Chalmers' Blog

Saturday Snippets (November 11)

As well as reading a lot of books, I also read a ton of articles every week. Here are some of the articles that I’ve read recently and have found interesting, helpful, challenging and encouraging. I hope that they will be the same for you, my dear readers…

Saturday Snippets (November 4)

3 marks of a Christian from Philemon – Part 1

Great things come in small packages. You’ve probably heard that before; I remember saying it once as a child when someone called me short. Some of life’s most life-changing moments come in small things. An engagement ring in a small box, a gift through the post, a job contract folded in an envelope. In our current stage of life, I would probably say that babies come packaged up quite small but are definitely life-altering.

Saturday Snippets (October 28)

Books about the Book

There is one type of book that lines many a preachers bookshelves, commentaries. Some people view commentaries with suspicion, thinking that they are pushing a certain agenda and shouldn’t be trusted. While there are some, fewer in number I think, who view commentaries as a sermon script and when they preach they basically read the commentary out. However, commentaries aren’t only for clergy or those in Christian ministry. There are commentaries that are helpful for all Christians. Commentaries come in all shapes and sizes, there are the thick academic ones that dive into the original languages and sentence structure, etc. and there are smaller more devotional commentaries that are designed to help you understand the text and quickly know how to apply it to your life. Some commentaries were written in academic offices and other were first preached as sermons in churches. The commentary world is a mixed bag, but in their right place (more on that in a blog post at another time) commentaries can be very helpful. So let me introduce you to 3 today…

Saturday Snippets (October 21)

Saturday Snippets (October 14)

Bouncing around the Bible

I was walking and talking with my wife yesterday discussing one of the latest books that I’ve read. One of my comments about the book was how I liked that the author went to different parts of the Bible to show common themes and to highlight certain details. My wife responded with something like “so the book did what you hate happening in sermons?” Correct, let me explain.

The Lord of Psalm 23

Psalm 23 is probably one of the most well known passages of the Bible, often still being quoted or referred to in funerals of both Christians and non-Christians. I personally have a tricky history with Psalm 23, it has been a joy and a challenge to read it with different people and in different settings over the years. However, when I saw this book, I knew that I needed to read it and I am so glad that I did! In fact, I’m so glad that I read it that I would encourage you to read it too.