Six More Items Recently Read

The Man Who Drew London: Wenceslaus Hollar in Reality and Imagination by Gillian Tindall

I am a fan of the Puritan Richard Bernard and many years ago I noticed that Wenceslaus Hollar had drawn a portrait of him for a posthumous book. I then saw this book at a discount somewhere. Some years passed and then I finally read it. Getting hold of info on Hollar seems to be difficult and so Gillian Tindall has supplemented her research with some speculative biographical sections. I appreciate the effort but I found these a little tedious to be truthful, especialy knowing that it was sepculative. May be some other method would have worked better. Not much on Hollar though and this is pretty decent. Sorry I took so long to get round to such an important man.

Memorial : the mystery of Mary of Bethany by Dolores Kimball

This is a book by a woman about a woman and so I should not have been surprised that it is written for women, although it doesn't actually say that on the cover. Anyway, it's a short and interesting book for the most part. I would disagree on certain points I guess (eg I'm pretty sure Mary Magdalene and this woman were the same woman) but some good points are made.

A Short History of the World in 50 Animals by Jacob F. Field

This is a great idea for a book. All the expected ones are there such as cows and sheep and fleas and bees. Some individual animals are highlighted such as Leika the space dog, Hans the counting horse and Dolly the sheep. Bats, rats, cats and many others are all there. Missing? Locusts, donkeys. The book is hampered by its evolutionary assumptions but if you ignore these it is a fascinating read. The dodo and dinosaur are there, of course. Did you know that beavers had iron edged teeth and that a child could fit into a blue whale's arteries?

The Two Prophets to Nineveh: Goodness and Severity in Jonah and Nahum by James E. McCarthy

This is a great idea for a commentary. Jonah is very well known but Nahum much less so. However, both concern Nineveh and by treating them in the same little book the writer covers a sixth of the minor prophets in brief but relevant fashion. McCarthy has good illustrations and is very thorough with the text and all could learn from what he writes and how he writes. This is an excellent little commentary well worth getting hold of.

Distinct Communion: The Believer's Relations with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Dan Peters

This is a brilliant book - cogent, well written and betraying a very well read author. Most Reformed ministers know about John Owen and his advocacy of communion with all three persons of the Trinity but this book builds on that and explores the whole subject with some panache. Besides Owen, he explores Goodwin and Durham (with whom he is less than pleased) and the pulpit prayers of C H Spurgeon, which are held up to us as exemplars. The final chapter considers whether we should pray to the Holy Spirit, something I have not seen dealt with anywhere else, despite it being an obvious question. This is in the Christian Focus Mentor series and so is intended for ministers and Bible college students but I believe many more could benefit from this well written tome. My only very slight disappointment was the distracting and unnecessary use of the generic feminine pronoun.

Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel

Antisemitism is a fascinating subject. When I saw this book in a secondhand shop I immediately bought it and have now read it. (David Baddiel lives in this area, as do many Jews). Baddiel's simple point is that antisemitism is not taken seriously enough and tends to be placed lower in the hierarchy of racisms. He also points out the fundamental inconsistency in the way most people think of Jewish people. From the time I was converted I was encouraged to love the Jewish people and have tried never to be antisemitic or racist towards anyone but if I am honest, I am guilty. This book helped me to see this again. More than once Baddiel quotes people defending Jews and I think fine, no problem, only to find him pointing out the subtle racism hidden in the quote. One could try and dismiss that as being pernickety but I think there is a genuine issue. It is also interesting, as a Christian (as perseuted as Jews if not more) to see his take on things. (One other thing is that without excusing Jeremy Corbyn, he does appear to explain what happened).

Six Items Recently Read

Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

The Rip Van WInkle story is better known by name than actuality. To avoid confusion let me advise that Van WInkle sleeps only twenty years not a hundred and time goes by in the usual way. Crucially he misses the American Revolution and so when he sleeps, George III is King and when he awakes the American Republic has come into existence. It is a well told story, a little old fashioned and mysogynistic in its view of marriage, perhaps. It is chiefly good fun. This edition includes four Rackham colour plates and is based on a 1905 edition.

The Grace of Repentance (Redesign) (Today's Issues) by Sinclair B. Ferguson

Came across this short book recently (at the Catalyst Conference) and read it in one sitting. It focusses on Luther's first thesis (of the 95) and Psalm 51 and is a very good all levels discussio of a vital subject that is too often neglected. Good to pass on.

Preaching for God's Glory (redesign) (Today's Issues) by Alistair Begg

There are a few good books on expository preaching, the good thing about this one is that it is short and punchy and memorable. He quotes Stott, Dick Lucas, Lloyd-Jones and (sadly) Roy Clements as well as older writers. One fears he may fall into the trap of claiming that exposition is everything but he does not make that mistake quite. Read in one sitting a long time after the publication date.

Gospel Evidences of Saving Faith (Puritan Treasures for Today) by John Owen

This nicely presented little work is one of Owen's lesser known practical items. It is well worth reading as it recalls the Christian to holy living and repentance. This whole series from RHB looks like a very worthwhile effort.

