A Tale of Three Kings

I was tired, weary, and defeated just to sum up a few of the massive dark feelings of the soul that night. To that point in my life, I am not sure that I had ever faced the dilemma quite like the one I was now staring down. My heart was dark and my feelings were very spiritually unhealthy to say the least. It would have been very easy to give in to defeat, pack up the tent and go in another direction with my life.

Looking back it was almost thirteen years ago on a late Wednesday night in October 1996. I had come from home from mid-week prayer and Bible study and it seemed as if the world of darkness was doing everything possible to choke the life out of me. What was so strange is that in January 1996, a very distinct directive from the Lord had told me that I would be on the current assignment for four more years. I expected a lot of great things but instead I was grappling with a storm that threatened to overpower me. A blinding and quite unforeseen trial had broadsided me and what little Christian character I had was being eroded by a lot of very carnal emotions to say the least.

I can still remember almost the exact time on that memorable Wednesday night as sometime around 10:35 or so. The house was finally quiet as Teresa and I had gotten the kids down for the night and she was in the back of the house and I was in my study in the front. I leaned back in my chair and propped my feet up on my desk and begin to encourage a dark and brooding stream of emotions. In retrospect and hopefully with an eye toward a little more spiritual maturity, I can see now that it was a shaping process of the soul that God was using to my own benefit. Spiritual growth is very necessary in all of our lives but most of the time it is very painful because it involves a pruning of the soul. But how that pruning is so conducive to greater fruitfulness!

Somehow my eyes flitted to the top of the bookshelf. Tucked in between all of the other inspirational books written by Gordon MacDonald, Charles Swindoll, Max Lucado, and a few others, I spied a little paperback that I had owned for at least 3 years. Numerous preachers had told me that I had to read Gene Edwards’ A Tale of Three Kings. I took half of their advice and bought it but never read it. In fact, as I think about it now, I can think of at least ten good men who told me that I needed to read this book. I didn’t ignore their advice it just wasn’t in God’s timing for me to read the book just yet. No doubt when I purchased the book, God knew there would come a time that I would need to read this book. I am of the opinion that this was one of the types of books that Paul encouraged Timothy to bring to him before winter (2 Tim. 4:13).

So at 10:35, I picked up that book and it mesmerized me until shortly after midnight. The impact of this little book (a little over 80 pages) has remained with me to this day. For those of you who have not read it, I won’t give you any details that will spoil it. For those who have read it before, you might want to pick it back up again! It is a tale for the ages because it exposes the fact that within every one of us is either a mad king who worships himself or there is a broken king who worships God. . . . . . and only the pain of trials can reveal what kind of man that we are. . . .

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

Book Recommendation — Blaine Allen — When People Throw Stones

Blaine Allen has managed to do it again. Allen is one of those authors that I “accidentally” found a few years ago when I was trolling our local Lifeway Christian book store. He has previously written a book entitled “Before You Quit: When Ministry Is Not What You Thought.” That book was a good one and it comes from the heart of one who obviously knows what it is like in the trenches.

His second book “When People Throw Stones” is also a very worthy follow-up to his first book. Again, you don’t have to read two pages into the book before you realize that man has worked through some acreage to be able to write as he does. Pastoral ministry is challenging at best but it can be even more of a cross when the words of critics pour out toward the man who is attempting to guide a church.

Recently I was on the other end of a pastor(s) conversation who shared with me the dilemmas they are facing in having to endure some very sharp, unwarranted, and malicious criticism from the churches they are attempting to serve. This is probably what prompted me to buy this book last week because I am well aware that at some point criticism will come the way of anyone who is diligently trying to serve God.

Why are we at this point in our society where criticism can put a pastor’s soul into wreckage? Especially in the setting of the Church, a place where it shouldn’t be. Allen gives an answer to this:

We live and minister at a time when the Western evangelical church is making a historic paradigm shift. Less and less, Scripture is our sole authority. More and more, a culture that mirrors an antibiblical value system has the final say. In the name of relevance, demographic research determines our music and the shape of our message so that we reinvent ourselves to appeal to the greatest number. Though perhaps done from positive motives, the results are staggering. The audience is not just the customer, it has been crowned sovereign kind. “Do it this way. . . We don’t like it done that way. . . Don’t forget, we can vote with our pocketbook and our feet.” Sovereign king. (p. 86)

Allen gives some insight into what happens with a pastor’s soul in the midst of having to field criticism:

It goes on day after day. Then into weeks and months. And before you know it, years pass—life with it—and you still knead the pain (of the critic and their criticism). Like a mallet you pound away. You beat it hard, sometimes harder than at other times, but always hard. First thing in the morning. Anytime a conversation shows the slightest drift in that direction you grab hold and set its course: do you know what he did to me. . . ??? Pound, pound, pound, pound.

But, do you know what you are pounding? Your own heart. With each blow, it gets harder and harder. Packed like steamrolled dirt. The air cannot get to it. The seeds of new truth won’t germinate in it. What good growth remains won’t be there much longer. The roots can’t spread. The moisture of the Spirit does not reach it. The tender shoots of truth get clobbered one by one. That’s the danger for a servant who ignores God’s roles behind the scenes (pp. 61-62).

However, Allen also goes into the other aspects of pastoral criticism. He spends a chapter on “When to Blow It Off.” In another he transparently writes “When Your Critic Speaks the Truth.” A couple of others are also worthy of mentioning: “When God Doesn’t Defend” and “When You Don’t Want to Forgive.”

He also gives a checklist of sorts to help determine some crucial things about criticism and how to field it:

· Truthfulness: Is your critic trustworthy?

· Empathy: Is your critic concerned?

· Competence: Is your critic knowledgeable?

· Factualness: Is the criticism accurate?

· Restraint: Was the delivery of the criticism restrained?

· Pain: Does the criticism hurt?

I realize the economy is shifting daily but this book might be a worthy investment of your time especially if you are on the receiving end of criticism right now. Otherwise, it might be a good book to get to read to prepare you for the future, because I have discovered that no man is immune from this kind of activity.

A Reading List for Pastors/Ministers Concerning Daily Devotionals

For those who frequent the BarnabasBlog, you have discovered that I have taken a little over a month off from posting anything here. I am now officially back in the saddle and will continue on.

 

From some previous posts, I have written about books that pastors could use the assist them with their pulpit ministry, you can check those links here and here and here. I have gathered from the Word that the most important thing that a pastor can do is to preach the Word. Good preaching is hard work especially in a society that wants 20-25 minute sermonettes. Good Biblical preaching is going to take more than just 20-25 minutes and it is going to have to be more than just volume.

