John Erickson doesn’t write parables, but some of his stories about the cowboy life he once lived would work well in church. The Bible refers to us as sheep, sometimes without a shepherd, but we also act like cattle and anger the Owner of the ranch.

The one sermon many secular students ever read or hear about is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached by Jonathan Edwards. It’s a good and true sermon, but it boxes in Edwards as an aficionado of anger—and he was much more than that. Owen Strachan and Douglas A. Sweeney’s The Essential Jonathan Edwards is an excellent introduction to the great 18th century theologian who is heavy sledding for modern readers.

Editor’s note: Marvin Olasky concludes his monthly biographical series on key individuals from late 19th and early 20th century American history. In February and March, we looked at the life of John D. Rockefeller. In April and May, we studied Grover Cleveland.

“We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home, but not quite knowing what or where home is. We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner, and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity that vanishes almost as soon as it comes.” ―Madeleine L’Engle

Jonathan Leeman’s The Rule of Love explains why the Biblical pronouncement that “God is love” does not mean zapping moral boundaries or judgments, or unconditionally accepting everything except authority and institutions. Leeman’s balanced, Biblical view is particularly crucial at a time when some say, “God is love” and push us to ignore His other attributes. I hope you’ll benefit from the following excerpt, courtesy of Crossway.

“The object of the artistic and spiritual life is to dig for the sunrise of wonder.” —G.K. Chesterton

Here in the Texas Panhandle, 2019 brought an exceptionally wet spring, and by the first of June, we had already received the 21 inches of rainfall that we recognize as our annual average. My wife, Kris, and I predicted that it would be a showcase year for wildflowers on our ranch—and we were right. For weeks, we felt we were watching a fireworks display on the ground.

Matthew McCullough in Remember Death: The Surprising Path to Living Hope asks, “How can you enjoy anything about life if you know that, in the end, the more you love something the more it will hurt when you lose it?” Buddhists say the answer is non-attachment to anyone and anything. McCullough shows how Christians can see that bid for support and raise it through Christ’s promise of eternal life. I hope you’ll benefit from the following excerpt, courtesy of Crossway Books.