Our third article of excerpts from SASRA in the Second World War concern the end of the war and continuing need of Christian witness to the Army and RAF. An account from a SASRA Rest Room on the first VE day: VE-DAY found us prepared — The Union Jack fluttered from our top window…
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Our second excerpts from the book, SASRA in the Second World War, follow some of the Scripture Readers who accompanied the Army and RAF overseas. Twelve went to France in 1940 with the British Expeditionary Force: There is no doubt as to the responsiveness of the men as there is equally no doubt concerning…
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Often described as the greatest Scotsman of his age, Thomas Chalmers was something of a polymath. He became a colossus for evangelical historic Calvinism in Scotland in his day and arguably the most influential instrument used by the Lord in his Church in Scotland since John Knox. It wasn’t like that initially though, for,…
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On 8 May this year, Britain will commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day – the end of the Second World War in Europe. SASRA (Soldiers’ & Airmen’s Scripture Readers Association) is marking this anniversary with the ‘peace2020’ initiative. This includes: a daily devotional (‘40 Days to Peace’); a pack to help churches organise…
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Often described as the greatest Scotsman of his age, Thomas Chalmers was something of a polymath. He became a colossus for evangelical historic Calvinism in Scotland in his day and arguably the most influential instrument used by the Lord in His Church in Scotland since John Knox. It wasn’t like that initially, though, for,…
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‘[She] was born a Catholic and became a convinced and zealous Puritan; she was born to a sheltered and secure life and, by her own honesty and outspokenness, she courted persecution and lived in danger. She was a woman of wit and beauty and charm, and of great integrity… Many whose thinking and writing…
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As we approached the new millennium in December, 1999 there were concerns that computer systems would crash, causing mayhem around the globe. Some feared that it may usher in the end of the world. The first pictures from a new year generally come from Sydney, Australia. The new millennium in 2000 was no exception.…
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With Barnardo’s 330 charity shops, 400 social projects and care of thousands of children, most readers will be familiar with that name. But who was Tom Barnardo, founder of this remarkable charity begun in 1867? ‘A bit of all sorts’ was Tom’s own description of himself as he thought of the blend of Spanish,…
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This year marks the bicentenary of Grove Chapel in Camberwell, an historic independent and non-conformist congregation in which, by God’s grace, the gospel has been faithfully preached throughout its history. It all began with the conversion of a young man from Hertfordshire called Joseph Irons (1785-1852), who very soon experienced a desire to preach…
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Theodore Beza is probably unknown, or not well-known outside of scholarly circles. This is a great pity, given his gigantic stature in the history of the Reformed faith. Beza was John Calvin’s most illustrious personal disciple, and indeed Calvin’s successor as the spiritual leader of the Reformed ‘capital city’ of Geneva. Born five hundred…
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Karolina Sandell was born on 3 October 1832. Her father was a Lutheran pastor and, being a frail child, she would spend hours in her father’s study rather than playing outside with other children. She grew up to become Sweden’s most celebrated author of gospel hymns, writing so many that she is often called…
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There was no one in the twentieth century more suited to preach, counsel and write on this subject of spiritual depression than Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. This subject has always been addressed by pastors, but particularly so from the time of the Reformation when the wrappings of human traditions were removed from biblical Christianity.…
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