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  1. VicsMediaRoom
    Irvine, CA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    A study in the Book of Philippines
    December 25, 2013
    VicsMediaRoom
    Irvine, CA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain.
    Matt Chandler with Jared C. Wilson in their new book, "To Live Is Christ To Die Is Gain" published by David C. Cook shows us Paul's radical letter to the Philippians.

    From the Back Cover: A road map for authentic Christian maturity.

    This is not a book with popular sound bites and bumper-sticker theology. This is a disruptively inspiring message from Matt Chandler, a pastor and Bible teacher, who invites you to walk with him through the short book of Philippians.

    A study in the Book of Philippines do we really need another? Yes, Pastor Chandler looks at the cost of growth and maturity in the Christian and, that like a child growing up, it does not happen overnight. It takes some work. What does matured faith include? Making disciples and being discipled, Realizing Christ's love is unconditional, Rejoicing in The Lord because He is always at hand, Living in such a way that Jesus is seen as glorious, Accepting that anxiety and worry are a waste of mental time and Discovering that contentment must be learned. This is why we need another study in Philippines. Pastor Chandler has done a remarkable job in putting the focus on the pursuing, chasing, knowing and loving of Jesus. Because if we do not have Jesus we have nothing.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from David C. Cook for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
  2. DiscipleMom Laura
    TX
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Gotta Have Resource for Spiritual Maturity
    July 29, 2013
    DiscipleMom Laura
    TX
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain.
    In his book, "To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain," Matt Chandler (with Jared C. Wilson) takes readers on a journey through Paul's letter to the Philippians to discover what spiritual maturity looks like.

    While Chandler doesn't completely cover the book of Philippians verse by verse (let's face it, that would take volumes), he does a good job of covering all of Paul's major themes: living a worthy life, what the humble seek, rejoicing, worry, and contentment.

    Chandler's down-to-earth, conversational, non-academic tone make this book great for those new to the Bible, but those who are not new to the Bible will still find the book interesting and likely learn something new.

    Throughout the book, Chandler ties together the various themes with a common thread, also the title of the book--"To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain." He talks about dying to self, pursuing Jesus, and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform you.

    I appreciated Chandler's many personal stories, helping me see ways I can apply the principles to my own life a grow spiritually. For me, taking every thought captive and dwelling on things that are noble, pure, honorable and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8) is a constant challenge.

    In chapter 10, "No Worries," Chandler tells of a fantasy of his--seeing himself and his wife Lauren at 70 or 80, waking up to coffee together, listening to her tell of her crazy dreams, spending time in God's Word together, and then talking about and praying for their children and grandchildren.

    He says, "When in the normal flow of life I see an attractive woman, and that attractive woman is flirtacious; when I am tempted to be lazy when it comes to going after my children's hearts; when I am tempted to dwell on all kinds of dishonorable things, I go back to that fantasy. . . something honorable and worth dwelling on."

    Now that's something practical and useful -- a way of applying Philippians 4:8 that I've never thought about. My goal over the next week is to create some "honorable fantasies" to which I can turn when tempted to dwell on things that are not noble, honorable, pure, excellent, and praiseworthy.

    All in all, this was a great book. Some things weren't new to me, but some applications, like the one above, are revolutionary to me. And I certainly have a better idea of what it means so say, "To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain."

    I'd highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to take a closer look at the book of Philippians. I think it would also be great for a small group to work through together, reading through a chapter of Philippians each week along with the corresponding chapters from Chandler's book.

    *Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher for this review. However, the opinions expressed are my own.
  3. Karl
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    To Live Is Christ To Die Is Gain
    October 17, 2016
    Karl
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain.
    Awesome journey to the church at Philippi and Paul's letter to it!
  4. SpoiledMilks
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Helpful
    September 19, 2018
    SpoiledMilks
    Quality: 3
    Value: 3
    Meets Expectations: 3
    This review was written for To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain.
    You can read the (much) fuller review on SpoiledMilks (8/4/13)

    Chandler wrote this book "to invite readers into authentic Christian maturity," and looks at some of Paul's themes in Philippians, a letterwritten tohelp grow one to maturity, unity, and contentment in Christ

    The Chocolate Milk

    The book really began opening up on chapter 4. Ch 4 is about showing humility to a world that wants to show off. Yet do we follow God for a nice earthly mansion, or because of who He is and what He's done? The life of humility is based on the cross of Christ.

    Ch 5was about yearning for a relationship with Christ over trying to be good for Him. Chandler tries to do away with living to be a better person over knowing God. "It's the difference between obeying to be accepted and obeying because we are accepted" (78).

