Review: The Little Nugget
The Little Nugget by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this one. Though it has some of the usual male/female relational troubles, it centers around a kidnapping plot. It still has a comic tone though more muted than in the Jeeves books. Wodehouse added some interesting twists in this one. In some of his books you can see the end right from the start, though it is still an enjoyable journey to get there. This one was a little tougher though you could guess at some things.
Review: Chance and the Sovereignty of God: A God-Centered Approach to Probability and Random Events
Chance and the Sovereignty of God: A God-Centered Approach to Probability and Random Events by Vern S. Poythress
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an excellent book. It started out reminding my of Jonathan Edwards on the decrees of God but soon struck out on a different path. I must caution, for the truly averse, the book does contain a lot of math. The purpose of the math was to show that even what we call chance or random can be seen to involve order and points to the Creator.
In some of the chapters, where Poythress is working out his proofs, you could always skip to the end of the chapter where he summarizes his findings. If you read nothing else in this book, it’s worth reading the two chapters on chance where he reveals the erroneous thinking and actual idolatrous nature of the way we often approach chance.
He spends a lot of time on probability and makes application of probability to gambling. The material on gambling is also well worth the time to read.
If you haven’t studied much of the sovereignty of God, this probably isn’t the place to start. Overall though, I believe it is an important contribution to the study of God’s sovereignty.
Review: Found: God’s Will
Found: God’s Will by John F. MacArthur Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This little booklet is clear and to the point concerning God’s will in your life. He lays a foundation of five principles concerning God’s will for the individual from Scripture. He arrives at what may be a surprising conclusion in the sixth principle. It is well worth your time to read and think on.
Review: Proverbs: An Introduction & Commentary
Proverbs: An Introduction & Commentary by Derek Kidner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the classic commentary on Proverbs. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is a topical study where Kidner groups the relevant Proverbs passages into topics such as words, family, the sluggard, etc. He doesn’t just list the verses, but he puts them into a subgroup under the main subject.
The second part is verse commentary. The commentary is brief but very helpful. Proverbs can be challenging to study because it isn’t like most books that have one main theme and everything is building or connected to it.
This is the one book to have on Proverbs, if you only have one. The whole book is small compared to the subject matter. It could be used in a devotional manner to much profit. I highly recommend this little volume.
Review: Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully: The Power of Poetic Effort in the Work of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis
Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully: The Power of Poetic Effort in the Work of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis by John Piper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is primarily biographical sketches of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis with emphasis on their poetic effort in writing and preaching. Poetic effort is not the writing of poems but rather the use of beautiful expression in conveying truth. John Piper uses the examples of these three men as a vehicle to promote the use of poetic effort in communicating the truth of God’s Word to the world.
There is some biblical study along with the biography. I appreciate this book and the thought that went into it. Piper has wrestled with some issues here that we don’t often think about. Too often the Christian effort in this regard is lacking and we up being the bland leading the bland. It is a recommended read.
