10 Free E-Books (You're Welcome!)

In light of my recent post on the benefits of having a Kindle or other e-reader, I thought I would post some of the best works of theology and fiction that you can get free (read: no cost) on your device.

No strings attached....Seriously.

1. The ESV Bible. The ESV is the best English translation available today. Thank goodness that Crossway publishers is more concerned with giving away the Gospel than making money!
2. John Bunyan. Pilgrim's Progress. The classic allegory of "Christian" who is making his way from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Read my review of this work here.
3. Andrew Bonar. The Biography of Robert Murray M'Cheyne. RMM was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor in the 1800's. As a poet and preacher, M'Cheyne inspired multiple generations of Christians with his selfless devotion and warm piety.
4. Johann David Wyss. The Swiss Family Robinson. Read a good classic aloud to your children once in a while. This work is full of surprising lessons about Christian discipleship.
5. A.W. Tozer. The Pursuit of God. One of the classic works of spiritual formation in the last century. Long before Piper wrote Desiring God, Tozer was speaking on the God-exalting life from a Chicago pulpit.
6. Martin Luther. Small Catechism. One of the great didactic works for children. A surprisingly relevant discussion on the central tenets of Christianity.
7. Jonathan Edwards. Selected Sermons. Newbies will find Edwards' sermons to be the easiest and most accessible works that the great American Puritan wrote from New England centuries ago.
8. J.C. Ryle. A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield. A simple and short read on the basics of one of history's most revered evangelists.
9. John Foxe. Foxe's Book of Martyrs. The classic work on the lives of many of Christ's martyrs.
10. Robert Louis Stevenson. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I love this fictional work, so I threw it in here. Stevenson gives us a most unusual glimpse into the doctrine of total depravity.

 You're welcome. If you really want to pay me back for all this free stuff, just follow me on Twitter @matt_everhard. We'll call it even!

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida.

Book Review. "The Life of A.W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God," by James L. Snyder

"The Life of A.W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God," by James L. Snyder is a quaint and pithy collection of Tozer snippets. An enjoyable read to be sure, it nevertheless falls short of its claim to be an "authorized biography" of the famed pastor.

This work is almost entirely a collection of loose quotations and undated anecdotes from those who knew him best. As such, it tends to read more like a funeral eulogy than a historical survey of the man's life and ministry.

Most of the recollections given of personal experiences with Tozer are general in scope. The author treats the reader to a rather monotonous series of fond memories, invariably beginning with "once," "on another occasion," or "one time..." For this reason, the total work gives the impression of pearls strung together in a loosely chronological but predominantly thematic order.

Very little attention is given to some of the significant moments in Tozer's life: his wedding to Ada, for instance, is treated with little more than two lines. His reception of honorary degrees (Tozer did not attend seminary) is only mentioned incidentally. His relations with other prominent evangelicals (outside the Christian Missionary Alliance which the author highly regards) such as Martin Lloyd-Jones is only regarded tangentially. His theological framework--such as it was--is lightly regarded.

Those accustomed to a more historical, annotated style of biography would probably do well to skip this particular volume on the life of A.W. Tozer, in favor of something more scholastic.

All in all, this book did what it was probably written to do, viz. provide some food for thought holding up Tozer's memorable quotations (already found in plethora in his collected writings) as the center-piece.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida.