The Friday Nighters like to read books and from time to time, I like to share  book recommendations. You can look at those books on this page.

Today I wanted to highlight a great little book called Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach To Finding God’s Will, written by Kevin DeYoung. I was given this book by pastor/blogger/good guy Justin Buzzard and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

DeYoung (who is senior pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan) tackles a question that plagues Christians often: “How do I know what God’s will is for my life?”  DeYoung takes the refreshing stance that hyper-spiritual approaches to finding God’s will don’t work. Instead the author counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through.

DeYoung accurately points out that Christians like to tinker with everything: church, relationships, jobs, etc. Consequently, they worry that they might not be in God’s perfect will for their lives and often make radical life shifts to hopefully get “back on course with God’s will.” Or—even worse—they don’t do anything, waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction from God.

This was a great read; it was brief, biblical, and often humorous. I am glad to recommend it, particularly for young readers in the teens/early 20’s, but the subject matter applies to all ages.

You can also hear a talk that Kevin DeYoung gave on this subject here (mp3).

Also, here’s an interview that the Vitamin Z blog did with DeYoung regarding this book.

Last week, Pastor Mark spent alot of time talking about the deep joy that can be experienced by Christians, even in the midst of great trial and pain. One man that communicated those truths very well was Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), a Welsh pastor and author.  Below are two of his books on the subject of the unspeakable joy spoken of in 1 Peter 1:8.

Spiritual Depressions: It’s Causes & Cure- This book is deeply significant in my life and I am sure that I will return to it many times.

This enduring collection of twenty-one sermons by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, each originally delivered at Westminster Chapel in London, carefully and compassionately analyzes an undeniable feature of modern society from which Christians have not escaped—spiritual depression.

“Christian people,” writes Lloyd-Jones, “too often seem to be perpetually in the doldrums and too often give this appearance of unhappiness and of lack of freedom and absence of joy. There is no question at all but that this is the main reason why large numbers of people have ceased to be interested in Christianity.”

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Joy Unspeakable- Martyn Lloyd-Jones explores the assertion of John the Baptist that Jeus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. The result is a classic call to submit afresh to the Spirit for power, purity and assurance, while keeping our heads in the face of pitfalls that might distract or ensnare us.

ESV Study Bible

This week marks the release of the ESV Study Bible, a wonderful resource for deepening ones understanding of Scripture.

The ESV Study Bible was created to help people understand the Bible in a deeper way—to understand the timeless truth of God’s Word as a powerful, compelling, life-changing reality. To accomplish this, the ESV Study Bible combines the best and most recent evangelical Christian scholarship with the highly regarded ESV Bible text. The result is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published—with 2,752 pages of extensive, accessible Bible resources.

Created by an outstanding team of 95 evangelical Christian scholars and teachers, the ESV Study Bible presents completely new study notes, maps, illustrations, charts, timelines, articles, and introductions. Altogether the ESV Study Bible comprises 2 million words of Bible text, insightful explanation, teaching, and reference material—equivalent to a 20-volume Bible resource library all contained in one volume.

Primary Features

• 2 million words of Bible text and insightful teaching in 2,752 pages.
• 20,000 notes—focusing especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues.
• Over 50 articles—including articles on the Bible’s authority and reliability; on biblical archaeology, theology, ethics, and personal application.
• 200-plus charts—offering key insights and in-depth analysis in clear, concise outline form; located throughout the Bible.
• Over 200 full-color maps—created with the latest digital technology, satellite images, and archaeological research; printed in full color throughout the Bible.
• 80,000 cross-references—to encourage easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes.
• 40 all-new illustrations—including full-color renderings and architectural diagrams of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, the city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time and throughout the history of Israel, and many more.

Goal and Vision

The goal and vision of the ESV Study Bible is, first and foremost, to honor the Lord—in terms of the excellence, beauty, and accuracy of its content and design; and in terms of helping people come to a deeper understanding of the Bible, of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Crossway is a not-for-profit publishing ministry and all receipts from the ESV Study Bible go directly toward the support of this ministry goal around the world.

To learn much more about the ESV Study Bible, visit www.esvstudybible.org. If you are interested in purchasing one, WTS Books has really good prices on them.

During the sermon The Little Foxes last week, Pastor Mark Driscoll made a few book recommendations. Here are links to those books and a few others that I would also recommend.

God, Marriage, and Family- Andreas J. Kostenberger

Sacred Marriage- Gary Thomas

Love That Lasts- Gary & Betsy Ricucci

When Sinners Say “I Do”- Dave Harvey (You can also get this one as an audio book)

Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God- CJ Mahaney

Feminine Appeal- Carolyn Mahaney

Happy reading!

Last week we watched the sermon What Makes Jesus Superior To Other Saviors? That message was part of the Vintage Jesus sermon series that Mark Driscoll preached in the fall of 2006. If you are interested in accessing the content from the other sermons in the series, click on the links below:

10.08.06 – Is Jesus the Only God?
10.15.06 – How human was Jesus?
10.22.06 – What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?
10.29.06 – Did Jesus rise from death?
11.05.06 – Where is Jesus today?
11.12.06 – What will Jesus do upon His return?
11.19.06 – Why should we worship Jesus?
11.26.06 – What makes Jesus superior to other saviors?
12.03.06 – How did people know Jesus was coming?
12.10.06 – Why did Jesus come to earth?
12.17.06 – Why did Jesus’ mom need to be a virgin?
12.24.06 – What difference has Jesus made in history?

Also, you may be interested in reading book Vintage Jesus that Mark wrote with Dr. Gerry Breshears, which you can find in our Books We Recommend section.