4 New Titles Releasing Tomorrow!

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Kim

We have 4 new Titles Releasing Tomorrow!

Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi

by Iain M. Duguid & Matthew P. Harmon

About

To the people of Judah, distressed by changing political realities, it seemed that God had lost control of the situation.

Zephaniah warned of imminent judgment and pointed to hope close at hand: God is both Judge and a Refuge from judgment.

Haggai declared that God’s struggling people needed to reorder their priorities and invest in building the Lord’s house so that God’s renewed presence in their midst would bring renewed blessing.

Malachi, when doubt of the Lord’s love and watchfulness led the people into sin and distress, addressed their concerns and failings one by one. God would not abandon those who feared him, despite a history of rebellion against him.

Practical, devotional, and expositional, this commentary delves into the ways these three prophets point us to the sufferings of Christ, the forgiveness of God, and anticipated glories to come.

Endorsements

“Why should you mess with this commentary? First, any volume that helps get Zephaniah into the church should be scooped up. Second, no other commentary will introduce you to ‘anorexic gods’! Third, Duguid and Harmon always keep Christ central and let grace be as delightful as it is—and their expositions aggravatingly challenge our attitudes and assumptions and in the process meddle with our cherished idols and bogus religion.”

—Dale Ralph Davis, Minister-in-Residence, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina

“The authors of this volume on Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi are to be commended for their exposition of these three prophetical books. In keeping with the REC series’ goal, they expound the message of the prophets, reflect theologically on what the Spirit of God intends to communicate to the body of Christ in every age, make insightful comments on the redemptive-historical progression of the unfolding of the Father’s purposes, and encourage God’s people to respond to the Spirit appropriately and practically by their faithful exposition of God’s Word.”

—Willem A. VanGemeren, Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

The Authors

Matthew P. Harmon (MDiv, ThM, Westminster Theological Seminary) is pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Grove City, Pennsylvania.

Iain M. Duguid (PhD, University of Cambridge) is professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He has written numerous works of biblical exposition, including Esther & Ruth in the Reformed Expository Commentary series, Ezekiel in the NIV Application Commentary series, and Numbers in the Preaching the Word series.

Knowing and the Trinity: How Perspectives in Human Knowledge Imitate the Trinity

by Vern S. Poythress

488 pages | $29.99 | Paperback | Kindle: $24.99 | iTunes: $24.99

About

Every human being has a distinct perspective and experiences truth from this viewpoint. If God exists in three persons, as the Bible teaches, is it possible to discern epistemological perspectives that originate from this mystery? Once we understand that God is Trinitarian, we can see numerous reflections of his Trinitarian character in general and in special revelation.

Vern Poythress is one of a growing number of theologians who have developed and used perspectival triads to further our knowledge of God. This book explores the relationship between numerous triads and God’s Trinitarian character, and shows that many triads reveal analogies to the Trinity. Understanding these analogies will help readers perceive the fundamental connections between our Trinitarian God, the Bible, and our created world.

Endorsements

“It is a privilege to serve as the doorman to welcome readers into the remarkable world of reflections that Dr. Vern Poythress provides for us in this substantial work. . . . [He] undertakes the task of helping us to see the sheer wonder of God as we reflect on his self-testimony. . . . We want to be able to say with Jeremiah, ‘Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord’ (Jer. 9:24). In Knowing and the Trinity, Vern Poythress helps us to do precisely this. . . . I bid you to explore and enjoy!”

—Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary

“In this fascinating and highly accessible book, Dr. Poythress puts his perspectival method to work in a wide-ranging exploration of Trinitarian theology. Underlying his discussion is the conviction that while this is a mystery surpassing our capacities, God has revealed himself in creation and grace, his triune fingerprints evident wherever we turn. Any discussion of the doctrine of God should take Poythress’s important contribution into serious consideration. I know of nothing else quite like it.”

—Robert Letham, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Union School of Theology (formerly Wales Evangelical School of Theology)

The Author

Vern S. Poythress (MLitt, University of Cambridge; PhD, Harvard University; DTh, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa) is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is also the author of Understanding Dispensationalists; Science and Hermeneutics; Implications of Scientific Method for Biblical Interpretation; Symphonic Theology; The Validity of Multiple Perspectives in Theology; and The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses.

