the book. It provides much more content and the questions in the back still allow for groups to study it together. In any case, Ortberg has provided the church with a great contemporary resource about spiritual disciplines, regardless of which format you choose.

Editorial Review:

In this six-session ZondervanGroupware™ video curriculum, award-winning author John Ortberg teaches participants the skills essential to "running the marathon" in the Christian life.

Reproducible Maps, Charts, Time Lines and Illustrations: What the Bible Is All About Resources

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Very Helpful for Teaching About the Bible 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

I'm a youth pastor and I purchased this book in hopes of finding some maps to help my students better understand the background context of the bible.

I was very pleased with this book because in addition to the maps, it also has lots of great charts and visuals of the tabernacle, temple, ancient cities, etc, AND had a page on each book of the Bible with an outline/major themes to boot! On top of all of that, everything in the book is made to be reproduced; simply put it on the copier and go - no worries about copyrights!

The only thing that could have made the book better would have been some more detailed outlines of the various Bible books, and maybe some rough biographies of some of the major figures.

But I'm not complaining! It is a great resource and well worth the price. I highly recommend it!

My class loves this 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I've been using the maps and timelines from this book with my women's Sunday School class. They love knowing the context and history surrounding our weekly lessons.