Husbands love your wives - thank you Francis.

With horror and sadness over the past week we have witnessed the sinking of the mighty Costa Concordia. While it would be easy to focus on the cowardice of the captain who somehow "fell" into a life boat another man caught my eye and is worthy of praise, 71 year old Francis Servel. While he and his wife prepared to jump he gave his lifejacket to his wife. She survived and he was drowned. She said no doubt with tears, "I owe my life to him." I don't know of the late Francis knew anything of Ephesians 5 but he certainly lived it. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I guess most of us husbands would like to think that we would do likewise for our darling wives even if we knew that death awaited.

How amazing to think then of the love of Jesus Christ for His bride. His bride wasn't very lovely, very undeserving, but so willingly He gave His life knowing that he would face not the horrors of the salty water but the horrific drowning in the waves of the Holy wrath of God. And He did it because He loved us.

The words hardly seem adequate, I owe my life to Him.

When will my life not suck, Ramon Presson

This is a 2011 production from the New Growth Press stable. The book consists of thirteen chapters of well written comment on how many sadly approach life. The author does a good job in bringing some answers to the malady of our messy world by directing the readers thoughts to portions of Scripture from the life of Paul. The writer's style will either excite and draw you to read and read or annoy the life out of you. This is a helpful book for those who are dealing with people whose lives are broken with disappointment and crises. There is much here also by way of practical help as the writer is counsellor of some experience. Useful book for illustrations for the preacher. Useful book to read with someone who is in the depths. The chapter on contentment is particularly helpful.

Ministers are dying men

Came across this cracker of a quote in Matthew Henry when doing some reading for preaching on Zechariah.

"Ministers are dying men and live not forever in this world. They are to look upon themselves as such and to preach accordingly, as those that must be silenced shortly, and know not which sermon may be the last. People are to look upon them as such, and to hear accordingly, as those that yet a little while have the light with them, that they may walk and work while they have the light. Oh that this weighty consideration had its due weight given it, that we are dying ministers dealing with dying people about the concerns of immortal souls and an awful eternity, which both they and we are standing upon the brink of."

Matthew Henry, Volume 4 p1402, MacDonald

A Bassa Heart, Gbile Akanni & Noel Davidson

A Bassa Heart is a biography of Robert Hyslop who left Northern Ireland to go to work amongst the Bassa people of central Nigeria. Having had the privilege of being in Kogi state to minister to some Bassa pastors in May 2011 I was naturally fascinated by this account of how the Lord used one man for the blessing of many. If you are after a literary masterpiece you will be frustrated by this volume. If you are wanting to witness how God works amidst the imperfections of His people then this will encourage you. There was much in this account of an independent missionary that I simply couldn't square with the Scripture - praying for raising from the dead, independency, tongue speaking. However there was much in this biography that warmed and stirred the heart. Robert Hyslop had what any servant of God needs, a heart for the people and a passion for the honour of the Lord. If you have interest in mission in Nigeria this will stir you and inform you. I had that sense in reading that this man was a giant in the faith, sold out on serving Jesus Christ. On reading this book I couldn't help but think of what McCheyne said, that it was great likeness to Christ that the Lord blesses. Mr. Hyslop displayed that likeness in sacrifice, service and faith.

Planting, watering, growing, Edt Hyde & Lems

At the start of 2011 I set out to read as many church planting books as I could. This has definitely been the best. It was the sub title that caught my attention: Planting confessionally reformed churches in the 21st century. The book is a collection of papers, twenty one in all covering every aspect of church planting. There are four main parts to this book: The foundation of church planting; The methods of church planting; The work of church planting and The context of church planting. Michael Horton is the best known of the contributors. Any one interested in church planting needs to read this book. It is scholarly enough to be part of a college course and readable enough for benefit to all. A good book to study with a fellow church planter. Fuel for the fire.

Publisher: Reformation heritage books. £14.00

The Masculine Mandate, Richard Philips, Reformation Trust

Sadly many men have lost their way - some become arrogant and abusive others effeminate and weak - and that is just in the church. This book is a tool for making real men. Real books have hard backs and a dust cover - so this book was off to a good start. The content is first class. Unlike many books for men this one is rooted in the Scripture. The writer takes the principles of Genesis and presses them in to all the avenues of a man's life. There are 13 chapters with good discussion questions at the end. The book is comprised of two parts: Understanding our mandate (1-5) and Living our mandate(6-13). Chapters 1-5 cover the basics of the principle of keeper king. Chapters 6-8 work this out in marriage, 9&10 in the family, 11 in friendship amongst men, 12 in the church and 13 finishes off with a general chapter on servants of the Lord.

Every wife or prospective wife should buy this for her man. Every man who loves his wife or is looking for one should read this book and inwardly digest by the grace of God.

Ideal for a men's fellowship or reading through with another man on a one to one.