 

Sometimes a minister’s inspiration runs a little low and at other times he may be banging one drum without a lot of variation in his thoughts. Both Kelsey Griffin and A. B. Keating, two of my Bible College instructors, cautioned us against getting on a “hobby-horse” and riding it to great lengths with your preaching and teaching.

 

Sometime back I started putting my notes on SermonCentral and it was a worthy experience for me to get involved in. I am not certain if my notes were what they really wanted but I did discover something during this exercise. Contributors have to take the sermon and apply one word to it, sort of a thesis or central thought of the sermon, and use it to define the sermon. I found that much of my preaching fell into three categories: Perseverance, Encouragement, and Revival. While all three of those are needed concepts in the church, I was neglecting prayer, worship, stewardship (which is far more than just money), eternal judgment/reward, and a whole host of other things.

 

One thing that I found to be helpful was to go into areas of Scripture that I did not frequently read. Two specific sections of Scripture really begin to challenge my thinking and it played over into my preaching and teaching. The book of Ezekiel is full of very rich bible imagery and paints numerous pictures of some very colorful character-types. Also, I started hanging out in 1^st John and I have started the preliminary process of putting some material together to work through 1^st John in 2007.

 

Therefore, I believe that one thing that can help a minister with the “dry” spots along the way is to make some forays into segments of Scripture that he may not have visited in quite some time.

 

The second thing that has provided nuggets of thought to develop over the years is to take indexes of commentaries and just scout through them.

 

Consider a few of these thoughts from the index of The Pulpit Commentary:

 

• Are You on The Margin of the Kingdom?
• Similitudes of the Kingdom
• The Silent Starting of the Kingdom
• Pain: An Offering to Christ
• Hidden Forces of Pain
• Peace Deeper Than Pain
• Pierced Armor
• Purifying Power of Divine Love

 

Here are a few more from the index of Spurgeon’s Sermons:

 

• Prisoners of Hope
• Pride the Destroyer
• The Rough Hewer
• Royal Emblems for Loyal Subjects
• Runaway Jonah and the Convenient Ship

 

There are times when my thoughts are not flowing as I would like for them to and I look to the indexes and it is not long before there is a seed that begins to grow in my weak little mind. I have just to a message from one of my favorite preachers and there was the relating as to how that sometimes learning can be a drudgery and study can be very tedious but when one will push on through those times, the harvest will come.

 

The third area that I have gained much inspiration from over the years has been from single volume devotionals. Perhaps the classic of all time is “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. If you are going to purchase this devotional, I recommend the updated version that is edited by James Reimann. Some of the daily chapters:

 

• All or Nothing
• Readiness
• The Habit of Rising to the Occasion
• Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction
• The Far Reaching Waters of the Rivers of Life
• The Distraction of Contempt

 

Another devotional that is an old classic is “Streams In the Desert” by L. B. Cowman. Again, I recommend the updated version by James Reimann. Some of the chapters which are included:

 

• He Withdrew To A Solitary Place
• Allurement
• Certain Songs
• My Hope

 

Another devotional is Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening.” I confess that I have taken some of these short chapters and developed them into full-blown sermons. Some of the chapters:

 

• Wolves At Dusk (I have developed a message from this thought.)
• Fortified Things, Reserved Things
• Close to His Heart
• Without Fault
• Water In A Thirsty Land

 

Another fine devotional is one I found in my Texas Bible College Days. Our president, J. R. Ensey, preached an incredible message in chapel one day entitled “The Ghost of Ephraim.” For days afterwards, a lot of buzz was around the campus about how powerful the message was. The gist of it was about how that Ephraim had turned back in the battle and had lost out. Bro. Ensey preached about quitting too soon and giving up and then made a challenge to persevere and not to quit. To this day, I haven’t forgotten it. I also must add that Swindoll’s other devotional, “The Finishing Touch” is a very good devotional with a lot of similar seeds that can really send your mind into some valuable and resourceful sermon thoughts.

 

But there came a day. . . (sort of sounds like Scripture). . . that I was musing through the shelves at the TBC library and pulled down a little volume by Charles (Chuck) R. Swindoll called “Come Before Winter.” It was a devotional and the titles were exceptional. So as I scanned down through there. . . . what do you think I saw. . . yes! There it was. . . “The Ghost of Ephraim.” I promptly turned to the page and read through Swindoll’s devotion and had discovered something. Swindoll’s devotional had been Bro. Ensey’s seed thought. Needless to say, I bought this little volume years ago and it has served it’s purpose very well to me. Some of the chapters:

 

• Hidden Heroes
• The Tailor’s Name Is Change
• Writing With Thorns
• The Fine Art of Blowing It

 

Another devotional that has prompted some good sermon thoughts for me has been a little volume by Rod Parsely. It is entitled “Daily Breakthrough.” Some of the titles:

 

• Sowing in Famine (I developed “Farming In A Famine” from this one.)
• The Devil’s Hit List (I developed “Sifted But Saved” from this one.)
• The Price of Glory
• Raise the Standard

 

Another volume that is not so much a devotional as it is a journal is “The Journals of Jim Elliott.” It has been edited by his widow, Elizabeth Elliott. Since the book is divided up into dates, it is difficult to give the chapter titles. However, this book has multiple pages that are dog-eared and I have written all in the margins, front-cover, and underlined all through the book with exceptional seed thoughts to work on.

 

Another devotional that packs a wallop is J. Sidlow Baxter’s “Awake My Heart.” Some of the chapter titles:

 

• Transfiguration through Prayer
• Servant and Conqueror
• The Fragments
• Caution and Reason
• How Trials Become Triumphs

 

Lastly, I mention two books by John Piper, “The Godward Life, Part 1” and “The Godward Life, Part 2.” These two books are now “Taste and See” which is a compilation and has a few added chapters. Some of the titles are:

 

• God Was Up All Night
• You Shall Take Up Your Tambourines
• The Ripple Effect of the Word
• Talk To Your Tears (Jerry Dean prompted me to this chapter and I developed a message from this one. Bro. Dean did also but his message took a different turn than mine.)
• Take Heed How You Hear

 

Maybe some of these suggestions can provide some inertia to your life. One other thing that I have done in the past is to take a hymnal and read through some of the song titles or to take a song and read through the stanzas. Some very powerful sermon titles are found in those old songs. May your life be overflowing and your messages be marked with weighty words, challenging thoughts, and the anointing of the Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Encouragement = O2 for the Soul

A Reading List for Pastors/Ministers for Sermon Preparation

I am going to pick back up my reading list for pastors and ministers. Previously, I have mentioned some tools for personal growth and then a reading list by E. E. Jolley. This post will draw your attention to some very good tools that are specifically related to sermon preparation.

