I would not necessarily agree with all the emphases and recommendations, but - as someone who might end up at the sharp end of this kind of law - I appreciate the clarity of Rowan Atkinson's argument, and the defence of the right to speak plainly. As ever, one is obliged to smirk at the intolerance...

Light is one of those commodities, like oxygen, much underestimated until one finds oneself in need of it. I am particularly conscious of this because my desk light - a quite splendid piece of kit - decided to pack up rather suddenly a few days ago. Being a sentimental type, I sent it off to the...

Am I Really A Christian? Mike McKinley Crossway , 2011, 160pp., paperback, $12.99 / £8.99 ISBN 978-1-4335-2576-6 We must be able to give the right answer for the right reasons to this all-important question, because heaven or hell hang upon that answer. Mike McKinley's book is designed to guide us...

The home which God has given to me and my family is one for which I am deeply grateful. However, as with cars, computers and bodies, home-owning is one of the great demonstrators of entropy. In my case, though, it also happens to demonstrate something a little more. The chap who owned the house...

Matthew Henry: His Life and Influence Allan Harman Christian Focus , 2012, 208pp., paperback, £8.99 ISBN 9781845507831 While Matthew Henry's commentary, though sneered at in some quarters, remains rightly esteemed, the man himself is often little more than a cipher. Though in a style that is not...

A quick note: Lee Gatiss has edited George Whitefield's Sermons in two volumes for Crossway. The two hardbound volumes are available from Amazon for £37.79 at the moment, but the whole shebang is available in a Kindle edition for only £10.52 . No idea how long this offer will last so bag it quickly...

Troubling reports are filtering through from the United Kingdom's capital. Apparently, there are concerns about a group of children, approximately seventy in number, suffering from a so far unexplained trauma. Counsellors in West London have been called in by worried parents, but the authorities...

I remember hearing the story: a gathering of ministers in a place that had known God's blessing in an unusual degree in time past, grieving over the present low state of things and seeking the Lord for his return. They pondered and discussed the ways and means that the Lord had given by means of...

Dr William Bates preached the funeral sermon of Thomas Manton. When we read how he described his departed friend, we understand why it is reported that Bates would weep whenever he spoke of Manton for some years after his friend's death. At the same time, the description below provides us with a...

How would you close a sermon? How would you bring to an end a sermon in which you were pleading for sinners to receive God's great pardon for sin? Here is an example from Spurgeon, preaching from Psalm 25.11 ("Pardon my iniquity, O Lord, for it is great"), in a sermon entitled "Great Pardon for...

Readers here may be interested to note that Joel Beeke has entered the blogosphere. Those wishing to follow may find him at Joel Beeke: Doctrine for Life . At the moment he is mainly blogging a couple of preaching tours. Enjoy!

C.M. (Brent) Come, merciful and mighty God, And break these hearts of stone: Your word the heavenly instrument, The power yours alone. These stubborn wills conform to yours; To feeble minds give light; Put fire into these empty hearts; Exert your gracious might. Give life where death is ruling now...

I suspect that those of you who hear a fair amount of preaching have experienced this, haven't you? Somewhere along the line the preacher has been informed that a rhetorical question is a good way to engage his congregation, hasn't he? And so what does he do? Well, he uses them almost relentlessly...

Now that the news has broken that my album - tentatively entitled Funkier Than You Think - may be hitting the market before long, I feel marginally better qualified to speak to the issue of the sung worship of the church. The New Testament data with regard to singing in the worship of the church is...

L.M. (Rockingham) Psalm 16 In you, O Lord, I put my trust; Preserve me in my time of need, I lie before you in the dust, And have no goodness there to plead. Among the saints on earth I reap Pleasures exceeding all below; This is the company I keep, These are the truest friends I know. Let others...

A Review of The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins ( Scholastic Press, 2010) The Premise The Hunger Games trilogy ( The Hunger Games , Catching Fire and Mockingjay ) by Suzanne Collins is a current publishing phenomenon which is now a cinematic phenomenon as well. The series is set in Panem, a...

In an attempt to serve my generation by the will of God (Acts 13.36), I make a careful but concerted effort (believe it or not) to employ technology - including social media - wisely and well. I was recently struck by Al Mohler's statement that "if you don't engage social media in a responsible and...

When the Jews saw Christ weep outside the tomb of Lazarus, this demonstration of his deep affection (compare Jn 11.3, 5) brought forth the declaration: "See how he loved him!" (Jn 11.36). His attitude and actions left the onlookers in no doubt concerning the feeling of Christ for his beloved friend...

C.M. (Beatitudo) Psalm 1 How greatly favoured is the man Who, by the grace of God, Walks not in step with sinful men, Nor treads the sinner's road. The seat of mockers holds no joy: All wickedness is spurned By them whose love is for the law, Who righteousness have learned. God's precepts are their...

Despite the temptation to rise to Dr Trueman's bait - I can only assume that the man who wrote a book called Histories and Fallacies had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he whiffled out that tosh about Baptists "executing Dutch nudists," otherwise one wonders precisely how reliable is the...

Consider the man born into a family of terrorists. The man's father had rebelled against the King of the kingdom in which he lived, and - having so rebelled - all his posterity were brought up to hate and fight the King who ruled in this kingdom. It is to this family that the man belongs. Having...

Like many, you may be appalled at how often the Lord Jesus issues a command to those whom he has healed to keep silent about what has taken place and the command is immediately not just ignored but thoroughly trampled upon. "Horrors!" we cry, "Didn't they hear him? Weren't they listening when he...

For those who may be in the vicinity of Coventry (in the UK - not sure if there are others) on Monday 23rd April, you are warmly invited to the next Bulkington Lecture on church history at Bulkington Congregational Church . I have been asked to give a biographical address on Hugh Latimer, which...

Contra Mr Levy, I have not been spending my time in Zambia waiting for opportunities to assault people who went to worship God last Sunday. Indeed, I am delighted to know it. The thrust of my previous post was merely to emphasise that I would be particularly pleased to know that they are looking...