    Chandleradvocates for being content in Christand discontent in our imperfect selves. Strive for perfection to get stronger in our weaknesses (prayer, studying, evangelism, serving, etc), knowing God will use us despite our weaknesses.

    Chandler's book is theologically sound. His points and arguments come from Scripture, his examples are interesting and to the point, and he's level-headed with common sense.

    The Spoiled Milk

    A mere few times Chandler doesn't explain the cultural context which would help with the application.

    In Ch 5, Chandler says the dogsfrom Philippians 3 are those who say, "I'm not as bad as I was when I was in college. I'm not as bad as I was when I first got married. I'm not as bad as you"(53). They want to think and say those things for their superior spiritual/moral goodness. It would have beenmorehelpful for Chandler to have said who thedogswere andthenapplied it to the reader's life. Instead, he mentionsthe dogs and then jumps to applying it to the reader's life. The "dogs" are a bunch of pro-foreskin-cutting Judaizers. How does this relate to me? They think circumcision is met with God's approval. NowI can relate them with the "I'm not as bad as I was when..." mentality.

    This book would be geared more toward any member of the church, especially youth and college age.It can be hard to find his main point, but there are plenty of good tidbits and ideas.

  5. Dr Nicholson
    California
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: male
    3 Stars Out Of 5
    Some endearing and some dangerous qualities
    November 13, 2013
    Dr Nicholson
    California
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: male
    Quality: 3
    Value: 3
    Meets Expectations: 2
    This review was written for To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain.
    This review, by Dr. Nicholson, has been provided courtesy of Desert Bible Institute (www.desertbibleinstitute.com).

    In his book To Live is Christ; To Die is Gain Matt Chandler often makes allusions to the relaxed approach he and his congregation take to such issues as dress, titles, and other perceived superficial formalities. This cavalier approach ends up being the mixed curse-blessing of this book. While Chandler clearly takes his relationship with God very seriously, he periodically doesn't seem to take himself or his audience all that seriously. This casual attitude makes the topics in his book very approachable; however, it causes Chandler to gloss over (over even misrepresent) some important theological issues and may leave his more conservative readers feeling slighted by his nonchalant tone on serious, heart-felt topics.

    Early on in the book, there are a number of strong qualities. One of the most obvious is how Chandler makes great parallels between the importance of physical and spiritual growth. Additionally, he is vibrantly clear on how man was made to become physically, mentally, and spiritually strong over time - not instantly. To a lesser degree, he also ties this into the concept that sanctification is a process while salvation is a gift. The problem that he runs into early on (and throughout his writing) is that in many of his attempts to contemporize biblical people or events he injects more than the Bible says. Clearly, he means to make his writing more accessible by doing this, but what results is a lot of unsubstantiated guesswork that often is not presented as such. In doing this, Chandler falls prey to the same issue that a number of contemporary pastors do. When a teacher lays down false assumptions as his groundwork, his conclusions are not only questionable but dangerous. In the end, Chandler was far more on the mark than he was off the mark; however, bad methodology is never something to ignore.

    Later in the book, one of Chandler's most redeeming qualities was his analogies. He shares a number of stories (the lion and the goat was a particularly good one) that help the reader understand his point. Here he is not embellishing what the Bible says; but instead, he is showing how the Spirit taught him about important, complex, scriptural ideas. He combines this with rapid-fire, point-by-point scripture references these sections of his book both scholarly and endearing. Unfortunately, this scholarly quality is often offset by regular use of the vernacular and slang to such an extent as to border on profane in one or two spots.

    By the end of the book, I liked it for its approachability and analogies, but I would not recommend it due to its surface interpretations and overall common feel. If you are looking for the basics and you are a bit rough around the edges yourself you might find this engaging. If however you are looking to be scholastically challenged or spiritually uplifted, you might want to look a little further. While this book is good, it is not as great as I hoped for based on Chandler's earlier works.

    Finally, David Heath did an outstanding job of narrating this book. The thought I kept having was that I want him to do my next audiobook. He is clear and concise in his reading. His pacing is excellent and seems to have put in a great deal of time into looking for where pauses and emphasis would be most appropriate. Heath is one of the best non-fiction narrators that I have heard in a while.

    Trent Nicholson, Ph.D., D.Min.

    Desert Bible Institute, President

    Dr. Nicholson is a member of the christianaudio review program. To learn more, visit their website at: www.christianaudio.com.

    Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Sep 23, 2013 12:23 PM PDT
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