July Reading

1. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce
2. A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemmingway
3. 4.50 From Paddington - Agatha Christie
4. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
5. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
6. 84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff
7. Playing for Pizza - John Grisham
8. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin
9. Biblical Preaching - Haddon W. Robinson
10. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - Katarina Bivald
11. The New City Catechism

November Reading

• The Preaching Event - John R. Claypool
• C. S. Lewis on Faith - Lesley Walmsley
• The Abolition of Man - C. S. Lewis
• Tremendous Trifles - G. K. Chesterton
• Thoroughly Married - Dennis Guernsey
• Christian Reflections - C. S. Lewis
• Past Watchful Dragons - Walter Hooper
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Jessie L. Weston
• The Great Divorce - C. S. Lewis
• Sonnets from the Portuguese - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• Reflections on the Psalms - C. S. Lewis
• Shakespeare on Leadership - Frederick Talbott
• Who Moved My Pulpit? - Thom S. Rainer

October Reading

• The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Philippians - John MacArthur
• Exploring Ephesians & Philippians: An Expository Commentary - John Phillips
• The Power and the Glory - Graham Greene
• Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Philippians - Tony Merida & Francis Chan
• Be Joyful: Even When Things Go Wrong, You Can Have Joy - Warren W. Wiersbe
• The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church - Dave Gibbons
• Aslan's Call: Finding Our Way to Narnia - Mark Eddy Smith
• The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative - Steven D. Mathewson
• Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories - C. S. Lewis
• The Quotable Chesterton - Kevin Belmonte
• The Visionary Christian - C. S. Lewis
• Perelandra - C. S. Lewis
• Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis
• The Warden - Anthony Trollope
• Lessons from the Ladder - Neil Joiner
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
• Things That Cannot Be Shaken - K. Scott Oliphant & Rod Mays

May Reading

• The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien
• A Sherlock Holmes Devotional: Uncovering the Mysteries of God - Trisha White Priebe
• That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis
• Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in 1, 2, & 3 John - Daniel Akin

Top 20 Books Read for 2015

1. Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus - J. Mack Stiles
2. The Pastor As Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision - Kevin J. Vanhoozer & Owen Strachan
3. Mere Humanity: G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien on the Human Condition - Donald Williams
4. The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis Volume II: Books, Broadcasts, and the War 1931-1949 - Walter Hooper, Editor
5. Tolkien: How an Obscure Oxford Professor Wrote the Hobbit and Became the Most Beloved Author of the Century - Devin Brown
6. Why Church Matters - Joshua Harris
7. The Spiritual World of the Hobbit - James Stuart Bell
8. The Princess and the Goblin - George MacDonald
9. On the Incarnation - Athanasius
10. Preach: Theology Meets Practice - Mark Dever & Greg Gilbert
11. Bedeviled: Lewis, Tolkien and the Shadow of Evil - Colin Duriez
12. How to Be Rich - Andy Stanley
13. The Knowledge of the Holy - A. W. Tozer
14. Literature: A Student's Guide - Louis Markos
15. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
16. Gorgias - Plato
17. Four Faultless Felons - G. K. Chesterton
18. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
19. Credo: Believing in Something to Die For - Ray Pritchard
20. Strange Fire - John MacArthur

This list of 20 books was compiled after reading 68 books this year.  As always, if you're only going to read one book, make sure it is the Bible.

What's Your Sermon Preparation Strategy?

1. Pray for God's direction and blessing.
2. Read the particular passage to be preached several times.
3. Pray for understanding.
4. Answer the question: What is God teaching me here?
5. Read and study resources dealing with original language, background, meaning, commentary, etc., and take notes.
6. Pray for guidance in making application to the congregation.
7. Begin putting the sermon together in a logical order, emphasizing the one meaning and making a few applications.
8. Consider illustrations, introduction, and closing.
9. Pray for God's blessing and use of the sermon.
10. Review it before I preach.
11. Pray before I preach.

Zwingli and the Word of God

Ulrich Zwingli was born in 1484.  Perhaps Zwingli is best known for being the father of the Swiss Reformation, but how did he get to that point.  The answer comes in the form of two words: God's Word.
You see, Zwingli was a priest, like every priest in those days, who followed the prescribed liturgy and weekly readings each week at church, but that would change soon.  In 1516, he borrowed a copy of Erasmus' newly published Greek New Testament.  He copied it word for word, and carried it with him wherever he went.  He treasured it and memorized it.  Before long, the Word of God began to change his life.
In 1518, he was invited to be the chief preacher in the cathedral at Zurich.  On January 1, 1519, his 36th birthday, he announced on his first Sunday there that he was ending the practice of following the liturgy and readings.  This brought quite a shock to the congregation.  He also announced that he would be preaching verse by verse through the New Testament.  He began that very day by preaching from Matthew 1.  This was a radical thing in those days, but the value of it can't be overlooked.  As Zwingli preached the Bible faithfully, the Word of God began to change people's lives in Zurich.
I remember being on a mission trip to Helen, Georgia, when I was a teenager, and sitting around one night with Jason Baird and Terry Cliett.  As Jason and Terry were deep into their conversation, I was "lost" in the Bible.  I was particularly fascinated by a certain passage at that moment.  I looked over to the guys and interrupted with, "I'm just so excited by this."  They smiled politely and resumed their conversation, but I was having a breakthrough moment.
I received a NASB Ryrie Study Bible from my parents in 1995.  I began that day with Genesis 1.  I didn't have a reading schedule or plan, but I read that Bible off and on for several years until I completed it.  I was somewhere in the middle of it when I had that moment in Helen.
From that point on, I had a greater respect for God's Word.  I already believed it was God's Word because of the faithful preaching and teaching of men like Jerry Pickard and Terry Cliett, and because of the faithful teaching of women like Janie Dunn and Angie Hartley.
Today, I'm still learning; I'm still drinking from those living waters that cannot be exhausted.  I'm still growing and changing.  I'm still excited about the Bible!
One of the thrilling things I get to witness as a pastor is how God changes lives through His Word.  The ministry of the Word does wonderful things!
Read the Bible, but beware, you shall be changed!
Tolle lege.