ON THE ROAD - Banner Heads to Minneapolis!

Will any of you be attending the Desiring God National Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, September 28-30? If so, I would love to have you stop in the bookstore area and say hello. You will find me there during these next few days, unless I'm able to hopefully sneak out once or twice to attend a conference session. I arrive Thursday morning and will be there through the weekend. If you're in the Minneapolis area but won't be at the conference, let me know. Perhaps we could get a group together for coffee or something. Grace & peace. Steve.

"Truth's Victory Over Error" - Why David Dickson's Book Is Important!

A brief article has just been posted on the Banner of Truth Web site (you do know about the articles section at http://www.banneroftruth.org/, don't you?). It is titled, "Truth's Victory Over Error - Why David Dickson's Book Is Important." It is just a little more than 500 words in length and was written by John R. deWitt, the one who transcribed and edited this volume. I do encourage you to follow the link and read this article.
To read the article, CLICK HERE.
For more information, or to buy this book, CLICK HERE.

WHAT?!?!?! IT'S HERE EARLY?!?!?!?

We just received three pallets of a brand new release from Banner! Wow, this is excellent. I'd tell you all about it, but I'm too busy reading and enjoying this new book! Stop back tomorrow for the details!
Steve
PS - sorry
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ADDENDUM, Later on the same day - My apologies for this post ... I have heard from you, loud and clear! Give me 15 minutes and you'll see something more ... I promise!

Let Me Tell You About The "Now" and the "Then" ---

The "Now" --
As you probably, currently our North American office of Banner of Truth has this HIDDEN TREASURES promotion underway, featuring a number of titles that are as "solid" as any Banner book, but may have gone unnoticed for a while, and we are offering them at 40%-45% off list price. The promotion only goes through October 15th. If you need more information, email me.


The "Then" --
October is fast approaching, which means another "wave" of new releases from Banner of Truth is about to arrive at our warehouse. I will begin filling this blog with "Sneak Peaks" in the very near future! If interested in what's coming, this is the place to read about it first so stay tuned.

I hope you had a great weekend and entered your week spiritually refreshed. Grace & peace. Steve.

Personally Speaking, May I Ask You To Pray?

It is easy for me to forget how some others are pressing on in the midst of very difficult circumstances for the cause of Christ. May I be personal with you and share an email from a very dear family friend? I got it today, from a very distant and rural village in central Africa, where she is a single missionary, the only one within hundreds of miles. I would be appreciative of your prayers. Her name is Wendy. Grace to you, and peace. Steve.
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Dear friends,
Greetings! This will be a short one since I'm still not up to writing too much. I've been quite sick with malaria since the middle of last Thursday night. I started meds right away but started vomiting a lot too, so I was not able to keep down any pills I was taking. Because of this, the medical folks here put me on an IV quinine drip for two days. Not fun! I was flat on my back in bed for four days. Just yesterday and today I've been feeling a little bit "human" again. Quinine has all sorts of "wonderful" side effects like crazy dreams, hearing loss, loss of appetite, etc.
So, I've been pretty sick for five days now. I take the last quinine pill today so hopefully in a few days the ringing and white noise in my ears will lessen. Today is the first day that I've really felt like eating anything although I've been forcing myself to eat egg custard, pudding, poached eggs, and whatever else I can manage to get down.
Since I was vomiting so much they did some other tests and I've got some internal parasite problems; nothing unusual out here but something I'll have to take care as well once I get my strength back. We aren't out of the woods yet, but each day I feel a couple of percentage points better! :)
One amazing thing in all this has been the care I've received from the folks here. I counted up 36 different people who came to see me during the first five days of my being sick. Some came to just shake my hand and smile, some to pray, some to give advice :). But all came to express their concern and love. The medical staff has been extremely helpful, even coming in the middle of the night to change the IV. I do feel that I'm in good hands.
The Lord has, of course, also been so very good to care for me. I've done some reading in Psalm 18 off and on during this time and been comforted by many verses there. One that I've been meditating on when I get a few moments of clear thinking is verse 19, "He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me." Pretty awesome to think that even when you are vomiting so that you wonder if you are ever going to be able to stand up again, the Lord delights in you!
:)
I know that the reaction some of you might have to this email is to worry. Please don't! I'm doing OK and as each day goes by and I progress from being able to keep down some egg custard to a poached egg to fish soup with macaroni, things are looking up!
One main prayer request is that I will have wisdom as I hopefully have some strength to restart some activities by the end of this week. The School of Music and the Bible may start one week late just to give me another week to rest and regroup. Please pray that once I start being active again that I won't overdo!
Doing email is a stretcher right now so if you have written I don't think I'll be able to get back to you before next week some time. You don't need to respond to this one - please just pray that I'll be completely healed.....SOON!
love,
wendy
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ADDENDUM, Monday, Sept. 24th - Thank you for your prayers and emails; I have not received anything from Wendy since this letter.

