Flinders  Evangelical Students

#goodreading #ESbookreviews Do you think that Christians still need to do apologetics? Some Christians would say the answer to this question is no: we don’t need to defend Christianity, we just need to present people with the gospel. Os Guinness would say that this is wrong, and fails to understand both the culture we live in now, and the way God communicates with us (as an example for us of how to communicate with others). He wrote a book called Fool’s Talk, which is a book

#ESBookReviews #GoodReading Surprisingly, despite the title, I think this has been one of the most heart-wrenching books I have read in a long time. When I started reading For the Joy I think I was expecting fun stories about women leading the way, powering through and persevering in mission, seeing fruit in ministry and finding fulfilment. What I actually was challenged to find was stories of heart-break, and tragedy, and despair, where Christians were challenged to find joy

#ESBookReviews #goodreading When was the last time you cried, laughed, felt angry, danced around in joy, were crippled by anxiety, or weighed down by guilt? Emotions are something we all experience, but they can be pretty complex & confusing at times. Some of us will just try to ignore our emotions, others will feel overwhelmed & controlled by them. There’s a lot of emphasis on feelings in the world around us – we’re told that we need to be “in touch” with our feelings, guide

#ESBookReviews #goodreading As Christians, we tend to pick up fairly early that worship is a whole of life thing, but the question quickly becomes, “what does that even look like? For example, Paul tells us to pray without ceasing (1Thess 5:17), but it’s all very well for Paul to say that, when he was in prison -- he didn’t have anything else to do (Ain’t nobody got time for that). But then Colossians 3:24-24: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for

#ESbookreviews #goodreading “I love to read. I hate to read. I don’t have time to read. I only read Christian books. I’m not good at reading. There’s too much to read.” Maybe you feel like some or all of these statements fit with you. There are so many reasons not to read books- not knowing where to start, not having the time, not being able to get into books. Or maybe you read a lot, but feel like you’re not getting as much out of your reading as you could. As nervous as I a

#ESBookReviews #Goodreading #identity When it comes to identity, our world offers a lot of options. You can find it in sexuality or popularity, in social media or in non-conformity. But do any of these things offer a real solution to our search to find ourselves? All the things our culture claims we can base our identity on are constantly shifting and in flux. Any attempt to build our life on them will leave us anxious, confused, and at the whim of cultural opinions. We are t

#ESBookReviews #Goodreading Do you find yourself worrying what others think of you? Are you riding the emotional rollercoaster of self-talk that can either build you up or tear you down? Does your sense of value and worth depend on your achievements? Or are you defined only by your sins and failures? Do you live trying to draw attention to yourself? Or do you constantly feel ignored? I think it’s safe to assume that we all battle with questions like these, questions of self-w

What is the most urgent need in the church of the Western world today? Do you think much about this? If you were going to pick one thing,

#ESBookreviews #Goodreading For someone who doesn’t believe the bible is true, what do you think is the most outrageous claim Christians make? For some people, the entire concept of a God, or of our world being created, seems implausible. Maybe the miracles of turning water into wine, or feeding 5,000 people seem impossible. But there is one unique claim that Christianity makes which seems to completely contradict our experience of the world: that Jesus came back to life afte

#ESBookReviews #Goodreading I struggle to make decisions. From the trivial (what should I have for breakfast??) to the serious (what career path should I follow?!) there always seems to be too many options. And how can you know what is the right one? Mikey Lynch works in student ministry in Hobart and he understands what its like to be at uni which is a life stage when you have to make a lot of decisions about the future. He writes to give practical tips that are grounded in

When you think about evangelism how do you honestly feel? Excited? Uncomfortable? Scared? Guilty? Maybe all of these?

Any book that manages to include references to Harry Potter & Dr Who, alongside powerful Christian testimonies, is a win for me!

#ESbookreviews #goodreading Evangelism as Exiles: Life on mission as strangers in our own land by Elliot Clark (2019, The Gospel Coalition) $18.99 From Reformers Bookstore, $11.99 on Kindle, or free loan from James’ library You might feel that $19 is a lot for a small(ish) book. But while this book is not huge, it’s certainly worth buying, and more worth reading. More and more, Christians in the West are feeling like the recipients of 1 Peter, as our culture not only sees our

#ESbookreviews #goodreading How often do you think about the cross? It’s something we see in all kinds of places, and it is a symbol we instantly recognise as Christian. We assume a building with a cross is a church, or a person wearing a cross is a Christian. At this time of year, just after Easter, maybe you’ve been thinking about the cross more than normal. But when you think about the cross, do you think about this deeply, or are you foggy on the details of why this is su