In my estimation, the most challenging thing about preaching is that it is very weekly. Because preaching is very weekly, if one is not careful the preaching can be delivered very weakly.

As one elder minister told me one time, “Sunday comes around pretty regular.” This is precisely what makes preaching so demanding. We have to take into consideration schedules that sometimes become filled uncontrollable circumstances and demands. I feel at times that a minister’s schedule is something that the enemy will use to try to dictate and control the amount of time we spend in the Word. Most ministers who are willing to be honest, feel that there are times when the preached Word literally cleared the fence and then there will be other times that he feels as if a strikeout was recorded.

This powerful Word is being conveyed through earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20). Because the vessel is weak there will sometimes be a certain liability that comes with the delivery of the message. The message is not weak, if it is Word-centered, but the tool that God is using can sometimes not live up to its potential and fulfill the task.

I am going to suggest some books for you that have to do with either putting the message together or in inspiring the man toward the task of preaching. We must be faithful and patient in what God leads us to preach to the Church that we serve. He can bring us the direction of the thought but then I believe it is my personal responsibility to dig and flesh out the message in the study.

 

Haddon Robinson – Biblical Preaching – The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages

 

I will admit that this book was a little difficult for me but because it was required reading to get my license for the UPCI, I did read it. Robinson really tries to encourage the “Big Idea” concept of every single message. He encourages the preacher once the message is complete, to use one word to sum it up. What is the message about? Salvation, Faith, Prayer, etc. His book deals with selecting, studying, discovering, analyzing, formulating, determining, outlining, and then putting the meat on the bones of an outline.

 

Following is a portion of notes (there are many more but I thought these would be helpful) that I wrote in the front flaps of the book:

 

Preaching the Word is far more important than waiting on tables (I wrote this down back in the late 90’s. You might want to get Terry Shock’s message from BOTT 2006 entitled, “Accidentally Apostolic? Impossible!” and listen to it.). There is a power that comes through preaching that will never be replaced. Preaching will be a necessity either until death or the Rapture. I have a vast responsibility to preach the Word patiently, carefully, and routinely, whether I “feel” like it or not. I would hate to know that I had to go to a church that devalued preaching.

 

The Bible is great literature. All of its diamonds do not lie exposed on the surface to be picked like flowers. Its richness will have to be mined out through hard spiritual and mental spadework.

 

One man has told me that a pastor has been in a particular church for seven years and has preached through 27 or 30 books of the Bible during that period of time.

 

William Barclay diagnosed the cause of spiritual malnutrition in a minister’s life when he wrote: “The more a man allows his mind to grow slack and lazy and flabby, the less the Holy Spirit can say to him. True preaching comes when the loving heart and the disciplined mind are laid at the disposal of the Holy Spirit.” Ultimately God is more interested in developing messengers than messages, and since the Holy Spirit confronts men primarily through the Bible, a preacher must learn to listen to God before he speaks for Him.

 

Harold T. Bryson – Expository Preaching

 

In my opinion, this is the best book on expository preaching that I have ever read. It literally walks you through the mechanics of preaching through a book of the Bible. I realize that in Pentecostal circles that such preaching is not as popular as topical preaching. However, I am becoming increasingly convinced that this sort of preaching is the most practical and life building. By preaching verse-by-verse, it forces the minister to deal with the text and not be constantly reverting to his favorite “candysticks” and hobby horses.

 

These were ideas for series of messages that I gleaned from this book and wrote in the front flaps:

 

• The Tests of Life – Messages from 1 John – This epistle revolves around three words: Light, Righteous, and Love. This is what helps us to go through the “tests” of life.

 

• From Acts – Look at the Great Texts of Acts. Look at the Great People of Acts. Look at the Great Events in Acts.

 

David L. Larsen – Telling the Old, Old Story – The Art of Narrative Preaching

This book encourages the preacher to tell the story. Most of us like good stories and the Bible is full of stories that will provide a life lesson. To me the most helpful portion of this book had to do with the massive amount of authors and book titles that Larsen either recommended or listed for further evaluation. This book is literally loaded with fantastic seed thoughts.

 

Following are some sermon titles that stood out to me:

 

• The Tyranny of Trifles – On Mary and Martha. Luke 10:38-42.
• The Snare of Spiritual Familiarity – Luke 4:14-30. Deals with Nazareth’s rejection of Jesus.
• God-induced Good-Byes – Genesis 12. Spiritual men cannot stay at the level of the carnal man. You must leave Ur.

• The Song of the Vineyard – Isaiah 5.
• Sacred Secrets – The kingdom parables of Matthew 13. Here are a few of the titles from that series: When the Devil Goes to Church (the wayside), The Religious Rollercoaster (the stony ground), A Saga of Spiritual Strangulation (the thorny ground), The Fruit-Bearing Friends (the good ground), Spiritual Subversion (the wheat and the tares), and The Ecology of Evil (the leaven).
• The Crucible of Character – A take on Jacob. How to turn a crook into a saint. This is accomplished in two ways, first God will cripple him and then God will crown him.

 

Bruce Mawhinney – Preaching with Freshness

Tim Kelley, a friend of mine who pastors in north Louisiana, put me on the track of this book. I have read this book through twice and have pulled it down numerous times and re-read different portions. It basically tells a story about a pastor who finds his church complaining about his preaching. The pastor is to the point of giving up when he runs into an aged and now retired former seminary professor. They begin working toward re-generating a burnt out pastor and his preaching starts ministering again.

 

The appendix in this book is worth it’s price. I will share with you what the Mawhinney determines are the “Keys To Long-Term Freshness.”

 

• Wide Range of Reading – Follow the six-track path (novels, history, biographical, diary/journal, poetry, “hot topics”).
• Gathering Illustrations – Always look at newspapers, periodicals, now the Internet (which basically was in it’s infancy when this book was written 1997). Recruit the help of the congregation in gathering stories that might fit into some of the sermons.
• Practice Self-Evaluation – Listen to yourself on tape or video. Ask for help from your spouse or another fellow minister. Critique your voice. Timing of message (I have severe trouble with this).
• Study Great Preachers Sermons – Books of sermons from the past. Refer to E. E. Jolley’s recommendations. Talk to “old” preachers because they can put you on the path of obscure and often forgotten preachers of the past.
• Read one good book on preaching every year.
• Attend refreshers, seminars on preaching, or enroll for a D. Min.
• Plan a sermon series a year in advance.
• Carry a copy of the series schedule in the front cover of your Bible.
• Let “iron sharpen iron” with discussions with fellow preachers.

