×

Notes on two books I’ve read recently:

You Can Change:
God’s Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions

Tim Chester
Crossway, 2010
My Rating: ****

In this book, Tim Chester leads readers to think about what they want to change and then examine their underlying motivations for such a change. Encouraging us to turn from certain desires to certain truths, he grounds lasting change in daily repentance as a response to the gospel of grace. Best of all, he incorporates individual change into the context of the church and insists that sanctification is a community project. Each chapter ends with a list of hard-hitting questions that lead us to practical application of biblical truth.

Surprised by Grace:
God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels

Tullian Tchividjian
Crossway, 2010
**** ½

C.S. Lewis was surprised by joy. N.T. Wright is surprised by hope. Pastor Tullian Tchividjian is surprised by grace, particularly the grace he finds in the Old Testament story of Jonah. Although the Bible condenses Jonah’s story into four brief chapters, Tchividjian digs deep into the text and emerges with a book full of gospel treasure. Contrasting Jonah’s tribal mindset with the missionary heart of God, Surprised by Grace places individual salvation and calling into a cosmic context of redemption that emphasizes the need for Christians to be overwhelmed daily by God’s grace toward rebels. Tchividjian’s book combines insightful exegesis, pastoral wisdom, and personal passion. (Art admirers will also enjoy the illustrations: fourteen famous artist renderings of Jonah throughout church history.)

(These reviews first appeared in Christianity Today, June 2010.)

LOAD MORE
Loading