If you're an ESV user you may be interested to know that Cambridge University Press (who produce fine Bibles) have now added a wide margin ESV to their catalogue. It's not cheap, but if you love wide margin Bibles for note taking, theirs is the best UK text. I use a true-tone Crossway ESV which not only has a wide margin but single column text and, like an old fashioned Bible, each verse starts on a different line - this is great for note taking as it means that there is lots of space around each sentence as well as in the margin. I got mine from amazon UK. 

But what do you write with? Some people use pencil - but I find a thin pencil can easily rip the page. Ballpoint is too thick and fountain pen (my weapon of choice) seeps through even "ink-resistant" pages. So I use 0.05mm technical pens - like these by Mistubishi. Ideal. 

We are excited to announce that online booking is now open for all of our conferences until July 2011.

This includes:

• Autumn Joint Ministers Conference : 8 - 11 November 2010
• London Week : 10 - 15 December 2010
• Women in Ministry : 17 - 20 January 2011
• The Preachers Weekend : 18 - 20 Feb 2011
• Spring Ministers' Wives Conference : 7 - 10 March 2011
• Spring Younger Ministers Conference : 3 - 6 May 2011
• Spring Senior Ministers Conference : 16 - 19 May 2011
• The Evangelical Ministry Assembly : 22 - 24 June 2011
• Cornhill Summer School : 27 June - 1 July 2011
• Summer Ministers' Wives Conference : 4 - 7 July 2011

Space on our residential conferences is strictly limited, so early booking is recommended.

Next week is the second of our two annual wives' conferences. People sometimes ask why a trust concerned with the proclamation of the Word of God should be bothered about such things? Here's why.

• those who are married to ministers of the gospel face a peculiar set of pressures and need targeted and thought through encouragement. It is not enough to be a godly woman when you're married into gospel work. Or, rather, of course it's enough to be godly, but godliness takes a slightly different slant in ministry and needs different focus.
• the state of preaching in our churches is intricately linked to the spiritual well being of those who are called to preach - hence "watch your life and doctrine closely." [This is not a "works" link as though the efficacy of preaching was dependent upon godliness. How could it be so? Nevertheless, Scripture does build a connection.] For every married preacher therefore, his marriage and the support of his wife is critical. 

There are more good reasons for hosting wives' conferences, but there are two good ones to start. Both the spring wives' conference and summer wives' conference get fully booked - wives NEED this encouragement. We would love churches to take up the burden of paying for ministers' wives to attend - too many pay for themselves and we think churches need to recognise the important role they play in supporting their man.

Booking will soon be open for 2011. Please note that spaces for those with babies are very limited due to the number of child carers we are able to take with us. 

Last week's Evangelical ministry assembly, on Spirit-filled ministry, was a landmark in many ways.  The sessions were stirring and encouraging, and many of you have asked when the recordings would be available. In response, we are making it possible to pre-order the mp3 CD right now. 

It will include 

• Two sessions on 'Word and Spirit in John' by Christopher Ash
• Three sessions from Judges by Rupert Bentley-Taylor
• Three sessions - living, preaching and praying in the power of the  spirit - by John Piper
• A session on the work of the Spirit in the life of George Whitefield by Vaughan Roberts
• All four seminars from the conference: Does prophecy have a place in the church today? What is the role of the Spirit in the life of the preacher? What place did the Holy Spirit have in the doctrine and ministry of the Reformers? And what can we learn about the Spirit from the African church?
• 'An Honest Conversation' between John Coles, Liam Goligher, Hugh Palmer, and Terry Virgo about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the local church
• And an interview with John Piper.

The mp3 download of the conference will be available later this week, but if you want the CD, do order it now.

Came across this little summary by G Walter Hansen in the Pillar Commentary on Philippians - it describes how Paul uses the concept of union with Christ together with the preposition with. I found it very stirring.

• Buried with (Rom 6.4, Col 2.12)
• United with (Rom 6.5)
• Crucified with (Rom 6.6, Gal 2.20)
• Live with (Rom 6.7)
• Heirs with (Rom 8.17)
• Suffer with (Rom 8.17)
• Glorify with (Rom 8.17)
• Have the same form with (Rom 8.29, Phil 3.29)
• Be conformed with (Phil 3.10)

Meditate on those and rejoice! 

This review appeared in this month's Banner of Truth magazine. You can buy this book online here.