Streams of Mercy: Prayers of Confession and Celebration

by Barbara R. Duguid edited by Iain M. Duguid

256 pages | $15.99 | Paperback | Kindle: $9.99 | iTunes: $9.99

About

Have you taken time lately to consciously taste of God’s mercy?

This can be difficult, because in order to seek God’s mercy we must admit that we need it—and we don’t like to admit that we need anything, much less forgiveness! But exposing the specifics of our struggles with sin regularly points us back to the good news of the gospel and our forgiveness through God’s grace. It leads to celebration!

A helpful addition to the previous collection Prone to Wander, Streams of Mercy provides prayers that confess specific sins in response to scriptural calls to confession and then close with an assurance of our pardon in Christ.

Inspired by the Puritan classic The Valley of Vision, these prayers are ideal for use in church services or personal devotions.

Endorsements

“Here we learn how to pray God’s Word back to him, as we first confess our violations of the Ten Commandments and then celebrate his grace in so many areas of our lives. I recommend it strongly for individual and family devotions.”

—John Frame, Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary

“Confession is a much-overlooked discipline in the modern church . . . [but] the contrition that comes from confession leads to true worship. . . . Barbara and Iain Duguid have provided a unique resource for individual and corporate prayer.”

—Kathi Lambrides Westlund, author, Prayer Pathway: Journeying in a Life of Prayer

The Author

Barbara R. Duguid is a counselor and ministry assistant at Christ Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Grove City, Pennsylvania, where she crafts the weekly liturgy. She is a pastor’s wife and the mother of six children, and she holds an advanced certificate in biblical counseling from the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

Help for the New Pastor: Practical Advice for Your First Year of Ministry

by Charles Malcolm Wingard

232 pages | $14.99 | Paperback | Kindle: $9.99 | iTunes: $9.99

About

Your first year of ministry brings brand-new challenges—often with inadequate preparation and little time to adjust. How do you moderate meetings, manage a church budget, and counsel struggling congregants, all while preparing sermons every week?

The new pastor’s time is also inundated with something else—advice! Too much of it! Where do you begin? What you need during your make-or-break first year is practical, realistic preparation for ministry. Drawing from more than three decades of his own experience, Pastor Wingard gives essential help for navigating the principal duties of the minister.

Find the tools you need to get established in your ministry and lead with confidence.

Endorsements

“I cannot conceive of anyone from whom I would rather receive counsel on the practice of the Christian ministry. . . . Even if you have been in the ministry for a long time, there are things to be learned and relearned here.”

—Ligon Duncan, Chancellor/CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary

“This book is simply excellent—extremely practical and exceedingly wise. The writing is clear, direct, and full of good sense.”

—Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church

“This book will save many young pastors from unnecessary error and heartache; maybe more importantly, it will save the congregations they serve from the same.”

—Jason Helopoulos, Author, The New Pastor’s Handbook

The Author

Charles Malcolm Wingard (MDiv, Vanderbilt Divinity School; DMin, Greenville Theological Seminary) is associate professor of practical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, as well as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Yazoo City, Mississippi.

Excerpt taken from Streams of Mercy

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Kim

Here is an excerpt taken from Streams of Mercy: Prayers of Confession and Celebration by Barbara R. Duguid and edited by Iain M. Duguid. Release Date: Friday, 3/30.

NO OTHER GODS (COMMANDMENT 1)

CALL TO CONFESSION: EXODUS 20:1–3; DEUTERONOMY 6:4–9

And God spoke all these words, saying,

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land

of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.”

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Eternal Father,

Your kindness and love are beyond all thought, far exceeding our wildest dreams. But, Lord, we are not like you. Our lips may confess our devotion to you, but our hearts are slow to follow our words, and we are reluctant to obey you with our lives. We confess to you our adulterous and idolatrous hearts. We cherish many things far more than we love you, and we spend hours each day worshiping at the feet of other gods. Instead of treasuring you and your Word, we lavish the best of our time on our false gods, hoping that they will bless us and reward us for our efforts. Meanwhile, we are content to give you the leftovers of our attention. O God, have mercy on us and forgive us for our persistent blindness and false worship.

