Name That Hymn Blog

My Christmas ABCs is a board book that goes through each letter of the alphabet. For each letter the book describes something about Christmas. The letter A has an angel, B has bells, C has a candy cane, and so on.

It’s a really beautiful book with lots of bright festive colors. Adding to this is that every page, as well as the cover, is adorned with sparkles covering the letter and accents on the picture. They’re fun to look at, and fun to touch and scratch (and thankfully, unlike with other similar books I’m not finding sparkles all over the house, despite my daughter’s attempts to scratch them incessantly).

The result is an amazing book that really puts you in the mood for Christmas and the holiday season. Each picture is lovely on its own, but simply beautiful with the addition of the sparkles, from a gingerbread man, to a poinsettia, to a pair of mittens.

I do appreciate that the book doesn’t shy away from having plenty of references to Christ’s birth (imagine that in a Christmas book!) For example, the letter N speaks of the nativity, the letter J stands for Jesus, and so on. There’s a good mix of references to Christ, as well as references to other things that evoke the season, such as stockings and ornaments.

Certain details in the book impressed me. First, there’s no reference to Santa Claus, elves, flying reindeer, or anything of that sort. I know different people have different opinions about Santa Claus, but bottom line, I found it refreshing because I found this really helped put the focus of the book on the real “reason for the season” (plus, there are plenty of Christmas books out there about Santa Claus for people looking for that).  I noticed other little subtle details–the cartoon images of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph have them with a slightly darker complexion which would be more historically accurate (but it’s so subtle that most people won’t notice).

Overall this is a great book to have for the holiday season, especially for a toddler or preschooler learning his or her alphabet.

The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible is a new Bible released by Zondervan. It was previously known for years as the “NIV Zondervan Study Bible”, but over the years Zondervan seems to have flooded the market with so many other “Study Bibles”–Life Application Study Bibles, Woman’s Study Bibles, Teen Study Bibles, Rainbow Study Bibles, Faithlife Illustrated Study Bibles, Quest Study Bibles, and dozens more.

To be clear, this is the original “study Bible”. As a study Bible should, it has exhaustive commentary and notes that seem to cover almost every verse in the Bible (over 20,000 notes). For the most part, I found the notes helpful when they provide extremely helpful historical context that you can cross-reference as you’re reading it (they’re a bit less helpful when they “state the obvious” or get a little too pedantic for my taste, but happily those are few and far between).

The illustrations, maps, charts and diagrams are in full color, and do a great job of helping visualize or organize what you’re reading. Each book of the Bible has a comprehensive introduction that covers all you want to know about the book, including its purpose, background, author, historical and geographical setting, structure, and theology, and provides an outline as well. There’s a concordance, but in this age of the Bible Gateway, such things aren’t really as useful as they used to be.

The list of contributors is an impressive panoply of theological scholars. For the most part, the commentary sticks to objective facts and doesn’t dive into “taking sides” on more controversial topics. There are also 28 articles including familiar names like Tim Keller, D.A. Carson, and T.D. Alexander, so in a way you’re getting some “bonus” content from these well-known authors as well.

If you already own the original NIV Zondervan Study Bible, you won’t see much different except for some cosmetic improvements, such as two ribbon bookmarks, an easier-to-read typeface called “Comfort Print”, and a layout that feels more “breathable” than the former edition. It’s interesting despite the improvements in layout this newer version feels lighter than its previous version (about a third of a pound lighter), so the typesetters did a nice job of making the layout more efficient as well as readable. Note that it is still only a 9 point font, so if you’re like me you may need to break out those reading glasses.

Overall, I’d say if you already own the NIV Zondervan Study Bible, there’s not a whole lot new here that you don’t already have. But if not, and if you’re someone who needs to prepare for Bible Studies or sermons, you won’t find many resources better than this book, at least not all under one cover. Understanding the historical background and context behind what you’re reading is one of the most important things you can do when you’re studying the Bible, and this Study Bible does a great job of giving you a comprehensive view.

Like many Americans, Billy Graham’s ministry had a big impact on my life, without me even really knowing it. When my mother came over as an immigrant in the 1950’s, she was away from the church she knew all her life, and watched Billy Graham crusades. During the 1970s and 1980s, whenever a crusade came on TV, we’d watch it as a family. While Billy Graham did have his detractors, it’s those detractors that usually come off looking petty or foolish when you look at this man’s character, his approach to ministry, and his teaching.

Through My Father’s Eyes is a book my Franklin Graham about his father, Billy Graham. It’s written as a series of vignettes, some of which read like historical accounts, some of which read like journal entries, some of which read like devotionals. They’re loosely organized by different broad topics, such as stories about Billy Graham’s years on TV, letters that were written to him, his approach to preaching, his approach to prayer, his approach to writing, and so on.

The first word that comes to mind when I describe this book is that it’s honest and transparent. Franklin Graham doesn’t mince words when he talks about “sensitive” subjects, such as his own struggles growing up, infighting that occurred in the BGEA, and very poignant accounts of his mother’s passing. He shares a lot of “insider” stories of his roles with the BGEA and Samaritan’s Purse, but all in the context of how his father dealt with similar situations. Finally, he spends a lot of time talking about his father’s history, in the later years as a fellow worker in the ministry to whom his father would give advice and support, and in the earlier years as a historian. I was mesmerized when reading accounts of, say, Billy Graham’s early years on network television in the Hour of Decision, or his meetings with presidents, including the infamous Richard Nixon meetings.