My father used to have a saying about a real man - "he had hairs on his chest like shot leaks!" This will put some spiritual hair on your chest.

The Message of the Resurrection, Paul Beasley-Murray

This is the last in the series of my reading on the resurrection for this year. This book is part of the IVP Bible Themes Series. The writer takes each of the main NT references on the resurrection and gives a short commentary. This is a very helpful study with good insights from the original language. The sound exegesis is matched by warm application. One or two areas in which I would disagree with the writer especially in a few side references to baptism. This is a well worthwhile read, informing the mind and touching the heart. There is an accompanying study guide at the end which would be fruitful of itself.

Preaching Resources on Esther

Just finished a series on Esther. Had hoped to get through in about 4 sermons but became 7. Some resources that I found useful.

Commentaries

The NIV Application Commentary, Karen Jobes. Helpful and a must for preachers.

Esther & Ruth, Reformed Expository Commentary, Iain Duguid. Useful preaching ideas.

The Gospel in Esther, Stephen Sykes. A bit fanciful in places but thought provoking.

Unspoken Lessons about the Unseen God, Derek Prime. Typical Welwyn. Not great deal of depth, useful for devotions.

God Behind the Scenes, Luter & Davis, Expositor's guide to Historical books. I didn't like this at the start but it sort of grew on me. Helpful for some study on Hebrew words and some interesting reflections.

Esther, Joyce Baldwin, Tyndale. Helpful.

Lectures on the book of Esther, Thomas M'Crie. Very helpful solid insights. Reprinted

Sermons

Tim Keller (Redeemer Central)

Ian Hamilton (Cambridge Presbyterian)

Christopher Ash (Gospel Coalition)

Geoff Thomas (Gospel Coalition)

Andy McCracken (Sermon Audio)

Unspoken Lessons about the Unseen God, Prime

This is one of the Welwyn devotional commentaries which I read while preaching through Esther. Nothing deep here, mainly Bible reading note level. Some of the links to Christ are a bit simplistic. Having said that this is a useful devotional commentary for a daily devotions. Not much by way of assistance for preaching.

Planting New Churches, Ed Stetzer

This is supposed to be the A-Z on church planting from one of the leading church planting gurus. It is a substantial volume of over 30 chapters with a mountain of references. Stetzer has obviously done quite a bit of research for this volume but sadly his field of planters seems rather limited with not a hint of a confessional or presbyterian planters in view . While there was much that was interesting in this volume I had some major criticisms. The writer's comment that the reformation church was not a mission church is simply not true. That got under my skin early on in the volume. I did find his section on what makes a church planter and the section on understanding the culture helpful. However the lists of nuts and bolts on planting was rather tedious and a tad American. I am glad that I persevered to the end and found some helpful points to reflect on. Generally a useful read.

QI - not!

Stephen’ Fry’s “Quite Interesting” was far from that on Saturday 12^th November when Mr. Fry launched an assault on the teaching of the Bible. Stephen Fry, a well-known and outspoken atheist simply couldn’t help himself spread his bad news, that there is no God.

In jocular manner he stated that there never was a worldwide census as mentioned in Luke 2 and that there was simply no truth in the fact that people had to return to their birthplace under Roman census. Mr. Fry said that Luke’s record was a fabricated idea to make it look that this was a fulfillment of the Old Testament Scripture.

As the merriment of bashing the Bible continued Jesus birth was referred to as something like getting Santa to Lapland.

One would expect a Cambridge graduate and someone of Mr. Fry’s ability to have studied a little deeper before he made such remarks.

For anyone caught off guard by Mr. Fry’s remarks here is something to chew over. Mr. Fry’s remarks are old hat. As far back as 1890 in Schurer’s History of the Jewish people in the time of Jesus, the worldwide census and the return to a home place was questioned. But these objections are so easily answered.

Firstly with regard to Mr. Fry’s remarks that there never was an empire wide census. His statement is simply not true. Augustus was known in history as a very methodical man. It is widely recognized today that Augustus instituted three censuses in this period. (Tacitus Annals 1.11; Dio Cassius 53.30.2). Also other census taking cycles are now known to have been in place from this time. (Buried History 9:113-132). When Luke writes all the world he is not speaking of all the world as we know it but the Roman world and especially the area in an around Palestine. And again it is recognized that regular census taking took place in Syria, Gaul and Spain.

Secondly with regard Mr. Fry’s comment – even if there was a census which there wasn’t they were not allowed to go to home towns. Again – Mr. Fry is obviously not a scholar. The Romans allowed the Jews to keep all sorts of customs even tax exemption every seventh year (Antiquities 14.10.20). And allowing the Jews to go home for census was no big deal and something that they were willing to do to keep the peace.

I can’t help but feel sorry for Mr. Fry. How foolish he looks to be making comments before the nation that are based on outdated and well answered 100 year information.