 

Stephen Nelson Rummage – Planning Your Preaching – A Step-by-Step Guide for Developing a One Year Preaching Calendar

I know that books like these scrub against the grain for a lot of Pentecostal preachers. Yet, I believe that this kind of thing can actually help promote great spiritual health in congregations. Our age is marked by an incredible famine of the Word (Amos 8:11).

 

I honestly read this book because I did not agree with the concept. Yet, I will say that the author had some very strong arguments (which were very convincing) for planning what you are going to do. Initially, this probably will work best for mid-week services. Then if the Lord strikes you with something that is absolutely a necessity to be preached then go with that. However, if we pray about this process, I truly believe that God can guide us in the direction that he wants us to go.

 

John MacArthur – Preaching (formerly “Rediscovering Expository Preaching”)

I strongly recommend this book but I have somewhat of a disclaimer to go with the recommendation. It is a bit technical and some portions of the book reminded me of a high-school English class where we were diagramming sentences. This is exactly what MacArthur and the Masters Seminary contributors do with this book. It actually is a seminary text that has been published for ministers.

 

I highly recommend the segment in this book that deals with prayer and with the character of the minister.

 

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones – Preaching and Preachers

This is an old classic. It actually began as a series of lectures that were given by D ML-J and then was transcribed into this book. This was one of the text books my senior year at Texas Bible College. It is a bit dated but it still has some very good points to make concerning the ministry of the Word.

 

Michael Fabarez – Preaching That Changes Lives

This is one of the books that I “accidentally” found and it ended up being a very profitable time for me. It reinforces the thought that preaching is still very important in the life flow of a church. It also really homes in on the idea of sermonic application (which sometimes is a weakness of my own preaching).

 

He brings out the fact that for the congregation to grow (not so much numerically as spiritually) that the preacher has to be committed to his own spiritual growth also. He even recommends that periodically (once a year) that the pastor preach a sermon on preaching.

 

He devotes a chapter (Come to Grips with the Time It Takes to Prepare a Life-Changing Sermon) to a minister’s schedule. There are “crock pot” messages and then there are “microwave” messages. The “crock pot” stuff is always the best.

 

He lists this poem about laziness:

 

I’ve gone for a drink and sharpened my pencils,

Searched through my desk for forgotten utensils,

Reset my watch and adjusted my chair,

Loosened my tie and straightened my hair,

Filled my pen and tested the blotter,

Gone for another drink of water,

Adjusted the calendar, raised the blinds,

Sorted erasers of different kinds.

Now, down to work I can finally sit

Oops! To late, it’s time to quit!

 

This is not a time management book but the author does spend an entire chapter forcing us to concentrate about where our time is going and how our lives are being spent.

 

Calvin Miller – The Sermon Maker – The Tales of a Transformed Preacher

Calvin Miller writes a little story about Pastor Sam and Emma Johnson. Emma is Sam’s worst and most vocal critic in the church he is trying to pastor. She stirs up more difficulties for Sam than he can shake a stick at. She saves her most critical words for Sam’s preaching.

 

Sam is on his knees having more of a pity party than a prayer meeting when Sermoniel, the Angel of Homiletics shows up (sent by God) to help poor Sam with his dilemma. This is a funny little story but the neat thing about it is the layout of the book. The story is told on the right side of the book and on the left side of the book there are massive amounts of comments that serve as “coaching” that arises from the advice the Sermoniel gives. The book ends on a high note with Sam and Emma.

 

You will find this helpful little story to be funny but also some very arresting homiletic principles are brought out by Miller. Miller teaches at Beeson Divinity School located within Samford in Birmingham, Alabama.

 

Stephen F. Olford – Anointed Expository Preaching

“We need God-called men who will take the Book of God and preach the Son of God with the anointing of the Spirit of God. We need men with warm hearts, wet eyes, clear heads, and tongues aflame.”

 

You will get a lot of bang for your buck with this book. It is almost 400 pages long and has a smaller font and is packed with good leads and profitable instruction about the nuts and bolts of putting a sermon together.

 

The only draw-back in this book was the strong lean toward alliteration. I personally do not care for alliteration but there are some who really enjoy this type of preaching. I have a friend in Louisiana who is very good at it and has used it incredibly well with preaching to the youth.

 

Wayne McDill – The 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching

This book is a very basic handbook to homiletics. Some would think this book is very elementary in its presentation but it would be a very good book for anyone who is just beginning to preach.

 

John Piper – The Supremacy of God in Preaching

This little book is very short and concise and yet it packs a powerful punch. One quote that really stood out was this one:

 

Dr. Ockenga (a man who preached to Piper in a college chapel) never knew what his preaching did in my life, and you can mark it down that if you are a preacher God will hide from you much of the fruit He causes in your ministry. You will see enough to be assured of His blessing, but not so much as to think you could live without it. For God aims to exalt Himself, not the preacher.

 

This book explores the preaching, preparation, and some of the sermons of Jonathon Edwards.

 

Jerry Vines & Jim Shaddix – Power In the Pulpit

This is another book that basically is a textbook on preaching. There are a lot of mechanics in this book. What I mean by that is it is very heavy on the “how-to” of putting messages together. However, with the “how-to” of this book, some of the steps that it suggests that you walk through in looking at the text you are preaching from are very helpful in adding some meat to the bones of your thought that has been impressed on you.

 

Furthermore, it is not light on forcing the preacher to pull biblical truth into the frame of the message. This is very important! I frequently look in the paper and see the sermon titles and series of churches around my city. I am becoming more and more amazed that most of these sermon titles are inferring that stress management, financial planning, how to be happy, and parenting are replacing biblically driven messages. Ever so slowly, the Bible is being squeezed out of the secular sermons.

 

If you do not believe this, then I ask you to do a little experiment. Find the books of sermons that were written in the 1950-70’s and really earlier than those dates and you will find a remarkable change. Those older sermon books were centered on God and His principles, new sermon books are centered on man and his desires. Romans 1 appears to be encroaching into the current preaching.

 

Power in the Pulpit is a strong call back to the biblical text and it’s establishment of truth.

