The Christian Homemaker’s Handbook edited by Pat Ennis and Dorothy Kelley Patterson (Crossway. 9781433528385. Paperback. $25)

This one-stop reference tool gives you tips and training on everything from meal planning to interior decorating, biblical womanhood to budgeting, so that you can become a holistic homemaker! It features practical teaching from Scripture, instructions for do-it-yourself projects, application questions, helpful resources, a comprehensive index, and more.

With nearly 50 years of marriage experience, 30 years of college-level home economics instruction, and a commitment to biblical womanhood, the editors of The Christian Homemaker’s Handbook have compiled the comprehensive manual for today’s woman and her home.

Click here to read an excerpt from this book.

Pat Ennis is distinguished professor and director of homemaking programs at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dorothy Kelley Patterson is professor of theology in women’s studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where her husband, Paige Patterson, is the president.

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As You Go: Creating a Missional Culture of Gospel-Centered Students by Alvin L. Reid (NavPress. 9781612913025. Paperback. $12.99)

Today’s students long for a rich, meaningful faith. They want something more than a moral code and therapeutic worship that leaves them unsatisfied and uninspired. Speaker, author, and evangelism professor Alvin L. Reid reveals a key to capturing students’ hearts for life: a missional youth ministry. Through practical teaching and powerful application tools, discover how giving teens a grander purpose and vision and encouraging them to see all of life as a mission field transforms their faith, their lives, and the world.

Alvin Reid is a professor of evangelism and student ministry and the Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones by Iain H. Murray (Banner of Truth. Paperback. $20)

This book is a re-cast, condensed and, in parts, re-written version of the author’s two volumes D. Martyn Lloyd- Jones: The First Forty Years (I982) and The Fight of Faith (I990). Since those dates, the life of Dr. Lloyd-Jones has been the subject of comment and assessment in many publications and these have been taken into account. The main purpose of this further biography, however, is to put Dr. Lloyd-Jones’ life before another generation in more accessible form. The big story is all here.

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The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield (Crown & Covenant Publications. Paperback. $12.00)

Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a difference in the world. There, her partner rehabilitated abandoned and abused dogs. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work. At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her department’s curriculum. And then, in her late 30s, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down—the idea that Christianity, a religion that she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was, an idea that flew in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. This book is the story of what she describes as a “train wreck” at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could.

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The Kind of Preaching God Blesses by Steven J. Lawson (Harvest House. Hardback. $9.99)

In recent years Steven J. Lawson has been in demand nationwide as a speaker at major conferences, particularly those for pastors. The Kind of Preaching God Blesses is a powerful must-read for every minister who desires to preach God’s Word in a way that truly exalts the Lord and nourishes His people.

In 1 Corinthians 2:1-9, the apostle Paul wrote about the keys to effective preaching. In this compact yet dynamic book, readers will learn about…

• the priority of biblical preaching—an urgent call to every minister
• the poverty of modern preaching—what is lacking in today’s pulpits
• the preeminence of Christ in preaching—making Jesus the dominant theme
• the power of the Spirit in preaching—replacing self-confidence with God-dependence

Click here to read an excerpt from the book.

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Mark by the Book: A New Multidirectional Method for Understanding the Synoptic Gospels by P. W. Smuts (P&R. Paperback. $17.99)

Peter Smuts advocates a multi-directional hermeneutic for the Synoptic Gospels–downwards (immediate context), sideways (parallel traditions), backwards (OT background), and forwards (relevant NT passages). This simple, yet effective, model helps readers to interpret the Gospels as part of the broader sweep of redemptive
history.

We are blessed with scholarly commentaries on Mark’s Gospel as well as more popular surveys.  Rarer are those that bring out the richness of the text with the research of the former and the pastoral sensitivity of the latter.  One feature distinguishing Mark by the Book is the rubric applied to each story: reading it downwards (Christ-centered focus), sideways (parallel Gospel accounts), backwards (Old Testament prophecy) and forwards (future fulfillment).  This approach exposes the meaning in each pericope with powerful effect and remarkable insight.  I highly recommend this exploration of Mark.

