Christians sometimes seek guidance from God in ways that are dangerously close to divination. We want to know God's will on a matter, but the technique we use to try to determine His will may be essentially a technique of divination. This book points out the dangers and also gives a Biblical perspective of decision-making that is based on wisdom rather that mysticism.

It helped me to understand how Bible works and guide me to make a wise decision in my life. It is very important to people who want to serve to God and person who want to be a counsellor in the future in his ministry. All Christians have to read this book.

Preaching's Book of the Year

Several weeks ago in PreachingNow (our weekly e-mail newsletter), we ran a survey asking preachers what they are reading these days. The list was long, but I was surprised to see a particular book show up frequently. When we went back to take a look, we weren't surprised any more.

In a year when many outstanding titles have been published in preaching, one book jumped to the top of the list as our Preaching Magazine Book of the Year for 2002: The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative, written by Steven D. Mathewson and published by Baker Academic.

This is a book by a well-trained pastor who preaches in his own local church Sunday after Sunday. (The author is senior pastor of Dry Creek Bible Church in Belgrade, Montana, as well as an instructor in preaching and Old Testament at Montana Bible College.) In contrast to some books which seem better suited to the classroom than the pulpit, this volume combines outstanding scholarship with a passionate and practical heart for ministry.

The book has three major sections. In the first, Mathewson takes you through the hermeneutical task of understanding Old Testament narratives. The second part deals with the homiletical task of moving from exegesis to a 'sermon that bristles with accuracy, clarity, interest and relevance.' The final section offers model sermons from Haddon Robison, Paul Sunukjian, the author and others.

In the foreward, Robinson calls Mathewson 'a thoughtful guide to help us get a handle on the great stories of the Bible.' William Willimon calls the book 'a great resource for biblical preaching from some of the most challenging and revealing parts of Scripture.' Tony Evans describes the book as 'an awesome guide on how to communicate the truth from the Old Testament to our contemporary generation.'

We are proud to recognize The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative by Steven D. Mathewson as our Preaching Book of the Year.

Michael Duduit, Editor
Preaching Magazine...

This is the book to keep for yourself and give to your friends, coworkers, and family who have experienced the death of a loved one. It cuts through to the core feeling of grief. No cliches accepted or offered here; just good, straightforward, and accurate material presented in a Christian loving way. I have personally ordered 25 copies to give to friends and especially to my male Christian friends who have difficulty understanding what grief is about. (My wife of four years died of cancer at the age of 45.)

"A Voice In The Wilderness", is a very insightful book that is written collectively by three seasoned ministers. The deal with three catagories of issues. The first being that of Cultural Wars. The second issue discussed is Internal Pressures, and the third is External Pressures. Steve Brown, Haddon Robinson, and William Willimon give great advice that is illustrated by personal experiences from their lives. It was a great book and a enjoyable read.

This book is not just about "Communicating God's Truth to Our Changing World," but also about better understanding the world we live in today. The author delves into various facets of the modern (American) life to show "Who We Are," (chapter 3-8), and "How We Think," (chapters 9-14). While doing so, he shows not only how deeply our culture has gone into a sort of postmodern chaos, but also gives examples of how he has been able to reach out to non-Christians and see their lives' changed for Christ. Henderson has definitely been affected in his writing by his mentor, the author of the foreword, Haddon Robinson, named one of the top ten preachers in America. This is mostly positive, including Dr. Henderson's "Concepts Worth Remembering" and "Recommended Reading" lists that are at the end of every major section. This book is very readable and helpful for any Christian who may want to know the current culture better as well as how to present the gospel of Christ in the 21st Century. I enjoyed the book for these reasons, but did not feel it was exceptional enough to warrant 5 big stars. However it is very good and any pastor or lay person who is actively involved in the life of their church would enjoy it.

