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Recap of June, July, and August 2016 New Releases

Posted on by Kim

1. Big Beliefs!: Small Devotionals Introducing Your Family to Big Truths edited by David R. Helm

192 pages | List Price: $14.99 | Paperback | Sample Chapter

SUMMARY

It is a wonderful privilege to watch children start to grasp the precious truths of Scripture. Parents may hope to see this in a family devotion time, only to become overwhelmed and exhausted by the daily difficulties involved. We need help!

Big Beliefs! is a devotional expressly intended to enable parents to succeed and children to grow in grace and knowledge. Three weekly readings accompanied by suggested Scripture passages introduce and simply explain thirty-three key theological concepts found in the Westminster Confession of Faith (included in its entirety, in modern English). Questions following each reading will help you to start a conversation about what you have learned each day. This nonthreatening, encouraging devotional will make a comprehensive beginning to your child’s understanding of Christianity’s big beliefs.

ENDORSEMENTS

“Big Beliefs! is a great book: (1) it’s faithful, telling children the truth about God, his Word, and what his people must believe; (2) it’s substantive, not dumbing down doctrine to present it to children; and (3) it’s realistic, providing language, illustrations, and lesson length that will work for real families who have real children.”

—Starr Meade, Author, Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism

“A family devotional teaching the most important truths in the world in simple bite-size chunks with up-to-date illustrations and stimulating questions. Why didn’t someone think of this before? I commend this excellent resource to all Christian families.”

—David Murray, Pastor, Grand Rapids Free Reformed Church

2. Faithfulness: No More Excuses by Lou Priolo

32 Pages | List Price: $4.99 | Booklet | Resources for Biblical Living series | Sample Chapter

SUMMARY

Faithfulness is one of the most important qualities for Christian service. Are you faithful? There are some simple, and perhaps surprising, ways to find out. Biblical counselor Lou Priolo defines faithfulness and provides three tests for assessing your trustworthiness. Through instruction and straightforward exercises, he helps you to turn from fear and excuses and embrace your God-given responsibilities.

ENDORSEMENT

“The people who make the greatest impact for Christ always have one thing in common. They’ve learned to be faithful. If you want to live all out for Christ, Lou Priolo will help you to see the importance of faithfulness, give you a clear explanation of what faithfulness looks like, motivate you to pursue faithfulness, and help you to know how to become more a faithful and fruitful person in your day-to-day life.”

—Joshua Mack, Pastor-teacher of Living Hope Church, Pretoria, South Africa

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lou Priolo is the founder and president of Competent to Counsel International and is an instructor with Birmingham Theological Seminary. He has been a full-time biblical counselor since 1985 and is a fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. Lou lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife, Kim, and his daughters, Sophia and Gabriella.

3. The Revolt: A Novel in Wycliffe’s England by Douglas Bond

272 pages | List Price: $11.99 | Paperback | Sample Chapter

SUMMARY

As a secretary at the battle of Crécy, Hugh West’all has come close to death many times in his short career. But when he leaves the war behind to enter the stone halls of Oxford, he meets John of Wycliffe and soon embarks on a mission even more exciting—and perhaps just as dangerous. Using his scribe’s quill to translate the Bible into English, the language of the common people, Hugh begins to understand the beauty of the gospel as never before. But he and his friends are not safe. The corrupt and decadent church is planning to choke Wycliffe’s translation and silence him forever.

ENDORSEMENTS

“Douglas Bond uses his unique writing style to produce a highly readable imagining of the travails of John Wycliffe, the 14th century ‘heretic’ who dared to make the eternal truths of the Bible accessible to the marginalized people group of his day: English peasants. This vivid and exciting narrative reminds us of the very real challenges to Bible translation over the centuries and of the importance in carrying out the work he started.”

—Bob Creson, President and CEO, Wycliffe Bible Translators

“The gilded histories often fail to note how extraordinary times invade ordinary lives. Douglas Bond paints the days of John Wycliffe in full color, showing that the Morningstar rose over filthy streets and jaded lives—and brought real hope to hearts in bondage.”

—Jeremiah W. Montgomery, Author, The Dark Harvest Trilogy

“The Revolt is a feast for the senses filled with accounts of battles, deception, heartache, integrity, and devotion.”

—Chuck Bentley, CEO, Crown Financial Ministries

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Douglas Bond is the author of a number of books of historical fiction and biography. He and his wife have two daughters and four sons. Bond is an elder in the Presbyterian Church of America, a teacher, a conference speaker, and a leader of church history tours. Visit his website at www.bondbooks.net.