HIDDEN TREASURE FEATURE: John MacArthur's "classic example of what a good biography ought to be!"

FROM OUR CURRENT HIDDEN TREASURES PROMOTION
NOW THROUGH OCTOBER 15th - 45% OFF LIST PRICE
Available in clothbound or paperback

To receive the complete list of "Hidden Treasures" on sale, email me at: steve@banneroftruth.org

"William Grimshaw of Haworth," by Faith Cook

Of this biography, John MacArthur wrote, "A classic example of what a good biography ought to be!" With that testimonial fresh in my mind, I grabbed the clothbound copy of this book from our packing room shelf just last week and dove into it this weekend. You've heard of Grimshaw's contemporaries - Wesley and Whitefield; it's high time you learned more about the third part of that trio and what God accomplished in and through these men!

Just read how this book opens with paragraph #1: "If greatness is to be measured by usefulness to souls," wrote J.C. Ryle in 1866 as he looked back on the eighteenth-century Evangelical Revival, then, in his estimation, William Grimshaw would rank among the three greatest men in England during that period. The lives of the other two, George Whitefield and John Wesley, are well known, but many who rightly appreciate their importance know little of this man, whose zeal in the service of Christ led John Wesley to write, "A few such as him would make a nation tremble. He carries fire wherever he goes." Not surprisingly, it was William Grimshaw whom Wesley designated as his successor in the nation-wide organization of Methodism, should he and his brother Charles have died first."

Did you get that? William Grimshaw, in his zeal for the service of Christ, was described by Wesley as the one who "carries fire wherever he goes." Oh, how we need to be ever reading good biographies, filling our minds with the lives of godly saints who have walked before us, and the work and grace of God made visible in their lives to also encourage us and cause our faith to grow! There are few better places to start than this "classic example of what a good biography ought to be!" (John MacArthur).
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Clothbound lists for $36.00, but just $19.80 through October 15th
Paperback lists for $25.00, but just $13.75 through October 15th
For more information, or to purchase this book, click HERE for the paperback, and HERE for the clothbound. The 45% discount will be calculated at check-out.

HIDDEN TREASURES Promotion - Now through Oct. 15

We are getting a great response to the current HIDDEN TREASURES promotion. I guess that might prove that KC Armstrong at The BookStore @ Hunter Street in Birmingham, AL was right -
"Feature the Banner books that haven't been selling as well as others," KC told me one day. "Since there's no such thing as a 'bad' Banner book, there must be some that we've just forgotten about."
Those are the books we've labelled our HIDDEN TREASURES, and we're offering some of them at 40%-45% less than list price, from now through October 15. If you didn't receive the complete flier in the mail (pictured here), email me and I'll gladly send you an electronic copy. |
I hope your week is off to a grand start.
God is faithful!
Grace & peace.
Steve.

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "Love Rules: The Ten Commandments for the 21st Century"

Here's a review of one of the newer releases to come from Banner of Truth. Thought you might like to read someone else's "take" on this book.
Steve
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BOOK REVIEWED: "Love Rules: The Ten Commandments for the 21st Century"
REVIEWER: Gregg Cantelmo, from KPXQ Radio, Chandler, Arizona
REVIEW: "The place of the moral law in relation to the gospel has become one of the most controversial issues for the evangelical church today. The result is confusion about important doctrines such as the nature of justification and sanctification. This small volume (118 pages), written by a number of contributors (all reformed), is offered as a contemporary introduction to the theological and ethical explanation of the Ten Commandments. The first three chapters form the introduction to the Ten Commandments as well as provide one of the finest overviews of the relationship between law and love. Anyone teaching a series on the Ten Commandments would do well to read these chapters. Subsequent chapters work through each of the Ten Commandments providing strong theological foundation as well as practical application. Each chapter ends with “The Bottom Line,” a summary of the main points covered in that chapter. The concluding chapters cover the topic of the flow of redemptive history and the Jesus’ teaching on the moral law. This is a wonderful overview of the Ten Commandments rich in theology and firmly grounded in the gospel.
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For more information, or to purchase, this book at 25% discount, click HERE.

INSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "The Forgotten Spurgeon," by Iain H. Murray

BOOK REVIEWED: "The Forgotton Spurgeon," by Iain H. Murray
REVIEWER: Thomas Chantry
EXCERPT FROM THE REVIEW (click link below to read review in its entirety): "The Forgotten Spurgeon is not a standard biography; rather, Murray concentrates on three important controversies which spanned Spurgeon's career - the confllicts with Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism in the opening years of his London ministry, the dispute with Anglicans over Baptismal Regeneration in the mid 1860s, and the struggle for theological faithfulness and integrity that so marked the closing years of Spurgeon's life, the 'Downgrade Controversy' ....
The Forgotten Spurgeon also serves as an excellent example of the strengths of Iain Murray's historical writings - strengths which continue to be seen in the books he has penned since this one first appeared in the 1960s....
The author's style is easy and will be attractive to most Christian readers. Those who love the history of the church will find his books particularly helpful and enjoyable. If you have not read Iain Murray before, then The Forgotten Spurgeon is a good place to start. You will not be disappointed!"
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To read this review in its entirety, click HERE.
For more information, or to purchase this book, click HERE.

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "Authority," by D.M. Lloyd-Jones

BOOK REVIEWED: "Authority," by D.M. Lloyd-Jones
REVIEWER: Brian Lievens on the Edifying Deaf Christians blog
REVIEW: "I was reading an used book I bought online written by D.M. Lloyd-Jones. Lloyd-Jones was an excellent expository preacher at Westminister Chapel in the 40s to 60s in England. He is a rare Evangelical pastor in England. Anyway, I have enjoyed several of his books that contained his sermons like Romans and Ephesians.
Anyway this book is titled, “Authority.” The book was about knowing our authority from the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The book was published in 1958. Lloyd-Jones to me was really ahead of his time because in 1958 he already see the philosophy that we are battling today since maybe 1970s. That is post-modernism philosophy. I am quoting him here now.
“Now I suggest that, as Evangelicals, that is the major position which we have to meet at this present time [Post-Modernism]. There was a time when we were confronted by absolute denials [Modernism, Liberalism]. The position today is not that. Instead we are told that the truth is so marvelous that you cannot define it. One man may say this and another may say that. We are asked to believe that they both are probably right. Everybody is right. There are many ways of getting to this summit. We must therefore welcome all approaches, and we must not say that a man has not the truth because he has not come to it our way. Such a school of thought claims that these are matters which, because of the very nature of truth itself, cannot be defined. Therefore we cannot confidently speak of right and wrong” (D.M. Lloyd-Jones 10,11).
That is how people think today. All truth is relative rather than absolute. That means that we must accept other person’s perspective that what he thinks is truth is truth to him. And we have to accept that as truth. And others have to accept our truth. That’s arrogance and prideful. God Himself is the only Person that has the full truth. We only can depend on God to give us understanding of what is right and wrong rather than let the people themselves decide what is right or wrong.
To me, Lloyd-Jones sees the problem of post-modernism already in 1958 and he wrote the book to encourage us to depend on the absolute authority of God!
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To read this review in its original location, click HERE.
For more information, or to purchase this book, click HERE.

On a Personal Note ...

My "little girl" is home ...
From college ...
For the weekend!
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ADDENDUM: It was a great weekend!

Hidden Treasure Feature: "An A-Z of Christian Truth and Experience"

FROM OUR CURRENT "HIDDEN TREASURES" PROMOTION:
To receive the recent mailer with a list of all titles at 40%-45% off, send me an email - steve@banneroftruth.org
In putting this promotion together, I, also, found some treasures that I didn't know much about, one of them being this book, An A-Z of Christian Truth and Experience by J. Graham Miller. This is a collection of quotations compiled by this pastor in New Zealand - a life's worth of work - clothbound and listed at $21.00, but available through October 15 at 45% off - just $11.55.
Of this book, Iain Murray, who made the initial discovery leading to its publication, wrote, "A handful of pure gold. The work of a lifetime. A wonderful overview of the Christian faith drawn from many of the classic authors of the church. I have found the contents humbling and inspiring. They require, it should be said, pondering and reflection more than consecutive reading. John Wesley's maxim is especially applicable, 'Read a little, pray and meditate much.'"
So what's the story behind this book? On a visit to Graham Miller in Australia in 1999, Iain Murray found 'bound volumes filled with my friend's firm and distinctive handwriting, containing memorable quotations gleaned from leading authors." An A-Z of Christian Truth and Experience is a selection of these, arranged alphabetically under subject headings, covering the entire range of Christian truth and experience. Check out some of the authors quoted in this resource, and then some of the topics covered! I can't believe this isn't on your shelf - truly a great resource but even more so, as Iain wrote, good thoughts to ponder and meditate on.

