Category Archives: The Randleman Review

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Book Review – Bitesize Biographies – John Newton by John Crotts

Bitesize Biographies John NewtonOne of the best ways I’ve found to learn about Christ is by reading about the lives of others. The biographies of great Christian men and women can sometimes speak more to our lives than any other books. Reading of the faith of men and women who lived before our time, or even our contemporaries, can convey spiritual truths that are hard to gain from almost any other source.

So when I received a copy of the Bitesize Biographies book on John Newton, I was pretty excited to delve into it. Of course, I had heard of Newton, who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace and many others, but I didn’t know much about his life and faith.

What I read was simply incredible. Newton was very rebellious as a young man, leading a life of such sin that he wondered how God’s grace could ever cover his failures. Participating in the slave trade in the mid 1700s, Newton flirted with death several times, only to be saved time after time. God had a plan for his life.

After a major storm convinced him that his life was completely out of step with God, he made a complete turnaround, ending up an ordained minister of one of the most influential churches in England.

His letters and hymns have touch lives for generations, bringing hope and encouragement that God can and will use anyone who opens their lives to his leadership.

This is a very short biography, and is quick and easy to read. But even though it covers many of the important events in Newton’s life, the author, John Crotts, still finds the room to insert chapters dedicated to some of Newton’s most famous hymns, and several key passages from his many letters.

I gained a much greater perspective on both Newton’s life and ministry as well as God’s amazing grace from this bite size biographical sketch. Newton’s life, and what God did though him, brings an inspiring message that many of today need to hear, even more than two hundred and fifty years later.

I’ll be watching for the opportunity to read more Bitesize Biographies.

Do you read biographies? If so, what life or lives have you enjoyed reading about most? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading Bitesize Biographies: John Newton, by John Crotts, you can purchase it at Amazon.com, or directly from EP Books.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Cross Focused Media as part of their Cross Focused Reviews blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“

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Book Review – Big Book Of Earth And Sky

Big Book Of Earth And SkyMaster Books does a great job creating resources that help educate our kids. The most recent addition to their lineup is the Big Book Of Earth And Sky.

This book is a fifteen foot fold out chart that shows the earth, from the inner parts of the core to the upper reaches of the atmosphere.  With twenty-one full color panels, this book is a treasure trove of information waiting to be mined.

This is an excellent resource for teaching, whether in the home or in the Sunday School classroom.

And it’s designed for kids ages 7 to 12.

Check out the Master Books book trailer:

Big Book Of Earth And Sky is full of tons of information about the earth and its elements. Beginning with the geologic column from a perspective based on Noah’s flood, this chart extends upward and covers such items as fossils and crystals, stones and coal. But alongside the earth portion is the earth’s oceans. Laid out in perspective so you can see how deep the oceans really are, or how high the tallest mountains really are, this chart is simply fascinating.

This chart gives succinct descriptions of more topics as well, such as cave formation, cloud formation. evaporation and rainfall, lightening, atmospheric layers, and greenhouse effects, just to name a few.

We are pretty excited to begin using this resource as we educate our kids. I’m sure it will be very useful as we study the earth and it’s processes.

Now all I need is a fifteen foot wall to hang it on, along with the Big Book Of History.

How would you find such a chart useful? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in utilizing the Big Book Of Earth And Sky, from Master Books, you can purchase it at Amazon.com, or directly from Master Books.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from New Leaf Press/Master Books as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“

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Movie Review – Break Away from Word Films

Break AwayI recently had the opportunity to watch and review the new movie, Break Away, from Word Entertainment. It’s due for release on April 23.

I was pretty excited about watching it, since it deals with cycling. One of my favorite activities is cycling, using both my road bike as well as my mountain bike. While neither of my bikes are top of the line, not by far, they are both decent quality.

But my dream is to own a Pinerello one day. And with this film being sponsored by Pinarello, as well as playing a role in the film itself, it fuels my dreams of riding one someday.

So with dreams of cycling running through my mind, the family settled down to watch Break Away.

Check out the trailer:

While it was an interesting movie, there was a mix of both good and bad things about this particular film.

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Book Review – Tower Of Babel by Bodie Hodge

Tower of BabelA few years ago, a friend gave me a copy of After The Flood, by Bill Cooper. I was fascinated, and read through the entire book, appendices and all, in a couple of evenings. It was full of research and details about what happened just after Noah’s Flood, and how mankind was forced to spread out across the face of the earth after God’s actions at the Tower of Babel.

I loved the information presented in After The Flood. But I wasn’t aware of much else along the same lines until recently.

A few days ago, I received a copy of Bodie Hodge‘s Tower of Babel. Once again, I devoured this book, cover to cover, in just a couple of evenings. I simply couldn’t put it down.

Check out the Master Book book trailer to see what I mean:

Tower of Babel is packed full of tons of incredible information. And after reading it, one has to wonder how mankind can continue to deny God’s existence and involvement throughout history.

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Book Review – Crucifying Morality by R. W. Glenn

Crucifying MoralityOne of my favorite sections of Scripture is the Sermon on the Mount, from Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Some of Jesus’ best known teachings come from these three chapters. And many of the topics he speaks of in these verses have become very familiar to us.

Too familiar, maybe.

