A Trip Round My (Much Smaller) Part of My Library.

I was stirred and enjoyed looking at the You-Tube videos posted by T4G having a tour round some of the celebrities such as MacArthur, Mark Dever and so on. I've always had a great love for books but these videos challenged me to sort my library out somewhat and make more use of the awesome resources that are available and should not be taken for granted!

So rather than posted a video (I thought that would be a bit pretentious) - here's a few pictures of what my library looks like.

So this is the "Ern Baxter" section to my library. Unsurprisingly I've devoted many years of my life to building up my collection of articles, sermons, New Wine Magazines (the pile in the bottom right of the photo) and audio tapes of this great hero of mine. The picture in the middle is of Ern sitting with some of the Dunstable elders when he came to visit in 1991 just before he went to glory.

This next picture is a couple of shelves down of the audio tapes with collections I've salvaged from my home church in Dunstable of old Restoration magazines and New Wine Magazines.

The next photo is of the collection of old Stoneleigh Bible Week videos and Brighton conference videos that I've collected as well as books on the Holy Spirit and the Charismatic Movement, gifts of the Holy Spirit and so on.

The next bookshelf is one of my favourite - all the Puritan, Jonathan Edwards, C H Spurgeon (although the majority of the Metropolitan Tabernacle volumes are housed in London).

It's been a busy few days tidying and sorting in - but made me so grateful to God for the servants He has given the Church over the centuries! The written word and the spoken word give us so many opportunities to learn more about the God that we love. But I say again - all the books and tapes in the world CANNOT replace a living encounter with God Himself. Rob Rufus said;

"I love the Bible and I preach the Bible and I believe the Word of God is of paramount importance but friends - we have got to love the Author of this Book. When Glenda was living away - she used to write to me and perfume her letters. But it is not the shadow - it was her I wanted to meet. I love reading the Scriptures but I want to know the Author! I want to encounter the Author!".

These books have got to act like clues - revealing little by little more of the One we love and adore!

An Investment ... or Sheer Irresponsibility?!

Well I have a confession to make - must be related to my "indwelling sin" and that wretched "old man" that just won't quit and die ... ;-)

I was very excited when I first heard about the magnificent series of DVD's that Wayne Grudem has produced. It is a series of 16 DVD's with over 16 hours of teaching on them. Grudem essentially teaches on key aspects of the Christian life in his Systematic Theology such as;

1. What is God like?
2. What are angels and demons?
3. What is the resurrection?
4. What are justification and adoption?

And so on. I've struggled with the price (£80) in my mind but finally yesterday decided to take the plunge and go for it. Men like Wayne Grudem are rare and gifted teachers. Grudem has the unique gift of teaching on systematic theology but for some reason when he teaches on what many may feel are "boring" topics and many other teachers lecture on with little result other than imparting information - Grudem always seems to bring a sense of the manifest Presence of God.

This most certainly happened when I've heard him speak twice at the "Together on a Mission" conference in 2003 and 2006. He spoke in 2003 on "Biblical Manhood and Womanhood" (a subject I tire of often) but there was an amazing sense of God's Presence there when Terry Virgo got us to sing "There is a Day!" afterwards. The same thing happened again when Grudem spoke on the Person of Christ at Brighton in 2006. Grudem certainly speaks with anointing.

I figured that the only other way to be able to get to hear Wayne Grudem speak in this length and depth would be to either follow him across the globe (costing thousands in airfares) or enroll at Phoenix Seminary in Arizona (also costing thousands). £80 seems rather a bargain in comparison! Effectively I get to go on a Systematic Theology course in my own apartment!

Others have already reached the same conclusion clearly - Tim Chester among others has brought the series and reviews it here. I will hopefully be reviewing aspects of interest as I listen to the sessions when I can!