The book contains quotations from 124 authors, just some of whom include:
Augustine of Hippo, Richard Baxter, Loraine Boettner, Andrew Bonar, Horatius Bonar, Thomas Boston, John Bradford, John Brown, James Buchanan, John Bunyan, John Calvin, J.S. Candlish, Thomas Chalmers, Oswald Chambers, Stephen Charnock, John Chrysostom, William Cowper, Alfred Edersheim, Jonathan Edwards, John Flavel, Thomas Fuller, Henry Grattan Guinness, James Haldane, Charles Hodge, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Jerome, Justin Martyr, John Knox, Hugh Latimer, Robert Leighton, John Livingstone, D.M. Lloyd-Jones, Martin Luther, J. Gresham Machen, Henry Martyn, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, D.L. Moody, John Murray, John Owen, Blaise Pascal, Samuel Rutherford, J.C. Ryle, Philip Schaff, W.G.T. Shedd, George Smeaton, C.H. Spurgeon, Tertullian, William Tyndale, Benjamin B. Warfield, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Alexander Whyte, William Wilberforce, Ulrich Zwingli, and

These quotations are grouped into 176 different subject categories, just some of which include:

Adoption, Anger, Antichrist, Assurance, Backsliding, Baptism, Beauty, The Bible, Burial, Chastisement, Christian Ministry, The Church, Church History, Communion of Saints, Conscience, Conversion, Convictions, Courage, Creeds, Criticism, Danger, Death, Disunity, Doubt, Effectual Calling, Election, End Times, Eternity, Faith, Family, Fear of God, Free Will, Friendship, Gentleness, Gifts, Growing Old, Guidance, Happiness, Health, Heaven, Hell, The Holy Spirit, Hope, Humility, Imputation, Jesting, Jesus Christ, Judgment, Justification, Leaders, Literature, The Lord’s Day, The Lord’s Supper, Love, Meditation, Meekness, Memorizing Scripture, Miracles, Modesty, Murder, Music, Obedience, Occupations, Patience, Persecution, Praise, Prayer, Predestination, Pride, Prophecy, Propitiation, Providence, Regeneration, Repentance, Reproof, Resurrection, Reverence, Salvation, Sanctification, Satan, Sermons, Sickness, Sin, Slander, The Sovereignty of God, Study, Suffering, Temptation, The Trinity, Trouble, Trust, Truth, Unbelief, Unity, Wisdom, Work, World Mission, Worship, Zeal.
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For more information on, or to purchase, this book, click HERE. The discount price will be applied during the checkout process.

Signed Copy, Anyone? Plus a "24-Hour Only" Special Promotion ...

OK ... 24 hours ... starting at 12:00 noon ... which is - NOW!
This may be something I'm going to regret, but Walter Chantry and his incredible wife will be here at the North American office of The Banner of Truth tomorrow (Friday), Sept. 14th, for lunch with our staff. I don't get to see or visit with Walt very often; mostly it's been some time during the annual Banner of Truth Ministers' Conference. But given his impending visit, I thought I would offer - without his pre-authorized permission, I have to add - his signing of his most recent new release from Banner, "David: Man of Prayer, Man of War." If we receive your order, with a specific request for it to be signed, before we eat lunch or before he has to leave, I will get it done for you, and even give a 20% discount! Phone orders only for this one. List price: $18.00; Get this signed copy for $14.40 (free shipping on orders of $25+ within the continental U.S.).

And while we're at it, how about, instead of our Fabulous Friday Damaged Book List, we institute a 24-Hour Walter Chantry Book Promotion. Below is the list - any Walter Chantry Banner book, other than "David: Man of Prayer, Man of War," 35% off from now through tomorrow, Friday 9/14, at 4:00 Eastern time when our office closes. Call us today or tomorrow: 1-800-263-8085. Just remember, the signed copy of "David: Man of Prayer, Man of War" won't be available after lunchtime tomorrow. Spread the word quickly!
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Call the Sabbath a Delight - List: $7.50 --- 24-hour 35% off special: $4.88
God's Righteous Kingdom - List: $8.00 --- 24-hour 35% off special: $5.20
High Calling of Motherhood - List: $0.85 --- 24-hour 35% off special: $0.55
Praises for the King of Kings - List: $8.00 --- 24-hour 35% off special: $5.20
Shadow of the Cross - List $5.00 --- 24-hour 35% off special: $3.25
Signs of the Apostles - List: $9.00 --- 24-hour 35% off special: $5.85
Today's Gospel - List: $7.00 --- 24-hour 35% off special: $4.55

Please note: Some quantities are limited.
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ADDENDUM, Friday Sept. 14th, 1:30 p.m. - The Banner staff in Carlisle just finished a great lunch here in my office with Walt Chantry and his wife, Joie ... a combination of eating and signing books! A great way to end the week.

