Criswell: His Life and Times (B&H) by O.S. Hawkins
When the name W.A. Criswell is read or heard, certain thoughts come to mind. Many likely remember him as a president of the Southern Baptist Convention, or the founder of the Criswell College in Dallas, Texas, or the senior pastor for five decades of one of the largest Baptist churches in America, or even one of the key figures during the Conservative Resurgence. All of these are acknowledgments of the importance of the life of Criswell, but these do not necessarily capture who he was as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a friend and mentor.
O.S. Hawkins was closely mentored by Criswell and was his pastoral successor. Hawkins takes on the
task of capturing the life of one of the most important figures in modern Baptist history. This is a biography that is both
admiring and honest, and written with the knowledge of someone who could only know Criswell as a friend and a mentor.
The Justice and Goodness of God: A Biblical Case for the Final Judgment (Crossway) by Thomas R. Schreiner
The reality of God’s ultimate punishment is central to the gospel. Only by facing sin’s devastation can believers fully grasp the beauty of their salvation and help unbelievers confront their need for forgiveness. Unfortunately, many Christians and Bible scholars neglect God’s final judgment.
Schreiner offers a comprehensive, biblical analysis of eternal destruction, explaining that “final judgment doesn’t contradict God’s goodness but verifies and displays it.” The culture may reject a just God, but Christians must not.
What Does Depression Mean for My Faith? (Crossway/TGC) by Kathryn Butler, MD
Studies show that everyone will encounter someone who struggles with clinical depression at some point in their lifetime. Depression’s debilitating, pervasive joylessness is crippling. It can affect your body and brain, numb your emotions, and put strain on your relationships. For Christians, it can even inhibit them from delighting in the greatest gift ever known — the good news of the gospel.
What should Christians think about clinical depression? How can church leaders respond lovingly to those who face this dark, unsettling, and sometimes baffling dilemma? In What Does Depression Mean for My Faith? physician Kathryn Butler addresses common misconceptions about mental illness in the church. She offers grace, relief, and practical help to Christians who feel shame, and she equips church leaders with the tools they need to extend Christ’s love to the vulnerable.
The Warrior Savior: A Theology of the Work of Christ (P&R, 2024) by Owen Strachan
In this stirring biblical theology of atonement, Owen Strachan turns our gaze to the biblical Jesus — the greater David, a mighty king who comes in the power of God to save sinners and destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
The true Jesus is the most fascinating subject in all history: He is Lamb and Lion, gentle and ferocious, divine yet a humble servant. All these graces bear down on one moment in time: the cross. The Warrior Savior brings together strands of doctrine that are too often separated, notably penal substitutionary atonement and Christus Victor.