 

Bryan Chappell – Christ-Centered Preaching

This book was a textbook for a class that I took on Expository Preaching. I practically filled up one “marble” notebook with notes on what Chappell wrote about. It is a very good book although there are some places that it can be very dry. That is the way the process goes sometimes, you are never in a harvest mode all year long (at least I am not).

 

Chapter 7 is entirely spent on how to use illustrations and most importantly how to gather illustrations.

 

Another strong value of this book is that it is heavily foot-noted. Blessed is the preacher who loves footnotes for they shall open up many paths (Barnabas 9:14). I made that up but there are great treasures available to the man who will run down the footnotes and do his homework. Sweat in the study can give an added edge to the sermon (Barnabas 3:20).

 

Jack Hughes – Expository Preaching with Word Pictures – With Illustrations from the Sermons of Thomas Watson

This book is absolutely magnificent. It has a great flow to it however the clincher for me was all of the quotes in the appendix from the writings of Thomas Watson. They were great stimulants to produce thoughts for messages. Here is a sampling from the smorgasbord.

 

• Preaching – Many love the Word preached only for its eloquence and notion. They come to the sermon as to a music lecture (Ezekiel 33:31-32) or as to a garden to pick flowers, but not to have their lusts subdued or their hearts bettered. These are like the foolish woman who paints her face but neglects her health.

 

• Providence – The most dark, cloudy providences of God have some sunshine in them. What a blessed condition is a true believer in! When he dies, he goes to God; and while he lives everything shall do him good. Affliction is for his good. What hurt does the fire to the gold? It only purifies it.

 

• Repentance – Those who are not bruised penitentially shall be broken judicially. Those whose hearts would not break for sin shall break with despair. In hell there is nothing to be seen but a heap of stones and a hammer. A heap of stones—that is hard hearts; a hammer—that is God’s power and justice, breaking them in pieces.

 

• Sin – Sin first tempts and then damns. It is first a fox and then a lion. Sin does to a man as Jael did to Sisera. She gave him milk, but then she brought him low. Sin first brings us pleasures which delight and charm the senses, and then comes with its nail and hammer. Sin does to the sinner as Absalom did to Amnon. When his heart was merry with wine, then he killed him. Sin’s last act is always tragic.

 

In conclusion of these recommendations, remember that you can never get beyond praying over your preaching, praying over your studying, and praying over your preparation.

A Reading List for Pastors/Ministers by E. E. Jolley

I have just received a letter from Pastor Brooks Coburn from Louisiana. In this letter he mentioned a man’s name that is probably quite familiar to a lot of UPCI ministers. Pastor Coburn’s letter has stimulated this list that I am going to share with you.

I graduated from Texas Bible College in 1992 and moved back to Dothan in May of that year. I had a burning desire to be a “great” preacher whatever that entailed. I can remember very early in my ministry days hearing J. T. Pugh say “If you are going to be a great preacher, you will have to be a great reader!” The difficulty with that is that often rookies have no idea where they should begin to read.

In the summer of 1995, I was working a Junior Camp in Alabama. I had been elected as the Alabama District UPCI Sunday School secretary and one of the responsibilities was to be at the camp. Late one night, I was having a conversation with our district superintendent, Roger Lewis. As always, when I was around an older minister, I would always try to get them talking about preaching and books. Bro. Lewis talked to me for probably an hour or so about some of the best messages that he had heard in his life. So when the conversation turned to books, he recommended a few and then he told me that I needed to go to Bessemer and spend some time with E. E. Jolley.

Bro. Jolley was a prolific reader and student of the Word but he also was a great student of books. He was the only man who did not own a publishing company but did have keys to two of the biggest book houses in the country at the time (’70-90’s). He had keys to Kregel Publications and Baker Books in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He could go in anytime that he wanted and if he chose he would take guests with him. He gave me a personal invitation but sadly I could not make it.

Several times Bro. Jolley would take men with him and they would have the entire run of the book house in the after hours. Bro. Lewis related to me that several times that he went with Bro. Jolley to Grand Rapids. Bro. Jolley told me that what he would do is take men with him and they would sleep all day and then once the place closed, they would go in and “work” all night long. Several times he took Roger Lewis and Paul Mooney with him and they would pull a “night shift.” Bro. Jolley told me that Paul Mooney’s mind and David Fuller’s mind were two of the greatest among Pentecost.

Anyway back to my story, Bro. Lewis’ directions to contact Bro. Jolley proved to be very fruitful. Bro. Jolley had taught me in youth camps when I was a kid and so he remembered me. I called him and told him that I had to preach a Save Our Children rally in Bessemer and that I wanted him to come and hear me preach. I told him that I wanted him to help me to improve with preaching and whatever he thought were some tips that could help me. . . I wanted his input. I also told him that I would like to take him to a restaurant of his choice and I would pay for his meal if he would just tell me some books that I needed to add to my personal library.

After service was over that night, little did I know but that the church in Bessemer was serving chili, so it was there that our conversation started. We were the last ones to leave the fellowship hall that night and much of the conversation had been about Bro. Jolley and his friendship with Kenneth Reeves, whom I did not know. So when the Bessemer folks decided that it was time for the church to be locked up, they ran us out. But Bro. Jolley was not to be put off. He asked me where I was staying and I told him. He then made a deal with me. He told me that if I would go and buy him a 2 liter Diet Pepsi that he would talk with me about books. Since my wife was at home with our children and I was alone I thought this would be a great idea. Little did I know how much that night would pay rich dividends into my very young ministry.

I got the Diet Pepsi and filled the bucket of ice and we got started. The first thing that Bro. Jolley did was pull off his shoes. Then he got a cup fill of Diet Pepsi and he started pacing (slowly) back and forth at the foot of the beds at the Comfort Inn in Bessemer. I sat over in a chair at the table by the window with a legal pad and filled up page after page of book titles and authors. Bro. Jolley’s mind was amazing. He would prompt me to certain books and then he would ask me if I had ever heard so-and-so preach (I am going to leave the names anonymous) and I would either answer in the affirmative or negative and soon I caught the drift. These books helped to serve as priming agents that prompted the seed for the sermon.

He noticed that I looked a little alarmed by this. So this sent him on another path for a little while. The library or personal study is the place where thoughts are born and dreams move into the realm of a vision. A revival could be born in your study long before God allows it to settle into a church where you serve. Be careful how you treat your library/study!!! J. H. Jowett had this to say, “If the study becomes a lounge, the pulpit becomes impertinence.” Without a time clock to punch, the man of God must be honest as he labors in his library before God.