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "The Life and Times of George Whitefield," by Robert Philip

BOOK REVIEWED: "The Life and Times of George Whitefield," by Robert Philip
REVIEWER: Randall J. Pederson, Westminster Seminary Bookstore Staff & PhD student-church history
THE REVIEW: "Robert Philip’s The Life and Times of George Whitefield was the first sympathetic biography, published in 1837, of the great transatlantic itinerant preacher. Comprised largely from Whitefield’s journals, letters, and sermons, this early biography presents Whitefield in all his evangelical glory—from his early years in Gloucester, England, his struggles at Oxford and the rise of the English Methodists, to his untimely death in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and the legacy of his felicitous preaching.
Overall, Philip’s biography is a decent and faithful depiction of Whitefield’s life and message. It is, as Iain H. Murray notes in his introduction, a work that reaches heart and soul and inflames devotion to Christ. It is not, as Murray equally notes, a work of ‘quiet scholarship’, which should be of no surprise as the work predates the so-called renaissance of ‘sociological enlightenment’.
Whitefield was, as readers will soon discover, a complex personality. He loathed himself but had boundless expectations of God’s grace. He forged relationships with prominent leaders, both political and religious, including Benjamin Franklin and the Countess of Huntingdon. Whitefield was not inerrant, nor did he pretend to be. He was called to be a vessel of the Holy Spirit during a time of intense complacency and was used alongside many other American luminaries, such as Jonathan Edwards, to breathe new life into the American religious scene of the eighteenth century. His influence spreads even to today, as new monographs and reprints of Whitefield’s sermons continue to issue from the press.
The Life and Times of George Whitefield is well-suited for pastors, seminary students, and lay readers who want to grasp Whitefield’s life and work but are weary of plowing through Arnold Dallimore’s two-volume George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival (Banner of Truth, 1970, 1980).
Regardless of one’s personal interest in Whitefield, Philip’s work still remains the most complete, sympathetic, single-volume biography available today. More definitive biographies of Whitefield have been written. Luke Tyerman’s The Life of the Reverend George Whitefield (1876-77) was the standard reference until supplanted by Dallimore’s.
Critical scholars will find the work less useful, at times hagiographic, more an evangelical footnote to the ‘divine dramatist’ than an accurate description of what happened. This de-spiritualizing of Whitefield’s influence runs through Harry S. Stout’s The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism (Eerdmans, 1991) and Frank Lambert’s ‘Pedlar in Divinity’: George Whitefield and the Transatlantic Revivals, 1737-1770 (Princeton, 1993)."
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To read this review on its original site, click HERE.
For more information, or to buy this book, click HERE.

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "The Life of John Murray," by Iain H. Murray

BOOK REVIEWED: "The Life of John Murray," by Iain H. Murray
REVIEWER: Pastor Erik Raymond, Irish Calvinist blog
EXCERPTS FROM THE REVIEW: "John Murray’s commentary on the book of Romans has long been considered the answer book for biblical expositors when they come to study the grand epistle. So when I see a biography come along that introduces me to the man behind the works like his Romans commentary and Redemption, Accomplished and Applied, I am helplessly drawn in.
The Life of John Murray is what we have come to expect from Ian Murray (no relation to John). It is a well-written enjoyable chronicle of the life of a significant evangelical player. Ian Murray is able to give us many details without drowning us in peripherals....[see entire review for detail of the book].
This was an enjoyable, informative and encouraging read. I am truly thankful for Ian Murray’s careful and diligent work in producing this literary documentary of one of the church’s hard working and faithful laborers.
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To read the entire review, click HERE:
For more information, or to buy this book, click HERE:

Check Out Banner's "HIDDEN TREASURES"

OK, it's ready! As of yesterday afternoon, the Banner of Truth Web site will take your "HIDDEN TREASURES" order and charge you 40%-45% LESS than normal! What's this all about? Well, it all stems back to our friend at The Bookstore at Hunter Street (Birmingham, AL) asking for a list of Banner books that haven't sold as well as others. When I asked him why, he replied, "There's no such thing as a 'bad' Banner book, so those must be hidden treasures that we need to be reminded about." So, we designed a reminder with 40%-45% discount incentive! You can check out the list and place your order by clicking HERE, but to see the mailer, email me and I'll send to you. Just a note, this does apply to this North American office of Banner, here in Carlisle, PA, USA.

