Library Additions

These are the books I was gifted with, along with the growing hand-bound prints I already have. It has been a long standing wish of mine to build a library. But they're stashed in a chest hidden away. I have a library of books indeed. All I need now is an actual library to put all of them in.

 

In the order that they were received.

Spurgeon's Practical Wisdom by C.H. Spurgeon

It has sometimes been said that Christians are ‘too heavenly minded to be of any earthly use’. While that may apply to some, it could never be said of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Spurgeon combined heavenly mindedness with zeal to improve the lot of ordinary people. At the height of his ministry there were dozens of enterprises associated with his Metropolitan Tabernacle that served the spiritual and practical needs of men and women, boys and girls. 

 

Although Spurgeon is best remembered as a gospel preacher, he was also a gifted writer. Under the not so well disguised pseudonym of ‘john Ploughman’, a wise old country farm worker, Spurgeon penned a number of humorous articles on topical subjects for his monthly magazine The Sword and the Trowel. ‘I have somewhat indulged the mirthful vein, but ever with so serious a purpose that I ask no forgiveness’, he wrote. In these articles he ‘aimed blows at the vices of the many’ and tried to inculcate ‘those moral virtues without which men are degraded.’ His efforts met with great success. When later published, John Ploughman’s Talk and John Ploughman’s Pictures were an instant hit with sales of these two volumes exceeding 600,000 in the author’s own lifetime. In homes throughout the length and breadth of Great Britain Spurgeon’s practical wisdom on subjects such as alcohol, debt, anger, temptation, cruelty, and the family home, were heeded and cherished. In the preface to John Ploughman’s Pictures, he was able to write: ‘John Ploughman’s Talk has not only obtained an immense circulation, but it has exercised an influence for good. Although its tone is rather moral than religious, it has led many to take the first steps by which men climb to better things.’ 

Book descriptions taken from Banner of Truth.

The Heart of the Reformation 

Sometimes one word is all that stands between the truth and a lie, between life and death. In the Reformation, that word was sola, “alone.” At a time when leaders in the church claimed to speak for God, the Protestant Reformers reminded God’s people that Scripture alone is our infallible authority. While many people sought to work their way to heaven, the Reformers boldly proclaimed the only true gospel: salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. 

 That word, “alone,” made all the difference then, and the same is true today. Take up this devotional to spend ninety days with the five solas of the Reformation. These core biblical truths display the reliability of God’s Word and the depths of His mercy, helping you grow in faith day by day. 
Book description taken from Ligonier Ministries 

Christ's Prayer Before His Passion by Anthony Burgess

In Christ’s Prayer before His Passion, a major work consisting of 145 sermons, Anthony Burgess expounds such topics as God the Father and God the Son, the love of God, providence over death, election, the deity of Christ, the Mediator as teacher and priest and king, union with Christ, the knowledge of God, eternal life, justification, sanctification, obedience, separation from the world, faith, prayer, perseverance, worship, Christian unity, gospel ministry, and the glory of heaven. All these truths are discussed by this judicious Puritan divine according to the order of the text in John 17.

 

 

Burgess rightly regarded John 17 as a mountaintop of divine revelation, “a pearl in the gold” of the Bible. He asserts that the Lord offers this prayer in the presence of His disciples so that those who hear it (and later, those who read it) might be filled with joy. This prayer is especially significant because Jesus utters it the night before His crucifixion, which is the climax of His earthly work. Burgess thus asks his readers, “If the words of a dying man are much to be regarded, how much more of a dying Christ?” In this light, Anthony Burgess expounds John 17 as the prayer of Christ, both as our Mediator—if we are believers—and as the model of a godly man.
Book description taken from Amazon. 

The Christian's Reasonable Service by Wilhelmus Brakel

First published in 1700, The Christian's Reasonable Service (De Redelijke Godsdienst) ran through twenty Dutch editions in the eighteenth century alone! The title is derived from Romans 12:1, 'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service'. It expresses what God requires from man, and particularly from the Christian, that he serve Him in Spirit and in truth intelligently, rationally, and in harmony with and response to God's revelation of Himself, His Word.

 

 

With a decidedly Puritan flavor and representing Reformed experiential religion at its best, Wilhelmus à Brakel systematically moves through the major doctrines of the Bible in hopes of seeing the minds of God's people renewed for the purpose of promoting godliness. Throughout his work, but particularly in the practical application of each doctrine, à Brakel strives unceasingly to exalt the name of Jesus as the name that the Father has given above every other name there being no other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Book description taken from Amazon.

Authentic Christianity by Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones

In this concluding volume of Authentic Christianity, Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows the significance of the events recorded in Acts 8:1-35 for readers today. These sermons, preached between Oct. 1967 and Feb. 1968, are full of penetrating insights on such topics as man’s need for the gospel, the work of the Spirit, the supernatural character of true Christianity, repentance and faith, the danger of spurious belief, and the very heart and center of the gospel in the sufferings and death of Christ, as explained by Philip to the man of Ethiopia.

 

 

The series on Acts was cut short by Dr Lloyd-Jones’ illness and consequent retirement as minister of Westminster Chapel. These concluding sermons therefore gain an added poignancy from the fact that the Doctor felt increasingly unwell. However, as he ministered God’s Word he was clearly supported by his own experience of the power of the truths he commended so passionately to others.

Book description taken from Amazon.

 

Letters to Pastor's Wives

Pastors' wives encounter special challenges as well as special joys. These letters from the seasoned wives of seasoned pastors provide empathy, wise counsel, and encouragement on a wide range of topics:

• Campus Ministry, Kathy Wilcke
• Church Conflict, Sue Rowe
• Criticism, Mary Beeke
• Depression, Mary Somerville
• Expectations, Donna Ascol
• Friendship, Betty Jane Adams
• Hospitality, Shirley Rankin
• Humility, Lynn Crotts
• Loneliness and Bereavement, Shannon Baugh Onnink
• Ministry Abroad, Pam Schweitzer
• Pastors' Kids, Sarah Ascol
• Personal Devotions, Margy Tripp
• Priorities, Catherine J. Stewart
• Respect for Your Husband, Noelle Wilkerson
• Sabbath Observance, "Sissy" Floyd Pipa
• Sexual Sin of Your Husband, Janie Street
• Speech, Barbara Davis
• Support for Your Husband, Joan Hamilton
Book description from Amazon.