Posts under ‘Book Review’

Well if you’re only going to make blog posts every few months you need a catchy title! It is also an example of one of the wonderful images that Alec Motyer uses in his fabulous little volume ‘Journey: Psalms for pilgrim people.’
I have been using this in my devotional time for the last week [...]

If you’re looking for a gift for a Christian loved-one this Christmas, here are two recommendations…
I recently had the privilege of attending a day on prayer run by Paul Miller and his team. It was a hugely encouraging and liberating day – great to know that I’m not the only one who struggles with [...]

I have recently had the opportunity to take a few days off work, and was able to finish a book I started an age ago – Tim Keller’s excellent Counterfeit Gods.

In many ways this is a book length treatment of the topic of my last post (Why things in this world aren’t enough). Keller [...]

Just a quick post to say I cannot commend this highly enough…

I have been reading this book in my daily devotional times recently and it is all that you would expect from Dale Ralph Davies as he tackles the first 12 Psalms. He handles the text carefully and brings it to life vividly and [...]

I have just returned from a holiday in a well-known wine-growing region of France, but that is not why I am enthusiastic about vine-work. Rather, it is because I have just finished reading The Trellis and the Vine.

The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift That Changes Everything
Others are far more able to give [...]

I have just finished reading Adrian Warnock’s excellent book, Raised with Christ.

As the book’s subtitle suggests, this is a book about “How the Resurrection changes everything.”
One of the central arguments of the book is that we Christians often spend a lot of time talking, singing and preaching about the death of Christ, without carrying [...]

We’ve just got back from a few days at the Living Leadership conference. What a blessing that has been to us. Some space, some fantastic reminders of God’s grace, great company and fellowship, wonderful food. Bring on next year, and many thanks to our generous church for enabling us to go.
It also [...]

In some ways this is one of the hardest chapters to summarise because it ranges over several topics, yet I also found it one of the most challenging yet. The chapter is structured around the 3 temptations of Jesus after his baptism, and explores the idea of Affirming the Will of God.
I found the [...]

It has been a while since I have had time to do any non-essential reading, and so it is rather ironic that the title of this chapter is Retreating from Activity.
As ever, looking to the model of Jesus, Fernando points out how regularly Jesus took time out, especially before particularly significant moments in His ministry, [...]

This third chapter is called ‘Affirmed by God.’ Fernando argues that:
“The ministry is so challenging that when we think of it, the primary focus always needs to be on what God does for us. Otherwise when problems come and we are faced with our own inadequacy, we could react in harmful ways.”
I would [...]