Holy Spirit, give us grace to hate and grieve the many moments we have spent lost in worship before our other lovers. We have turned your good gifts into false gods and have given ourselves to them. Even though they use and abuse us, still we run after them and sell our souls to them. Please work in us continual repentance, turning our wandering hearts back to our perfect Savior. Teach us to love your Word, which reminds us that he has loved us and given himself for us; he traded all of the glory of heaven in order to live with us and be obedient for us.

Make Christ beautiful to us. Satisfy our minds with true knowledge of him, and set our hearts on fire with profound love for him. Let us love him with every part of ourselves: with emotions that delight in him and long for him; with minds that are full of thoughts of him and bodies that are eager to serve him. Draw us back to the cross, where his love was poured out for the salvation of our souls. Remind us that even death will never part us from you, but can only be the bright and joyful completion of your eternal story of love and redemption. In Jesus’ beautiful name we pray, amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 JOHN 3:1; 4:9–10

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

HYMNS

“Here Is Love Vast as the Ocean”
“My Jesus, I Love Thee”

BOOK HIGHLIGHT — Jesus on Trial by Philip Graham Ryken and James Montgomery Boice

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Kim

Jesus on Trial by Philip Graham Ryken and James Montgomery Boice

128 pages | $9.99 | Paperback

About

Trials are compelling. Justice in the hands of ordinary citizens—prosecutors, defendants, and witnesses trading rousing testimony and arguments.

Yet the most spell-binding legal drama of all time—the sensational trials of Christ before the Jews and Romans—is so familiar that we miss the suspense and drama.

In Jesus on Trial, two gifted pastors provide crucial details about the law in Jesus’ time and how it compares to our own legal system, giving careful attention to each stage of the judicial process Jesus endured.

As you hear the evidence and weigh the testimony against him, you too will find yourself drawn into the role of a juror. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of Jesus and what it meant for him to claim that he was “Christ, the Son of the Blessed One.”

As you are riveted by the “hows” and “whys” of the jury findings, you’ll gain a new perspective on how and why Christ died for you.

About The Authors

Philip Graham Ryken is president of Wheaton College. He is Bible teacher for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, speaking nationally on the radio program Every Last Word. Dr. Ryken was educated at Wheaton College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and the University of Oxford, where he received his doctorate in historical theology. He and his wife, Lisa, have five children.

James Montgomery Boice (July 7, 1938—June 15, 2000) was pastor of the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia for more than three decades. With degrees from Harvard, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Basel, Dr. Boice was well known and well respected as a Bible expositor. He wrote many books and commentaries, including a four-volume commentary on the book of Romans, and his Bible Study Hour radio program can still be heard on air and online.

Author Highlight — Brandon D. Crowe

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Kim

Brandon D. Crowe (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary; PhD, University of Edinburgh) is associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary and Book Review Editor for the Westminster Theological Journal.

1. The Message of the General Epistles in the History of Redemption: Wisdom from James, Peter, John, and Jude

240 pages | $16.99 | SAMPLE CHAPTER | Kindle: $9.99 | iTunes: $9.99

The New Testament books of James through Jude—the General or Catholic Epistles—can be overlooked due to their brevity and location at the end of the canon. They contribute much, however, to our understanding of salvation and Christian living. In this accessible introduction for laypeople, pastors, and study group leaders, Professor Crowe explains the content of these letters and their implications for the church today.

“The General Epistles continue to be relatively ignored, to the church’s detriment. This book seeks to remedy that neglect and does so in a winsome and very helpful fashion. Written for a broader audience, it . . . will make an excellent resource for personal and group Bible study.”

—Richard B. Gaffin Jr.

“Crowe has a way of gently disentangling thorny interpretative issues and exposing the spiritual fruit for believers to harvest. This is what ‘practical theology’ ought to be.”

—Charles E. Hill

“We ignore these letters to our peril, for they have an urgent message for the church today. . . . [Everyone] interested in the message of the Scriptures will benefit from this theologically faithful and pastorally applicable work.”