This is not necessarily the sort of book you read cover-to-cover–as much as the author tried to organize the vignettes, it doesn’t really read like a cohesive narrative. But I found that when I pick it up and read a random story (which range anywhere from one paragraph to a few pages), what I read is invariably fascinating and gives insight not into just Billy Graham’s approach and philosophy, but Franklin’s as well.

I do like that the book isn’t merely a “tribute” or “hero worship”, but an earnest effort to capture the life of Billy Graham in a way that’s informative, encouraging, and replete with references to scripture. It’s a must-read for anyone whose life has been touched by Bille Graham, or who aspires to be in a ministry.

Back in the 1990s, Precious Moments were all the rage. It seemed like you couldn’t get through a graduation, birthday, or anniversary without seeing at least one Enesco figurine of the wide-eyed children. The Precious Moments characters made their way into greeting cards, posters, needlepoint, and even their own theme park.

It’s now almost 30 years later. Precious Moments certainly doesn’t enjoy the popularity that it once did. But interestingly, the children who loved Precious Moments when they were young have grown up and are now having families of their own–and are looking to share the things they loved with their own kids.

There have been a number of Precious Moments themed books, some of which we’ve reviewed already. The latest one is the Precious Moments Little Book of Thanks. It’s a small hardcover book perfect for little ones’ hands that is filled with poems, each titled “Thank you, God, for…” followed by things little ones can be thankful for, such as wonderful sounds, songs, colors, playtime, all kinds of weather, special days, and so on. Each page, of course, is filled with colorful illustrations of the Precious Moments children doing all kinds of activities that mirror the poetry. There’s also a Bible verse on each page.

The illustrations are beautiful as always, and of course are the star of the book. The poetry, I’m not so sure about. The poems are nice in the sense that they rhyme, but too many of them seem just thrown together. While the titles all start with “Thank you, God”, the poems aren’t prayers as the title would have you think, but just general poetry about the subject. I later realized that this is because there’s already a book called Precious Moments Little Book of Prayers, which I feel is a much stronger offering. Here, often, the rhymes seem a little too singsongy and contrived. I can’t shake the feeling that the writing was forced just to fill up space between the illustrations.

So I’d buy the book with that in mind. Don’t expect too much from the poetry, but the illustrations and Bible verses do make this worth a purchase, especially for avid Precious Moments fans young and old.

I first heard of Os Guinness when I saw him speak at Socrates in the City in 2012 about his book “A Free People’s Suicide”. In it, he spoke of the “Golden Triangle of Freedom” in speaking of the American founders’ vision of a free society. Freedom requires virtue, virtue requires faith, and faith requires freedom. It was one of those truths that seemed fairly obvious on the surface, but as you started to think about how society has grown so far away from concepts like faith and virtue, you start to realize how radical his commentary is.

Os Guinness wrote “The Call” in 1998 and was immediately considered a classic; it’s recently been updated with several additional chapters and a thought-provoking study guide after each chapter to help you reflect on the chapters.

This book couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I’m in the middle of a career transition, plus being a new parent, plus going through a mid-life crisis. So I’ve been asking the questions we all ask with increased urgency: “what’s the purpose of my life?”, “what was I put here on Earth to do?”, and “how can my life be meaningful?”

The Call doesn’t answer those questions for you–to paraphrase Billy Crystal in City Slickers, that’s an answer everyone need to come up with themselves. On the other hand, the book does provide valuable context in which you can ask those questions.

As a Christian apologist, Guinness doesn’t mince words in laying out what the word “Calling” means. Early in the book, Guinness lays out his definition of calling: “Calling is the truth that God call us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and direction lived out as a response to his summons and service”.

He goes on to discuss two common “distortions”. The first is one he calls the “Catholic distortion”, that your “Calling” can only be fulfilled by doing sacred or “holy work”. The second is one he calls the “Protestant distortion”, discussing how in our society today, words like “calling” and “vocation” (derived from the Greek word “voice” or “call”) have taken on generic and watered-down meanings–you refer to something you do well or something you enjoy doing. His argument is that whatever place God has put you, and whatever talents God has given you, that can be the basis of a highly meaningful calling.

Each chapter further unfolds the concept of “calling”. Do we fear God enough to hear and acknowledge the call? How can we distinguish the voice from other voices? How can we achieve the full potential we were created to be? How do we dedicate our lives to answering the call? Are we frustrated with a church that seems to have lost its heart? How do we live an examined life? Do you view and use your talents as something for yourself, or for something greater? Do you feel jealous of others with a similar calling? Does money cloud your understanding of calling? Do you long to rise above a mediocre and tedious life? Is your faith just something you see in private or is it salt and light to others?

I won’t lie–this book is dense and not the easiest of reads. Because of the range of topics it covers, it’s not exactly the kind of book you can pick up an read in one sitting. If you’ve ever heard Os Guinness talk in person, the language of the writing mirrors his speaking style–imagine a distinguished, upscale British voice pontificating on deep matters. It takes some getting used to, especially for those of us Americans that have been grown accustomed to taking information in 140-characters at a time.

But on the other hand, you will hardly find a better assemblage of insights, stories, and teachings relevant to the question of “What is my calling in life”. Funny thing is, as I read it there were no parts that really jumped out at me as “a-ha! That’s the secret”. It all seemed more or less like…common sense. But like Ezra reading the Torah after decades of exile, it all seemed refreshingly new too, as if all the misconceptions and deceptions that the world has used to obfuscate the original meaning of “Call” is methodically swept away.

Like I said, this book won’t answer your questions about what your call is. But if you can make it through it (and I’d suggest doing it one chapter at a time, perhaps spread a few days apart), you’ll have an excellent foundation and background to start really thinking about the question.