While away in Tenerife last week I took opportunity to read this large American text book on preaching. We then discussed it at the Theological Study Group at the John Owen Centre last Monday. Ten of us, mostly pastors, met to discuss it and although there was a range of opinion we all felt fairly positive about it, given its main target audience (American seminarians). Most of us (preachers at least) had been able to track down free copies of this second edition via a UK-based American gentleman called Johnny Long who, it would appear shares Mr Chapell's concern over legalistic preaching that lacks a grace impetus. I would recommend the book to any Reformed preacher, the younger the better. Being a text book it is not an easy read but even where one would disagree with what is said there lessons to be learned and questions are raised that are well worth considering. We hope to look at The Expository Genius of John Calvin by Dr Steven J Lawson next time.
A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Redeeming exposition
While away in Tenerife last week I took opportunity to read this large American text book on preaching. We then discussed it at the Theological Study Group at the John Owen Centre last Monday. Ten of us, mostly pastors, met to discuss it and although there was a range of opinion we all felt fairly positive about it, given its main target audience (American seminarians). Most of us (preachers at least) had been able to track down free copies of this second edition via a UK-based American gentleman called Johnny Long who, it would appear shares Mr Chapell's concern over legalistic preaching that lacks a grace impetus. I would recommend the book to any Reformed preacher, the younger the better. Being a text book it is not an easy read but even where one would disagree with what is said there lessons to be learned and questions are raised that are well worth considering. We hope to look at The Expository Genius of John Calvin by Dr Steven J Lawson next time.
Ernesto Illy Coffee Geek
Ernesto Illy has died recently. Being a coffee lover (Americano) I was familiar with the name Illy but not the man. This is from The Times.
Ernesto Illy was an evangelist for espresso coffee, with which his family name is synonymous in Italy. Both scientist and businessman, he dedicated his life to creating the perfect cup, in the process helping to turn a drink hitherto largely appreciated only by his countrymen into one regarded around the world as the chic quintessence of Italy.
Illy had firm views about espresso, born of decades of research and tasting. For him, the water temperature should be between 90C and 95C and the coffee the sand-sized grinds of exactly 50 beans roasted at 220C, with 25ml to 30ml of espresso then extracted from it under 9 atmospheres of pressure. The temperature of the coffee to be sipped must be between 80C and 85C, and Illy even designed the shape of a cup for the ideal taste. Milk and sugar he regarded as contaminants.
Beans passing through Illy's warehouse in Trieste were subjected to 114 separate checks in laboratory-style conditions. He believed that if just one was too fermented it would spoil the taste of a cup, and scanners using ultraviolet light accordingly rejected 1.5 per cent of each intake.
These procedures guaranteed consistency of quality, although they also made Illy's coffee twice as expensive as other brands.
Yet such attention to detail was not merely being pernickety but was based on chemistry. Coffee is composed of about 1,500 different elements, with 800 compounds alone contributing to its aroma. Vital to the smell and flavour of espresso is the crema, the amber film that lies on top of it.
Illy had firm views about espresso, born of decades of research and tasting. For him, the water temperature should be between 90C and 95C and the coffee the sand-sized grinds of exactly 50 beans roasted at 220C, with 25ml to 30ml of espresso then extracted from it under 9 atmospheres of pressure. The temperature of the coffee to be sipped must be between 80C and 85C, and Illy even designed the shape of a cup for the ideal taste. Milk and sugar he regarded as contaminants.
Beans passing through Illy's warehouse in Trieste were subjected to 114 separate checks in laboratory-style conditions. He believed that if just one was too fermented it would spoil the taste of a cup, and scanners using ultraviolet light accordingly rejected 1.5 per cent of each intake.
These procedures guaranteed consistency of quality, although they also made Illy's coffee twice as expensive as other brands.
Yet such attention to detail was not merely being pernickety but was based on chemistry. Coffee is composed of about 1,500 different elements, with 800 compounds alone contributing to its aroma. Vital to the smell and flavour of espresso is the crema, the amber film that lies on top of it.
C H Spurgeon Church Planter
Do check out this link which features an audio message given by Doug McMasters at the Evangelical Library last September. it is on C H Spurgeon and his church planting work - not a subject I've ever read about or heard much on elsewhere.
47-8
Italy this time. Still not perfect but pretty emphatic, eh?
(Also Feb 9 I did have, now removed, under the heading 30-15 "Still not a brilliant performance but good enough. One more win and we have the triple crown, two more and probably the championship and three more and it's the grand slam")
Tenerife
Apologies for the hiatus. Last week was half term here and my father kindly took us off to the sun for a week's holiday in Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. The islands are Spanish speaking but lie well south of Spain parallel with the Sahara. We eight flew from Gatwick with XL and stayed in the Bahia Flamingo Hotel, Puerto Santiago, not far from Los Gigantes. We had decent weather until the last couple of days and a real relaxing time.Sunday was something of a disaster. We set off in good time for a fellowship in Los Christianos but en route someone got on who believed her purse had been stolen. The driver was instructed to wait for the police but people slowly began to drift off. In the end we did nothing for over an hour and so were unable to attend. We had our own meeting in the evening. Lots of lessons there.
We enjoyed a trip later in the week seeing pilot whales and dolphins off the coast. My youngest son celebrated his seventh birthday and chose to go to the Jungle Park zoo to celebrate. That was good too. We were sorry not to be able to do more exploring or to see the less touristy north of the island. Perhaps another time.
Blog of the week 4
So here is another blog of mine that I want to draw attention to. We started with the Thomas Adams one here. My other blog devoted to a Puritan is here. It looks at forgotten early puritan Richard Bernard [1568-1641].
A Puritan lived name of Bernard
A preacher he was, very learned.
He also wrote much
On pi'ty and such
But now by most people he's spurn-ed.
A preacher he was, very learned.
He also wrote much
On pi'ty and such
But now by most people he's spurn-ed.
I came across Bernard studying Puritan writings on the conscience. Some posts here began life here on this blog but then I transferred them over.
This prolific Puritan pastor and writer was author of The Faithfull Shepheard and his practice (1607, 1621), a handbook for ministers and an allegory called The Isle of Man (1627). I started the website in January 2007 and it now contains some 69 posts, not quite as many as I had hoped by this time. It has officially had around 1,274 visits (an average of 7 a day) and 2,443 page views (an average of 11 a day). It's not doing quite as well as Adams then but that is to be expected.
Quote:
The Father of his mercy gave him for us, and he in love bestowed himself of us. The Father did will our peace, and he spared no pains. He came into the world poor, to make us rich. He was to the wicked a derision, that we with angels might be had in admiration. He was blasphemed, to make us blessed; buffeted and scorned, to make us secure in true comfort. He worked righteousness, that we might be free of wickedness. He was innocent, to procure us pardon, being penitent. His holiness is our happiness, his suffering our safety, his grace our good. He was here in trouble for us, his life painful and miserable, so his end for us doleful, and his torments intolerable. In all his life, that we read of, he did never laugh, but often lament. He mourned to see men’s madness, and wept for their woe. Here he sighed for to make us sing. He sobbed and sorrowed much to make us merry. He bore upon him unutterable torment patiently, that we might avoid the plagues of God eternally. His prayers were loud cries and strong, to make our prayers to pierce the heavens.
Harry Hill on Chimps
This clip is funny. I especially like the middle section that starts about a minute in where Harry goes into overdrive with classic comic wordplay a la Abbott & Costello's Hoo's on first base.
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