4. God’s Mysterious Ways: Embracing God’s Providence in Esther, A Ten-Lesson Bible Study by Jane Roach

256 pages | List Price: $12.99 | Paperback

SUMMARY

God sustains and reigns over all his created order. Everything that happens occurs because God wills it according to his purposes, plan, way, and time, and he sometimes calls ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary tasks. The book of Esther gives us a fascinating historical narrative of God’s providential activity amongst a failed attempt to annihilate exiled Jews in the Persian Empire. Jane Roach uses insightful commentary, application questions, testimonies, and hymns to walk readers through the compelling story, introduce characters, and identify God’s providence. As you study the book of Esther, you will be prepared to see God’s hand in your own circumstances, to lean on him with wholehearted trust and worship, and to experience a new life of gratitude, peace, and joy.

ENDORSEMENTS

“God’s sovereignty and providential care over all things is one of the most important and foundational doctrines of our faith. . . .  is theologically rich study takes us through the pages of God’s Word to see that all God’s purposes come to pass.”

—Christina Fox, Author, A Heart Set Free

“Jane Roach’s insightful study-and-discussion questions and clear exposition blend serious engagement with the scriptural text with a focus on Christ, our true Rescuer. . . . It will move you to worship the Lord in awe at all times and to rest in his sovereign wisdom and love in times of trial.”

—Dennis E. Johnson, Author, Walking with Jesus through His Word

“This resource will be a tremendous aid to personal worship and devotional study, as well as for small group discussions. Discover God’s providence in Esther and you will learn to see God’s presence in your own life.”

—Richard D. Phillips, Senior Minister, Second Presbyterian Church, Greenville

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jane Roach was Director of Training for Bible Study Fellowship for more than twenty-five years. She currently teaches two Bible studies, is part of the steering committee for the Texas Hill Country Bible Conference, and assists with women’s ministries at her church.

5. Resolving Conflict: How to Make, Disturb, and Keep Peace by Lou Priolo

320 pages | List Price: $15.99 | Paperback

SUMMARY

Many Christians see conflict as a dirty word—something wrong to be avoided at all costs. After all, aren’t Christians to be peacemakers who strive to maintain unity? But, as Lou Priolo reminds us, many other things that the Bible exhorts us to do—including its commands to convict, rebuke, and admonish other Christians—make conflict a necessary part of the Christian life.

Lou takes us through the biblical principles of conflict resolution, beginning before conflict even starts. He shows us the prerequisites we must have as we go into conflict, what is at the heart of our conflict, when it is biblical and unbiblical, and how we should respond to it. He also shares practical steps and advice, giving us specific talking points to resolve conflict and journaling exercises to help us to grow when it happens. Learn how to “make every effort” to maintain unity—even when that effort involves conflict first!

ENDORSEMENT

“Conflicts are like forest fires. If you can put them out while they’re still small, you can save an enormous amount of time and effort. That’s why this book is so valuable: it provides simple, biblically sound, and incredibly effective insights for resolving conflict in its earliest stages, when it still involves only two people. If you learn and practice these principles, you will spend more time enjoying the people around you—rather than fighting prolonged relational fires.”

—Ken Sande, President, Relational Wisdom 360; Author, The Peacemaker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lou Priolo is the founder and president of Competent to Counsel International and is an instructor with Birmingham Theological Seminary. He has been a full-time biblical counselor since 1985 and is a fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. Lou lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife, Kim, and his daughters, Sophia and Gabriella.

 

BOOK HIGHLIGHT — Jesus and His Enemies by Paul Yeulett

Posted on by Kim

Jesus and His Enemies by Paul Yeulett

288 pages | Direct Price: $12.99 $10.00 | Paperback | SAMPLE CHAPTER

About

Christians have, in the gospel, the best news imaginable for a dying world—so why is our message ridiculed, ignored, and rejected?

Jesus’ own life answers this question. As soon as he came into the world, he had enemies too—and if he experienced hatred from the world his followers can expect no less.

Paul Yeulett examines the types of opposition Jesus encountered—demonic, political, religious, emotional, physical, and spiritual. He helps us understand why this opposition occurred in the life of Jesus and occurs in our own lives.

Yet Yeulett reminds us that Jesus didn’t just endure opposition, he overcame it; and he examines Jesus’ responses to help strengthen us to keep proclaiming Christ’s victory to his enemies today.

Endorsements

“This is a great resource: a study of Jesus’ enemies by one of Jesus’ friends. Use it well and you may yet have the joy of seeing many of Jesus’ enemies in your own context become his friends!”

