The second Ladies Christian Classics 2008 book club took place on Saturday, March 30. The book discussed at Karen Akiyoshi's home was On The Incarnation by St. Athanasius. Karen made everyone feel at home and had plenty of space for all readers. Several new faces joined some of the ladies from the first meeting. A special guest, Kathy Chappelle, who attends the URC in Escondido, made the trip north to also attend the meeting. Her son in Chicago told her about the book club and encouraged her to attend. She participated with the hope of having the same format for the ladies in Escondido.

The timelessness of a book written during the fourth century, the unrelenting focus on the benefits of Christ's death and resurrection, and the forward by C.S. Lewis encouraging the reading of "old" books were some of the favorites discussed, as well as the bonus interpretation of the Psalms, which were at the back of the book.

The third meeting of the Ladies book club will be on Saturday, May 31 at 2:00 p.m. We will meet at the home of Rhonda Szucs, 9192 Stanford Avenue, Garden Grove, 92841, (714) 636-9518. Our focus for this meeting will be on St. Augustine's Confessions. All interested ladies are welcome to join us for this time of discussion and fellowship.

The Sermon for Good Friday-- "Christ our Priest" http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/GoodFriday20080321.mp3

The Sermon for Easter -- "Christ our King"
http://links.christreformed.org/realaudio/EasterSunday20080323.mp3

Seventeen readers gathered Saturday, February 2, to discuss Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Judith Sniegowski hosted the first meeting and her hospitality, preparation and joyful sprit was greatly appreciated. The participants enjoyed refreshments, an opening prayer and a brief period of introductions.

Many opportunities for conversation came up that afternoon, among them, Lewis’ writing style, particularly his use of analogy, the book’s origins and historical setting. The topics of repentance, morality, sanctification and reasoning were brought up for discussion. The attendees listened and shared their impressions, questions and insights. An informative article about C.S. Lewis, written by Kenneth Samples (published in FACTS & FAITH, 1998) was provided as supplemental material.

The inspiration to read these six Christian classics came from Kenneth Samples’ “New Year’s Resolutions for the Mind” Sunday school class. That Sunday school challenge, given at the end of 2007, quickly materialized into the Ladies Christian Classics 2008 Book Club.

The Christian Classics Book Club format is unique. Six books are featured with a suggested timeline of reading one book approximately every two months. Thus, just one meeting will be held to discuss each book. It allows all interested ladies to read great Christian works, meet for discussions and take advantage of the time for fellowship, while being free to attend any of the meetings as she is available.

Coming up in late March: On the Incarnation, by St. Athanasius. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm#ch_1 Each meeting will be hosted by a different member, so the five subsequent meeting locations and dates will be announced at a later date. Please contact coordinators Kristina Mellon (562.284.0372) or Jessica Schlotter (310.970.2210) for more information and/or to add your name to the contact list.

The complete reading list, in the order to be discussed, is listed below. Many of the books will be available for purchase from the Church bookstore at select times throughout the year.

Reading List

· Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis

· On the Incarnation, St. Athanasius (Edition with introduction written by C.S. Lewis)

· Confessions, St. Augustine (’61 Penguin Classic Edition, RS Pine-Coffin)

· Cur Deus Homo (Why the God-man), St. Anselm

· On The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther (Edition with introduction written by J.I. Packer)

· Pens ées, Blaise Pascal (Penguin Classic Edition (95), Translated by A.J. Krailsheimer)

Meanwhile, we can be certain Andrew had his best night of sleep in some time.

For a report on classis from Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, Click here: pilgrim people-christ urc-reformed - the latest post - Classis Southwest Update 

The next lecture is entitled "An Interesting Dialogue Between James Dunn and N. T. Wright."

Text books for this series include: Cornelis Venema's two books which we used for the previous set of lectures; Getting the Gospel Right (Banner) and The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ (Banner). We will also use two recent books: Michael Horton, Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007); and John Piper, The Future of Justification: A Response to N. T. Wright (Crossway, 2007).

Our Academy lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. Academy lectures are free of charge and are followed by a time of discussion and refreshments. We look forward to meeting you!

 

A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test

Publication Date: September 2007

Description

At a time when Christian belief is constantly challenged, understanding different worldviews can help Christians think and live faithfully. Kenneth Samples's own life-and-death crisis encourages believers to develop a worldview perspective based on truth, critical thinking, and logic.  In A World of Difference, he addresses the historic Christian worldview and evaluates four modern-day competitors—Islam, naturalism, postmodernism, and pantheistic monism. The use of nine distinct and challenging tests shows how all worldviews should be assessed.

With compelling insight into Scripture, history, science, and theology, A World of Difference will challenge and strengthen your beliefs.

Author Information

Kenneth Samples serves as the vice president of philosophical and theological apologetics at Reasons To Believe, a Christian apologetics organization located in southern California.  Kenneth teaches a weekly adult class at Christ Reformed Church.  An experienced teacher and educator, he has taught courses in philosophy and religion at several different colleges and universities, and presently serves as an adjunct instructor in apologetics and philosophy at Biola University and at Providence Christian College.  Kenneth is the author of the award-winning book Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions (Baker, 2004) and is the co-author of three other apologetics related books.  He has published articles in such magazines as Christianity Today, the Christian Research Journal, and Facts for Faith.

Endorsement

"One of my biggest concerns for Christians struggling to make their way through the intellectual challenges of our age is that they often don't have the basic categories to think biblically about their own faith.  Ken Samples's A World of Difference will give them those categories."-- Kim Riddlebarger, co-host, The White Horse Inn; author, A Case for Amillennialism and The Man of Sin (Baker), Senior pastor of Christ Reformed Church, Anaheim, California.