From turning the other cheek to being a city on a hill. From treasures in heaven to judgment. From divorce, murder, and adultery to giving, worry and fasting. There are the wise and foolish builders, the narrow and wide gates, and the passage telling us to ask, seek, knock. And then there are the Beatitudes.

While most of these passages are straight forward and can be taken at face value, the Beatitudes seem to stump us. The Beatitudes seem vague and general. Are they a stair-step progression of what a Christian should be? Or are they deeper than that? Or, perhaps, is it much more simple than that?

These are some of the questions that have always bothered me as I read these short verses. I’ve landed on the general belief that they are a progression that we go through as Christians as we grow, but even so, that understanding seems to leave something behind. It doesn’t quite explain this passage of Jesus’ words satisfactorily.

Until now. Until I read Crucifying Morality, by R. W. Glenn.

Because of my love for the rest of these chapters, and when I saw that this book might help explain the purpose of the first section, I had to read it.

And I’m glad I did.

Crucifying Morality is a deep examination of the Beatitudes, looking at them in a totally new light. These eight statements aren’t steps to follow, or phases we go through. They are, quite simply, the Gospel in a nutshell. Jesus makes these eight declarations and stuns us when we actually get a good look at what he’s saying, and not what we think he’s saying.

Too often, we try to do our own thing. Even in the realm of our faith, we tend to think that if we just do more, or do it better, we can somehow please God and take a step closer to salvation.

But Jesus makes it clear: nothing we can do will get us there. He had to do what needed to be done; he had to crucify our morality, so that we could depend upon his grace to do what we could never do on our own.

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Book Review – One Perfect Life by John MacArthur

One Perfect LifeThere are certain resources that you have to keep close at hand. There are certain resources that you simply use a lot.

One Perfect Life is one of those resources.

One Perfect Life is a harmony of the four gospels. Where most harmonies use a column format, showing the events and occurrences of each of the four gospels in separate columns, One Perfect Life has blended the four gospels into one continuous story.

This is immensely helpful, especially as you read through the gospels, and allows you to see just how the life and ministry of Jesus unfolded.

Included in One Perfect Life are a harmony of study notes from the John MacArthur Study Bible. I’ve been using this Bible for the past couple of years and have found these notes to be amazingly helpful.

Not only does One Perfect Life contain the life and ministry of Jesus, it also bookends the life of Christ with several key passages that anticipate the Messiah, as well as reflections from the rest of the New Testament that further reveal God’s purposes in Christ.

This book will be a tool that I keep handy as I study and teach the gospel in my ministry. In fact, I’ve already found it to be incredibly helpful in just the few short days I’ve had it.

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of One Perfect Life and read it. It will help you understand the flow and order of Christ’s life and ministry more fully, both for yourself and for those you may teach.

Have you ever used a harmony of the gospels? How did you find it helpful? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading One Perfect Life, by John MacArthur, you can purchase it at Amazon.com in print or for Kindle.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“

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Book Review – Galatians For You by Timothy Keller

Galatians For YouI don’t think I’ve ever sat down and read a commentary straight through, from cover to cover.

Until now.

My usual mode of operation, when it comes to using biblical commentaries, is to reference the specific sections on the passages I need. And I have several different series of commentaries on my shelves, giving me a lot of reference material for Bible study.

But Galatians For You, by Timothy Keller is different. It’s a commentary. But it’s also a devotional. It’s concise and factual. But it’s also challenging and thought provoking.

I sat down and read the first five chapters in one evening, and finished it the next day. I was simply astonished and the way Keller transformed the book of Galatians in my mind from one of the smaller letters of Paul to a strategic presentation of the Gospel. There are complexities and depths that I’d never experienced in Paul’s six short chapters. And Keller presents them in a fashion that establishes the purpose of Galatians in a simple and engaging way.

Recently, I started a new Bible study habit. I started hand writing my own copy of the Scriptures. One of the first books I copied was Galatians. And I learned more about this letter than I’d ever know before. And now, after reading Galatians For You, Galatians is quickly becoming one of my favorite sections of the New Testament, simply because I understand it so much better then ever before.

Galatians For You is the first book in a new series of Bible study tools from The Good Book Company. And the purpose of this series is three fold:

  • To READ: Galatians For You will guide you in understanding the letter much better than you ever have before.
  • To FEED: The books in this series are designed with a devotional intent, helping you deepen your relationship with God as you deepen your understanding of his Word.
  • To LEAD: With a verse by verse explanation laid out in a simple to read format, this book is an excellent resource and tool that you can use to teach others the truths of God’s Word.

I was very impressed with the simplicity of Galatians For You. I’m pretty excited to see the next books that will be published in this series. I’m excited because they are great tools to use in ministry. But I’m looking forward even more to the challenge of deepening my own personal understanding of God and his Word.

Check out the trailer for Galatians For You by The Good Book Company:

I loved Galatians For You, and am excited to see what’s next in the series. I highly encourage you to check it out. Grab a copy and read it. You may end up like me, unable to put it down. If that’s the case, take the time after you finish it to reread it more slowly. Who know just how much you can learn from such a tool?

Paul wrote a significant portion of the New Testament. Which of his letters do you like the best? Why? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

If highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Galatians For You, by Timothy Keller. You can purchase it at Amazon.com in print or for Kindle.  You can also purchase the additional study guide to go along with it.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Cross Focused Media as part of their Cross Focused Reviews blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“