Selected Reading, March 14, 2020

Here are a few reading recommendations.

Doctrine

The Good Portion: Christ
Jenny Manley’s addition to The Good Portion series of books will be out May 8, and it’s available for preorder now. Here’s the publisher’s blurb: “Understanding the person of Christ is central to understanding the gospel. Jenny Reeves Manley unpacks Christ’s divinity and His humanity, before examining more fully Jesus’ work on earth, planned from before the beginning of time. He took our place on the cross set us free from our debt of sin. In the concluding chapters, the author explores further how Christ’s atonement enabled us to be redeemed to God and united to Christ.”

And Natalie Brand’s new book on the doctrine of salvation will follow shortly afterwards. “What does salvation mean? What does our redemption in Christ look like? How does it take hold of us? In her clear and engaging style, Natalie Brand looks at why we need rescuing, how Christ’s death and resurrection accomplishes salvation, and how this work is applied to us by the Holy Spirit.”

You can preorder it, too. 

I’ve heard they’re both excellent.

Christian History

Jeanette Li and Her Faith in God’s Promises
I’d never heard of Jeanette Li; perhaps you haven’t either. “Once, [Rev. Samuel E. Boyle, a missionary to South China] asked her if she thought the church in China would endure in spite of the anti-Christian indoctrination. Jeanette looked surprised. ‘The church of Christ is His body,’she said. ‘He purchased the church with His own blood. He has promised that the gates of hell shall never overcome the church. You ask me if the church of Christ will be destroyed? How could it be, in the light of all these great promises?’”

The Gospel 

What Is the Gospel?
Because some who think they know what it is actually don’t, and others know what it is, sort of, but are still a little confused about certain aspects of it. And also because those who know it well never grow tired of reading about it.

Old Testament

Crossing the Sea
Yes, yet another one on the story of the Red Sea crossing: “The sea is indeed a beautiful sight, especially when the waters are still and tranquil. Thanks be to our God—the God of the storm—who leads us not simply to those waters (even if they appear threatening), but also through them triumphantly in Jesus Christ.”