P&R – Page 183 – Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing

NEW RELEASE – Courage: Fighting Fear with Fear

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Kim

Courage: Fighting Fear with Fear, 2nd Edition by Wayne A. Mack and Joshua Mack

Pages: 304

Price: $16.99

Paperback

Summary: Fear is so much a part of the human experience that we may thing there’s no escape. Our own earthly solutions fall short, but God has offered us a better remedy: a spirit of “power and love and discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7 NASB) that can overcome fear of others, irrational fear, and sinful fear. Through short lessons and discussion questions, Wayne and Joshua Mack show how we can find true courage by fearing God and trusting in him alone. This book can be used for individual growth and development, for group study, or for homework assignments for those in counseling.

About the Authors:

Wayne Mack is the author of the best-selling books Strengthening Your Marriage and Preparing for Marriage God’s Way. He lives in Pretoria, South Africa, where he teaches biblical counseling to pastors at Strengthening Ministries Training Institute. He also spends about six weeks each year teaching in the USA.

Joshua Mack (MDiv, The Master’s Seminary; DMin, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is pastor-teacher of Living Hope Church in Pretoria, South Africa, and Executive Director of Hope Ministries International.

What Others Are Saying About This Book:

“If you are one of those professing Christians whose most significant struggle is fear, you’ve now found in this book a treasure trove of biblical teaching that can wonderfully liberate you.” —Lance Quinn, Pastor, Grace Advance at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California

“Courage tops the list of books that I regularly recommend for discipleship and counseling. There are few books written that are as helpful a resource to nearly every counselee that walks through my door.” —John Street, Professor and Chair of Biblical Counseling, The Master’s College & Seminary

“The Macks’ work stands out among a number of good resources on the subject. I would encourage you to use it first to bless your own life and then to use it to bless the lives of everyone you know who might experience the emotion of fear (wouldn’t that be all of us?).” —Amy Baker, Counselor, Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries

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NEW RELEASE – Encountering God Together

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Kim

Encountering God Together: Leading Worship Services That Honor God, Minister to His People, and Build His Church by David G. Peterson

Pages: 192

Price: $14.99

Paperback

Summary: Does Sunday morning leave you with a sense of awe? It should! Church services are an opportunity to gather together and encounter God. More than that, God builds the church through us as we use his gifts to minister to one another. Yet . . . have you experienced services that downplayed their focus on God’s presence to emphasize fellowship and ministry? Or ones whose “worship” had little sense of believers’ coming together to minister to one another? How do we regain the right balance in our services?

Here David Peterson will teach you:

The biblical foundations of worship
The meaning and purpose of gathering together
What acceptable worship is
How to plan corporate worship biblically and creatively
A true measure of church growth
How we edify the church
Patterns and varieties of service models
How to structure each service to take worshipers on a meaningful journey together

About the Author:

David G. Peterson is an emeritus faculty member of Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia, where he teaches New Testament and a course on worship. He served as principal of Oak Hill College in London from 1996 to 2007.

What Others Are Saying About This Book:

“Biblical, practical, and insightful guidelines for thinking through how God wants us to meet with him as we meet with each other. . . . And as you’d expect, the beauty and power of Christ’s atoning work shine throughout. Tight in all the right places and encouraging biblically informed freedom everywhere else, Encountering God Together should be read by anyone involved in planning or leading gatherings of the church.” —BOB KAUFLIN, Director, Sovereign Grace Music, Louisville, Kentucky

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NEW RELEASE – Sex and Violence in the Bible

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Kim

Sex and Violence in the Bible: A Survey of Explicit Content in the Holy Book

by Joseph W. Smith III

Pages: 256

Price: $16.99

Paperback

Summary: Joseph Smith helps Christians to be discerning about unsavory material. He presents a carefully organized, elegant catalog of Scripture’s own graphic passages, clarifying meanings often obscured by time or translation.

About the Author:

JOSEPH W. SMITH III has been a high school English teacher in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for over twenty years. Before that he worked at Simon & Schuster and has written over a thousand articles for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette (including hundreds of movie reviews). Joe has also written a comprehensive guide to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and plays trumpet in the Repasz Band.

What Others Are Saying About This Book:

“A work of painstaking research and scholarship. If the concentration of examples makes for uncomfortable reading, it is nonetheless important that we confront the subject. . . . We can assume that the references to sex and violence in the Bible tell us something that God wants us to know.”

—Leland Ryken, Professor of English, Wheaton College

“The author manages to show convincingly how very frank and honest the Bible is about subjects that are often avoided or handled gingerly by today’s Christians. . . . We would be well advised to share the Bible’s realism if we wish to share its message of truth.”

—William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary

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Interview with Jon Nielson

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Kim

Jon Nielson, author of Bible Study: A Student’s Guide and forthcoming P&R book, The Story, has taken the time to answer some questions about himself.

When did you first want to write a book?

“My desire to write books (2 total, as of March 2014 – both with P & R) has really come out of my actual work in gospel ministry as a High School Pastor, and now as a College Pastor. I’ve really written in a way that has come out naturally from the kind of ministry I’m involved in every day. My first book, “Bible Study: A Student’s Guide,” was really a write-up of the kinds of Bible Study training principles I was trying to teach to our students in the high school ministry at College Church; I was simply excited to prayerfully offer this teaching and training to a wider audience. My latest book, “The Story,” really came out of my being constantly asked by parents of high school and college students: “Can you recommend a good devotional book for my child?” I’m praying that this becomes a great resource for college and high school students who want to dig into God’s Word in a daily and consistent way over the course of a year.”

What book are you reading now?

“I just finished a doctoral class in the ministry and preaching of Jonathan Edwards, so I was reading quite a bit of his writing! I really enjoyed diving into the sermons and writings of someone who I see as one of the greatest thinkers (not just preachers) that our country has ever known. I was encouraged, challenged, and blown away by his passion for the glory of God, and his grasp of the weight of the eternal and life-changing message of the eternal gospel.”

Do you have an interesting writing quirk?

“I write best early in the morning! My wife and I have a “deal” – she allows me to have 5am-7am each morning as my writing time, and I really enjoy that early morning time of thinking, writing, and sometimes praying as I write! At 7am, though, the kids are coming downstairs, and I turn back into a dad…who needs to get breakfast ready.”

Do you have a favorite book that you have written?

“I’ve only written two, but I do have to say that I’m especially excited about this forthcoming book – “The Story” (P & R, March 2014). My prayer is that this finds its way into the hands of many high school and college students who have struggled with daily devotions, and are looking for a simple resource that will keep them in God’s Word every day, teach them about the progression of the Biblical narrative and its proclamation of Jesus, and give them simple explanations and lessons that are emerging from the text along the way.”

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

“I have learned that, when you put yourself “out there” in a book, you have to get ready for some people to like what you’ve written, and for other people to “pick” at it with criticisms and critiques. That is part of doing this, and I’ve done my absolute best not to take any of it personally. In terms of compliments, the only ones I really care about (and am encouraged by) would be when people describe my writing as “clear,” and most importantly, “biblical.” I try to let the rest fall by the wayside, and pray that my writing is useful and encouraging to at least some people!”

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Jon Nielson has served as pastoral resident at Holy Trinity Church in Chicago and has worked in youth and sports ministry there. He has also worked as director of training for the Charles Simeon Trust, an organization that provides training in biblical exposition. He is currently college pastor at College Church in Wheaton, Illinois.

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