—Thomas R. Schreiner

2. The Essential Trinity: New Testament Foundations and Practical Relevance co-edited by Carl R. Trueman & Brandon D. Crowe

320 pages | $19.99 | SAMPLE CHAPTER | Kindle: $9.99 | iTunes: $9.99

The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to Christian theology. A careful study of the whole counsel of God, rather than a selective reading of biblical texts, brings needed clarity. In a work geared especially toward leaders in the church, scholars of the Trinity give Old Testament background, provide trinitarian readings of the entire New Testament corpus, and explore the practical relevance of the doctrine to prayer, worship, and other aspects of Christian life and ministry.

“Today there are many books on the market dealing with the doctrine of the Trinity. This is my favorite. It is a clear presentation, discussion, and application of the historic doctrine by people who believe it and have studied it deeply. The essays have kept close to their source, the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. . . . I do not agree with every detail of every essay; they do enter into some controversial areas. But the reader will learn even from that controversy to engage the Scriptures with more thought and devotion.”

—John M. Frame

“What a pleasure to commend this book—an exegetical treasure, unpacking the doctrine of the Trinity on the Bible’s own terms; a refreshing presentation of the doctrine’s vital importance for the Christian and the church; and a rich resource for the preacher.”

—Fred G. Zaspel

3. Was Jesus Really Born of a Virgin?

32 pages | $4.99 | SAMPLE CHAPTER | Series: Christian Answers to Hard Questions

Why do Christians hold so strongly to Christ’s virgin birth as a significant doctrine? Can it be discarded from its key position in our faith? Crowe looks at seven objections to the virgin birth and investigates the relevant biblical texts.

Written to equip and strengthen laypeople in their defense of the faith, Christian Answers to Hard Questions challenges contemporary opposition to Christianity with concise, practical answers.

“This booklet makes a valuable contribution to this series. It is difficult to imagine a similarly brief treatment of this topic that would be more helpful.”

—Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

“Here is an excellent exposition of Jesus’ miraculous conception, what is commonly called the virgin birth. Brandon Crowe explains the New Testament teaching, patiently deals with modern objections, and shows why the faith in the Virgin Birth not only remains tenable but is vital for Christians today. Readers will find his treatment both illuminating and edifying.”

—Charles E. Hill

BOOK HIGHLIGHT — The Heart Is the Target: Preaching Practical Application from Every Text by Murray Capill

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Kim

The Heart Is the Target: Preaching Practical Application from Every Text by Murray Capill

272 pages | $16.99 | SAMPLE CHAPTER

About

God’s Word is powerful, and when preached clearly and applied pertinently it can change lives. Yet preaching does not always have this impact. When it is concerned merely with teaching information, it can leave congregations unmoved, and when it sacrifices substance for relevance, it shortchanges the power of the text.

For preaching to truly change lives, biblical faithfulness and insightful application must work together—a powerful combination.

Murray Capill helps preachers to shape sermons that impact lives with lasting application. He takes preachers through the “living application” preaching process—moving the Word of God, via the life of the preacher, to the lives of the hearers. His model avoids the pitfalls of tacked-on application and enables preachers to aim at the heart from start to finish, and he outlines how they can do so in some specific preaching challenges.

Here are the tools to systematically explore the application potential of any text, in any situation.

Endorsements

“Experienced preachers are well aware of the pitfalls that pervade the terrain of application in preaching. . . . The Heart Is the Target not only provides biblical and theological correctives to such errors and imbalances, but also offers practical guidance in preparing sermons that serve the transformative purposes of the Bible.”

—Dennis E. Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, California

“Murray Capill has obviously thought deeply and long about sermon application and clearly has a passion for it—one that is highly appealing to the reader. There is a sensitive awareness of the situation of the ‘average preacher.’ . . . I wish I had had this text in my hands when I began preaching over fifty years ago.”

—Bruce Milne, traveling preacher and teacher of pastoral leaders

About The Author

Murray Capill (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary, California) has pastored churches in New Zealand and Australia and is principal of the Reformed Theological College in Geelong, Australia, where he lectures in preaching and pastoral ministry.