I am looking forward to the episode when Mr Fry and his friends do the Koran bashing bit.

Losing our Virtue, David Wells

Listen to the preaching in many churches today and you will find something is up! It sounds like the gospel but it is a twisted version to scratch where post moderns are itching. Jesus is that friend who will help you find yourself. Jesus is that guide who will steer your life to productivity and meaning. The God of self is clamouring for attention in churches today and many are falling down to worship. Listen to the worship that is happening and you will find it is more like a concert that adoration of the living God. This book will open your eyes and help you stay on track.

Wells has that wonderful way of helping the reader see into the emptiness of the thinking of our post modern world. In this volume he analyses the moral mess of the American culture and how this has impacted on the life of the church. In this volume he is seeking to help us see where society's views of self are rooted and how these values have impinged on the message of the church. Wells cracks open the therapeutic gospel preached in so many places today and illuminates how this approach is no gospel at all and a help therefore to no one.

Though David Wells writes for culture across the pond his comments are spot on for us too. Any pastor preacher seeking to help the people of God in a way that will last should read and take in this wise analysis. This volume is like a massive breaking system on a runaway train - so climb aboard.

Steve Jobs' handbreadths

In a speech in 2005 the late Steve Jobs said, Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life........ your time is limited.

That was good counsel.

But this wasn't, Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

The message of the Bible is that the only way that we will be satisfied in is knowing Jesus Christ and if you haven't found Him yet keep looking. Don't settle for satisfaction in an iPhone, iPod, or macbook. It is found in being rescued from the guilt and power of sin by Jesus Christ's life death and resurrection. Once you know Him, like any good relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. Once you know Him any work will be great work for it can be done for Him

Like Steve Jobs - you and I will be dead soon. Just a few handbreadths. Now is the time to trust in Jesus Christ. Now is the time to raise yourself from the slumber of life and do something for Him. Don't settle for anything less.

The Secret of Communion with God

This is Matthew Henry at his very best. The book consists of three sections: How to begin the day with God, How to spend the day with God, and How to close the day with God. These were originally sermons that he preached and some friends encouraged him to publish as a book. It is wonderfully heart warming and encouraging. If you are looking for a book to stir up your daily devotions then don't look for the modern rubbish of 10 ways to improve your quiet time. Spend some time listening to Matthew Henry and you will find your mind informed and heart transformed. By version was published by Kregel

The Resurrection: The Unopened Gift, Gerard Crispin

This little Day One publication book on the resurrection has been on my shelf unread for years. This year I am trying to read whatever I can get on the resurrection and this is a little gem. Each of the 12 chapters are filled with Bible, good exegesis and clear heart stirring application. I have been reading a chapter at the start of my daily devotions each morning and found it a good primer. The opening chapter dealing with the fraud and swooning theories is particularly well written. While there is much here to stir and encourage the Christian this would also be a suitable book to give to the inquirer.

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges

Jerry Bridges has that wonderful knack of clearly and simply pressing home the Scriptures deep into your heart. This volume is not for the faint hearted. Not that there is anything intellectually difficult in any of it, but it gets to you as he confronts the sins that we so easily tolerate. Before the author get to the heart blows he warms and instructs the heart on the basis of the gospel. This is thoroughly Biblical and practical and will benefit everyone who reads it and is ready to go to their knees in confession and repentance. There is also an accompanying study guide that would be useful for any small group to consider.

We can fix it - No you can't

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
Your words are filled with good intention when you say to the nation we will fix this broken society but they are arrogant words and words that will add further pain to a society longing to be fixed. Just look at the past - have you or your previous PMs made even the slightest dint on the breakages of our nation. Please look and acknowledge - some of the laws that your government has passed has added to the pain of our fractured land. Acknowledge - as human beings we don't have all the answers, in fact we have very few. But the God of the Bible not only has all the answers but all the power to turn back and really fix our broken land. If your cabinet would sit down with a Bible and read and listen then maybe you would be given the privilege to lead a turning around of the nation that will be noted in history. God does tell us why there is all this mess going on and how it really can be fixed. Your longing for stronger families and community and society is good to hear. And you will be glad to know that God has lots to say on each of those. In fact the whole message of the Bible is God's plan for a new community where the diverse and different live side by side as family. The Bible's message is that Jesus Christ can mend our hearts and bind us together. What our nations needs is not a list of rules and reform but repentance, a humbling of itself before God.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33v12a
Praying for you and the others at No.10

