Good morning, friends! The end of another
month is upon us, so I wanted to spend today sharing a couple of book finds
with you! These are my most recent reads.
A
couple of months ago, at work, we were given the book A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Milton Vincent. It’s a really short book, coming in at just
100 pages – and I am so glad I read it. The book isn’t new; it was published
back in 2008 by a minister who wanted to share what he had learned about the
Gospel even after becoming a pastor!
Several
years ago I did a Bible study by The Daily Grace Co. called Preaching
the Gospel to Yourself. It was a very eye-opening study that talked about
the importance of not forgetting the basic Gospel message, even after you become
a Christian. This book by Milton Vincent follows that same track and reminds
believers of the importance of remembering the basics and filling each day’s
thoughts with the truths of the Gospel so we don’t get bogged down by the lies
of the enemy. This is the kind of book that has short enough chapters and
sections that you could easily read a section each day as part of your daily
quiet time.
About
half the book is a section called “Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily,” and
it contains short chapters that remind believers why this practice is
necessary. The second and third sections contain a summary of the Gospel
message – one in prose and one in poetry, so depending on which kind of writing
you like to read, you can quickly read through the big-picture telling of the
Gospel. The final section is the author’s testimony of his own struggles in
remembering why he needed to do this.
If
you don’t love to read, this is the book for you, because it is short
and easy to read. The shorter chapters make it completely manageable, and the
author writes in a very readable way. It would be a great book to study
personally or with a group! I’m so glad I read it, I underlined many sentences,
and I’ll be coming back to this one more than once to refresh!
**
I
don’t remember, now, where I heard about this book, but I’m so glad I did, and
I’m so glad I read it. I fully recognize that it might not be a perfect fit for
many/any of you, but I still want to tell you about it.
The
book is called Letters to My Students: Volume 1, On Preaching, written
by Jason K. Allen. Dr. Allen is the president at Midwestern Baptist Theological
Seminary and has a huge heart for training future ministers. His own ministry training was deeply impacted by
Charles Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students, and has created this book in
a similar fashion to encourage others who serve in ministry.
I
had this book on my wish list and Ryan bought it for me for my birthday, hoping
it would help and encourage me as I prepared to minister at our church this
summer. And oh my goodness – what a HUGE help it has been.
The
book is not terribly long (about 150 pages) and is written in a most
conversational and understandable manner. Though he has his PhD and is a professor,
he makes every word reachable, and I appreciate that.
He
gives pages and pages of tremendous advice in how to prepare for a life of
ministry, how to prepare a message, and how to grow as a minister of the
gospel. I have devoured this book carefully over the last month, underlining,
learning, and striving to apply what I’m learning to each message I share.
I
am so grateful for this book and know I will be returning to it over and over for
as long as the Lord opens the doors for me to share with others. I fully
recommend it to those studying (formally or informally) to share the Gospel from
a platform.
I
have a whole stack of books to read, so I’ll be back next month with some new
updates!
1 comment:
They sound like meaningful reads!
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