Proclaimer Blog
A labor of love
Our friends at Reformation Heritage Books have sent us a truly wonderful book – A labor of love by J Stephen Yuille. It basically takes sixteen prayers of the puritan minister George Swinnock and turns them into short chapters on the nature of Christian ministry and its high calling. I've been reading one a day and finding it really very helpful. The Puritans can – at times – be a little introspective. And there's always a danger that this kind of book could be just that. However, Yuille steers us down the straight and narrow and provides a useful biblical commentary on each chapter. Here you will find the full breadth of Christian ministry and a useful challenge and tonic for the soul.
The book ends with a farewell sermon Swinnock preached in 1662. It's hard not to be moved by this (and if you'd sat through a sermon this length, you can be sure you would have wanted to move just a little – it's long!). It strikes me that it's Puritan preaching at its worst and best. Worst – because the preacher sits sometimes very loosely to the text; it's quite incredible what he gets out of it. Best – because it's biblical truth rooted in pastoral warmth and genuine love for the people.
Overall, highly recommended. Even though it's only available on kindle in the UK at the moment, it's definitely worth getting.