Reading and Readers

We all want our church to grow. Some say that the best way to grow the church is to make the church attractive to seekers. Have sermons that gives answers to their problems, create a powerful worship experience, and do everything you can to pull people in. Then someone comes along and asks the question, “What if we got it all wrong? What if the key to growing the church is the Gospel? What does th...

Dale Ralph Davis is a magician. By that I mean reading his books is a magical experience. He surprises, he delights, he makes the familiar Bible stories extraordinarily special. Anyone can be a stage magician, you just need hard work and a magician willing to share the secret to the tricks. And in today’s book, that is what Davis did for biblical interpretation.

This diary of Pastor Case Parker is a work of fiction. Thank goodness for that, because if this diary revealed the thoughts of an actual pastor, it would be a disaster for the church, a disaster that the church might never recover from, or would it? Would it be such a bad thing?

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is one character who is a selfish, conniving liar, but we still cheer for him. His name is Loki. In the Bible, we also have a selfish, conniving, liar whom we also cheer for. His name is Jacob.

It’s not that I forgot my anniversary, it’s that I didn’t want to appear empty handed. And that is why I waited until I published a book review episode before I record this annual anniversary episode. But I couldn’t remember which year it was. Fourth year or fifth year? I had to look it up.

“Is Francis Schaeffer a rationalist?” is a question that should only interest people who already know him. But, even though I don’t really know the man or his work, I found a defence of his apologetics helpful in thinking more precisely and more lovingly. If only all of us were as passionate for God, for people and for the truth.

Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends edited by Kevin Vanhoozer, Charles Anderson and Michael Sleasman. Book Review . Tolkien Dogmatics: Theology through Mythology with the Maker of Middle-earth by Austin M. Freeman. Book Review . Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Book Review . Silence by Shusaku Endo. Book Review . Silence and Beauty by Makoto Fujimura. Book Review...

After many long years, I finally ticked one book off my great books list. Instead of reading excerpts and quotes and never being sure whether they were taken out of context or not, I have read for myself John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.

In a list of books to read before I die, Augustine’s The City of God would rank high on that list. I tried reading it 20 years ago, but I didn’t manage to get very far. Over the years, I considered taking it up again, but... 1,000 pages! I needed a big reason to start this big book. And this year, I found that reason.

You have heard of the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John but have you heard of the Gospel according to Jesus? Today’s book shatters the idea that you can have Jesus as your Saviour without him being your Lord and Master.

Long before there was an app for everything, we had a word of wisdom for every situation we found ourselves in. In this age of search engines and AI, never has it been clearer that we need wisdom. Hopefully, we will get some today.

If John, the writer of Revelation, was a reporter he would be fired for publishing fake news. He is not a reporter. He is a highly intelligent and creative writer who used the apocalyptic genre to reveal the truth of God. Did John see what he claimed to see? Find out in today’s episode.

Reading and Readers is now 4 years old! And I just missed the anniversary. It's official. The romance has gone!

A letter from an apostle to a slave owner; a letter brought to the owner through his runaway slave. The apostle never asks his friend to release the slave, only to receive him as a brother in Christ. But what does that request mean for the slave, for the owner, for the rest of us?

There is an old Chinese Proverb, “化干戈为玉帛” which translates to, “Turning weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk”. It means turning hostility into friendship. That’s what today’s book is all about.

The Old Testament is all about the Law; the New Testament is all about Grace. That statement over-simplifies the relationship of the Law in the Christian life. If you have questions that need answering, I have a book for you.

Transcript: https://readingandreaders.com/podcast/silence-and-beauty-by-makoto-fujimura/

Transcript: https://readingandreaders.com/podcast/year-end-reflection-2024/

Silence by Shusaku Endo. Amazon . Transcript: https://readingandreaders.com/podcast/silence-by-shusaku-endo/

Philippians: Crossway Classic Commentaries. Amazon . Logos .

Many of us only think about God and our faith come Sunday when we pray, praise God, hear the Word then say good bye as we go back to the rest of our mundane life. But what if the mundane was revealed to be glorious?  Transcript:  

Rejuvenation for the weary preacher. A siren call for sluggish Christians. The book that re-established the primacy of preaching in the church. Transcript: https://readingandreaders.com/podcast/preaching-and-preachers-by-martyn-lloyd-jones/ Support Me: https://buymeacoffee.com/terencetan

What can you say to those who grieve? What can you do for those who have lost a loved one? How can you do all that without coming off as an insensitive oaf? If only they would tell us how to comfort them. Hi, my name is Terence, and I’m your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review books for you. Today, I review “What Grieving People Wish You Knew About What Really Helps (and What Re...

In the past, many got married for sex and thus for personal fulfillment. Nowadays, many don’t see a need to get married to get sex. Yet, whether married or not, people were not being personally fulfilled. How do marriage, sex, and personal fulfillment come together, if at all? Hi, my name is Terence, and I'm your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today...

Everyone wants to know how to make money, how to lose weight, how to make friends and influence people. But before all that, more importantly, the first thing we got to know is how to think -- and as people who live our lives before God -- specifically, it is knowing how to think theologically. Hi, my name is Terence and I’m your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian boo...