In this episode Tom spoke to Adrian Martinez from Biblical Counselling Australia about what Biblical Counselling is, why it is important and his favourite counselling books.
What place does the household have in God’s plan to bring all things into submission to Christ? How did the Apostle Paul understand the household and families? What do the words piety, cosmos and household have to do with each other?
CR Wiley discusses these questions and more in his book The Household and the War for the Cosmos. In this episode we chatted about this as well as his newest book about Tom Bombadil – a little-known character from The Lord of the Rings who teaches us a lot about what godly dominion looks like.
Francis Schaeffer was one of the great Christian thinkers of the 20th century. Who better to talk about Schaeffer then Dr William Edgar, author of Schaeffer on the Christian Life, who knew Schaeffer personally and was converted under his ministry? In this episode we spoke to Dr Edgar about Schaeffer, culture, apologetics and jazz.
Conrad Mbewe pastors at Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia, and was recently out in Australia for a number of speaking engagements. While in Sydney, Tom met with Dr Mbewe to chat about the Gospel work in Zambia, missionary-pastors, counselling, and books of significance to his ministry and life.
The internet and smart phones have radically changed our lives. These technologies come with many benefits - the ability to communicate across vast distances and access to incalculable information. But we should think carefully about how best to use these technologies to the glory of God. In this episode, Tom chatted with James Jeffery about several books on this topic and why we need to think carefully about the internet and social media.
The Puritan Richard Baxter saw family worship as a duty for all Christian households. He worked hard to encourage and equip his church to worship God in their homes. In this episode of the Reformers Bookcast we discussed Baxter's view of family worship with Jonathan Williams, author of "A Practical Theology of Family Worship: Richard Baxter's Timeless Encouragement for Today's Home".
EQUIP Women is a large Bible teaching ministry for women in Australia. Each year the EQUIP committee puts together a book list of their recommended titles.
In this episode of the Reformers Bookcast, Tom chatted with Isobel and Jocelyn from EQUIP about a few highlights from their 2022 book list.
You can find out more about EQUIP at equip.org.au or view the EQUIP booklist at reformers.com.au/equip
Christianity has impacted our culture in many ways. Over the centuries, Christianity has taught our society the importance of values such as compassion, progress and freedom. In this episode Tom spoke to Glen Schivener, the author of The Air We Breathe, about how we all came to believe in these Christian values.
It's been a best seller since it was first published in 1678. It's a captivating allegorical tale about the Christian life. It's soaked in scriptural truth and reflects the hard realities of life. It has been cherished by great Christians of the past with Spurgeon reportedly reading it over 100 times in his life. It's John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress. In this episode Tom and Cassie talk about this classic book.
Friendship has been underemphasised by Christians in our day. So argues Michael Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
In the past, friendship was a topic of utmost importance to Christians and to unbelievers as well.
In this episode we talk to Michael about his new book on friendship, “Iron Sharpens Iron: Friendship and the Grace of God”, which takes a look at some friendships between pastors in the 18th century.
Every word we speak matters, but surely some words have special importance—like those we say to people who are struggling spiritually. In this episode, we talk to Cheryl Marshall and Caroline Newheiser, coauthors of When Words Matter Most, about how to speak God's truth with grace to those we love.
Do you serve God’s people with joy? Or is it a drudgery and a pain?
When you go on holidays, do your devotions drop off? Or does the change of scene help you draw nearer to God?
In this episode we caught up with John Hindley, author of “Serving Without Sinking” and the new book “Refreshed: Devotions For Your Time Away”, to discuss how to serve with love, why rest is important and how to use the creation around us to meditate on the goodness and grace of God.
Whether we're waiting a traffic light or waiting for suffering to end, Christians are called to be patient through difficulty. In this episode we're joined by Megan Hill, author of 'Patience: Waiting with Hope,' which is part of the 31-Day Devotionals for Life series. We discuss the beauty of patience, how it points us to Jesus, and what we can do to cultivate it.
Liturgy may not be the most exciting word to consider when it comes to a daily time of worship, but, as Jonathan Gibson (author of Be Thou My Vision and Reformation Worship) points out in this episode, we all have a liturgy and by picking up the best of the prayers, confessions, creeds and catechisms we can enrich our daily worship.
Jonny also spoke to us about his new kid’s book series starting with The Acrostic of God and the heart-breaking circumstances that prompted the writing of his beautiful and moving children’s book The Moon is Always Round.
Jonny’s books can all be viewed here.
Douglas Wilson is the author of dozens of books on a wide range of topics. But the foundations of Doug's teaching are the topics of marriage, parenting, education and a gospel that impacts all of life. In this episode Tom spoke to Doug about these foundational subjects and why they are so important.
We typically think of evangelism as the "gospel" conversation that you have with someone about sin, judgement, Jesus, the cross and forgiveness. This is certainly a crucial conversation. But what if there were other ways we could weave the great topics of God and eternity into our conversations? C.S. Lewis loved to bring up topics that really matter in his conversation and in his books. In "Mere Evangelism", author and evangelist Randy Newman explores 10 insights from C.S. Lewis to help you share your faith. Randy joined us in this episode to discuss his book.
Season 4 of the Reformers Bookcast is about to launch, and we have a great line-up of guests joining us on the Bookcast. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, tune in, and hear about some great books and the people behind them!
Back in mid-2019, Dr. Joel Beeke visited Reformers Bookshop, and presented two talks at Stanmore Baptist Church on "Calvin's Life: Practical Lessons" and "The Puritan Life: Joyful or Joyless". Just before this Reformers-organised public talk, Dr. Beeke and Tom spoke about Joel Beeke's childhood and the story behind his love of books and the puritans. This is one of our favourite interviews, and you will share Dr. Beeke's contagious passion for the Lord.
Dr. Peter Jones from TruthXChange, while in Australia for multiple speaking engagements in 2018, spoke with Tom prior to the Reformers event "The Arrival of the Post-Secular Age" at Stanmore Baptist Church on the topic of new-age spirituality and secularism.
Following the Restoring True Humanity event in Sydney back in 2018, Ed Welch and Peter Sondergeld visited Reformers. Here in this episode, we revisit an interview talking about biblical counselling, specifically for kids through the New Growth Press series of books "Good News for Little Hearts".