I am really enjoying Thomas Foxcroft’s little book, The Gospel Ministry. It is a sermon he preached in 1718 on the nature of gospel ministry as he began a pastorate. He is particularly eloquent in urging that every sermon should be about Christ. Here is a long quote which is particularly rich. “Whatever subject ministers …
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I have recently finished this year’s survey of new study Bibles and Bible reference works for Preaching Magazine (links to most of the previous years’ installments can be found on the “Publications” page of this site). The photo above shows most of the books which are dealt with in the article which is scheduled to appear …
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Last week I spent some time in Lectures in Old Testament Theology, by Dennis Kinlaw (with John Oswalt). This is a very useful summary of Old Testament teaching. It is essentially the transcripts of oral addresses and thus it reads very easily. Though aware of the academic issues, these addresses are pitched at a level …
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I am not typically pleased or impressed with guides to the Psalms. The Psalms are examples of engagement with God meant to be used and most study guides treat them as objects of analysis. While the guides often make true statements, they end up with abstract categorizations rather than helps for making use of these …
A Mouth Full of Fire: The Word of God in the Words of Jeremiah. His opening chapter which surveys the various approaches which are often referred to as “biblical theology” is very helpful in itself. He then expounds how the book of Jeremiah presents to us a theology of revelation. Here are a couple of …
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 …
My boys & I recently read George MacDonald’s Phantastes. C. S. Lewis famously said this book baptized his imagination. I can’t say our experience was so lofty. It is a challenging book to follow, though there are beautiful and wise comments along the way. The last portion of the book is quite good as the …
I have recently posted several new reviews at my blog on children’s books, The Children’s Hour. I have a positive review of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic, The Lost World, which is a fun read with some good lessons to mine. I was quite disappointed with the final installment in Alister McGrath’s children’s trilogy, Darkness Shall …
At this time of year, among other things I’m often thinking of what I might read over the holidays, and I typically have in mind more books than I can possibly get to. So I thought I’d share the books recently purchased or received (often due to the generosity of my colleague, Ben Mitchell) which …
[from The Children’s Hour] A colleague recently asked me for some recommendations for books for boys, so I thought I’d post my list and reflections here. Many more no doubt could or should be listed, but below are some books my boys and I have enjoyed. I compiled the list by giving a quick look …