Charles Spurgeon, wrote very directly to his students in this manner: In order to be able to expound the Scriptures, and as an aid to your pulpit studies, you will need to be familiar with the commentators: a glorious army, let me tell you, whose acquaintance will be your delight and profit. Of course, you are not such wiseacres as to think or say that you can expound Scripture without assistance from the divines and learned men who have labored before you in the field of exposition. If you are not of that opinion, pray remain so, for you are not worth the trouble of conversion, and like a little coterie who think with you, would resent the attempt as an insult to your infallibility. It seems odd, that certain men who talk so much of what the Holy Spirit reveals to themselves, should think so little of what has been revealed to others.

As for arguments against reading, then what of Paul’s request to Timothy for the parchments and books? The passion for books can be encouraged and fanned into a flame. The fire of inquiry need not die but can continue to blaze upon the roadway of our Christian service for years to come.

Bro. Jolley really homed in on this idea: some are of the opinion that reading is a waste of time. Their philosophy is: Open your mouth and God will fill it!!! And He very well can. . . in an emergency. Bro. Jolley told me that there is another maxim worth incorporating: Fill your mind and God will set it on FIRE!!! Bro. Jolley told me that this came directly from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

Preparation is the key to power. Reading is not to be a side-thought nor of when you can find time to read. Make time to read. Start going to bed guilty every night if you aren’t reading. It is amazing how guilt and discipline seem to work with each other. Let your guilt produce discipline and your discipline will annihilate your guilt.

Then as he paced back and forth, time began to race. However, I think that he and I were both quite unaware of the time. Soon it was 3:00 AM and I had filled up several pages of a legal pad and had a box of books that he had given to me.

Many ministers have told me that Bro. Jolley worked the book tables for the Pentecostal Publishing House for years at General Conference. He would take a book and wave it at you and open up a page and underline a single sentence or a few sentences and say that the price of the book was worth what you had just read. Bro. Jolley also told me that if I purchased a book and something in that book stimulated a message then I had gotten my money back for whatever I paid for the book.

I am going to give you the book list that he gave to me back on that night as follows:

 

Sidlow Baxter

 

• Explore the Book – This book has some fantastic messages about the lambs of sacrifice and the Lamb of God. It progressively flows through the Bible and pulls out key doctrines of importance.
• Mark These Men – Very good sermon titles: The Man Who Defied Baal; The Man Who Played the Fool; The Man Who Came Back From Beyond; and others.

 

E. W. Bullinger

 

• Great Cloud of Witnesses – This book is a roll call of Hebrews 11. Some great biographical material on these major characters.

 

Martyn Lloyd Jones (Bro. Jolley’s favorite)

 

 

• Revival (chapters 1, 12, 13, 14)
• The Miracle of Grace
• Evangelistic Sermons from the Old Testament
• Romans (commentary)
• Ephesians (commentary) – This commentary is full of good material especially the material on Ephesians 6 and the warfare of a Christian.
• Philippians (commentary)
• I Am Not Ashamed (ll Timothy)
• The Sermon on the Mount – One of the most outstanding books on the SOM that I personally have. One other equivalent might be Arthur Pink on the SOM.
• Commentary from 1, 11, and 111 John (sermons)

 

G. H. Morrison (Bro. Jolley keyed me into Morrison’s books and I have almost everything that he has written.)

 

• The Wind on the Heath
• The Wings of the Morning
• The Weaving of the Glory
• Highways of the Heart
• Sun Rise
• Flood Tide
• Morning Sermons
• The Unlighted Lustre

 

Clarence Macartney

 

• Salute Thy Soul
• Great Women of the Bible
• Bible Epitaphs
• The Greatest Texts of the Bible
• Paul the Man
• Parallel Lives of the Old and New Testaments
• The Wisest Fool
• 12 Great Questions About Christ
• Great Interviews of Jesus
• Strange Texts But Grand Truths
• The Greatest Questions of the Bible and of Life
• The Greatest Men of the Bible
• The Trials of Great Bible Characters
• The Prayers of the Old Testament
• Great Nights of the Bible

 

Ivor Powell

 

• Bible Oases
• Bible Cameos
• Bible Highways
• Bible Nuggets
• David: His Life and Times

 

Alexander Whyte

 

• Bible Characters from the Old and New Testaments – Bro. Jolley told me that the price of the book was worth the chapter on Ahithophel. It is an incredible study of bitterness.

 

I took Bro. Jolley’s lead on Whyte and have bought everything that I can find that he has written. He has some classic books but hard to find on the characters of Pilgrim’s Progress.

 

WarrenWiersbe

 

• The Classic Sermon Series – This is a fantastic work because what it does is open you up to a host of preachers. Wiersbe pulls what he considers “classic sermons” on different subjects and puts them in a single book.
• The Strategy of Satan – Very good book on spiritual warfare.

 

Alan Redpath (Very Good!!!)

 

• The Making of a Man of God (David)
• The Blessings of the Buffetings (ll Corinthians)
• The Royal Road to Heaven (l Corinthians)
• Victorious Christian Service (Nehemiah)
• Victorious Christian Living (Joshua)

 

George Waggoner

 

• Practical Truth’s from Israel’s Wanderings – This book is loaded with sermons that come from the time Israel spent in the wilderness. I have taken inspiration from this book numerous times.

 

M. R. DeHaan

 

• The Tabernacle

 

J. Vernon McGee (I know, I know. . . but JVM will surprise you with his books.)

 

• From Romance to Redemption

 

T. Stanley Soltaur (Hard to find!)

 

• The God-Pointed Life (about David)

 

Charles Vince (Hard to find!)

 

• Lights and Shadows in the Life of King David

 

John Phillips

 

• Exploring the Psalms – Bro. Jolley felt this one was his best work.
• All of the “Exploring” Series

 

Charles Spurgeon

 

• Lectures To My Students
• Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Series (63 Volumes)
• 12 Sermons on . . . . (There are numerous volumes of Spurgeons sermons that are arranged in topical nature.)

 

Finally, one last tip that Bro. Jolley helped me with and it has helped me in a major way. I have even gone to libraries when I am on vacation. This really excites my kids. They love for me to find a library when we go out of town. However, any library that you go into that is set up on the Dewey Decimal System, the number 252 will always be the sermons. The next time you are in Houston, you owe it to yourself to go to that library and find section 252. You will have to camp out for days!

