Author: Colin D. Jones

From lowly shepherds outside Bethlehem,  to wise  men from the East- join Mary & Joseph, Zechariah,  Elizabeth  and a host  of angels  in  celebrating the Birth  of Christ!  With awe and amazement,   be prepared for an adventure as you consider  the   wonderful  nativity story.  With state-of-the-art stunning visuals that will capture the attention of any reader, this bible story is beautifully written to captivate, engage and challenge children with the word of God.

Colin D Jones has been in the ministry since 1971. He became the pastor of Three Bridges Free Church, Crawley in 1996 after twenty-two years of ministry at Wem Baptist Church, Shropshire. He is the author of  5 books, all published by Day One Publishers. He and his wife, Chris, have four daughters and three grand-children.

CBD PRICE: R110.00 (paperback)

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Grace Has Come (CD) : Produced by Sovereign Grace Ministries

Our Equip book of the month takes the format of a CD this month.  The 13 songs attempt to reflect some of the glorious eternal truths found in Paul’s letter to the Romans. In the midst of our rebellion, desperation, and longing, grace has come to us in Jesus Christ. An appropriate CD for the month we remember the birth of Jesus into our world. Grace has Come.

“With Grace Has Come we let a book of the Bible drive the whole album. This is by no means an exhaustive musical rendering of Romans. But I think we captured many of the prominent themes – grace, the gospel, God’s glory in creation, the sinfulness of man, justification in Christ, God’s righteousness, adoption, union with Christ, God’s love, election, and offering our lives as a living sacrifice. The songs are ordered in a way that reflects their appearance in Romans, although some of the songs cover one or more chapters.” Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters 

This will make a great Christmas gift.

Usual CBD Price: R140.00                 Special Equip BOM Price: R100.00

This price is valid until 6th January 2016 or while stocks last.

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Author: Max Lucado

This book is a heartwarming collection of Christmas stories and reflections by the author. These stories – like your favorite Christmas ornaments – come in all shapes and sizes.  they unfold in a variety of settings, from ancient Bethlehem to rural England.  Some stories are short and others are long.  Some offer reflections.  Others imagine Christmas through the eyes of a burnt-out candle-maker, a lonely business man or heavenly angels – and all resonate with the wonder of the season.

That is what each of these unique Christmas stories help us to do.  In the midst of the bustle and hurry that so often distracts us this time of the year, these stores free us to explore the ways in which Christ’s coming has forever changed history – and us. The richly drawn characters all encounter the miracle of Christ’s birth in their unique settings – and are forever transformed.  Each will stay with you long after you read their stories of joy, love and hope.

CBD PRICE: R205.00  (hard cover)

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Author: Tony Payne (reviewed by Author & Speaker Tim Challies)

I do it three times every week: Every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening, and every Wednesday evening I walk into church. Sometimes I walk into church eager and full of expectation; sometimes I walk into church grudgingly and grumpy; sometimes I walk into church sick or sorrowful. But week after week I do it. And I attach very little significance to it.

In the opening pages of his booklet How To Walk Into Church, Tony Payne describes the common experience:

“I suppose it must have happened upwards of 2000 times by now.  I exit the car, usually with a wife and various kids in tow, and amble in the front door, tossing off a quick greeting to whomever is handing out the folded sheets of paper that in church-speak are called ‘bulletins’.

After a quick scan of the seating situation—who has already parked themselves where, who I might want to avoid and so on—I choose a spot not too near the front and sidle into the chosen row, smiling feebly at the person sitting on the other side of the seat that I’ve politely left vacant between us.  And there it is. I’ve walked into church.

Not exactly a taxing or impressive feat, and hardly worthy of having a book written about it, even a very short book like this.  But things are rarely as simple as they seem”.

No, things are rarely that simple. Many of the mundane and repetitive tasks that fill our lives have outsized importance: Walking into your home at the end of a long day’s work, saying goodnight to your children, participating in family devotions—these are little things but significant things, just like walking into church. After all, How you walk into church will be determined by what you think church is, and what you think you’re doing there.

• If you think church is a bit like going to the movies, you might walk in expecting to be entertained or inspired.
• If you think church is an opportunity for personal devotion and worship, you’ll probably walk in not wanting to interact too much with anyone else.
• If you think church is something you have to do in order to ‘do the right thing’ or stay on God’s good side, you’ll walk in with a determination to do what needs to be done (and then leave as soon as possible).

