Mathew B. Sims's Blog, page 16

Robert Farrar Capon: “Fifteen-Hundred-Year-Old,Two-Hundred Proof Grace”

I had never heard of Robert Farrar Capon before his passing created no small stir on social media. After reading a few of the tributes (see The Calvinist International’s “RIP Robert Farrar Capon,” Douglas Wilson’s “Marcion After a Couple of Beers,” and Tullian’s “Robert Farrar Capon (1925-2013)”), I kept coming across the same quotation then today I started reading Brennan Manning’s Ragamuffin Gospel where it was quoted again. It’s a picture of grace that arrests the heart.

The Reformation was...

Review: Allison Vesterfelt’s Packing Light

If you plan on purchasing Packing Light, consider supporting Grace for Sinners by purchasing from Amazon.
4 out of 5 Stars
Author: Allison Vesterfelt
Publisher: Moody Collective
Buy Packing Light
Reading Level: Easy

Packing Light is part memoir, travel guide, and maturation story. It’s a journey through all fifty states and through life. Allison shares her and her friend Sharaya’s journey together. Allison is looking for a words to write and Sharaya singing in venues in each state.

[Tweet This: In P...

Review: Heath Lambert’s Finally Free

If you plan on purchasing Finally Free, consider supporting Grace for Sinners by purchasing from Amazon. 
5 out of 5 Stars
Author: Heath Lambert
Publisher: Zondervan
Blog Tour: Cross Focused Reviews
Buy Finally Free
Reading Level: Leisure

Finally Free is one of those books you buy a dozen of and keep on hand. Pornography is an epidemic. It’s a huge industry, widely and easily accessibly, and the percentage of people who view it is high. Many of these viewers start at a young age. Heath shares...

The Resurrected Adam Reigns

My mind wanderers. I have a pretty vivid imagination. I regularly ask myself questions. Sound weird? Sometimes I do feel a little different, but that’s not bad. We could all do with a little more imagination and more question asking.

I found myself meditating on Psalms 2 and Matthew 28 and asking, “If God is sovereign and he always has been, why does Scripture emphasize the sovereignty of Jesus post resurrection?”

[Tweet This: “If God is sovereign, why is Jesus reigning so important?” #Resurrec...

Review: Brett McCracken’s Gray Matters

5 out of 5 Stars
Author: Brett McCracken
Publisher: Baker Books
Buy Gray Matters
Reading Level: Easy

“Christians have a hard time with nuance” (8). That’s an understatement. In my lifetime, I’ve watched the pendulum swing from left to right a dozen times. Few have the sense or bravery to speak where Scripture speaks and to stay silent where it stays silent, while providing nuanced biblical wisdom for the gray matters. Brett urges for just this in Gray Matters.

[Tweet This: “Christians have a hard t...

Four Truths about God I Can’t Live Without by Chase Blankenship

The character and works of God are incredibly diverse and multifaceted. [Tweet This] Thousands upon thousands of words have been written in an attempt to summarize them. Collections of these works often become textbooks and required reading for Bible college and seminary students.

Although no written systematization of biblical truth can or should replace the Scriptures, theologians do their utmost to put into order what God has chosen to reveal over thousands of years. By using the word “orde...

Review: Peter Hubbard’s Love into Light

5 out of 5 Stars
Author: Peter Hubbard
Website: Love into Light
Publisher: Ambassador International
Buy Love into Light
Reading Level: Liesure

Peter Hubbard writes winsomely and pastorally. You can feel he’s struggled with, loved, and cared for those who’ve come to him for care regarding their same sex attractions (SSA). He says,

The more I listened the more I learned, the more I realized--we are not different. We are the same. Our specific battles and sins may vary, but our hearts are the same. And...

A Mundane Life in Christ by Renée Bates

Renée is a Texan married for a decade to her best friend Cory, the mom of three rambunctious children, Eli the Scientist, Joss the Contemplative and Jenny the glitter-sprinkled Princess. She’s a graduate of Midwestern State University, and serves at Pantego Bible Church in the high school ministry to the Glory of Christ.

I’m an accountant. I work forty hours a week, eight to five, Monday through Friday. I have a husband who does the same as an engineer. We live in the suburbs and we have three...

Review: David Murray’s Jesus on Every Page

5 out of 5 Stars
Author: David Murray
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Buy Jesus on Every Page*
Reading Level: Easy

*If you buy Jesus on Every Page  by 8/31, you can email David to receive over $100 in free resources (a solid package of tools, if I don’t say).

Jesus on Every Page will draw your gaze to Jesus in all of Scripture. It’s a book all Christians will benefit from. The Old Testament can be daunting. The culture of the Near east and the sacrificial cultic is enough to confuse the best of us. Da...

Review: Heath Lambert’s Finally Free

5 out of 5 Stars
Author: Heath Lambert
Publisher: Zondervan
Buy Finally Free
Reading Level: Leisure

Finally Free is one of those books you buy a dozen of and keep on hand. Pornography is an epidemic. It’s a huge industry, widely and easily accessibly, and the percentage of people who view it is high. Many of these viewers start at a young age. Heath shares his own story. He viewed it for the first time at eight years old. I also was introduced to pornography at eight years old. It’s not uncommon....