Website of the Week – Desiring God

www.desiringgod.org – God centred resources from the ministry of John Piper

In its own words,

“Desiring God exists to say that…

God’s ultimate goal is to glorify himself.
And that’s good news.

Everything we do aims to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.”

It is a truly staggering resource, with more than 25 years worth of sermons available to read, listen to or watch online. All of them organised by date, scripture, series, topic, occasion and title. In addition this, many of John Piper’s books and articles are also available alongside a wealth of other resources - and all for free!

If you find yourself with a spare minute, or just really need to hear a sermon (or six) on virtually anything, I’d highly recommend checking www.desiringgod.org out!

Top 5 Books: #1

I’m sure you’ve all been dying of suspense but I am delighted to inform you that the winner of  my recommended reading this summer is…

…The Anointing by R.T. Kendall

I love this book. I love it for a number of reasons, but predominantly because R.T. Kendall seems to have really hit the nail on the head when it comes to the whole word and works thing. His a keen advocator of a greater union between ‘word’ people and ’spirit’ people – basically, we don’t need to pick a team as we need both in our lives. As a charasmatic with a theology degree this really hits home!

The book starts with Kendall unpacking the story of the transfer of executive power in Israel from King Saul to the prophet Samuel to King David. He looks at the role anointing plays in each of their lives (namely: ‘lost’, ‘held’, and ‘promised’ respectively) and then applies it to a modern context. Past failures and current frustrations are dealt with in equal measure as the need to look to the future. The overriding message from the book is the need to look for what God is doing and then going and doing it – regardless of any accompanying difficulties. The main reason being that the key ingredient for any kind of minsitry/service for God is ‘the anointing’ – i.e. the favour of God over that thing/person.  On a more specific note, one particularly interesting section of the book is where Kendall recounts the introduction of teaching on spiritual gifts such as prophecy into his highly traditional Westminster Chapel congregation.

It really is worth a read. I found it both uplifting and incredibly challenging – it really helped me to evaluate how I was going about my life. Summer may be drawing to a close but it’s a quick read and I’m sure you’ll be able to squeeze it out in the last few breaths of your holiday if you want to.

P.S. You may have noticed that there is no #2 on this list. Honestly, I’ve been putting it off for a while now and was always intending R.T. to be #1 so, in light of it being September already, I just sacked it off and went straight for the big dog. Apologies. You have every right to feel cheated.

Top 5 Books: #3

Coming in at number three we have….

…Knowing God by J. I. Packer

Knowing God is a bit of a theological classic. It’s main objective is to help you understand a bit more about our Creator and his character in order to be able to live for and worship him with greater vigour – essentially, to help you get to know God! The book is based on the notion that the greatest thing that can happen in a person’s life is for them to be able to say that they have known God – all else is secondary in comparison (Phil. 1:21). This doesn’t just mean knowing about God, but actually knowing him for who he is.

Now no book about God can ever be a substitute for time spent with him – that’s where you’ll really get to know him – but having a greater intellectual grasp of who God is can definitely be a significant help. Knowing God is excellent at this. Part 1 is a goldmine filled with discussion about the results (a.k.a. benefits) of getting to know God, how we can go about it, and how we know if we’re on the right track. One point that particularly struck me was Packer’s discourse on prayer in which he argues that the number one way we can measure how well we know God is not to calculate how much we ourselves know/do but to evaluate how we pray and what goes on in our hearts. We need to be “seeking the Saviour”.

Part 2 focuses in on specific aspects of God’s character – for example: his wisdom, his goodness, his severity – and the book closes with a third part that brings all the exposition of the previous sections into one presentation of the true saving message of God – a.k.a. The Gospel (The chapter entitled ‘The Heart of the Gospel’ is a particular highlight.)

There’s no escape from the fact that this book is by no means an ‘easy-reader’ but underneath the scholastic feel of the text is a great wealth of wisdom, so it’s definitely worth investing some time and giving it a read. Go on – challenge yourself! It’s even wrapped in a Piper-esque pretty cover to entice you in…

Read it? Let me know what you thought!

Top 5 Books: #4

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

And coming in at number 4 in our chart we have an absolute classic from C.S. Lewis – Mere Christianity.

If you haven’t read any C.S. Lewis before you are well and truly missing out. As far as I’m concerned the guy’s a genius. God blessed him with both great intellect and the ability to communicate his knowledge to the masses in an extremely accessible manner. As well as Mere Christianity he’s written The Screwtape Letters, The Problem of Pain, The Great Divorce to name but a few (and Narnia of course!).

Mere Christianity is, as the name suggests, an unpacking of the fundamentals of Christianity in order to sure up your conviction or to help persuade of its truth. I really love the way Lewis approaches the argument in that he starts in a general manner by looking at the concept of right and wrong and the idea of there being a creator, before gradually honing these basic truths into a convincing arguement for Christianity being the only true expression of them. I particularly enjoyed his discussion on morality and also the way he approaches the subject of time and space.

On a personal level, I’ve found this book to be most useful in apologetics (defending your faith) due to the excellent allegories and pictures that Lewis uses to communicate Biblical truth. It’s a relatively short book as well so I would heartily recommend checking it out!

Top 5 Books: Number 5

Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to be counting down 5 of my favourite Christian books, all of which come highly recommended for summer reading. If you want to make your own recommendations drop me an email!

Number 5: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

I’ve read this book a couple of times over the years and have found it helpful whenever I’ve dipped into it. The book is broken down into 40 chapters designed to read on an individual basis – ideally one per day. This means it would be a perfect book to incorporate into your daily quiet times over summer – especially if there’s a little less pressure on your time.

In terms of content, the book grapples with the fundamental question: what on earth am I here for? By looking at broad issues such as worship and calling, Warren encourages you to bring everything in your life into a ‘God-perspective’ rather than offer specific guidance on particular issues.

It’s definitely worth checking out if you have the opportunity, and the structure of the book is a definite bonus – especially if, like me, getting through books can sometimes seems like a bit of a mission!