Spurgeon's Forgotten Sabbatarianism: Examining the Role of the 4th Commandment in His Life and Theology by Brandon Rhea

Academic pieces don't always translate easily into popular works but this one does okay. It picks up on a forgotten or overlooked aspect of Spurgeon's life and writing - his adherence to the Lord's Day Christian Sabbath. It is not difficult for Dr Rhea to establlish his thesis and it is useful to have the full evidence of the position that Spurgeon (like many others) took. Spurgeon's position would be considered extreme even in conservative circles today, perhaps, but he is shown to be consistent with his roots and Scripture and he stands as a loud reminder to us that we really need to take this matter more seriously.

Is the Trinity Practical? by Ryan M. McGraw

This brief but helpful booklet by systematician Ryan McGraw begins by raising the question of whether the Trinity matters, moves on to what Trinitarian devotion looks like and then describes three pracical ways all this can be implemented in our lives - by developing a Trinitarian piety, seeing the importance of unity and diversity in church life and gaining great comfort from the work of all three. Good stuff.

Lord's Day July 19 2026

 

Preached my final two sermons from Luke yesterday. I have been preaching from Luke since 2023 and have preached over a hundred sermons atogether on this my second run through the third Gospel. Over the years I have preached through the synoptics twice each and John once. So it was the resurrection morning and evening yesterday and communion in the evening.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Odyssey-Christopher-Nolan/
dp/0571403387

On Friday my youngest son treated us to a trip to the cinema to see the new version of Homer's Odyssey. We couldn't get into the i-max but I don't think we missed much as the Vue version was clear, large and loud in a packed cinema. I tried to read the Odyssey many years ago and can't honestly remember how much I covered but most of the stories were familiar and Nolan seems to have been fairly faithful but switching back and for timewise to keep up interest. There were more fistfights and more swearing than in the original I guess in a macho action film that kept interest to the end but perhaps lacked a focus.

Midweek Meeting July 15 2026

Just four of us and one online last night, while everyone else watched the football. Our word for the evening was inerrancy and we all prayed to close.

Day Off Week 29

Nice day off Tuesday. There was some cofee, a little walking and some TV but the main thing was reading this excellent book by Dan Peters on distinct communion with the different persons of the Trinity.

Article in the Aug Sep Banner

I have an article on Unbelieving Husbands in the latest Banner Magazine, which they have kindly published. It is very basic but I hope it will help pastors and Christian women dealing with this.

Lord's Day July 12 2026

It was not me preaching last Lord's Day but our friend Chungman Shon. We are very hopeful this will lead to good things for Childs Hill. In the afternoon the members interviewed him. It was nice to meet his fiancee briefly. Watch this space.

Saturday's Farewell Service

 

The church very kindly arranged last Sunday a farewell service for us, as I step down from the pastorate at the end of the month (I will prach most of August and move at the end of September). Well over a hundred gathered (members, former members, locals, family and some few ministers and others from other churches). People are very kind.

The arrangment was that first two (sometimes tearful) long standing Nigerian members spoke about their memories and then one of our deacons interviewed us about our memories. One of the Nigerian ladies had a striking story I had forgotten about her being in a car in America somewhere and hearing an interview on the radio with Gary brady from Childs Hill Baptist Church!

After all this my father-in-law preached a straightforward mosty evangelistic sermon from Acts 10. Just right.

Then there was food and time for chatting. Enjoyed the plantain, the jollof rice and the Iranian food and all sorts of other things incuding the supermalt drinks.

Of course there were flowers and cards and gifts galore too. SO thankful.

Church Family Pic

 

Family Pics

 

Then and Now 2

 

We tried one of those reconstructions again recently.

This is me with my three oldest sons about thirty years apart.

Jan Akerman Lammy Part 2

I noticed this morning that someoone had highlighted my video, available here - Lammy Part 2 

The music is from Jan Akkerman's 1974 algum Tabernakel and for me is probably the most wonderful ever. I added pics interpreting the prompts given by Akkerman (Tabernakel, Last Will and Testament, Amen, etc)/ I write at Facebook

"I added those pictures about 16 yeara ago and I just rewatched. The music is superb and although the pics are done in a fairly amateurish way they do enhance the experience expecially if you know the story which is how Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness 40 years and died before entering the Promised Land. Moses and the Law will never get you into the Promised Land only Jesus can and here I start to preach - I am a preacher after all. Thanks again Jan."

Modern Life again

One feature of modern life is the way advertisers try and match up with what you are reading. It can produce humorous results and Private Eye has a regular feature on the subject. I spotted this on Bible Gateway today.

Midweek Meeting July 8 2026

There were nine of us present last night at the meeting. Two old friends are in town for the meeting on Saturday and our new attendee was there, as well as six others. We looked at the interesting subject of the regulative principle and then spent time in prayer. Good time.