When I am teaching hermeneutics, I tell my students that, before they try and apply any passage of Scripture, they have to ‘go to Corinth’ first.   It’s a shorthand way (that I learned from someone else) of saying they have to determine the original application to the original readers of the passage, before they can…

I have on my bookshelves, still unread it has to be said, a copy of Hallesby’s book entitled Conscience, published back in 1933, but I know of no other book devoted to this important yet complex subject other than Christopher Ash’s recent and welcome contribution. Stimulated by his own study of Romans 14 and 15, Ash discovered…

Given the variety of good commentaries available on the Psalter, any new addition must surely justify its existence, to avoid ‘too much of a good thing’. That was my initial reaction on receiving this title, as I mentally surveyed my already substantial collection of such commentaries. However, Godfrey’s work merits a prominent place among them.…

Given his importance in the history of the church in Scotland, it strikes me as surprising that so little has been written about Thomas Chalmers and that so little is known about him by Christians in his home country – never mind elsewhere in the world. Described by one of his early biographers as ‘the…

I am puzzled. I served in Liverpool as a Pastor for a little over four years and got to know the city and something of its spiritual legacy quite well and yet I never came across the name of Richard Hobson. Yet his life was, without doubt, one of the most remarkable ministerial careers the…

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and that’s true, but first impressions are important and first sight of this volume is very pleasing. It’s a large format hardback, very attractively bound and nice to handle. I was fortunate to receive a complimentary copy from the publishers as part of a blog…

One think you can’t accuse Scott Petty of is cowardice. In this series from Matthias Media he has taken on some brave attempts to tackle difficult and complex issues in a readable and engaging way, with teens and young people in mind. This time he has turned his attention to the biblical doctrine of predestination.…

I suspect that if we were to ask the ‘average’ Christian -whoever that may be – what they knew about Isaac Watts, the answer would be limited to his name, the fact that he was a hymn writer and, perhaps, one or two of his best known hymns. I, for one, wouldn’t have fared much…

This is a book that frankly you wish didn’t have to be written but which you are glad has been. It became necessary because of the recent developments in the Church of Scotland which have seen the denomination reject the authority of Scripture and its biblical roots and accept the ordination of ministers who are…