In high school speech classes, we were taught to "know your audience." As an apathetic high schooler, I didn't really care what she meant, but it eventually made sense (once I actually decided to think about it). You wouldn't use sock puppets to explain math to accountants; you wouldn't use in-depth power-point presentations to explain math to first graders. With this in mind, why do many Americans still try to talk about Jesus using the methods used thirty years ago? Why do we use Christian "jargon" to explain Christianity to those outside the faith?

Henderson, as you might guess, contends that modern American Christians must change their approach to sharing the faith in order to fit modern America. The pattern of Henderson's book is straightforward: he examines a particular aspect/mindset/value of modern Americans; he then gives ideas about how a Christian might share Words of Eternal Life with such an American. Henderson's prose is both straightforward and enjoyable. He gets right to the heart of the American mindset, then illustrates it with descriptions from scenes from popular movies, personal anecdotes, jokes, etc.

In all, Henderson does the modern Christian a great service in writing "Culture Shift." Jesus tells Christains to tell others about him ("Go, therefore, and baptize all nations...") and Henderson can help us along the way through this book. Highly recommended.

Jason Cruise Founder TodaysPreacher.Com

There are a lot of bad books out there today!! There is nothing worse than spending money on something that you can't use; but, this is not one of those books!!! Henderson's book was super, in my opinion. He is certainly up to speed on today's listener. He uses a constant theme throughout the book which he deems, "God's Word to a _______." For instance, Chapter 6 deals with "God's Word To A Distracted World"; Chapter 8 deals with "God's Word To A Disconnected World." This helps you see how God's Word can reach such a target.

In this work he covers the average person sitting in your audience; what has made them the type of listener they are; their different thinking patterns, etc. David Henderson sat under Haddon Robinson, the "teacher of preachers." You can see Robinson's solid, Biblical influence on Henderson; and, I think this only adds to the credibility of the author.

David Henderson knows how to help you "gain a hearing" with a crowd. The book really helped me better understand today's audience, and techniques to help reach them. I'd really recommend that you read this book ... I think you'll be a better preacher because of it!!!

Preach On Friends ... Jason Cruise

Today it seems that we the church are more independent than interdependent, this book helps to foster how we as saints can build more loving caring relationships that cross Racial, Social and economic lines. As paul says in Colossians 2:2 " My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in LOVE, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ."

"God's frozen chosen?" HA! I am a New Englander - born and raised. On behalf of my brothers and sisters in the body of Christ here in the Northeast, I'd like to inform the world that we are indeed chosen - but we are no longer frozen! The warm wind of God's Spirit has been melting much of our cold independence and pride. THIS BOOK CONFIRMS THAT THE SPIRITUAL ICE AGE IN NEW ENGLAND HAS COME TO A CLOSE! Read about real pastors - real people - real churches in the Northeast where God's plans and purposes are unfolding. Macchia provides a brilliant blend of real-life circumstances with practical guidelines. This book filled me with faith, hope, and renewed strength to press on in my role as a vital part of the Body of Christ in my region.

This book is for God's frozen chosen everywhere who long to become His freed indeed!

I find this book to be a helpful way of looking at the local church. The author is not devloping a particular model, or specifically prescribing how to "do it right." Instead, he is submitting principles that can be applied in virtually any setting. There is a healthy mixture of real life stories, biblical principles and exhortations. The author clearly has convictions about the need for health in the local church, and he communicates his convictions well.

The 10 characteristics outlined in the book are worth regular review, and can be used to help develop a vision for healthy balance in ministry. The book doesn't hold out any quick fixes, but rather upholds the value of healthy sowing and reaping over time. Many, many churches will benefit from the concepts and principles presented in this book.

The deeper I got into this book, the better it got. There were a few moments that is got a little "deep" for me, but it turned out to be a very practical book, with great ideas on communicating to today's culture. I liked the author's views on how the church should not "run" from pop-culture, but rather embrace it and use it as an opporunity to reach people. I think this book would be a great read for any pastor or church leader in the midst of transition towards reaching unchurched people.

