Month: June 2013

Book Review: “Prepared by Grace For Grace”, Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley

Two things caught my attention when I was given the opportunity to get a review copy of this book. First, Joel Beeke is one of the authors. I’ve heard Joel Beeke preach several times and have always been blessed by his ministry. Second, the theme of the book: the doctrine of preparation.

As a father of three boys, one of my man burden is that they will not only hear the gospel, but respond to its call. I can’t force them to believe. I do not want to manipulate them into easy believism either. In the end, only God can regenerate them and save them. But God uses means, and I must faithfully teach the gospel to my children.

This book surveys Puritan literature in order to assess their views on the preparation of sinners for salvation. It is somewhat technical, but gives some interesting perspectives on a neglected subject. Various perspectives on preparation are compared and help clarify the issues.

It’s a good book, but it is not for everyone. It is thoroughly researched and it is very informative, but not devotional. I found it hard going at times, but rewarding. It will definitely make you think through important issues.

I am back

I’ve been back home for a week now. It was a good trip to Wales, but I was glad to see my family again. The trip was uneventful. I flew from Manchester to Southampton, and then to Rennes. In rennes, I was able to catch a train fairly early which meant I was in Guingamp in the middle of the afternoon.

A week in North Wales

I arrived in the UK a week ago and I have toured North Wales to visit churches and speak about our work in Brittany. The meetings have been mainly in Welsh.

I also attended the Bala ministers’ conference (in English). It was a blessing to sit under Ian Parry’s ministry on Hosea. The singing was impressive. I caught up with my friend Alan Davey and other friends from various churches around Wales. I also met some new people.

The weather was hot and sunny when I arrived, but it is now cold and wet again.

Today and tomorrow are off. I’ll visit some friends this afternoon and will read and prepare for Sunday.

From Guingamp to Manchester

Travelling from Guingamp to Manchester was surprisingly straightforward. I left Guingamp for Rennes on the train. From Rennes central station, I took the metro and caught a bus to the airport for € 1,40. Flybe took me to Southampton, and then to Manchester. I had to wait around  for a bit in Rennes and Southampton, but it wasn’t too bad.

Manchester airport is huge. You need to get a bus to get to the “hire village” to get to the car rental companies.

I picked up the car I had booked, a brand new, black Renault Clio. It doesn’t use a key but an electronic card and looks very posh. I then made my way to Cheadle where I stayed with Esther’s sister and her husband. I arrived during rush hour, so the traffic was mad, but once again, I’ve seen worst. I was glad to arrive though.

It was the clutch

Our car is getting older. It’s got over 200 000km and is about 13 years old. Over the last few weeks, we knew there was a problem with the clutch. Then on Thursday 30th May, when Esther had more problems, I took it to the garage and explained what the problem was. he listened, played a bit with the gears. There were things to be done on the car the following week anyway so I asked if I could drive safely until then. the mechanic said it should be fine and I left. The following day, I went to Rostrenen and came back without any problems. But on Saturday afternoon, when we were about to leave to take Jean-Baptiste to his football tournament, I couldn’t pass any gears anymore. The clutch had died.

On Monday, I called the breakdown cover and had it towed to the garage who lent us a car while they where looking after the problem. Esther got it back on Friday.