Read more…

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Author: Lynn Austin

This is the 3rd book in the Restoration Chronicles series by Lynn Austin.  Being a big fan of historical fiction novels, I could not wait to read this book and was not disappointed at all.

In the first book, Return to Me, we follow the journey of Zechariah who is part of the first group of faithful Jews that return to Jerusalem after years of exile in Babylon, and their struggle to rebuild their lives in obedience to the God who beckons them home.

In the 2nd book, Keepers of the Covenant, we trace the story of the exiles left in Babylon and the decree for the annihilation of all Jews in the Empire.  We read of Queen Esther who braved King Xerxes to save her people and  Ezra’s call to deliver his people to Jerusalem.

Now in this 3rd book, Nehemiah hears word that Jerusalem’s wall is shattered & its gates burned with fire.  He takes leave of his duties as cup bearer to King Xerxes and follows God’s call to go and rebuild the city wall of Jerusalem.  The leaders of the surrounding nations become his fiercest enemies, who will stop at nothing to prevent the wall’s reconstruction.  In the meanwhile a drought in the country has left people impoverished, with many selling their children as bond servants just to keep from starving.

It is against this backdrop that the book explores faith in the midst of oppression and offers us hope that, in spite of appearances, the gracious hand of God is upon those who believe.

CBD PRICE: R274.45   (valid while stocks last)

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Introverts in the Church by Hugh MacAdam

(Intervaristy Press)

Introverts are called and gifted by God. But many churches tend to be extroverted places where introverts are marginalized. Some Christians end up feeling like it’s not as faithful to be an introvert.

Adam McHugh shows how introverts can live and minister in ways consistent with their personalities. He explains how introverts and extroverts process information and approach relationships differently and how introverts can practice Christian spirituality in ways that fit who they are. With practical illustrations from church and parachurch contexts, McHugh offers ways for introverts to serve, lead, worship and even evangelize effectively.

Introverts in the Church is essential reading for any introvert who has ever felt out of place, as well as for church leaders who want to make their churches more welcoming to introverts. Discover God’s call and empowering to thrive as an introvert, for the sake of the church and kingdom.

CBD Price: R215.00                    Special Equip Price: R150.00

(price valid until 30 November 2015)

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Written by Joshua Harris.  Reviewed by Author & Speaker, Tim Challies

In 1997 Multnomah Publishers released I Kissed Dating Goodbye, a book Joshua Harris had written when he was just twenty-one years old. In this book he tells why he rejected dating in favor of courtship, and he calls on his readers to do the same. He believes courtship represents a better and more biblically-faithful model of beginning and building a romantic relationship.

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Author:  Drew Dyke   Reviewed by Tim Challies

I don’t know for certain, but my guess is that the early church did not need a lot of books or sermon series with titles involving words like “dangerous” or “extreme” or “radical.” If we need these books today, it is only to battle the complacency that can come when Christianity is a majority religion or an accepted religion. When Christianity is in the minority or when it is the object of persecution, life is already plenty dangerous.

But our temptation is toward complacency and sometimes we do need a good shaking up, a good talking to. Drew Dyck delivers this in Yawning at Tigers which carries the subtitle You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying. The title conjures up an image of a tiger in a zoo, taken from the wild, penned into a little cage, pathetically pacing back and forth. When he is caged up we can approach him confidently, safely, at our own time, without any hesitation. But this is not God as he reveals himself in the Bible.

Dyck shakes up our complacency in two broad ways. In the first half of the book he looks at the way we can inadvertently shrink God down to our size, to a manageable size. We tend to do this by neglecting or redefining his holiness, by ignoring or writing-off his wrath. To combat this, Dyck draws the reader to God’s majestic holiness, his (dare I say it?) dangerous holiness—the kind of holiness that caused Isaiah to fall on his face and Uzzah to fall dead on the ground. Through several chapters he examines God’s holiness from several different angles and reveals this holy God as being infinitely better than any safe and manageable God we may prefer.

