Light From Old Times

Book Description:

The nineteenth century was an age that witnessed great progress in many areas of exploration and learning. However, according to J.C. Ryle, it was an age of great ignorance too. 'With all the stir made about education', he wryly observed, 'the ignorance of our own country's history is something lamentable and appalling and depressing.' What particularly distressed Ryle was the scant knowledge of the English Reformation evident amongst his contemporaries. In this lay a grace danger: one of the reasons so many congregations drift form their evangelical foundations is their sheer ignorance of Christian history, and their lack of understanding of the major doctrinal controversies and why they matter. Therefore he taught that one of the best ways to stop Christians wavering 'with every changing wind of doctrine' (Eph. 4:14) is to instill in them a deep love for Reformation and Puritan teaching, and a willingness to suffer for those gospel truths. The Bible often calls us to remember the past, Ryle explained, but the devil tries to make us forget. If the church is to be strengthened, then Christians must be persuaded to read the saints of the past and to learn the lessons of church history.

Ryle's abiding hope for Light From Old Times is that our souls will be stirred to prayer and action by the great testimonies of Reformers and Puritans found within its pages, and then that we will dig deeper into the writings of these spiritual giants.

Table of Contents:
1. John Wycliffe 2. Why Were our Reformers Burned? 3. John Rogers: Martyr 4. John Hooper: Bishop and Martyr 5. Rowland Taylor: Martyr 6. Hugh Latimer: Bishop and Martyr 7. John Bradford: Martyr 8. Nicholas Ridley: Bishop and Martyr 9. Samuel Ward 10. Archbishop Laud 11. Richard Baxter 12. William Gurnall 13. James II and the Seven Bishops

Author:

Zack Eswine is the Senior Pastor at the Riverside Church, St Louis, Missouri. He previously served as Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Covenant Theological Seminary, St Louis, Missouri. A list of his writings can be found at zackeswine.com or on his blog at preachingbarefoot.com.

Endorsement:

"...Spurgeon from early years to final days found dark distress ever hovering on the edges of his mind and sometimes launching an all out assault on his very being. How he managed all this, by the grace of God, both for himself and for others, drives both the gripping content and the riveting literary style of Zack Eswine in Spurgeon's Sorrows." - Tom Nettles, Senior Professor of Historical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky "The river of life often flows through sloughs of despond. Charles Spurgeon knew that well... Ditto Zack Eswine in this unusual, refreshing, sensible book... Read it, and take it to heart." - David Powlison, CCEF Executive Director, Senior Editor, Journal of Biblical Counseling "Zack Eswine is a pastor with the mind of a scholar and the heart of a poet. His wisdom gleaned from Charles Spurgeon's struggle with depression is theologically profound and pastorally lucid." - Jason Byassee, Senior Pastor, Boone United Methodist Church, Boone, North Carolina "Zack Eswine, like Spurgeon, a preacher, pastor, and no stranger to suffering... there is much encouragement, comfort and practical help to be found in this rich and poetic treasure." - Richard Winter, Author of When Life Goes Dark: Finding Hope in the Midst of Depression, Director of Counseling at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri

Additional Information: