I recently received my copy of Brian Vickers’ new book, Justification by Grace through Faith: Finding Freedom from Legalism, Lawlessness, Pride and Despai. I had the privilege of reading this book in pre-published form and writing a commendation for it. Vickers provides an example not only of constructing theology well but also of grasping the spirit …
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Ghosts of Dreams WE are all of us dreamers of dreams, On visions our childhood is fed; And the heart of a child is unhaunted, it seems, By ghosts of dreams that are dead. From childhood to youth’s but a span, And the years of our life are soon sped; But the youth is no …
Peter Adam’s new book, The Message of Malachi, from The Bible Speaks Today series, is really good! It is well written and is a wonderful sermonic exposition of the book with sound theological application for today. Here is a sample from the introduction which is helpful and illustrates the approach of the commentary. “There are …
A good warning from the 5th Century: “The Spirit does not reveal the truth to those who spend too much effort preparing for battle and who exult in tangled and deceptive arguments rather than rejoice in the truth. This is because the Spirit does not ‘enter a deceitful soul’ [Wis 1:4], nor does he otherwise …
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For some of my early summer reading I worked through a variety of smaller, early 20th century books I’ve picked up along the way. One such book is Henry Churchill King’s It’s All In the Day’s Work (Macmillan, 1916). Not everything in the little book is commendable, but it does contain gold. At one point …
Ministry in the times of loss and death is one of the crucial roles of a pastor, so good examples of such ministry are indispensable. Recently in our church a dear brother took his own life. Such a situation raises a host of challenges and questions. Many people continue to think that a person who …
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In his novel, Jayber Crow, Wendell Berry gives a significant critique which pastors ought to hear. One need not agree with Berry at every point, but we ought to hear our critics to see if there is truth (even partial truth) in what they are saying. The main point here is not the youthfulness of …
Just last night I came across this poem and found it to be a wonderful statement on how we should approach the Bible, especially the last two stanzas. The fact that this poem was originally written for children will discredit it for some, but such an assessment would be unwise. I am currently reading Mark …
I read this poem tonight and was taken with its spirit. I don’t know authorial intent, but it strikes me as a compelling portrait of life lived without regard for the shifting winds of public opinion, standing for God’s truth regardless of the cost. “It Is Glory Enough” IT is glory enough to have shouted …
There is a striking analogy between the office of a pastor and that of a physician They both have respect to the welfare of men and while the one seeks to heal the diseases of the body the other aims at restoring to health the disordered souls of men. It belongs to each not only …