• Books,  Reviews

    Review: James (Big Greek Idea)

    Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of looking over James: Big Greek Idea, the first in a new commentary series by Kregel Academic. I love the premise of this series! It provides a type of commentary that I have not seen before. It takes the benefits of a Greek language commentary (such as the NIGTC), and combines it with bits of an expositional commentary (such as the ProcTrust series), whilst also including details for teachers and language students. This makes the series, in my eyes, something to dip into regularly as I preach through a book. To make the most of this series you will need…

  • Books,  Reviews

    Review: Are you 100% sure you want to be an agnostic?

    A quick glance at the current landscape shows that agnosticism appears to be the trendy thing to be. Gone are the days of the ‘New Atheists’ with their outspoken opinions, and in their wake now stand the ‘nones’. People who don’t have a religious affiliation on their census. The people who asked whether God exists will reply ‘I don’t know’. The position that appears wise in a world torn between competing opinions. Peaceful, centred, not causing a ruckus. Agnostic – a trendy choice. But can you be agnostic about Jesus? To answer that question Andrew Sach and Jonathan Gemmell come along with their new book ‘are you 100% sure you…

  • Books,  Reviews

    Review: ESV Bible with Creeds and Confessions

    Crossway has been publishing different editions of their well-received ESV Bible for a while now. This year they have released the ‘ESV Bible with Creeds and Confessions’ to add to their collection. Since receiving my copy I have used it as my go-to Bible in my office, and put it through its paces! Looks Box The first thing you see, as you open the shipping box, is the presentation box. This has been very well designed, with red and gold colours. It really stands out. Cover Once again Crossway has outdone themselves in making a very nice-looking Bible. The edition I have is brown TruTone stretched over board. This gives…

  • Books

    Review: The Mind Muddler by Jo Boddam-Whetham

    “God made our minds to run on his trackbut instead we chose the track that was cracked.Like fools we live in a tunnel of lies;and fools without God can never be wise.” I do not think that a book like this exists in the children’s market – or at least, I have never seen a book that tackles this particular topic aimed at children (feel free to let me know of others in the comments!). Over the past few years, 10ofThose have been publishing a number of well thought out children’s books. The Mind Muddler joins this ever-growing collection, and it is one of the best so far. Let me…

  • Books

    Review: Reformed Systematic Theology Vol. 1 by Joel Beeke & Paul Smalley

    ‘Reformed Systematic Theology’ is the latest volume put out by Joel Beeke, Paul M. Smalley and published by Crossway. This is the first in a projected 4-volume work, aiming to cover the broad category of Systematic Theology. This particular volume looks at the themes of Revelation and God (or Theology Proper). It has been said that the church needs good theology that engages the head, heart, and hands. In this volume, Beeke and Smalley say that they are aiming to do that as they ‘seek to strengthen a Christian reformed according to the Word of God’ (p. 114) From that description, you may feel that this is a cold academic…

  • Books

    Review: My Bible Animals Storybook by Dandi Daley Mackall

    10ofThose have been putting out some good quality children’s books recently (see Rosie & Friends for example) and this is no exception. The artwork is lovely, and the approach is fun too. The author has managed to write a Bible storybook around the ideas of animals – and one thing I’ve learnt since getting this book is that children love animals! There are two pages to each story, but the author does not make it so that the animal is central. When I first saw the title I thought it would be making the animals centre-stage, at the cost of the actual Bible message. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to…