—Iain D. Campbell, Senior Minister, Point Free Church of Scotland, Isle of Lewis; Moderator, General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, 2012

“Yeulett helps the reader to consider in a fresh way the claims and significance of Jesus by focusing on the very real conflicts between Jesus and his enemies. Those who ‘take up and read’ will be moved to consider the implications this has for our own day as well.”

—Brandon D. Crowe, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

About the Author

Yeulett, Paul_editedPaul Yeulett is the pastor of Shrewsbury Evangelical Church in Shrewsbury, England. He graduated from Highland Theological College and is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales. Previously he studied mathematics at Newcastle University and taught high-school math for eleven years. He and his wife, Ruth, have three children.

 

NEW RELEASE — Prophet, Priest, and King by Richard P. Belcher Jr.

Posted on by Kim

Prophet, Priest, and King: The Roles of Christ in the Bible and Our Roles Today by Richard P. Belcher Jr.

224 pages | List Price: $16.99 | Paperback

Summary

The Bible tells us that Christ has three “offices”—those of Prophet, Priest, and King. Viewed alongside his humiliation and exaltation, they provide a fully rounded understanding of his work and insight into the ongoing roles of the church.

In this biblical theology, Richard Belcher explores and defines the basic functions of prophets, priests, and kings through an analysis of key Old Testament texts before discussing their fulfillment in Christ and how they are carried out today by the church, its leaders, and individual believers.

Endorsements

“Belcher’s impressive treatment of these offices in their biblical- theological setting is essential reading in understanding their comprehensive nature. This book deftly combines biblical and pastoral insight that is most welcome in furthering our understanding of Scripture and the person and work of Christ.”

—Derek W. H. Thomas, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia

“With wisdom, clarity, and grace, Belcher guides the reader to a richer and fuller vision of Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King.”

—Michael J. Kruger, President and Samuel C. Patterson Professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

“Belcher’s work points us all toward the importance of keeping the centrality of Christ in view as we address the manifold challenges that Christians face as we long for his return in glory.”

—Richard L. Pratt Jr., President, Third Millennium Ministries

About the Author

Richard P. Belcher Jr. is Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is author of The Messiah and the Psalms and commentaries on Genesis and Ecclesiastes and has a decade of pastoral experience.

Excerpt taken from Humility by Wayne Mack

Posted on by Kim

Here is an excerpt taken from pages 25-30 Humility: The Forgotten Virtue by Wayne A. Mack.

Humility Defined

In order to define humility, we will start by looking at the definition of humility’s opposite: pride. What is pride? Pride consists in attributing to ourselves and demanding for ourselves the honor, privileges, prerogatives, rights, and power that are due to God alone. Thus, it is the very root and essence of sin because pride, at its core, is idolatry of self. A proud person has put himself or herself in God’s place.

Humility, then, consists in an attitude wherein we recognize our own insignificance and unworthiness before God and attribute to Him the supreme honor, praise, prerogatives, rights, privileges, worship, devotion, authority, submission, and obedience that He alone deserves. It also involves a natural, habitual tendency to think and behave in a manner that appropriately expresses this attitude. In other words, the attitude of humility is always seen in humble actions. It means having a servant’s mind-set and always putting self last.

Now that we have generally defined humility, let us consider each aspect of this definition so that we can more fully understand this important quality. The more we understand in detail what true humility is, the better we will understand our own deficiency and great need of more of it in our lives.

First, a truly humble person has an abiding sense of his natural insignificance, as compared to God. Abraham exhibited this attitude when he said, “ ‘Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes’ ” (Gen. 18:27). Abraham was deeply aware of the incredible insignificance of his knowledge and understanding compared to the wisdom of God. Job also showed this aspect of humility when, after being thoroughly tested by God, he said, “ ‘Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth’ ” (Job 40:4). Job finally came to the place of recognizing God’s infinite natural superiority to man.

Humble people have a great sense of their ignorance, their weakness, and their unimportance. They know that if “the nations are like a drop from a bucket” in God’s eyes (Isa. 40:15), then they are far, far less than that. They recognize the insufficiency of their own power. They understand that only God is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, all-wise, full of grace and truth and righteousness. They realize that they are totally dependent on God for everything: wisdom, health, safety, and even the ability to obey. In fact, it is only by God’s grace that we can even do anything that pleases Him.

Still further, humble people are deeply aware of their lack of greatness and lack of right to exercise authority over anyone. On the other hand, they are acutely aware of God’s greatness and God’s supreme right to rule over all. This means that truly humble people put themselves entirely under God’s authority. Whatever God says to do or not do, they obey completely and without question because they recognize the Creator–creature distinction. God is the Creator, and we are His creatures.

