Truth in the Flesh, John Hartung, ISBN 9780985618117
Book Review by J. W. Wartick
A Westminster Catechism, Martin Murphy, ISBN 9780983244196
Book Reviews on Amazon
The Present Truth, Martin Murphy, ISBN 9780983244172
Book Reviews on Amazon
Experiencing Spiritual Encouragement, Ann Varnum, ISBN 9780983244103
Book Review by Sue Thielke on Amazon
Taking a Serious God Seriously, James Perry, ISBN9780983244158. Theocentric Publishing Group, 2011. 200 pp. $12.95. Paper back and Kindle Edition available from Amazon.
Review by Terry Delaney at Christian Book Notes
God prepared James Perry to write this book by giving him academic preparation and practical experience. Perry graduated with a Master of Divinity from Covenant Seminary and served as a pastor in various churches across the United States for fifty years. In his retirement he devotes much of his time writing; a blog, “A Pilgrim’s Perspective”, http://pacafour.blogspot.com. He is also the author of three other books. They are available from www.theocentricpublishing.com.
This book critiques the culture of man by using contemporary events that are relative to every day life. He opens the door of discussion on cultural issues like education. His questions are soul searching. One brief example; “Is there the possibility of an ongoing ‘dumbing-down’ within certain venues of the so-called ‘Christian Church’?” His answers are always biblically sound. He devotes one chapter to the ultimate purpose of life, the doctrine and practice of worship. His analysis of current worship trends finds its remedy in the Word of God. He describes the cultural milieu from a world of experience. The author responds to the naturalistic postmodern culture with the Kingdom culture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This book is relevant and readable. It will concurrently challenge Christians with its contemporary documentary and at the same time encourage them with the Word of God. Read this book to the grasp its primary theme; God is a serious God.
It is divided into thirteen chapters thus making it an excellent choice for Sunday School or Bible Study Groups that follow the quarter system. Pastors will find it a valuable resource for preaching and teaching.
Murphy, Martin. My Christian Apology – Apologetics: Explained and Applied. Chipley, ISBN 9780984570874, The Theocentric Publishing Group, 2010. 92 pp. $7.95.
Review by Terry Delaney at Christian Book Notes
The Right Course and the Only Right Choice by James Perry, ISBN 9780984570898, 148 pp. $11.95. Review by Terry Delaney at Christian Book Notes. http://christianbooknotes.com/
Consider These Things With Me, 9780984570867, James Perry
Reviewed by Terry Delaney at Christian Book Notes
The Essence of Christian Doctrine, ISBN 978098457081, By Martin Murphy
Reviewed by Terry Delaney at Christian Book Notes
Review by Pastor Phil Morgan, First Assembly Church, Brookfield, Connecticut
I became acquainted with Martin Murphy recently through a couple of online exchanges, including comments he left right here on this blog. Martin has more than 20 years experience as a pastor and teacher, and holds degrees in Bible and Divinity from Columbia and Reformed Theological Seminary. He and his wife live in South Alabama.
Not every competent pastor or seminary graduate can write. Martin can!
I bought a copy of his new book “The Essence of Christian Doctrine” and as I started to leaf through it I was immediately struck by its style. It does not pretend to be a magnum opus on systematic theology. (We probably have enough of those.) It is clearly written for a more popular audience, bringing a good summary of sound Christian doctrine in a thoroughly engaging and readable style.
This book would be a great introduction to theological reading for any young person, and it would make an excellent small group Bible Study curriculum. The seasoned pastor will find immensely helpful material here in preparing to preach doctrine in terms that a whole congregation can grasp quickly.
Approximately the first half of the book (13 chapters) is devoted to expounding the Apostles’ Creed which (in my opinion) ought to be the very first thing we teach new converts, in that it is thoroughly Biblical, easily memorized, and broadly instructional. It’s a marvelous doctrinal foundation for anyone.
The remaining 11 chapters cover such things as the authority of the Bible, the providence of God, the doctrines of salvation by grace, the Church, God’s law and Biblical evangelism. (This last topic has become especially close to my own heart, and I have been quietly preparing material on it myself.)
I love this book! It’s at the same time both a systematic approach, but also faithfully Biblical; it is appropriately dogmatic, but also pastoral. Martin has not avoided the topics that have historically sparked theological controversy, but he does not engage in the combative arguments that often serve to create more heat than light. He simply and positively lays out the plain teaching of Scripture.
Review by Kurt Michaelson, Seminary Student, Nyack New York
Well, this is my very first book review and I'm grateful for the opportunity to provide a brief review of this book.
When the author, Martin Murphy, contacted me via Twitter, he asked me to review the book from a seminary perspective.