Thank You, Louisville, KY!

I had a great visit to Louisville, KY last week. My special thanks to the students at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary who took time to get together: Bradley, Will, Dustin and Terry. My prayers to Stephen who, because of some medical issues and an upcoming surgery, wasn't able to. I also met Ryan, a new student at Boyce College, plus a few others. And it was great having Mark, a recent Wheaton grad who attended the last Banner Ministers' Conference, drive down from Chicago.
My main reason for flying to Louisville was to have some meetings with several Banner accounts there in the area. I spent Friday afternoon with Tim and Stuart at the LifeWay bookstore right there on Southern Baptist Seminary's campus - what a beautiful store that is, right in the middle of everything there on campus!
I also had a great visit with John over at The Christian Book Nook, a locally owned bookstore at 2116 South Preston Street, just two doors down from Sunergos Coffee. I got to visit with some of John's customers there, including Nathan and his little boy as they were checking out Owen. I even got to get down on the floor and played with a dump truck! When was the last time you got to do that on your job?
So, thank you, all! I hope to see some of you again in just eight months at the Banner of Truth's Ministers' Conference here in PA (May 27-29, 2008). Grace & peace. Steve.

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "The Christian Ministry"

This reviewer's sentence doesn't surprise me at all when he writes, "This is by far one of the best books ever written on the subject of the Christian Ministry." It is the book on Christian ministry used at multiple seminary campuses. But don't let that scare you away; it should encourage you to make sure you have a copy for yourself!
Steve
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THE BOOK REVIEWED: "The Christian Ministry," by Charles Bridges
THE REVIEWER: JKB of Pol'-e-Blog
THE REVIEW: "This is by far one of the best books ever written on the subject of the Christian Ministry. The revival of the church seems to be closely connected with the condition of its ministry. In this book Charles Bridges considers the general and personal causes of ministerial ineffectiveness, and goes on to examine preaching and pastoral work. Charles Bridges (1794-1869) was one of the leaders of the Evangelical party in the Church of England in the last century. He was vicar of Old Newton, Suffolk. As usual, Banner of Truth is faithful to the original in its rendering of this classic. 390 pages."
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For more information about this book, or to buy it, click HERE.

IT'S FABULOUS FRIDAY - September 7, 2007

Friday in Louisville, KY! And here are a few items from our "ever-so-slightly-damaged" book shelves, available at 50% discount from the U.S. office of Banner of Truth. To make a purchase:
(1) Remember, these books are damaged, although slightly!
(2) Quantities are limited or VERY limited; if we run out ... sorry!
(3) Shipping is at your expense.
(3) Call us at 1-800-263-8085; you can't place this order over our Web site (open till 4:00 p.m., eastern time, on Friday). Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Grace & peace. Steve
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Book Title	List Price	Damaged 50% Off Price
Majesty in Misery Vol 2: Judgment Hall	$24.00	$12.00
Mark's Sketchbook	$12.00	$6.00
Matthew, J.C. Ryle	$13.00	$6.50
Metropolitan Tabernacle Vol 38	$33.00	$16.50
Milk of the Word	$6.00	$3.00
Momentous Event	$7.00	$3.50
Mortification of Sin	$9.00	$4.50
New Testament	$19.00	$9.50
New Testament Sermons Vol 2, M'Cheyne	$25.00	$12.50
Not by Bread Alone	$6.75	$3.38
Old Evangelicalism	$26.00	$13.00
Old Testament Evangelistic Sermons	$27.75	$13.88
Pastor in Prayer	$17.00	$8.50
Pastoral Epistles, Wilson	$8.00	$4.00
Power of Prayer	$13.00	$6.50
Practical Implications	$2.50	$1.25
Praises For the King of Kings	$8.00	$4.00
Precious Remedies	$9.00	$4.50
Price For a People	$7.00	$3.50
Profiting From the Word	$6.00	$3.00
Promise	$7.00	$3.50
Puritan Hope	$11.75	$5.88
Reformation in England Vol 2	$21.50	$10.75
Reformation of the Church	$17.00	$8.50
Reformation: A Handbook 932-6	$16.00	$8.00
Reformed Pastor	$9.00	$4.50
Rejoice Always	$8.00	$4.00
Religious Affections	$19.00	$9.50
Revelation	$27.00	$13.50
Revival Sermons	$8.00	$4.00
Revival Year Sermons	$6.00	$3.00
Right With God	$6.00	$3.00
Roaring of the Lion	$8.00	$4.00
Samuel Rutherford and His Friends	$9.00	$4.50
Scottish Christian Heritage	$28.00	$14.00
Seceders	$3.00	$1.50
Secret Key To Heaven	$10.00	$5.00
Sermons of M'Cheyne	$9.00	$4.50
Sermons of Samuel Ward	$16.00	$8.00
Sermons on the Beatitudes	$20.00	$10.00
Shadow of Calvary	$10.00	$5.00
Shorter Catechism Explained	$9.00	$4.50
Signposts From Proverbs	$10.75	$5.38
Signs of the Apostles	$9.00	$4.50
Sinfulness of Sin	$9.00	$4.50
Singing in the Fire	$9.75	$4.88
Sketches From Church History	$23.00	$11.50
Sound of His Name	$7.75	$3.88
Spirit and the Church	$9.00	$4.50
Spurgeon V Hyper-Calvinism	$6.75	$3.38
Spurgeon, A New Biography	$16.00	$8.00
Stepping Stones	$9.75	$4.88
Studies in Theology, B.B. Warfield	$30.00	$15.00
Suffering Saviour	$29.00	$14.50
Sufficiency of Scripture	$20.00	$10.00
Systematic Theology - Berkhof	$34.00	$17.00

