This brief book is a collection of meditations on the theology of the gospel. The process of writing and editing this collection has been an exercise in preaching to myself. Many times I’ve stopped to beg God for eyes to see and savour these realities.

Publishing this book is not about money. It is about sending out one more beam of gospel light into a dark world. My prayer is that this beam will shine brightest in the hearts of bible-believing Christians. It is toward this audience that this beam is directed.

From the back cover

Now available in two formats!

Trade paperback (CreateSpace, Amazon)
Kindle eBook (Amazon Kindle Store)

I originally intended to offer it as an eBook on Google Play, but have decided to offer the eBook exclusively through the Kindle Store at least for now.

I’ve known that this was something I wanted to do for several years now, but I was caught up on the issue of self-publishing. I was determined not to self-publish because I felt that it was a second-rate way to get second-rate material to press. And there is some truth in that. But God has been showing me that my reticence to self-publish is more about my pride than about his glory.

Here’s how I see it. God has given me an ability to write and a passion to communicate truth. Yes, it would be nice to publish through an established press and move thousands of copies. But unless God miraculously opens a door to publish through one of the established Christian publishers, I could go a lifetime and never go to print. And I don’t think that’s wise stewardship of my gifts and desires. So instead, I’ve chosen to take advantage of the recent advances in the publishing industry (print-on-demand, eBooks, etc.) to do something now.

I remember years ago reading that Jim Berg made a point of not publishing until after age forty. This, and a hundred other arguments, gives me pause. But I feel like the prophet Jeremiah when he says “there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot”! I’m not sure that’s a good reason to move forward, but for better or for worse, God helping me, I’m doing this.

You’ll be seeing more about the upcoming book here in the coming weeks and months (consider yourself warned!). At this stage it looks like the book will be available in trade paperback through Amazon.com, for Kindle eReader through the Amazon Kindle Store, and for other eReaders through Google Play.

This first project is brief and is adapted from material I’ve written here at InFocus. It addresses the topic about which I’m most passionate: The gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ll tell you more later, but for now the cover art should give a feel for the project. I pray that God will be glorified in this.

Grace to you.

He poured his life and his blood into his translation, yet few have actually read his New Testament. This paperback edition of Tyndale’s New Testament retails for $44.95 in Australia, but we’re giving away one copy for free.

Here’s a description of this edition:

Printed in Germany in 1534 and smuggled into England for distribution, Tyndale’s masterful translation of the New Testament outraged the clerical establishment by giving the laity direct access to the word of God for the first time. Despite its suppression, it ultimately formed the basis of all English bibles—including much of the King James Version—until after the Second World War. Now for the first time Tyndale’s translation is published in modern spelling so that this remarkable work of English prose by one of the great geniuses of his age is available to today’s reader.

I’ve owned a copy of this New Testament for several years and have found it a pleasure to peruse. The introduction by David Daniell is also well worth the read.

RULES FOR THE DRAW: You must be able to provide an Australian shipping address if you are selected. The winner will be chosen randomly and will be notified by email. The draw closes 13 March.

Here is the list of every series I’ve written on InFocus since 2005.

Grace to you.

Insecurity | Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Podcast series

Epistemology | Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Self image | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

KJV 400th anniversary | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Conspiracy theories | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

F. W. Boreham | Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Great theological themes of the gospel | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Church programmes | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Deliberate living | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Revival in Australia | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Printed music vs. projection | Part 1 | Part 2

A call to serious reading | Part 1 | Part 2

The segment starts Monday week.

Top ten posts

Here are the posts that got the most direct hits in 2011.

1. Religion in Australia: Statistics
2. The Mesmerising Lionel Messi
3. The Norway Massacre and Christian Fundamentalism
4. The Ministry of the Penguin
5. Abortion in Australia
6. A Brief Review of BeDuhn’s “Truth in Translation”
7. Hands up if you don’t read your Bible…
8. Two Ways to Live
9. The perfect church
10. KJV: No honour in error

Interestingly, only three of these posts were actually published in 2011. Four were published in 2010 and the remaining three were published in 2009.

Grace to you.

First, you can also go see the JetPack stats (I’m not sure how accurate they are, but there are some interesting tidbits there).

