Chalmers' Blog

Learning Contentment This Christmas

A few years ago Sabine, my wife, and I were watching a Christmas movie and one of the songs caught our attention. Here are some of the lyrics;

“You can keep your peace on earth

You can keep your holy birth

Keep your frankincense and myrrh

Christmas cheer, whats that worth

I want something I can use

Designer clothes or groovy shoes

I want diamonds, big and rough

All I want is Christmas stuff”

Saturday Snippets (December 9)

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…

A mixed goodie bag

As the year goes on, I find that my to-review pile mounts up. Most of the book on that pile are good, but because of the volume of Christian material that is published each year, it’s hard to know where to invest your time because time is limited. That’s where I come in! Today I’d like to present you with a number of books that have been on my shelf, I’ll keep the reviews short, but hopefully you’ll get a feel for whether a book is for you or not. You’ll find devotional material, books on Christian living, parenting and books for young teens.

Saturday Snippets (December 2)

Flippancy doesn’t honour God or others

Being a Pastor is an unusual job, I often get told I don’t look like a Pastor, which I take as a massive compliment! When non-believers find out what I do for a living they normally respond in one of the following ways;

1. “Sorry, I’m not religious”

2. “I used to go to Sunday school!”

3. “What does that involve?” Normally with genuine confusion on their face.

It’s quite funny really, there are obviously other answers that have come back in response, but I can’t say those.

It’s Christmas Time

Ok, well, not quite. It is still November, but there are Christmas songs on the radio, Christmas decorations on houses, tress being decorated and presents are being bought and wrapped. The hustle and bustle has already started, so it’s good to take time to consider what tools we have to fix our minds on Jesus and not just the trimmings of 21 Century Christmas. I’d like to highlight some resources to you, some are advent readings and devotionals, others are giveaways for both the young and old (or older!). I’ll keep the reviews short and sweet, just to give you a feel for what’s on offer this year. Let’s start with the resources for big ones first..

Saturday Snippets (November 25)

Copy and paste = lack of input and waste

I live in the realm of books and ministry. I’m surrounded by the newest books on discipleship and serving in the church, in commentaries on books of the Bible and in the newest fads and trends of the Christian world. The temptation might be to simply copy and paste, but that results in a lack of input from people who know the church (and are invested in their spiritual growth) and it’s a waste of time. Let me explain.

Meeting Christ in the Garden

I find myself speaking a lot about devotional material lately, reading and recommending devotional books for Christians and thinking about what’s involved in the devotional life of a believer. So I’d like to introduce a devotional book to you, but it’s not one you might expect, it’s on the Song of Songs.