One of the courses any seminarian will take will be a course on Systematic Theology, which is an excellent subject to learn more about all of the doctrines found in Scripture.
This past year in seminary, I read Millard Erickson's book, Christian Theology and it was good, a long and thick book and one that I'll use as a reference in the future.
This book, The Essence of Christian Doctrine, A brief study of the apostles' creed and basic Christian doctrine is an excellent read and one that should accompany any other book a seminarian has in their library.
The contents of the book are not exclusively for the benefit of seminary students either, but an excellent opportunity, for anyone to be refreshed in understanding Christian doctrine through the Apostle's Creed.
I attended a Catholic school as a child and I remember reciting the Apostle's Creed, even memorizing it in 8th grade for a assignment. The Apostle's Creed was also something I heard recited often on a Sunday morning too when my family attend Mass, but we never knew the deeper meaning of the creed, nor were taught its significance regarding its biblical foundation either. I don't suppose much has changed since then in the Catholic church where parishioners simply repeat the creed in robotic form rather than knowing the foundation upon which it has been given to the church. This book helped to discover that and I am grateful for the time and effort Martin Murphy has devoted to this work, to provide such a simple theological understanding of the Apostle's Creed.
When I read chapter 9, Holy Catholic Church, Martin Murphy provides an excellent explanation what a Holy Catholic Church means and what it is supposed to represent.
Many catholics do not know that the word catholic refers to a Greek word, katholikos, which means universal and that is what the church is to be, a known universal Christian entity where the teaching is based on the inspired word of God.
Murphy says that the catholic church, "The true church has no boundaries thus it is not parochial, but rather it is evangelical." (p. 69) So true!
The latter part of the book provides a basic theological understanding of the doctrine of sin, salvation and sanctification, which provide for the reader a simple understanding of these doctrines and the significance of these doctrines regarding the life and ministry of the church and the Christian believer.
He also covers some additional topics too, which I was not disappointed by either, because they added so much more value to what I had read.
Chapter 21, Living by God's Law was very good, probably my favorite chapter of the book to read because of the Ten Commandments.
The author says, "Sermons dealing with the full nature, extent and interpretations of the law of God have been absent from pulpits in this country for over a century" (p. 160) and he's absolutely right.
Many pastors in modern Christianity no longer exposit the Ten Commandments because they have adapted to avoiding an understanding of the commandments, in favor of being more relevant with people and providing sermons that are more applicable to their lives. They'd rather delight you in their eloquence so as not to offend someone, rather than devote themselves to teaching doctrine and winning their souls to Christ.
Quite honestly, there is no other way, in my opinion, to learn how to apply the Scripture to our lives, than for the pastor to preach the sermon in an expository manner. (John MacArthur provides a brief audio explanation regarding what is meant by "expository" preaching here.)
Martin provides a brief, yet solid explanation of the Ten Commandments in this chapter and any reader would have a much better understanding of the commandments, as they relate to God and living by His law because of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, after reading this chapter.
This is an excellent book and one that I would recommend people to read. Whether someone is in seminary or not, a new believer or a seasoned one, or someone who is seeking to understand more about what they may have heard as a child when they attended a catholic mass, this book will add to your life an understanding of this creed, more than you realize.
Return to the Lord: A Brief Commentary and Exposition of Hosea. ISBN 9780984570805 by Martin Murphy
Review by Terry Delaney, Christian Book Notes
Introduction
Martin Murphy is no stranger to the readers of Christian Book Notes. He has been reviewed and interviewed here a few times. You can read those reviews here. He is also one of the co-founders of The Theocentric Publishing Group.
Summary/Review
Just as the subtitle alludes to, this book is a commentary and exposition of Hosea. This is not like your typical commentary, however. What you will find is a guided tour of not just the main highlights of Hosea, but a gentle push to delve deeper into the Word of God.
As with any commentary, Martin’s “perspective” is inevitably obvious at some points though he leaves the door wide open for the reader’s interpretation. His use of pronoun’s like “I” is the main reason for this comment, but overall, he does an excellent job of remaining objective…a trait that is difficult when writing any commentary or expositional thoughts on a book of the Bible.
I appreciated most his questions sprinkled throughout the book. Those questions, while not loaded, will direct the reader to some profound thoughts on what it means to be in covenant with God. (As believers in Christ Jesus, we are in a covenant with Him!)
Recommendation
Return to the Lord can be used for personal edification or for preparing a lesson. What is more, this resource can be used for sermon preparation. It will not give you “Martin Murphy’s thoughts on Hosea” as many commentaries offer. Rather, it will lead, guide, and direct you as you seek to understand the central message of this Old Testament Prophet. In the end, you will be asking yourself, “Have we returned to the Lord?”