Second, the Wordle for this year. Once again, click to embiggen all graphics.

Third, some stats for those who are interested. The first compares 2011 visits (blue) with 2010 visits (orange). It’s encouraging to see substantial growth in these numbers.

The second gives various other stats for 2011.

I want to express my sincere thanks to so many who have been part of InFocus in the last year. The owner, writers, commenters, and readers come together to make this site what it is. Thank you!

Pray with me that InFocus would be useful in the lives of God’s people in 2012.

Grace to you.

If you entered it before, you are free to enter again to double your chances of winning. Entries close tomorrow (20 December) at noon.

Grace to you.

I have on my desk three copies of McGrath’s In The Beginning to give away in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version.

I read this book several years ago and found it well-written, informative, and enjoyable to read. The following is taken from the back cover of the book:

In the sixteenth century, to attempt to translate the Bible into a common tongue wasn’t just difficult, it was dangerous. A Bible in English threatened the power of the monarch and the Church. Early translators such as Tyndale, whose work greatly influenced the King James, were hunted down and executed, but the demand for English Bibles continued to grow. Indeed it was the popularity of the Geneva Bible, with its anti-royalist content, that eventually forced James I to sanction his own, pro-monarchy, translation. Errors in early editions—one declared that “thou shalt commit adultery”—and Puritan preferences for the Geneva Bible initially hampered acceptance of the King James, but it went on to become the definitive English-language Bible. This absorbing history of a literary and religious masterpiece explores the forces that led to the decision to create an authorized translation, the method of translation and printing, and the central role this version of the Bible played in the development of modern English.

Here are the giveaway rules: You must be able to provide an Australian shipping address if you win. Three winners will be chosen randomly. Winners will be notified by email.

[NOTE: If you are reading by email or RSS, you may need to click through to the site to see the entry form for the draw.]

I regularly hear testimonies of how God has used some discussion on InFocus to help someone in some way. It is a stunning act of God that we believers are chosen to be God’s vehicles of grace and truth. I know that this is the spirit that motivates the blogging team and I pray that it is the spirit of our readers and commenters.

I can’t tell you what is coming from the other writers, but I can tell you that I’m excited about a short series I’ll be doing addressing the gospel. I say I can’t tell you what the others will be writing because—and people ask me about this periodically—I don’t censor posts. I read the other team members’ posts when you do. That’s part of what makes InFocus what it is. Perhaps we can talk about that in more depth at some point.

Until then, thank you for reading and commenting. Whether or not I end up agreeing with you or you with me, I deeply value the process of “iron sharpening iron.”

Grace to you.

I’ve got about thirteen posts in the works and would love to get a chance to put down some of my thoughts from the recent John Piper conference as well, but alas, my academic schedule, among other things, hinders me.

So I’ll leave you with that. If you’re looking for some good reading, have a look at some of the great posts the team has been putting up lately. I’m really encouraged by them. And several of the posts still have discussions that are active or semi-active so you might want to put in your two bits. Not for the fun of it, but because there are some good discussions that are worth having.

Grace to you.

I read this book several years ago and found it well-written, informative, and enjoyable to read. The following is taken from the back cover of the book:

In the sixteenth century, to attempt to translate the Bible into a common tongue wasn’t just difficult, it was dangerous. A Bible in English threatened the power of the monarch and the Church. Early translators such as Tyndale, whose work greatly influenced the King James, were hunted down and executed, but the demand for English Bibles continued to grow. Indeed it was the popularity of the Geneva Bible, with its anti-royalist content, that eventually forced James I to sanction his own, pro-monarchy, translation. Errors in early editions—one declared that “thou shalt commit adultery”—and Puritan preferences for the Geneva Bible initially hampered acceptance of the King James, but it went on to become the definitive English-language Bible. This absorbing history of a literary and religious masterpiece explores the forces that led to the decision to create an authorized translation, the method of translation and printing, and the central role this version of the Bible played in the development of modern English.

Here are the giveaway rules: You must be able to provide an Australian shipping address if you win. You may only enter the draw once. Three winners will be chosen randomly. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Monday, 1 August.

[NOTE: If you are reading by email or RSS, you may need to click through to the site to see the entry form for the draw.]