GROW Conference Reviews 2024

Romans: An Expositional Commentary – RC Sproul

I love RC Sproul. And this here is one of my favourite ways to dig into scripture – commentaries! Now, I want to be clear, reading the Bible on its own, as often as you can, is of sole importance. Nothing else can come close to comparing. Can I get an Amen?

May we never stop reading our Bibles. I am though really in love with commentaries. Look, some can be quite heavy and arduous but these are just delightful. I have the whole series, and LOVE this one on Romans.

If I could only tell you how cool these commentaries are. I LOVE learning. I LOVE the Bible. I LOVE learning about the Bible.

Commentaries for me have been a way to help me understand the context, the meaning, the theology, in deeper ways that I was capable of doing myself with the Scriptures. They help ME understand, and therefore get more excited about God’s Word.

If you’re in the market for a dabble in some Bible commentaries, these are an EXCELLENT place to start. He covers a couple of verses over four page chapters that reads almost like a devotional. You’ll learn and grow so much. Pick it up today, you won’t regret it.

Absolutely Basic – Horatius Bonar & J.C. Ryle

This book compiles two works, the first one by Horatious Bonar, first published in 1874. Its central theme is the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ. We see so clearly in this work that God has provided the only way to deal with our sin – Jesus. This truth has wonderful consequences for all believers which are also explored in this work.

And it’s such a fitting complement to JC Ryles shortened work on Regreneration.

Regeneration is not really a doctrine that is explored or taught much today, atleast in the circles I run in. But I think because we don’t talk a lot about it, I found it a bit confronting when first reading it, but I’m so glad I did because understanding it is so necessary. Ryle says it’s not an agree to disagree thing. Regeneration is one of the two great pillars of the gospel. On the one hand stands salvation by free grace for Christs sake, but on the other stands renewal of the sinful heart by the Spirit. We must be changed as well as forgiven; we must be renewed as well as redeemed. 

It was a hard read because it convicted me to the core. I was confronted with questions like: am I guilty of wishing to be justified but not sanctified? To escape the punishment of sin, but not strive to be free from it’s power? Ryle urgers us to not miss the importance of regeneration in the life of believers.

I’m so glad I read this book, and I’m looking forward to more in the series. Pick it up if you can, I know it sounds like basic stuff – but these are the essentials to our faith, and worth knowing backwards and forwards, not just for yourself, but so you can teach it to the other people in your life.

When Striving Cease – Ruth Chou Symons 

Here’s an opening question for you: If we believe Jesus is all we need, then why do we live our days worn out, fearful, and anxiously striving as if we are lacking and unable to measure up?

Chou spends the first eight chapters examining areas of life where the reality shows that Striving isn’t enough. It makes you laugh, sometimes because she’s hilarious and sometimes because something she’s written is just too close to true for you too! Looking at striving to please, striving for attention, striving to be good enough, striving for approval, striving to save ourselves through perfection, striving to belong, striving to outrun shame, and striving to have it all.

Having shown us that self-righteous striving is more hopeless than you want to believe: she then shows us that GRACE is more life transforming that you realise.

Grace changes everything. How grace makes NEW not better, how grace fuels good works, cancels out debt, for real, how grace rewrites our stories, replaces fear with freedom, makes forgiveness possible, and is enough to hold you together.

Christ – the covering of grace through his blood – shelters us now and holds us fast into eternity. The life transforming gospel of grace declares that it is Christ who is holding all things together. So, she says, you can rest friend. You really can. Not a forgetful, complacent rest, but a deep and unhindered surrender.

This book was balm to my soul. As a type A personality, I love self improvement, goals, striving for things. But when we constantly strive for what we cannot attain, it is exhausting. When we submit to the life transforming GRACE that the Lord has for us, we are free to live for him because Christ IS ENOUGH. 10/10 would recommend.

Do Not Be True to Yourself – Kevin DeYoung

A short book, took me 30 minutes to read. It’s a great gift to give young adult as they leave high school or uni into this next phase of their life. Countercultural advice to not be true to your self. To not follow your heart. But to live for Jesus and to be who you now are because of Him.

A bit American, but still a good read.

One thing that stood out: He talked about how people often think they can be a Christian and not go to church. There are three main images for the church in the New Testament. A building, a bride, and a body. Each pair goes together. You’re not meant to have one without the other. Would you call it a marriage if there was a groom but no bride? Would you want to carry around a head without the body?

Too many Christians, he says, think they can have Jesus without the church. The head without the body. He challenges young adults to serve and be involved in a local church as a part of the rhythms of their lives. And I got a good challenge out of that chapter too, as my husband and I are currently thinking through establishing family rhythms and habits, and knowing that church every Sunday is such an important part of living as Christians.

Great book, lots of insight to ponder!

No Greater Love – RebeccaMcLaughlan 

If you remember from last year, I’m a big Rebecca fan girl. Love her work, and the way that she writes. This book was a good read but harder than I expected. It covers the concepts of friendship as found throughout scripture and throughout Rebecca’s experience – but as I’m sure you’ve experienced, going from a book about friendship to real life isn’t always linear. Friendship is hard, it’s time consuming, its risky, and it just sometimes doesn’t work out. I’m not sure where you’re coming from in life. This won’t solve every friendship for you. But what it does is give you a solid grounding for coming to the idea of friendship.

This book was a helpful read for me, because It’s a call to Christian friendship because it’s good, and because it’s given by God, even when its hard and time consuming.

There is so much in this book: Go read the title page for chapter headings to get an idea of what she covers. Outside of a deep dive into friendship itself, she addresses marriage and friendship. She talks about male and female friendships, SSA and friendships, and how to be friends with non-Christians and the limits this may involve.

This was a very good and helpful read!