Michael Horton, Westminster Seminary

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Bound Together: How We Are Tied to Others in Good and Bad Choices by Chris Brauns (Zondervan. Paperback. $16.99)

We are not just isolated individuals. Instead, our lives are woven together with others. We have solidarity with other people—the choices one person makes affects the lives of others, for good and for bad.

Because much of the pain we endure in life is in the context of relationships, this truth often strikes us as unfair. Why should a child suffer because of the choices of his parents? And on a grander scale, why do we all suffer the curse of Adam’s sin? Why should anyone be judged for someone else’s sin?

In Bound Together, Chris Brauns unpacks the truth that we are bound to one another and to the whole of creation. He calls this, “the principle of the rope.” Grasping this foundational principle sheds new light on marriage, the dynamics of family relationships, and the reason why everyone lives with the consequences of the sins that others commit. Brauns shows how the principle of the rope is both bad news and good news, revealing a depth to the message of the gospel that many of us have never seen before.

Classical Christian Doctrine: Introducing the Essentials of the Ancient Faith by Ronald E. Heine (Baker Academic. 9780801048739. Paperback. $21.99)

This clear and concise text helps readers grasp the doctrines of the Christian faith considered basic from the earliest days of Christianity. Ronald Heine primarily uses the classical Christian doctrines of the Nicene Creed to guide students into the essentials of the faith.

This broadly ecumenical work will interest students of church history or theology as well as adult Christian education classes in church settings. Sidebars identify major personalities and concepts, and each chapter concludes with discussion questions and suggestions for further reading.

"Contemporary Protestants greatly benefit from discovering how much our faith can be traced back to the wisdom of the ancient church. In Ronald Heine’s fine introduction to central Christian doctrines, he unpacks the true ‘catholicity’ (universality) and ‘classical’ nature of our faith, inviting us not only to recognize our debt to the past but also to grow in our theological understanding in the present."

Kelly M. Kapic, professor of theological studies, Covenant College

Ronald E. Heine is professor of Bible and Christian ministry at Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Oregon.

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Two new counseling resources from Harvest House:

Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling: Changing Lives with God’s Changeless Truth edited by James MacDonald, Bob Kellemen & Stephen Viars (9780736951456. Hardback. $29.99)

“In this massively important new book…leading figures in the biblical counseling movement set forth a wealth of wisdom. We have needed this book for a long time.”

- R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

 

Men Counseling Men: A Biblical Guide to the Major Issues Men Face edited by John Street (9780736949262. Paperback. $19.99)

This is an exciting new resource on how to counsel men about the difficulties they  face. Written by The Master’s Seminary’s faculty members, it is an accessible, practical volume that will equip both trained professionals and lay people to provide solidly biblical help for men who are struggling with a variety of major life issues.

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Joy and Tears: The Emotional Life of the Christian by Gerald Peterman (Moody Publishers. 9780802405883. Paperback. $14.99)

This book presents a biblical and practical look at the emotions of Christians, building on the concept that most contemporary Christians have misconceptions about why we have emotions and how we should handle them.

Trusting God doesn’t mean being consistently tranquil or subdued.  Truth is, such a view makes life flat and two dimensional. We often forget that emotions are a gift; to fear them or stow them away would be to deny a huge part of what makes us human. This book explores the significance of the gift and the benefits of living a robust life of thought, action, and feeling. Illuminating the emotional life of Christ and his followers, Dr. Gerald Peterman asks:

• If I’m forgiven, why do I feel guilt and shame?
• What about anger? What if I’m angry with God?
• What is the place of sadness in the Christian life?
• Is love only an action?

Gerald Peterman is professor of New Testament studies and chair of the Bible department at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL.

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Here are two other new releases that might be of interest:

The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther by Steven Lawson   (Reformation Trust. 9781567693218. Hardback. $16.00)

Sent: How One Ordinary Family Traded the American Dream for God’s Greater Purpose by Hilary Alan (WaterBrook Multnomah. Paperback. $14.99)