Second, a truly humble person has an abiding sense of his moral insignificance and sinfulness, as compared to God. Isaiah demonstrated this sense when he said, “ ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips’ ” (Isa. 6:5). The publican, in Luke 18:13, showed this aspect of humility as well when he stood at a distance from the altar, refused to look up to heaven, beat his chest, and said, “ ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ ”

To put it another way, a truly humble person has an accurate sense of his unworthiness before God. In Genesis 32:10, Jacob expressed this humility of spirit when he said, “ ‘I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant. . . .’ ” David also acknowledged his unworthiness when he asked, “ ‘Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?’ ” (2 Sam. 7:18).

Indeed, truly humble people read a passage such as Romans 3:10–18 and think to themselves, “This is me! This is my heart that is being described”:

As it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
“Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Third, a person who is truly humble has a theocentric mindset. A person who thinks theocentrically puts God at the center of everything. God is his Master. This is in contrast to the proud person, who has an anthropocentric mind-set, in which man is at the center of everything. To be more exact, self is at the center of everything in the mind of the proud person. He is his own master, and everyone and everything else exists to please him and to serve his needs. As a result, he takes the throne in his own heart and, in reality, worships himself. Not only that, but he demands that everyone else worship him as well.

The humble person, on the other hand, has a servant’s mind-set. He desires to worship, love, and serve God at all times, and he demonstrates this mind-set daily by loving and serving other people. He would much rather deny himself than exalt himself or be exalted by others. He has the mind of Christ, who said that “ ‘the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many’ ” (Matt. 20:28).

Fourth, a person who is truly humble attributes to God supreme honor, praise, rights, and privileges. God alone is worshiped and exalted, as Jesus said in Matthew 4:10: “ ‘For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and serve Him only.” ’ ” A humble person is devoted to God in a way that he is devoted to no one else in his life. He acknowledges God as his supreme authority in all matters of life. What God says is what he does.

The humble man also recognizes that everything good that he has comes from the hand of God. He knows that God is the source of all things, the means of all things, and the goal of all things. He says with Paul, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). He realizes that it is his great privilege to live his life for the glory of God in everything that he does because He alone is worthy.

Personal Evaluation

If we truly desire to grow in this quality of humility, we must be willing to take the time to honestly examine and evaluate ourselves in terms of this definition. Is our heart over- whelmed by the truth of our natural insignificance before the Almighty God? Are we painfully aware of our sinfulness and unworthiness before a Holy God? Is God the constant center around which our thoughts, desires, words, and actions revolve? Do we give Him alone our worship, praise, devotion, and obedience?

An honest appraisal of our hearts will no doubt reveal that we fall far short in all of these ways. None of us is truly humble as we ought to be and truly void of pride. Because I agree that pride is the first sin to rear its head when we’re born and the last to go when we die, and because humility is such an important, but forgotten and neglected virtue, I encourage you to seriously and expectantly devour and apply the material in this book. In The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan was on target biblically when he indicated that the valley of humiliation is a valley that every Christian will encounter and needs to encounter as he journeys through the wilderness of this world toward heaven. Praise God that He loves us so much that He is willing to humiliate us in order to rid us of our awful pride!

Excerpt taken from pages 25-30 Humility: The Forgotten Virtue by Wayne A. Mack, copyright 2005, P&R Publishing.

Reformed Academic Dissertations

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P&R Publishing has a long and distinguished history of publishing carefully selected, high-value theological books in the Reformed tradition. Many theological books begin as dissertations, but many dissertations are worthy of publication in their own right. Realizing this, P&R has launched the Reformed Academic Dissertation (RAD) program to publish top-tier dissertations (Ph.D., Th.D., D.Min., and Th.M.) that advance biblical and theological scholarship by making distinctive contributions in the areas of theology, ethics, biblical studies, apologetics, and counseling.

Dissertations in the RAD series are curated, which means that they are carefully selected, on the basis of strong recommendations by the authors’ supervisors and examiners and by our internal readers, to be part of our collection. Each selected dissertation will provide clear, fresh, and engaging insights about significant theological issues.

A number of theological institutions have partnered with us to recommend dissertations that they believe worthy of publication in the RAD series. Not only does this provide increased visibility for participating institutions, it also makes outstanding dissertations available to a broad range of readers, while helping to introduce promising authors to the publishing world.

We look forward to seeing the RAD program grow into a large collection of curated dissertations that will help to advance Reformed scholarship and learning.

John J. Hughes

Series Editor