In the second half of the book he shows that we can also attempt to tame God by diminishing his love. Just as God’s holiness is too terrifying, his love is too unbelievable, so we try to make it make sense in light of our fallibility. “We take the infinite, divine love described in Scripture and place limits on it. We make it reasonable. We project our own faltering brand of affections heavenward and assume God’s love is as flawed as ours. Even as we pay lip service to God’s boundless mercy, we tabulate our shortcomings and wonder whether we’ve exhausted his grace.”

The book packs a powerful one-two punch with the emphasis on holiness followed by meditations on love. Dyck is a good writer—a very good writer—and his prose is lively and always interesting. The whole “God is dangerous” theme could easily be overplayed, but he doesn’t allow that to happen. He turns constantly to the Bible and to a host of good sources to back and extend his claims.  Read more…

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By Raynard Sims

John Bunyan writes in his book “The Pilgrims Progress”, “I am from the City of Destruction, and am going to Mount Zion.”  This quote seems to best sum up what marked the Puritans – their extreme focus on the Word of God in light of an eternity with Christ.

The Puritans were largely considered to be a part of the movement of Reformed orthodoxy, not associated with Lutheranism. The book seeks to cover the English Puritans around 1560 who were seeking reformation from the Church of England.

The book covers a systematic understanding of the Bible from the viewpoint of the Puritans. The book is not set up to expound on a topic in the basic sense, but rather will cover what a specific, or group, of Puritans said about a certain topic. Thus, this book will not replace a systematic theology work of Grudem or Horton but will rather supplement it.

The book is divided into the following eight sections with a final conclusion:

Prolegomena; Theology Proper; Anthropology and Covenant; Theology;  Christology; Soteriology; Eccelesiology; Eschatology; Theology in Practice;  Afterword

Many people have asked the question, “Why should I read or study thePuritans?”. While it is a valid question, there are a number of good reasons to read (or slowly work through) this book. Not only does this book give a comprehensive overview of the various Puritan theologians (saving you from having to read their vast number of works) but it highlights what is distinctive of the Puritan tradition and theology. The authors and contributors have spent countless hours tracing out the Christologically shaped theology, drawing our attention to that which is beneficial and edifying for reader, but has also alluded to some doctrines that were wrongly interpreted and formulated by the Puritans.

It has been suggested recently to begin reading this work by starting with the penultimate chapter (Theology in Practice) before returning to the beginning (http://www.challies.com/reading-classics-together/read-agreat- book-with-me). This section is probably the most pastoral and definitely the most practical and challenging section of the book. The authors start by commenting how many Christians affirm Calvinism and preach the doctrines of grace but fail to live according to the standards they profess. The authors continue to highlight how much of the teaching of the Puritans were implemented in their lives and how it should possibly be incorporated in our own lives.

The various authors and contributors of “A Puritan Theology” have done an amazing work to cover the vast number of systematic topic both in width and in depth. This work will continue to be the standard for all in-depth reading and word on the Puritans for a long time to come. “A Puritan Theology” will be a worthwhile read for all who can endure the page count.

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The Intolerance of Tolerance: DA Carson

We live in a culture obsessed with the idea of ‘tolerance’.  However, when tolerance, poorly defined, is made an absolute good, it drifts towards intolerance.  It must then, argues D. A. Carson, be  thoughtfully challenged, both for the good of the church and for the good of the broader culture.  Carson examines how the definition of tolerance has changed.  It now has less to do with putting up with a person or stance while still seeking to disagree, and more to do with not saying others are wrong.  It is impossible to deploy this new tolerance consistently, so that actual practice is often whimsical and arbitrary. Worse, the words ‘tolerance’ and ‘intolerance’ have become merely rhetorical terms of approval and  disapprobation.

Despite the many negatives about these new, often ethically deficient definitions of tolerance, from a Christian perspective there have been gains as well. In this valuable and accessible volume, Carson uses examples and quotations to illustrate his analysis and concludes with practical advice on exemplifying and promoting the virtue of civil civic discourse.