There are several errors that preaching books often make. One is that they are too theoretical or technical, written perhaps by someone who has read about preaching, but who has rarely been engaged in the work. Or, for the same reason, they are written in such a way as to make the connections with actual preaching opaque. These books aim at making their mark in the lecture hall more than in the pulpit. Other books are eminently practical, but based on dubious theological or exegetical premises. Ironically, books written in defence of expository preaching often rely on poor exegesis to make their points. But his little book, written for preachers by an experienced preacher, largely avoids all these pitfalls.

 Christopher Ash is himself an experienced preacher. And he knows that preachers often face discouragement when they consider their work. In the introduction he writes of his own early preaching- often discouraged, convinced he was not doing something ‘strategic’. But the real value of this work lies not in the author’s empathy or practical knowledge, but in his plain and clear exegesis. The heart of the book is a study of Deuteronomy, chapters 18, 30, and 4, with a final plea at the end to ‘give God the microphone’. These central chapters focus on the authority of the preached word, the effect that preaching can have on the church and the effect that it has on the world. While one might quibble here and there with a minor point of exegesis, Ash makes his case well, showing the ongoing significance of preaching both for the church and the world. In making this case, Ash relies on the Bible’s witness and power, leaving the reader not only with solid words to encourage his preaching but with an example once again of the power of God’s spirit to use his word in reproof, correction and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Had the joy yesterday of preaching Psalm 8. If you've ever wondered how to do that, or want help to do it, there's a model exposition in Hebrews 2. Hebrews is a great book for knowing how to preach Old Testament passages!  So here, for what it's worth is my outline:

1. God the exalted creator
2. Man the exalted ruler

...but not yet. However........we do see Jesus. Two key applications (not mine but from Hebrews 2). This means that Jesus is:

• a sufficient Saviour (Hebrews 2.14-17)
• an effective Helper (Hebrews 2.18)

I'll post the audio when it's up on our church website. 

In a world of preaching ‘mini-series’ and sound bites, like ours, teaching Isaiah can seem an impossibly difficult task. The book is vast; its structure is complex, the material is often historically remote from our own times. Not surprisingly, contemporary excursions into Isaiah tend to be restricted to the passages predicting the incarnation at Christmas (Chapter 7, 9, 11 and perhaps 35) and the songs of the servant (especially chapter 53) at Easter. But we miss so much, as a result, and we deprive our congregations of so much benefit and nourishment, which we all desperately need.

It is being convinced of the benefits that will motivate the contemporary preacher to put in the hard work which Isaiah’s magnificent book will undoubtedly demand. We are unlikely to preach it well ‘on the backstroke’, without considerable diligence and effort, because its treasures are not given up easily to the casual observer or skim-reader. But think of what characteristics you would like to see developed in your church life and Christian discipleship and you will find a remarkable match with Isaiah's own concerns. Once that connection is made in your own mind and heart you will need no further persuasion to teach Isaiah.

Teaching Isaiah is available for £7.99 from the PT website. 

Good preaching is

• Biblical - the Bible, God's word, sets the agenda, rather than the speaker. Anything else is little better than an interesting talk. "Arsenal goalkeepers 1950-1978" is a talk, you might be interested or not. A sermon is expounding the Bible. Ultimately God talks. It's always interesting (even if it's not engaging) because he is talking.
• Intellectual - I don't mean high brow or complex; the preacher must not confuse profundity and complexity. But it must be thought through. This means it must be based on studying God's word to rightly understand its meaning.
• Spiritual - unlike my Arsenal goalkeepers talk a sermon is a sermon because it is spiritual. How else could God be speaking unless something miraculous is going on? This is the theme of our EMA next week. "We ought to be driven forth with abhorrence from the society of honest men for daring to speak in the name of the Lord if the Spirit rests not upon us" (CH Spurgeon). It is the Spirit who ensures that the words of men are also received as the words of God.
• Prophetic - it speaks into situations and is intimately connected with the lives of those to whom it is spoken. This isn't a comment on prophecy (that's a whole different issue) - but true preaching is prophetic in that it connects with people and calls for a response. For this reason, I maintain that every person's favourite preacher must be their pastor - not some internet celebrity. It is only he that engages with you in this truly week-in week-out prophetic manner.

Therefore, the chief tools of the preacher are careful Bible study/preparation and heartfelt prayer. Many, if not most, preachers have deficiencies in one of these areas - if you're like me, quite possibly both! It's basic stuff, but good to remind ourselves what our calling requires of us.