C is for Christian: An A-Z Treasury of Who We Are in Christ by Alistair Begg. Illustrated by Emma Skerratt. The Good Book Company. 100 pages. 2024
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My wife Tammy and I have appreciated the ministry of Alistair Begg since first seeing him speak at the 1997 Ligonier National Conference. This is his first book for children, written for those for those 5-11 years old. It is beautifully illustrated by Emma Skerratt.
Begg writes that being a Christian is the most wonderful, exciting, life-changing thing anyone can be. But he asks, what is a Christian? What words can we use to describe what it means to call yourself a Christian? In this book, you will find 26 words that complete this sentence “A Christian is…”. Each of the 26 words begins with a different letter of the alphabet. Begg says to think of this as an A to Z of what a Christian is.
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BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Truths We Confess by R.C. Sproul
I’M CURRENTLY READING….
Each letter gets two pages in the book, beginning with a beautiful illustration followed with a Bible verse. For example, “A” is for “Adopted.” The Bible verse for adopted is Romans 8:15 “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry “Abba Father!” There is then a description of what adoption is. In the case of “A,” the description answers the question “When someone is adopted, what happens to them?” Following that are two questions for discussion and a closing prayer.
The book can be read devotionally, with one letter of the alphabet each day. It concludes with a listing of each letter of the alphabet as the child is asked if they can remember what went with each letter, and perhaps even what Bible verse went with each letter.
This will be a wonderful book to read with your children or grandchildren.
- Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold. My wife Tammy has published a book about HOW to study the Bible. The book is available on Amazon in both a Kindle and paperback edition. She writes “Maybe you have read the Bible but want to dig deeper and know God and know yourself better. Throughout the book I use the analogy of making a quilt to show how the Bible is telling one big story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Quilting takes much patience and precision, just like studying the Bible, but the end result is well worth it.”
- John Mark Comer and Practicing the Way. Tim Challies reviews John Mark Comer’s book Practicing the Way. He writes “I would suggest great caution with Comer’s teaching and urge you to count the cost of embracing it.”
Won’t you read along with us?
We are reading through Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith by R.C. Sproul. From the Ligonier description:
“The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the most precise and comprehensive statements of biblical Christianity, and it is treasured by believers around the world. R.C. Sproul has called it one of the most important confessions of faith ever penned, and it has helped generations of Christians understand and defend what they believe.
In Truths We Confess, Dr. Sproul introduces readers to this remarkable confession, explaining its insights and applying them to modern life. In his signature easy-to-understand style and with his conviction that everyone’s a theologian, he provides valuable commentary that will serve churches and individual Christians as they strive to better understand the eternal truths of Scripture. As he walks through the confession line by line, Dr. Sproul shows how the doctrines of the Bible—from creation to covenant, sin to salvation—fit together to the glory of God. This accessible volume is designed to help you deepen your knowledge of God’s Word and answer the question, What do you believe?”
This week we look at the first half of WCF 19: Of the Law of God. Here are a few helpful quotes from this section:
- All law finds its origin in God. Law finds its validity in terms of its conformity to the character of God.
- The study of ethics is the study of what we ought to do; the study of morality is the study of what we actually do – which may or may not conform to what we ought to do.
- God’s law is based not on the practices of fallen human beings but on His own character, which is not fallen.
- From a Christian viewpoint, there should always be a significant difference between ethics and morality. Christians are to look to the imperative, to what we ought to be doing, not to the indicative, what we are doing.
- We will not be judged in the last judgment by what our culture approves or disapproves, or by what our government allows or does not allow. We will be judged by the law of God. That is why it is important to understand the law of God.
