From Jonathan Edwards to Mary Mohler, the May 2023 cycle contains definite good’uns.
To start with, there’s John Lennox’s book, A Good Return. Lennox is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, UK. His previous books include titles such as Can Science Explain Everything?, Where is God in a Coronavirus World and 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. Professor Lennox has walked the paths between science, philosophy and religion, to become a name that is respected in academia, but also loves to make these topics accessible to everyone.
In A Good Return, Lennox has crafted a book with thoughtful, biblical and evangelical deliberation on, in and towards our work. This is not a book with mantras and maxims to help readers meditate as they make their tracks into the offices, conferences or events that fuel the expanding world of work: rather, A Good Return is a resource for Christians that encourages them to view their workspace as an avenue of worship. Through each chapter, Lennox clearly, faithfully and wisely sets out the chairs for a wider discussion on the Christian church’s approach toward salaries, time management, motivation and attitudes.
Next we have Susannah Spurgeon: Lessons for a Life of Joyful Eagerness in Christ. In a life that echoed the timeline of Queen Victoria, Susie’s life has been relatively unexamined by readers. Undoubtedly Charles was a gifted and talented speaker; yet the maxim, ‘behind every great man is a strong woman’ cannot be strayed from, when preachers, readers and thinkers dwell on the words written by a prince among them.
Taking ‘Susie’ as a human being in her own right, Mary Mohler allows her subject space to be within the pages of the book. It is an elegant, simple and endearing epitaph to a fellow sister in Christ. Mohler makes Spurgeon’s voice one that can no longer be ignored by the world; for Susie sets an example for Christian women in taking a joyful eagerness in Christ.
Ben Chang’s Christ and the Culture Wars builds upon Pride by Matthew Roberts, released March 2023. Where Roberts’ book is one of Christian apologetics in the areas of gender and identity, Chang asks his readers to take a wider lens view of the culture wars happening today.
Rather than asking his readers to hunker down into the tribalism of ‘us vs them’ within the Church, Chang encouraged Christians to find ways to speak out for Jesus. He examines the way we communicate the Gospel and how, via talking and
communicating with those around us who disagree with organised religion, Christians can tell a powerful narrative. A counter–narrative that has sacrifice and strife symbolised by the cross at Calvary at its centre; from which mercy, peace and grace pour out to all to call upon the Saviour. Rather than hiding away from engaging with the culture wars, Chang calls his readers to engage via a new methodology; the gospel resonating within the wider culture when spoken to in a timeless, radical and powerful manner.
Bless–ed is a new step–by–step look through all the blessings we have as Christians. Larry Dixon, who writes in a warm, encouraging and discerning manner, lists 52 blessings we can count as children of the Risen King. Dixon encourages his readers to either read the whole book from cover to cover, or to take a passage a day or a week, to revel in the blessings we have as Christian believers.
He attains this by setting out the blessings, from permanent joy to health, before taking the reader by the hand in explaining the heart of the blessing, the Biblical truth of the blessing, and how these blessings should encourage us to share the truth of the Gospel with our friends.
This book is a great resource for study groups or reading circles. Parents to pastors, new believers to those who have been running for some time; all can be encouraged to keep on keeping on through the practice of counting your blessings.
If you’ve been on CFP’s social media channels over the last week, you may be aware of the Puritan giveaway that is running in honour of Deborah Howard’s Jonathan Edwards and the Christian Pilgrim: Our Journey Towards Heaven. Howard’s unique perspective on the topics held in Edwards’ arguments, curates a deep empathy between editor and subject.
As a hospice nurse, she has been privy to deep loss and sadness. The subtle changes in the face of a loved one after death, the knowledge that a person who was suddenly is not; the pain which comes from family members’ own fears when confronted with the final ‘goodbye’. Howard allows her readers to engage in an act of reflection within the pages of Edwards’ sermon.
Dave Jenkins (Executive Director at Servants of Grace Ministries) states that Howard ‘has done us a great service with this book for the hurting, the struggler and the biblical counsellor. Please read this book and know that the hope you have now in Christ is the hope that Christ holds you fast now, as He shall continue to’.
Like Howard, J.M. Gurvsy handles a big topic with consideration and wisdom. The Most Unlikely Missionaries is their story of being sent out to China, before being reeled back home again within a matter of years. After arriving 2017, the family were
brought back home within two years, heads reeling with one question ‘What happened?’
Over the following years, the Gurvsy family came to the realisation that their story wasn’t wasted. Reflection, waiting, action and benching are all common themes; ones that impact the day–to–day reality of Christians all over the globe. The hopes and dreams of a missionally minded family don’t often meet the reality of situations God places them into; something that the author and his wife have felt keenly during their reflections.
This isn’t a story about missionaries who went out for decades. But it is a story of God working in His timeframe, amid the complexities, challenges, choices and changes we experience at home, in work, or overseas. It is a letter to brothers and sisters to encourage them that where they are placed, is a wholly intentional act of God.
While the adult releases range from counting one’s blessings to being a Christian in the digital workplace, CF4K has two new books in the same series arriving!
Carrying on the timelines established in the Risen Hope series, Reform and Renewal follow Redemption and Reign. Written again by Luke H. Davis with another beautiful cover design from Laura K. Sayers, Reform picks up where Regin left off: the church at the birth of Protestantism. From the mid–15th century until the start of the 17th, Davis shows his readers how Martin Luther, John Calvin and Thomas Cranmer led a reformation in their nations; calling their followers to the clear teaching of the Bible, to Christ, to faith, to grace, to live to the glory of God. The term ‘Protestant’ was thence born.
Renewal considers the new lines that had been drawn on the map of the Christian world. The Protestant Reformation set a precedent for mission, which Davis explores within this volume. From 1600 until 1890, this book takes into account the stories of people who were willing, able and ready to serve God in Spirit and truth. Individuals such as Sojourner Truth, John Owen, Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards, were used by God in building a Church that expanded across continents that hitherto remained unreached.
All of the titles mentioned above are available now via christianfocus.com, Amazon, or wherever you purchase Christian Focus books.
