If you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, what should you judge it by? Well for me, one of the great tests is how many passages have I highlighted, how many quotes underlined, how many notes scribbled in the margin? On the basis of those criteria, this book rates very highly and so it…

On the scale of dangerous jobs, I doubt if most people would rank the theologian or student of theology very highly. However, the process of studying theology is fraught with dangers that need to be faced and navigated. I seem to recall someone once saying that Bible College can be an experience that `freezes the…

Given a number of books to choose from for the purposes of review, I chose the biography of a man I confess I knew absolutely nothing of. John Perry tells the story of a quite remarkable character who overcame the most amazing difficulties and prejudices and attributed it all to his faith in the Creator…

This is the second in the excellent series `Long Line of Godly Men Profiles’ published by Reformation Trust Publishing and edited by Steven Lawson who is also the author of this title. Each of the three books available so far (Calvin, Edwards, Knox) are not biographies as such but give a great insight into what…

I am not one of those many who have been hugely influenced by John Stott. I have appreciated the few of his writings that I have read, with his measured, precise turns of phrase and his ability to clearly explain and apply biblical truth. However, with his recent death, I decided to read this, his…

There are few doctrines more important than that of the nature and authority of Scripture, and few doctrines more under sustained onslaught by Satan; whether it be through full frontal denials by heretics and liberals or the more subtle undermining of its rule as evidenced by many contemporary church practices and teachings. This helpful volume…

Never judge a book by its cover – or its title! I confess I didn’t get what I was expecting when I started reading this unusual book, but I benefitted from it, none the less. What I expected was a sort of profile or character study of a local church which held to and operated…

I have to confess that I became increasingly frustrated as I read this book. Frustrated because I wished I had read it when I was starting out in pastoral ministry 30 years ago and also because what is advocated here is so glaringly obvious and biblical that I wondered why I hadn’t seen it more…

To be honest, there was no way I was not going to love this book! It’s about my favourite biblical topic, it’s by my favourite preacher/theologian, it’s based on one of my favourite hymns and the foreword is by a friend who is my favourite African preacher. But, even if all that had not been…

Politicians generally don’t have a good reputation in the UK these days, and I have to confess to being no great respecter of most of them myself. However, there is one, unelected politician, a member of the House of Lords, who is almost universally respected and admired, even by those on opposite sides of the…