Johnston's review of postmodernism is accurate and concise. Announcing that modernism has collapsed is one flaw. We live in a mixture of the two - dare I say - philosophies. The other complaint I have about the book is the reliance on secondary sources. Besides these two problems, this is an excellent book.

Postmodernism has come of age in the new century. It's been growing steadily since the sixties. Anyone who was around for the hippie movement can recognize all the signs. However, postmodernism has become mainstream and even adopted by some in the church. (Whatever happened to being renewed in the spirit of the mind?) Johnston not only shows how the world has infiltrated the church but how to reach those with the gospel without accommodating to this age. His understanding that popular postmodernism is a parasite feeding off of modernism is incisive. In essence, postmodernism is a reaction to modernism as feminism reacts against a male dominated society. Christians ought not imbibe either as a philosphy. We do better with pre-modern philosophy and its attention to reality.

This book is more than helpful. It ought to be read by all those who minister today.

Graham Johnston has put together a wonderful book on preaching to postmoderns. Dr. Johnston first gives a brief overview of postmodern culture. While it's not exhaustive life Carson's The Gagging of God or Dockery's The Challenge of Postmodernism or Grenz's Postmodern Primer, that does not mean it doesn't do the job. He boils a lot of it down and gives the neccesary basics to understanding our current culture.

He then describes some ways to engage the listeners, ways that preachers should truly understand. He encourages the preacher to move from descriptive preaching (expository preaching using multiple points) to narrative preaching (expository preaching that uses the plot of the Biblical text).

The author discusses barriers to communication with postmoderns and then how to make a connection and make inroads to the listeners and finally different sermon style and delivery options.

This book is for people who don't understand the importance of vision. it is a very basic book that gives too much of the author's opinions and not what has been proven through time and experience.

If you have some experience with vision, you may benefit from this book, or maybe not. Some aspects of this book are strong, and others are very weak. This book is more of a "do it this way" than a learn to do it for yourself style. It communicates the basic points of vision but does not teach people what visioning is really all about. if you already have a vision, you could use this book to help you figure out where to go with it. If you don't already have a vision this book will serve little use to you. The major downfall of this book is the lack of real life experiences to back up the principles taught. Whether the points mentioned in the book will work or not is anybody's guess. It's one thing to put a theory down on paper, it's another to see it live out.

I really wouldn't recommend this book as a first in the area of vision. But if you are getting all the information about visioning that you can get your hands on, you should get this book simply because there are some very useful and practical bits of advice in it.

In a world of religion where many churches seem to simply "exist" without much understanding of their own purpose, the answer time and time again of "Why?" comes back to a people perishing because of no Vision. Aubrey Malphurs skillfully weaves together wisdom and experience with practical application of a much used and little understood term: Vision. With fresh, illuminating spiritual insight, he guides us upon a journey of discovery and awareness. This voyage exposes the snapshot which has been impressed upon the film of your spirit, and through the "light-room" of the Holy Spirit, brings forth a full blown picture of what God wants the ministry He has given you to look like, ready to battle, in the 21st Century. If you would not be ignorant of the wiles of the devil, this book is a must read!

No other book has motivated me to plan ahead and strategize more than this one. Both in personal life and in my ministry, this book points me to accomplishing what needs to be done. This book is invaluable. IT is worth ten times the money. Get it for yourself and see.

This volume (as well as the series in general), is somewhat helpful for application of the text, but it certainly should not be used in isolation. I found this one to be rather shallow in that it gives little time to the historical situation in the text. A better commentary that includes extra focus on application, but without diminishing original meaning and history, is the NIV Application Commentary on Luke by Darrell Bock.

This commentary is the third one written on Luke by the same author. It focuses on contemperary application of Luke's message. One might need another (more detailed) commentary to determine the original meaning of the text. Those with necessary training in the Biblical Greek should consult his two-volume commentary published by Baker.

This is a great resource for preparing sermons on Luke, or even for just reading along while you read Luke in your own home. It's easy to read, and gives valuable insights. I'm glad I bought it.