D. James Kennedy, 1930 - 2007

I imagine you've heard the news by now, that D. James Kennedy, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church has made it home. I can think of nothing better to post than what he himself is quoted to have said.
Grace & peace. Steve.
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“Now, I know that someday I am going to come to what some people will say is the end of this life. They will probably put me in a box and roll me right down here in front of the church, and some people will gather around, and a few people will cry. But I have told them not to do that because I don’t want them to cry. I want them to begin the service with the Doxology and end with the Hallelujah chorus, because I am not going to be there, and I am not going to be dead. I will be more alive than I have ever been in my life, and I will be looking down upon you poor people who are still in the land of dying and have not yet joined me in the land of the living. And I will be alive forevermore, in greater health and vitality and joy than ever, ever, I or anyone has known before.”

D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.

ON THE ROAD: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

No, unfortunately I don't expect to spend any time with Dr. Mohler, but I will be on the campus of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY this Thursday and Friday, September 6 & 7. I arrive at the Louisville airport Thursday at 12:32 p.m. and will spend that day with several of you, actually - Bradley, and Will, and Dustin, and Terry, and Steve, and maybe Dave, and ..... I plan to duly deputize each of you as official Banner of Truth SBTS links, or something like that. At some point in time, I'll be stopping in to the Book Nook, another place in Louisville where you can find Banner of Truth books. And then Friday afternoon, I'll be at the seminary campus bookstore. I'm looking forward to finally meeting Tim and others there, plus seeing Stuart again, and having some good discussion on an upcoming Banner of Truth special promotion there at the seminary! Stay tuned for details - actually, if you're a student, just keep getting your mail!
So if you happen to be in the Louisville area, perhaps we can connect this week. Grace & peace. Steve.

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: "Truth's Victory Over Error"

