New and Noteworthy – March 2014
The Derision of Heaven: A Guide to Daniel BIBLE STUDY
Michael Whitworth. The Derision of Heaven: A Guide to Daniel.
Bowie, Texas: Start2Finish Books, 2013. 194 pages. $14.49.
Written by the pulpit minister for the Carter Lake Road Church of Christ in Bowie, Texas, this in-depth study of the book of Daniel compares the Israelite exile to today’s church.
Like in his first book, “The Epic of God: A Guide to Genesis,” Whitworth makes scholarship accessible and draws surprising applications from the text.
Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way out of the Mormon Church
MEMOIR
Lynn K. Wilder. Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way out of the Mormon Church. 
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2013. 367 pages. $15.99.
After 30 years in the Mormon church, Wilder, a former professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, experienced a crisis of faith. She left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU, a university associated with the Mormon church.
Her book is divided into three parts: “Mormon Bliss,” “Cracks in the Façade,” and “Starting Over.” Appendices offer a list of Christian ministries with resources on Mormonism and a quick doctrinal comparison of Mormonism and the Bible.
Purge with Passion: Organizing Principles from a Christian Perspective
CHRISTIAN LIVING
Jodie Watson. Purge with Passion: Organizing Principles from a Christian Perspective.
Bloomington, Ind.: WestBow Press, 2013. 159 pages. $17.95.
Possessions and schedules can become so crowded with the unnecessary that Christians’ lives fail to reflect the God of order and purpose, this author contends.
As an organizing expert on the TLC show “Real Simple, Real Life,” Watson has plenty of de-cluttering experience. In this book, she instructs readers on how to handle finances, time and information and how to purge negative emotions.
Killing Jesus
Stephen Mansfield. Killing Jesus.
Brentwood, Tenn.: Worthy Publishing, 2013. 270 pages. $22.99.
Not to be confused with “Killing Jesus: A History” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, this lesser-known work is written by the author of the bestseller “The Faith of George W. Bush.”
Though both books take a similar historical/journalistic approach to the death of Jesus, Mansfield assigns a greater spiritual significance to Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
Orphan Justice: How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Johnny Carr. Orphan Justice: How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting.
Nashville, Tenn.: B&H Publishing, 2013. 224 pages. $14.99.
The author, director of the nation’s largest adoption and orphan care agency, seeks to guide readers toward “pure religion,” caring for the world’s 153 million orphans, both for churches and individuals.
Each chapter includes three action steps, with increasing levels of commitment based on talent and time.
Touching Heaven: Real Stories of Children, Life, and Eternity
INSPIRATION
Leanne Hadley. Touching Heaven: Real Stories of Children, Life, and Eternity.
Ada, Miss.: Revell Books, 2013. 161 pages. $12.99.
A quick and easy read, this book is nonetheless poignant.
Each chapter details the last days of a terminally ill child, told by the chaplain who ministered to the child and his or her family.
Each child had some sort of glimpse of the next world — an experience with an angel, dream, or vision of heaven, guilelessly believed and shared with the author.