“Nothing is more intolerant than a tolerance that requires the absence of all convictions. Don Carson thoughtfully shows how tolerance, once defined as respecting others’ right to hold differing perspectives, has morphed into a pervasive insistence that no one should hold firm convictions. The consequence of such a shift is a challenge to biblical faith that needs a biblical response, which Carson ably provides. In doing so, he gives the biblical basis for true tolerance in a just society and shows the inevitable tyranny of tolerance ill-defined. Not to hear and heed him is to enter a nightmarish world in which zeal to discern truth is replaced by zeal to keep anyone from claiming anything is really true.” – Bryan Chapell, President, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis

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Author:  Reviewed by Author & Blogger David Murray

The worst kind of poison is the kind that poisons you without you realizing it. There’s no bitter taste, no pain, no sudden weakness, nothing to alarm; yet, the poison is slowly and steadily doing its deadly work.  In such a dangerous condition, our only hope is some kind of test that shows what is undetectable to normal human senses, maybe a scan of sorts that shows up the extent of the poison in our systems. Only then can the antidote be found, prescribed, and taken.

Although the vast majority of Christians don’t realize it, we are being slowly yet steadily poisoned by virtually undetectable toxins. No, this isn’t about chemicals or biological agents; it’s ideas, worldviews, philosophies, and ideologies that we are unknowingly absorbing into our systems every day of life, and that are eating away at the vitals of our spiritual vitality.

Thankfully, Pastor and Professor Anthony Selvaggio has provided a scan to help us see the toxins and the damage they are doing.  In 7 Toxic Ideas Polluting Your Mind, he shines biblical light on seven wrong and sinful ideas or ideologies that have subtly infiltrated into our thinking patterns wreaking havoc on our spirituality.  He covers:

1. 1. Technopoly:The iPod Nation
   2. Neophilia:History is Bunk
   3. Egalitarianism: We’re all in Charge
   4. Individualism: Every Man is an Island
   5. Materialism: All That Matters is Matter
   6. Consumerism: Shop Till You Drop
   7. Relativism: What is Truth?

Even more thankfully, Selvaggio also provides antidotes to these terrible toxins, biblical truths with which to attack these infiltrators and drive them out of our minds and heart, with #1 and #4 being both especially convicting and especially converting for me.

I predict that as you read you will be stunned to discover how some of these viruses have wormed their way into your thinking and you’ll be grateful to Selvaggio for helping you not only to identify them but also to train you with biblical strategies to combat and defeat them.

It’s a book that stirs us out of our passivity and onto the offensive “to pick up intellectual arms and join the battle for the mind.” It’s a call to battle conformity to the world, but not the kind of worldliness that focuses merely on external behavior; rather it’s a summons to fight against thinking like the world.

Although this is a book that everyone can benefit from (and I certainly did), its popular style, contemporary references, and brevity make it especially helpful for High School and College age readers. It would be ideal for Church Youth Groups and for High School Apologetics courses. Also, great Sunday afternoon reading for teenagers.

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Author: Jen Wilken    Reviewed by Tim Challies

Wilkin loves God’s Word and she loves to teach others to love it as well. Her book is designed to awaken that same love in others, and especially in other women. It is, after all, meant to call women to the Word so they can be women of the Word.

She opens biographically, telling about her growing passion for the Bible—for reading it, for knowing it, for teaching it to others. She explains that the book’s purpose is “to teach you not merely a doctrine, concept, or story line, but a study method that will allow you to open up the Bible on your own. It intends to challenge you to think and to grow, using tools accessible to all of us, whether we hold a high school diploma or a seminary degree, whether we have minutes or hours to give to it each day.”

Before she gets to a method of studying the Bible, she tells about two turnarounds she had to make in her life, where she replaced backward approaches to Bible study with better ones. The first was to allow the Bible to speak of God. She had been approaching the Bible as a book about her, a book answering the question “Who am I?” more than “Who is God?” The second turnaround was thinking that she should allow her heart, rather than her mind, to guide her study of the Bible. She let her feelings dictate what she read and how she read it instead of first allowing it to transform her mind. She wants her readers to know that they cannot love what their minds do not know.

With those foundations in place, she makes a plea for biblical literacy and follows it with a five-part method meant to bring it about. Her description of this method, along with examples of it in action, consume the bulk of the book. She teachers her readers to study with purpose, perspective, patience, process and prayer. This method is simple enough to be practical, but significant enough to lead to deep understanding, reflection, and application. She closes with some guidance for teachers and a final call to a commitment to the Word.  Read more…

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