Morning and Evening by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Morning and Evening by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, James Adams (Narrator) Audiobook Publisher: christianaudio Released: August 2007 (first published 1866)

Source: Free audiobook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
For over one hundred years, Christians have gotten up and gone to bed with Charles Spurgeon's devotional Morning and Evening as a companion. With a reading to begin and end each day throughout the year, you will come to appreciate Spurgeon's emphasis on the importance of abiding in Christ and meditating on God's Word. His wisdom and counsel provide a timeless guide through the trials and triumphs of the year. The richness of his biblical understanding offers readers a look into the heart of one of England's foremost pastors and enduring Christian authors.

His lasting message is even more accessible with Alistair Begg's careful modernizing of Spurgeon's English. Begg, who has a deep love for Spurgeon's preaching and especially for this work, has maintained Spurgeon's clear passion and commitment to Christ. Using the English Standard Version as the scriptural text provides an accurate, understandable accompaniment to Spurgeon's lessons.


My Review:
Morning and Evening is a year-long devotional with a devotion provided for both the morning and the evening of each day. The wording has been updated so that the English is easy to understand. Each devotion started with a verse from the Bible and then had Spurgeon's comments on it or on a related topic. I found a few of the devotions to be insightful, some were interesting, and some seemed to be more of historical interest (as none of the churches I've attended have quite so literally interpreted the Song of Solomon as between the church and God). The devotions were short, so it didn't take long to read (or listen to, in this case, as it was an audiobook) each devotion.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

A Week In the Life of Ephesus by David A. deSilva

A Week In the Life of Ephesus by David A. deSilva ISBN-13: 9780830824854 Paperback: 208 pages Publisher: IVP Academic Released: June 9th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
As the city of Ephesus prepares for a religious festival in honor of the emperor Domitian, a Christian landowner feels increasing pressure from the city's leaders to participate. Can he perform his civic duties and remain faithful to his Lord? Or has the time come for a costly choice? In this historical novel, biblical scholar David deSilva brings to life such compelling struggles faced by the early Christians. Their insistence on the absolute lordship of their own singular deity brought them into conflict not only with the myriad religious cults of the day, but with all the crushing power of the empire itself.


My Review:
A Week In the Life of Ephesus is partly fiction and partly nonfiction. It read like a documentary show that's primarily made up of fictional reenactments to illustrate the points. The purpose was to educate readers (in an entertaining way) about the social and cultural background of the Christians that received Revelation so that we can better understand how it would have impacted them. A lot of educational material was worked into the story, but additional information was provided in "sidebars" (which could take up whole pages) that were placed within the story. The book included some pictures of archaeological ruins or artifacts that illustrated information in the non-fiction sidebars or events in the story.

The story followed several viewpoint characters but had two main storylines: an upper-class Christian in Ephesus was being pressured to worship the emperor and other gods in addition to the Christian God and a Christian merchant was offered an opportunity to sell goods to Rome at a large profit but at the cost of others lacking those goods. The author was trying to show the different ways various Christians in Ephesus were dealing with pressures to conform and look out for self interest over following Christ wholeheartedly. Overall, I'd recommend this book to people interested in the insights gained from cultural background information.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

7 Feasts by Erin Davis

7 Feasts by Erin Davis ISBN-13: 9780802419552 Paperback: 336 pages Publisher: Moody Publishers Released: June 2nd 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
It’s hard to know when you read about the Feast of Booths why exactly it matters for your life. What in the world is the Feast of Trumpets supposed to be teaching you? This guide can help you understand the cultural significance and how these feasts relate to the rest of the Bible. You will discover that passages you once skimmed over are now rich and meaningful in your life today. Erin Davis will teach you: The significance of these feasts and why God wanted His people to celebrate. How each of them point to Jesus and His work in redemption. Why all of this matters for our lives today.


My Review:
7 Feasts is an eight-week Bible study. Each week had an introduction, then five days of study on one of the feasts, and a final section that asked three questions about what we learned. After a week introducing the study and how we're going to use Scripture to interpret Scripture, each week focused on one of the feasts: The Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Firstfruits, The Feast of Weeks, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, The Feast of Booths. The author had you read the regulations for each feast as recorded in Leviticus and then brought out related verses (mostly from the New Testament) that help the reader better understand the feast and how Jesus fulfilled the intent of feast. Since I've studied the feasts before, this information was not new for me. However, I would recommend this study for personal or group study if you've never studied this information before.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.