A Reading List for Pastors/Ministers for Personal Growth

Last Friday morning, July 7, 2006, I received a message on my answering system from Pastor Brooks Coburn who pastors in Louisiana. I have never met Pastor Coburn but my brother-in-law, Mike Patterson (FMD-Romania), has. He spent a Sunday with Pastor Coburn and his church and found an incredibly warm spiritual atmosphere in the church. Afterwards, the Coburn’s apparently overwhelmed them with some old-fashioned Southern hospitality. . . . I am unsure if fried chicken was involved. . . . but if it was as good as my brother-in-law said it was, I am strongly suspicious that fried chicken was involved.

 

I have never met Bro. Coburn but you can count on one thing, if I am ever in his “neck of the woods,” I am going to make it a point to stop and acquaint myself with him and his family. Bro. Griffin used to tell us that there were a whole lot of folks that we did not know who had not bowed a knee to Baal and that one of these days we would have the opportunity to meet them. I think that Bro. and Sis. Coburn and their church family probably fall into this category.

 

Anyway, Bro. Coburn mentioned that he had noticed the Power Supply Summer Reading List and thought that maybe a Summer/Fall reading list for Pastors/Ministers might be a good post. This little seed has been ruminating in my mind since Friday and I am going to start a small list of books that have helped me. Some of these books are like close friends because periodically I will pick them up and re-read the places that I dog-eared the page, wrote in the flaps or margins, or maybe something that I highlighted.

 

My first post will be directed toward personal growth in a minister’s life. I will not include specific books about prayer, revival, or other sorts of things because I want to save them for another segment on this blog.

 

Some of these books are out-of-print and you may have to look around on the internet to find these books. I will supply you with a few places to go to help you find used and out-of-print books. Here, here, and here are some good places to start. I have purchased material from here and did not have any difficulties with payment/shipping/etc.

 

The following books are books that have helped me grow. I add a disclaimer and want you to know that I cannot endorse all of the content of these authors. I always read with sifters and blinders and encourage you to do the same thing.

 

A Minister’s Opportunities – Ralph Turnbull – A treasure of motivation. Out of print. You will have to hunt for this one. Chapter Titles: The Certitude of Vocation, The Stewardship of Time, The Satisfaction of Study, The Tools of Learning, The Devotion of the Heart, The Beauty of Holiness, The Standard of Excellence, The Power of Ambition, The Sense of What Is Vital, and others.

 

A Minister’s Obstacles – Ralph Turnbull – A supreme treasury that promotes self evaluation and helps you see “blindspots.” Out of print, you will have to find this one. Chapter Titles: The Specter of Professionalism, The Vice of Sloth, The Dry-Rot of Covetousness, The Bane of Jealousy, The Paralysis of Pride, and others.

 

When Good Men Are Tempted – Bill Perkins – This was recommended to me by A. B. Keating who taught me in Bible College. It deals with personal integrity in your thought life and deals solidifying your marriage.

 

Practical Wisdom for Pastors – Curtis C. Thomas – This little book is divided up into several sections: Personal Life, Family Life, Study Habits, Messages, Church Life, and others.

 

O Shepherd Where Art Thou? – Calvin Miller – Very thought provoking book that goes in the opposite direction of the thoughts and ideas that characterize the “bigness” of the church growth movement. Is a crowd a church? Is someone who sits on a pew a real disciple of Christ?

 

And the Shofar Blew – Francine Rivers – This book is fiction but it helps one see what happens when one’s personal life gets out of control and ambition and pride become the main force of ministry. This is a very troubling and thought-provoking book. You probably ought to read this book every 2-3 years to help you keep your feet on the ground.

 

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals – John Piper – This is another book that will help you to grow in your spirit. Chapter Titles: Brothers, We are Not Professionals; Brothers, God Loves His Glory; Brothers, Fight For Your Life; Brothers, Beware of Sacred Substitutes; Brothers, Let Us Pray; Brothers, Let the River Run Deep; Brothers, Sever the Root of Racism; and others.

 

Don’t Waste Your Life – John Piper – This is a book that deals with the real priorities of life and it’s main question of life. The main question of life: What are you spending your time on? Whatever you are spending your time on that is what you are spending your life on. Chapter Titles: My Search For a Single Passion to Live By, Living to Prove He Is More Precious than Life; Risk is Right—Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It; Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5, and others.

 

The Wounded Minister – Guy Greefield – This book deals with “healing from and preventing personal attacks.” Chapter Titles: Clergy Killers on the Loose; Pathological Antagonists in the Church; When Evil Invades the Church; The Minister’s Greatest Enemy: Passive Lay Leaders; Collateral Damage to the Church; Ministers Who Invite Attack; Recovering From Shattered Dreams; and others.

 

Escape From Church, Inc. – Glenn Wagner – This book encourages the return of the Pastor-Shepherd. Chapter Titles: The Neglected Model; God’s Portrait of a Shepherd; The Call of God; The Glory of Shepherds; and others.

 

Character Forged From the Conflict – Gary D. Preston – This book is in a series of books entitled “The Pastor’s Soul Series.” Chapter Titles: Forced Out; Staying Close; Playing Hurt; Resisting the Urge to Strike Back; Staying Balanced; When to Back Off; and others.

 

Stories About My First Church – Elmer Towns – This little book is “mindless.” It tells some funny stories, some heartwarming stories, and some other stories. . . if you catch the drift. Still it is a good little book.

 

Pastors At Risk – H. B. London and Neil Wiseman – Another book that sets up the traps that derail those involved in ministry. Chapter Titles: Why Is Ministry So Tough Today?; What Sets The Agenda for Ministry?; Warning: Ministry May Be Hazardous To Your Marriage; Pursue Personal Holiness; and others.

 

Pastors At Greater Risk – H. B. London and Neil Wiseman – An updated issue of the previous book. More in-depth in dealing with more sinister difficulties. Chapter Titles: Ministry Keeps Getting Tougher; Who Decides What You Do?; Avoiding the Hazards of Ministry Marriage; God Made Your Wife Special; Help and Healing for Wounded Healers; and others.

 

They Call Me Pastor – H. B. London and Neil Wiseman – This book is a further relevant book about ministry. Chapter Titles: Offer a Holy Presence; Isn’t It Enough to Be Anointed?; Revival at the Grassroots; Treasures In Broken Vessels; Admit It—Change Is Scary; The Legacy You Leave; and others.

 

The Heart of a Great Pastor – H. B. London and Neil Wisman – Out of print. You can tell that I got on the London/Wiseman Express very early in my calling. This was actually the first L/W book that I purchased and read. Even after all these years, I still go back to it! All of the books that they have written have been useful tools for me. Chapter Titles: Every Assignment Is Holy Ground; Partnership with a Master Gardener; Bloom Where You are Planted; Energized By a Dream; Grow a Great Soul; and others.

