Chalmers' Blog

Saturday Snippets (January 16)

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…

The Lone Ranger and The Couch Commentator…

The Lone Ranger, the person characterised by the catchphrase “I work on my own terms”. The couch commentator, the one always sitting on the sidelines but always has an opinion on how things should be done. We laugh and joke about these generalisations, but they are real and they are dangerous…

Let’s Talk About Sex

Sex: it’s a really interesting topic in the Christian world; it’s either never talked about and is a bit like a taboo or it’s talked about too much and is a bit like an obsession. Historically the church hasn’t done a great job of talking about and teaching on sex. This has changed in the last and now more books on sex are being released for Christians. I do worry though that we may be on the road to talking more about sex than the world, but that’s a rabbit hole for another post. I don’t often read books about sex because they can all be very similar. But here are three that I’ve read recently and I thought I’d share them with you.

Saturday Snippets (January 9)

Do Not Build Your Faith On The Sand

The foundations of a house are unseen, hidden behind layers of earth, hidden beneath a heavy structure that looks the part and maybe even has all the right features to say it’s beautiful. But if there is a crack or a fault in the foundations, that beautiful house won’t stand for long. It won’t crumble in a day. But over the months, cracks will appear in the walls and ceilings. Give it a few more months and the floors will become uneven and the door frames will begin to squeal. Little by little, slowly but surely the house will begin to fall. It may take a year or 3, it may even take 20 or 30, but if the foundation is spoilt the house will crumble. The problem was always there, but the problem was hidden.

Jars of Clay

Anxiety, it is a feeling that has become a companion to many people. Anxiety is a crippling thing for some that can cause them to not leave the house and cause them to fear the smallest of tasks. Sadly, anxiety is not a stranger today, but it is a common feature in many people’s lives. Therefore, I am so happy that Catherine Haddow has written this great book to help the anxious soul.

Saturday Snippets (January 2)

The Certainty of The New Year…

To say that 2020 was a bit of a surprise is probably one of the biggest understatements in the world. Nobody expected to spend the majority of the year at home. Like many people, you maybe began the year with hopes and dreams, laughing and hugging loved ones whilst watching fireworks and sipping some bubbly. Some even said “2020 will be my year” and so on. It was a surprise for us all.
But before we cast it off completely, God has been at work. The wonderful news is that despite the many unknowns of 2021, there ARE things that we can be certain of…

Missionary – Theologian

I was quite excited to receive a copy of this book to review. I have lived on the mission field, my parents are missionaries in Romania, so I naturally have an interest in the topic of missions. I’ve also thought for a very long time that the people we send on global missions should be trained and equipped theologians (as, I would argue, every Christian should be).