Christian Focus

Category posts: New Release

Meeting Christ in the Garden

18 October 2023

Tim Chester

The great nineteenth–century preacher Charles Spurgeon described the Song of Solomon as the Most Holy Place. He compared the historical books of the Bible to the outer courts of the temple, and the Gospels, Epistles, and Psalms to the Holy Place: the place that only the priests could enter. His point was that, to a greater and lesser extent, all these books bring us near to God. But the Song of Songs is ‘the Most Holy Place’, the inner sanctum, a holy of holies. It ‘occupies a sacred enclosure …

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Memorable Loss

19 June 2023

Karen Martin

Do you know someone living with dementia? Most of us will be able to answer yes to this; more people are being diagnosed each day and it is a disease which affects over 850,000 people.

This means that dementia is not only about the person living with the disease – its impact is far more wide–reaching. Memorable Loss is a story of friendship, and how an Alzheimer diagnosis challenged, changed and deepened my friendship with Kathleen.

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Yet to Come

22 May 2023

Deborah Howard

The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:2, says he longs to be clothed with his heavenly dwelling. Do you? Do I? Can we really say with Paul, in the verses that follow, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling.”

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The Myth of Jonathan Edwards

19 May 2023

Deborah Howard

For many, merely the name of Jonathan Edwards called up images of gloom and doom, of Puritan austerity, of judgment and intolerance. His most famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is likely responsible for this errant picture of him.

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Why Not You?

17 May 2023

J.M. Gurvsy

We were the most unlikely missionaries. Though I grew up in a serious evangelical family, missionary service was simply not on my radar. Our church welcomed missionaries whenever they visited, and we gave generously to support their labors. But I don’t remember our church ever making a public appeal for members of the congregation to consider going and serving themselves.

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Family Ties that Bind to God’s Glory

12 May 2023

Mary K. Mohler

I’m pleased to now hold my new book on the life of Susannah Spurgeon. As with any book, it is the culmination of a long process. There is something special about opening a box and pulling the book out for the first time.

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Confidence: Where do we find it?

09 January 2023

Thomas Davis

Right, let’s start with a questionnaire. I am going to give you a few different scenarios that (theoretically) you could experience this week, and for each one I want you to choose one of two options to describe how that potential scenario makes you feel. Option A is that you feel something along the lines of positive, strong, optimistic or energized. Option B is the opposite; you feel negative, weak, apprehensive or drained.

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Let God be True, and everyone a sinner

21 December 2022

Paul Wells

A friend recently made two pointed comments on an important subject. In his church, an evangelical church, sin only figures superficially in the preaching. And the only sin people recognise today is hurting someone’s feelings.

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5 Biblical Steps to Enduring Growth

10 November 2022

Paul Wells

Books on Christian Growth often follow one of three basic approaches. The most common of these follows a systematic theology model, sometimes taking into account the order of salvation, or more often focussing on biblical sanctification or holiness. The second type focusses more exclusively on holiness and practices that promote it, such as prayer. More recently the tendency is toward down to earth Christian self–help manuals, majoring in ‘how it feels’ to be a believer or how to tackle mental heal

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Wow– a Giant!

16 September 2022

Eryl Davies

That is no exaggeration. As a nine–year–old boy in a mid–week children’s’ meeting in our village Presbyterian church in North Wales, during the winter months an elderly lady serialised the story of Thomas Charles (1755–1814) on a weekly basis. And it was exciting. In fact, I remember being one of the children who wanted her to carry on with the story. Why wait a week before hearing more? We were enthralled. ‘No’, was her firm and regular response, ‘come again next week and hear more’.

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