 

The Making of a Man of God – Alan Redpath – If I had a dollar for every time an elder preacher recommended this book to me, I would have at least $50-75. This book is a storehouse of spiritual lessons. It basically traces through the life of David and his wanderings.

 

A Tale of Three Kings – Gene Edwards – This is another book that was highly recommended to me. We are all kings. We fall into one of three categories: Saul, David, or Absalom. The circumstances that we are faced with in life will develop the trail but we make the choice of what kind of “king” that we will become.

 

Restoring Your Spiritual Passion – Gordon MacDonald – This was the very first GM book that I read and it hooked me. . . way back in 1988. I have the majority of MacDonald’s books in my own personal library. This is a classic! Chapter Titles: It’s Got to Glow In You All the Time; Doing More and Enjoying It Less; Running on Empty; The Happy and the Hurting; Safe Places; The Still Times; and others.

 

Ordering Your Private World – Gordon MacDonald – This is one of the best books that helped me to grasp whether or not I was living for time or for eternity. It also opened me up to writing things in all of the “marble” notebooks that I have accumulated over the years. Chapter Titles: The Sinkhole Syndrome; The View from the Bridge; Has Anyone Seen My Time? I’ve Misplaced It; Recapturing my Time; The Sadness of a Book Never Read; Rest Beyond Leisure; and others.

 

The Life God Blesses – Gordon MacDonald – We have will have storms at some point in our lives, be prepared for them! Chapter Titles: Lost at Sea; Storms Happen; Quality of Soul; Questing for Spirituality; I Call It Soul Talk; and others.

 

The Bait of Satan – John Bevere – One of the best books that I have read in the last decade. How I respond to offenses in life will make me or break me. We all have to endure offenses for no one is immune from them. Chapter Titles: Me, Offended?; Massive Offense; How Spiritual Vagabonds Are Born; Hiding from Reality; Revenge: The Trap; and others.

 

Under Cover – John Bevere – This book deals with spiritual authority and how one responds to it. Whether we want to admit it or not, spiritual authority in our lives creates great accountability but it also creates great safety. Chapter Titles: It’s Hard to Kick Against the Goads; Sin Defined; The Consequences of Disobedience; What if Authority Tells Me. . . ; Odds and Ends; and others.

 

The Perils of Power – Richard Exely – This book is out of print. I personally think that this book should be required reading for every licensing candidate who is approaching a district board for accreditation. In fact, I believe that anyone who is in a position of leadership ought to be required to read this book. It opens up the avenues of deceit that Satan would love to destroy and disqualify a lot of ministers with. Exely was a member of the Assemblies of God when Jimmy Swaggart’s and Jim Bakker’s indiscretions and immorality were exposed. He wrote this timeless book as a response to their infidelity.

 

Living in Harmony – Richard Exley – This is an updated reprint of The Rhythm of Life. This is another classic Exley book. Chapter Titles: The Driven Person; The High Cost of Success; Work Isn’t the Enemy; A Brush with Burnout; Rest Isn’t a Four Letter Word; Old Friends and Good Books; A Gift and a Discipline; The Window of Eternity; Celebrate the Temporary; and others.

 

Deliver Me – Richard Exley – It is obvious that once I get on an author’s trail, if he is good, I have a tendency to purchase everything he has written. This book is subtitled “Spiritual Resources for Avoiding Temptation and It’s Consequences.” Instead of offering chapter titles, I am going to offer the section titles: The Truth About Temptation; The Three Faces of Temptation; The Seven Stages of Temptation; and others.

 

Soul Survivor – Philip Yancey – No writer troubles me as much as does Yancey. I sort of have a love/hate relationship with his books. There are times that I think he is a cynical sorehead and other times I think that he is a brilliant strategist. This book gives quick snapshots of biography of people who have shaped Yancey’s thoughts and ideas.

 

What’s So Amazing About Grace – Philip Yancey – Don’t start this book late at night because if you do, it will keep you up for a long time. Chapter Titles: A World Without Grace; Lovesick Father; Grace-Healed Eyes; Grace Avoidance; Mixed Aroma; and others.

 

Spiritual Leadership – J. Oswald Sanders – “It is not worn by promotion, but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confession of sin, and such heart searching, and humbling before God; by self-surrender, a courageous sacrifice of every idol, a bold uncomplaining embrace of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering looking unto Jesus crucified. It is not gained by seeking great things for ourselves, but like Paul, by counting those things that are gain to us as loss for Christ. This is a great price, but it must be paid by the leader who would not be merely a nominal but a real spiritual leader of men, a leader whose power is recognized and felt in heaven, on earth, and in hell.” This is an excerpt. It is a very motivating book. This book is great in that it helps you to find the balance between human ambition and the legitimate conquest of the soul and that is becoming what God desires for us to be.

Lord Foulgrin’s Letters – Randy Alcorn – This book is a takeoff of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. Instead of Screwtape writing to Wormwood, Lord Foulgrin is giving lessons to Squaltaint. It is modernized and to me a much more current reality of the subtle ways of the enemy of the soul. Letter 7 – Moral Relativism and Your Sludgebag is worth the price of the book. “You don’t have to lead Fletcher into spectacular new sins that look good on your resume. Every day he remains in his present condition brings him slowly, surely, dependably-even if non-sensationally-closer to Hell. He doesn’t have to spray his office with fifty rounds of ammo to go to hell–he’s already going. Don’t tinker with him too much. Time’s on our side. Fletcher’s life is ticking down. When it expires, only one thing will matter–that he hasn’t come to know the Enemy.” This book was very stimulating reading.

 

The Walk – Michael Card – This book is out-of-print. The author walks through the final days of the life of one of his seminary professors. The book is full of wisdom about life. It also creates a sense of responsibility for the legacy that a man is leaving behind him. “The first thing I noticed about Bill was his walk. Every day, at precisely the same time, he would walk past my Hebrew class. His gait wasn’t quite a march; it wasn’t a run, either, though one click more and it might have been rightly called that.” . . . . . . “After we began walking regularly, Bill would say, ‘I walk with purpose’–his way of saying that his ridiculous pace was difficult for anyone to keep up with. His walk was a parable of his life, and through him or because of him, it would become the parable of my life as well.” Are you influencing someone like this??????

 

This ought to be enough to get your summer and fall going. I will spend some other sections giving books about Prayer, Revival, Preaching, Biography, Great Fiction, and other avenues. You have Bro. Coburn to thank for the idea for this list.

 

Enjoy the journey. . . . . .