Responding to the Riots

The whole nation and beyond were shocked at the recent riots in London and in other locations throughout the UK. We weep with those who have lost loved ones, their homes or livelihoods.
The response to these events has been interesting. Many of the people of these areas broke out in understandable rage, others resorted to the blame game and the government began its chant of we can fix it. Amidst all the voices that were heard responding to the events - not one voice rose up to communicate what God says about such matters. I guess that is part and parcel of the problem - that so very few in our land have even the slightest notion what the living God says about anything.
So here are a few Biblical directions to guide our thinking:
1. The Bible is true. We didn't need the sinful activities of opportunist and scheming looters to tell us that but their actions confirm what God has said. II Timothy 3 v1ff But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God....
The looters love for self was apparent in every shop front smashed and every item stolen - I love me and I will get for me whatever I like and whatever it might mean for anyone else. A young woman defiantly said - we want to show that we can do what we want - I think that falls in the arrogant category. As we watched the young oversees student be picked up and then robbed - one word echoed in our minds - heartless.
So these sad events don't loosen our faith - they confirm it.
I can't help wondering if such lawlessness is not also a measure of the handing over of God of our nation. A nation that wants to live without God may be merciful shown - this is what it would be like to live without God.
2. What's the sin under the sin. It is obvious that stealing, arson, murder is wrong - the Bible says so. But what is fueling such mayhem. Yes no doubt the economic and social climate does have a bearing on such events. But that is not the root reason that so many would stoop to such atrocities. The root sin is connect to the first commandment - no other gods before Me. The god of sinful man is self - I must have, this will make me happy, if I had that item I would be acceptable. The "must have" pangs of our society is a God shaped thing. And when it is not filled with God sinful man will do anything to fill that aching gap. If only men and women could see - we weren't made for things - iphones, designer labels - but for the living God.
When we get to the sin under the sin - it puts us all on a similar footing with the looters. We are sinners needing the emptiness of our lives filled.
3. Pray for the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible calls us to pray for those in government. How they need our prayers. Pray that they would be humble to see that they can't fix it. Pray that someone will bring them the wisdom of the Word of God and the leaders of our nation would lead the nation in repentance.
And we shouldn't be despondent about the angry mobs. Prior to the revival of the 1700s the nation was in a similar low with regard to crime, violence and morality. Maybe the day is not far off when the transforming power of God will come again to our land.
The looters are not scum, feral, or morons - but human beings, created in the image of God, they have worth and value. We should weep that God is not glorified as He should be and that so many are heading for a lost eternity and cry to God to save many.
And in case any are feeling a little smug thinking - I am better than they are, I am no looter? Really? So you have never grabbed the good name of someone else in a morsel of gossip? So you have never burnt down someone's character by not standing up for them in a conversation when you knew what others was saying was wrong?

This Momentary Marriage, John Piper

Every now and then you find a book on marriage that is different from all the many others that have been published on this subject - and this is one of them. Of course you wouldn't expect anything else from John Piper. This book like all his books comes from the anvil where he has hammered out what the Word of God says. Even when you don't necessarily agree with his conclusions you can't help but honour a man who so honours the word with deep reflective study.
The basic thesis of this book is that marriage has its ultimate point in something much greater, that it is a parable of something of everlasting permanence,i.e. the love of Christ for His people.
The book comprises 15 chapters dealing with all the usual matters concerned with marriage. The chapters always have some practical insights that many readers will not have previously considered.
While I really enjoyed and hopefully benefited from this book there were several areas where I was not in agreement with the author. The author argues for example that there are never any grounds for divorce and that a marriage can end whenever we find that Jesus love for His church has ended. While not agreeing with Mr Piper's conclusion I think that his arguments should help us hate divorce and should stir up couples to do all that is possible to flee from something that God says He hates.
Being a Baptist pastor the writer fails to see the dimension of God's covenant when it comes to the comments concerning raising children. If this matter, which I believe is of vital importance, can be remembered by the reader then there is much that will be of help in this book.
This book definitely goes on my list of books for people taking marriage preparation or marriage recovery classes.

Towards Spiritual Maturity, William Still

An old proverb says that good things come in small packages. This 6o page book by the late William Still proves the case. The book comprises seven short chapters covering the work of Christ and growing in the Christian life. As it says on the recommendations on the back page it is one of those books to be read and reread. There is help here for the young Christian and the maturer believer. It is classic Still, cross centred, God honouring, heart warming and life changing. The chapter on the armour of God is especial helpful.
If you find them cheap on the internet or a box lurking on a bookshop floor and can get them for a good price buy and give away. It is published by Christian Focus.
Here is a quote to whet your appetite, God is the only worker, for all that we do in Him is by His power. Those who seem to serve Him and fight for Him must be morally, intellectually and emotionally convinced that all the glory is His, and that the uncreated God will never share His sole prerogative with His creatures. What He shares are His blessings, and the man in Christ can have His fill of them - certainly more than He seeks. p55
Loads available on Amazon or for those with a Kindle http://www.monergismbooks.com/Towards-Spiritual-Maturity-Overcoming-Evil-in-the-Christian-Life-eBook-p-19675.html