BOOK REVIEWED: "Truth's Victory Over Error," by David Dickson
REVIEWER: A Baptist preacher who blogs at Free St. George's blog
THE REVIEW: The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the most important documents of the English-speaking Reformed Churches. The Presbyterian Churches use it (or used to use it) as their primary Confession, the Baptists and the Congregationalists have adopted lightly edited versions of it. It is a standard that must be taken notice of.
This volume, with its characteristic Puritan title, is the first commentary on the Westminster Confession, originally delivered as a series of lectures to theological students. It is constructed in the formal academic style of the 17th century, in the form of a series of questions and answers on the chapters of the Confession. We give Question 2 of Chapter 1 as an example of how the book is constructed:
"Are the Holy Scriptures most necessary to the Church? Yes (2 Tim. 3.15; 2 Peter 1.19).
Well then, doth not the popish church err that affirms the 'true church to be infallible in teaching and propounding articles of faith, both without and against Scripture: and that their unwritten traditions are of divine and equal authority with the canon of Scripture'? Yes.
Do not likewise the Libertines and Quakers err in affirming that God doth teach and guide the elect into all truth by the alone instinct and light of the Spirit, without any written word whatever? Yes.
By what reasons are they confuted?
1. Because the Scriptures are the foundation upon which the church is built (Eph. 2.20).
2. Because all things are to be examined by the rule of the Word, as the noble Bereans did (Acts 17.11-12).
3. Because unwritten traditions are subject and liable to many corruptions and are soon and quickly forgotten.
4. Because we have life eternal in the Scriptures; therefore they must be most necessary to the Church (John 5.39).
5.Because the Scriptures are given, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works (2 Tim. 3.16-17. And the Scriptures are written that men may believe (John 20.31),"
It will be seen that Dickson uses the Bible to prove heretics wrong. Some of these are heresies we know, others less known. But since old heresies are often recycled, it is good to know why they are wrong! Dickson writes in a style that is not popular today - he is concerned to contend for the truth! This is no book for the postmodern!
This edition also has a biographical introduction introducing Dickson to the modern reader. The layout is excellent, and it is everything we have come to expect from a Banner of Truth hardcover volume.
This is a straightforward book, although fiercely polemical in tone. We do not agree with all of it, but it is well worth the wait that was needed to buy it in England!!!
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For more information about this book, or to purchase it, click HERE.

OUTSIDE SOURCE Book Review: Banner of Truth Magazine

BOOK REVIEWED: The Banner of Truth Magazine, Special John Newton edition
REVIEWER: Guy Davies, "living in the southwest of England," and blogging at the Exiled Preacher blog
THE REVIEW: "To mark the 200th anniversary of his death, the August/September double issue of the Banner of Truth magazine has been devoted to John Newton. It carries an excellent biographical sketch by Iain Murray. Michael Haykin considers Newton's contribution to the Olney Hymns. William Jay's personal memories of the old preacher are reprinted. The magazine has some valuable excerpts from Newton's writings. As this year also marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, William Wilberforce's recollections of his friend and counselor are detailed.

On reading these articles and excerpts, I was astounded afresh by God's amazing grace in the life of John Newton. How the Lord transformed this man! He was once a blasphemous, almost inhuman wretch. But God made him into a wise, gracious and talented preacher of the gospel. This is his fitting, self-penned epitaph,

JOHN NEWTON, Clerk
Once an Infidel and Libertine,
A Servant of Slaves in Africa, Was
By the Rich Mercy of our Lords and Saviour,
JESUS CHRIST,
Preserved, Restored, Pardoned,
And Appointed to Preach the Faith
He Had Long Tried to Destroy.

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If you'd like a complimentary 3-month trial electronic subscription to the magazine, simply email me at: steve@banneroftruth.org

"Dad? Can I talk with you about something?"

I was speaking to one of my "unofficially adopted sons" yesterday - you know, one of those younger guys we meet along life's journey whom God calls us to befriend and mentor, older to younger. Anyway, as he was confessing his sin of laziness with regard to the study of God's Word, I meant to read the following section from "The Collected Writings of John Murray: Volume 1 - The Claims of Truth," but didn't get to do so. So instead, I'll post it here, and both he and you will benefit from reading it. Grace & peace. Steve.
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"I take it for granted that we all believe the Bible to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. I take it for granted that we all read the Bible with regularity. What I am going to plead for, however, is concentrated, sustained, devoted study of the Bible, the kind of study that is not fulfilled by the perfunctory reading of some passages each day. The set periods of family worship are not, of course by any means to be disparaged. This is a highly necessary and most fruitful exercise. The influence for good exerted by honoring God's Word in this way is incalculable for all concerned. Indeed, the minimal use of the Bible in this way has often left an indelible impression for good. And furthermore, the set periods of family worship may become the occasions for very concentrated and systematic study of the Bible.
"But what I am going to stress is the necessity for diligent and persevering searching of the Scriptures; study whereby we shall turn and turn again the pages of Scripture; the study of prolonged thought and meditation by which our hearts and minds may become soaked with the truth of the Bible and by which the deepest springs of thoughts, feeling and action may be stirred and directed; the study by which the Word of God will grip us, bind us, hold us, pull us, drive us, raise us up from the dunghill, bring us down from our high conceits and make us its bondservants in all of thought, life and conduct.
"The Word of God is a great deep; the commandment is exceeding broad; and so we cannot by merely occasional, hurried and perfunctory use of it understand its meaning and power. Sustained and diligent study of the Bible is indispensable...."