Book Reviews

C H Spurgeon wrote that the Puritan Richard Sibbes ‘never wastes the student’s time. He scatters pearls and diamonds with both hands.’ This book is no exception – there is treasure on every page. This series of four sermons is based on the words of the prophetess Huldah addressed to King Josiah as found in […]

‘Murray’s engaging biography paints an endearing portrait of the well-known Southern California pastor . . . In these days of trendy, self-promoting, culture-infatuated, success-driven preachers, John MacArthur Jr.’s steadfast confidence in the power of God’s Word is a tremendous model to ministers and churches everywhere . . . yet another outstanding biography from one of […]

The Puritan Richard Sibbes has been called ‘the heavenly doctor’ because his messages show such a deep understanding of the human soul. Believing that there is more grace in Christ than sin in us his aim was to woo sinners to Christ. He was so gently persuasive that hardened sinners deliberately avoided his sermons for […]

Most Christians will have heard of John MacArthur. For more than 40 years he has been Pastor of the same large church in Los Angeles, USA. He is best known for his books, audio sermons and radio broadcasts. This biography by the co-founder of Banner of Truth brings to life John MacArthur. We find a […]

This is the first book of the series and starts with a brief overview of Jesus’ life and teaching, introduces the reader to his disciples and particularly to John, who as an old man came to know and befriend both Ignatius and Polycarp, young men at the time. This book tells the story of Ignatius, […]

If interest in and admiration for a subject can be gauged by the number of popular books produced then it is evident that John Knox’s reputation has been on the wane and even suffering systematic undermining for over the past sixty odd years. Up till the 1930s a reasonable flow of reasonably sympathetic popular treatments […]

‘Servant of the Word and Flock’ is an apt subtitle for Iain Murray’s new biography of John MacArthur.1 The book leaves us convinced that no ministry is as important to MacArthur as serving his church by teaching and preaching God’s Word. Murray points out that the one stipulation Dr. MacArthur made when accepting the call […]

‘While it may not end up being the most complete biography, it is hard to imagine that there will be one as well-written and interesting.’[John Bird on Iain Murray’s new biography of John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock at his ‘While We Sojourn’ blog.] Below are links to selected online reviews of Banner […]

25 years ago I stumbled across the writings of the Puritan Thomas Brooks when I found five volumes of his works for sale at £2 each in a Christian bookshop. I soon discovered that I had purchased a gold mine of Biblical truth for a pittance. Thomas Brooks writes in a rich and warm way, […]

Rob Bell is one of the hottest Christian preachers in America today, but does he say anything that’s uniquely Christian? In his new book, Love Wins, Bell paints a picture of a God who loves, but doesn’t ground it in God’s defining act of love towards men: the atoning death of Jesus Christ. Instead, what […]

This little book has been published to commemorate the forthcoming 500th anniversary of the birth of John Knox, the great Scottish reformer. It consists of the transcripts of two addresses given by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in the 1960’s and a new biographical sketch written by Iain H. Murray. In the first address Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones […]

Rob Bell and the (Re)Emergence of Liberal Theology In his new book, Love Wins1, Rob Bell takes his stand with those who have tried to rescue Christianity from itself. This is a massive tragedy by any measure. The novelist Saul Bellow once remarked that being a prophet is nice work if you can get it. […]

Richard Bennett begins his book1 with an autobiography. Born into a devout RC family he spent eight years in theological training for the priesthood. He was assigned to the West Indies where he spent 21 years serving in Trinidad as a parish priest. After a life-threatening accident he began an earnest study of the Bible. […]

First published 1667 This book is an exposition of Romans 7:21, ‘I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present within me.’ In essence this is a book to help Christians know themselves and their enemy. The original was written by the great Puritan theologian John Owen and first published […]

‘With laudable brevity, wry wit, proverbial pithiness, earnest devotion, vigorous plainness and gripping earthiness, Spurgeon paints his portrait of the King of kings, bringing the beauties of the Lord Christ into sharp relief and sweet expression.’ [Jeremy Walker on Spurgeon’s Commentary on Matthew at his ‘The Wanderer’ blog.] Below are links to selected online reviews […]

In this book you will find a collection of short stories (between three and six pages long) for children between the ages of four and 12. They could either be read alone or read aloud by an adult, but given the wide range of subject matter and the topical index at the back they could […]

A product of Spurgeon’s last years, this1 is the only complete commentary on a book he wrote (excepting his treatment of the Psalms, which was in some senses more of a compendium of others’ comments). You will forgive me for saying it is magnificently Spurgeonic: from its opening paragraph, Spurgeon points us to Christ and […]

Edward Donnelly’s wonderful preaching gifts translate very naturally into the printed word, and in this book he addresses the most ultimate subjects which any of us could consider. The opening four chapters deal squarely with the horrors of eternal punishment, yet they are marked by utter fidelity to the biblical text and by a profound […]

This is a wonderful biography. It is all the more powerful in view of the fact that the subject is so little known. It is the biography of a spiritually-minded preacher and pastor. The reader finds himself in the heady atmosphere of periods of great spiritual fervour and revival. It is free-offer, historic Calvinism at […]

The aim of this book is to show the relevance of the Bible’s teaching on the sovereignty of God to our daily lives. In 10 chapters Fred Leahy shows how the sovereign Lord is the hand that creates, governs, provides, redeems, keeps, guides, chastens, blesses, enables and judges. Mr. Leahy writes in an accessible, yet […]

‘Ferguson writes in a way that children can understand, while the adults benefit, too. The gospel is presented clearly, and the truth that following Christ may lead to persecution and martyrdom is handled well.’ [John Bird on Sinclair B. Ferguson’s Ignatius of Antioch: The Man Who Faced Lions at his ‘While We Sojourn’ blog.] Below […]

The Geneva Bible, first printed in 1560, is arguably the second most important English translation of the Bible after the King James Version. It was the work of a group of English Protestant exiles who lived in Calvin’s Geneva during the oppressive reign of Mary Tudor. This translation became immediately popular with over 150 editions […]

Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons Sidney Greidanus Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010 xvii + 340 pages, softcover, $26.00 ISBN: 978 0 80286 535 9 This is the third ‘Preaching Christ’ book written by Sidney Greidanus, professor emeritus of preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. His other works are entitled […]

A little book (95 x 130mm) but a treasure if you are comfortable praying in the language of yesteryear. Although taken from the Scottish Psalter of 1595, the introduction (well worth reading) explains that these prayers based on the Psalms date back even earlier, to a French Psalter of 1567 with ‘a prayer at the […]

Do you struggle with what to say in your prayers? Do you find that you use the same phrases over and over again? Would you like to pray more in line with scripture? Then this wonderful book is for you. Originally published in 1710, it was written by Matthew Henry, who is best known for […]