Chalmers' Blog

Books for wee ones and not so wee ones…

I quite enjoy reading kids books, not just because I like the pictures but because, if done properly, they convey wonderfully deep and meaningful truths in simple language so that the smallest child can marvel at God. What we read to and teach our children is hugely important! We wouldn’t dare fill our own minds with false teaching and we wouldn’t read materials for spiritual growth that are not based on God’s Word. So we should expect no less from books for our children! Here are a few books for young children and some helpful books for pre-teens too…

Saturday Snippets (June 13)

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.

Great Communicator: No Gospel by Roger Carswell

It is a joy to have Roger Carswell as a guest post today. Roger is a Christian man who has such a passion and desire to see people reached with the message of Jesus. He is the author of many books and gospel tracts, check out his material here at 10ofThose and on his blog.

Two new series from Christian Focus…

Individual books are great, my blog is full of reviews of them, but I do quite enjoy reading a series of books. Most series are designed with specific people groups in mind, different ages and stages, different life circumstances and so on. Here are two new series from Christian Focus that I’ve read that I’d like to share with you. The first is written for teenagers on very relevant topics (anxiety, sanctification and technology) and the second is about some of the moral and sexual issues in our world today and what the Bible has to say (lust, homosexuality and transgenderism).

Where is God in a Messed-up World?

This is a question that many people are asking, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last few months our TV screens, mobile notifications and conversations have been full of the number of infections, spreading rate and deaths. It has been a horrible time for so many people and sadly many families will never be the same again. So, quite rightly, the question on many people’s lips is “Where is God in this Messed-up world?”

How to read more books, seven thoughts…

One of the questions that I get asked a lot is “how on earth do you read so much?” That question is usually followed up with “do you speed read?” The answer is that due to ill health I get very little sleep, which means I have more hours than most to read. But the answer to the second is; no, I do not speed read. I was recently asked for advice on Twitter, someone asked “Alistair, advice on reading more books?I’m averaging 1 a week and the stack I want to get through is growing!” Here are a few of my thoughts…

Why Should I Trust the Bible?

Come one now, don’t pretend you haven’t ask yourself this question! Whether you’re a Christian or not, if you’ve spent any time around Christians you’ll know that they talk about the Bible a lot. But can we really trust what it says? Is it reliable?

Saturday Snippets (May 30)

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.

Expository preaching, what it is and what is is not (or should not be)…

There are different styles of preaching and different ways that certain preachers might approach a passage of Scripture, or a topic, as they consider standing before a congregation and preaching. Over the years I’ve become convinced of the need for and benefit of expository preaching. Expository preaching is when a preacher takes the main point of a passage as his own and works through a book of the Bible.

Maybe when you read that last sentence certain stereotypes came to mind; boring, dull, monotone, academic, etc. But I’d like you to hear me out. Here is what I think expository preaching is and why it’s important and what it is not…

Interview; Exposit the Word

One of the things that I’ve been convinced of over the last number of years is the benefit and necessity for expository preaching, preaching consecutively through books of the Bible and letting the text shape your sermon. One of the ministries that I’ve come to know in the past few months is Exposit the Word. Here is an interview with David Knight, the founder of Exposit The Word. I hope that this will help give you a behind the scenes look into Exposit the Word and an insight into the importance of Biblical teaching.