Reformers Bookcast

In this episode Tom spoke to Adrian Martinez from Biblical Counselling Australia about what Biblical Counselling is, why it is important and his favourite counselling books.

What place does the household have in God’s plan to bring all things into submission to Christ? How did the Apostle Paul understand the household and families? What do the words piety, cosmos and household have to do with each other? CR Wiley discusses these questions and more in his book The Household and the War for the Cosmos. In this episode we chatted about this as well as his newest book about Tom Bombadil – a little-known character from The Lord of the Rings who teaches us a lot about what godly dominion looks like.

Francis Schaeffer was one of the great Christian thinkers of the 20th century. Who better to talk about Schaeffer then Dr William Edgar, author of Schaeffer on the Christian Life, who knew Schaeffer personally and was converted under his ministry? In this episode we spoke to Dr Edgar about Schaeffer, culture, apologetics and jazz.

Conrad Mbewe pastors at Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia, and was recently out in Australia for a number of speaking engagements. While in Sydney, Tom met with Dr Mbewe to chat about the Gospel work in Zambia, missionary-pastors, counselling, and books of significance to his ministry and life.

The internet and smart phones have radically changed our lives. These technologies come with many benefits - the ability to communicate across vast distances and access to incalculable information. But we should think carefully about how best to use these technologies to the glory of God. In this episode, Tom chatted with James Jeffery about several books on this topic and why we need to think carefully about the internet and social media.

The Puritan Richard Baxter saw family worship as a duty for all Christian households. He worked hard to encourage and equip his church to worship God in their homes. In this episode of the Reformers Bookcast we discussed Baxter's view of family worship with Jonathan Williams, author of "A Practical Theology of Family Worship: Richard Baxter's Timeless Encouragement for Today's Home".

EQUIP Women is a large Bible teaching ministry for women in Australia. Each year the EQUIP committee puts together a book list of their recommended titles. In this episode of the Reformers Bookcast, Tom chatted with Isobel and Jocelyn from EQUIP about a few highlights from their 2022 book list. You can find out more about EQUIP at equip.org.au or view the EQUIP booklist at reformers.com.au/equip

Christianity has impacted our culture in many ways. Over the centuries, Christianity has taught our society the importance of values such as compassion, progress and freedom. In this episode Tom spoke to Glen Schivener, the author of  The Air We Breathe, about how we all came to believe in these Christian values.

It's been a best seller since it was first published in 1678. It's a captivating allegorical tale about the Christian life. It's soaked in scriptural truth and reflects the hard realities of life. It has been cherished by great Christians of the past with Spurgeon reportedly reading it over 100 times in his life. It's John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress. In this episode Tom and Cassie talk about this classic book.

Friendship has been underemphasised by Christians in our day. So argues Michael Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In the past, friendship was a topic of utmost importance to Christians and to unbelievers as well. In this episode we talk to Michael about his new book on friendship, “Iron Sharpens Iron: Friendship and the Grace of God”, which takes a look at some friendships between pastors in the 18th century.