A ready mind is an obedient mind. There is no aspect of our lives to which this does not apply. It is holiness that sets us apart and which makes us different from the world. How different should we be? Enough for the contrast to be noticeable!Twenty Talks… is a series of short uncomplicated talks that seek to be helpful as possible thought and theme prompters for preachers, but also for small group discussion and as aids to private reflection and prayer.

From the author's Introduction:This further collation of plain Talks is a companion volume to The Brilliant Fool – Twenty Talks on the Gospels published simultaneously. My hope is that it might prove a blessing to readers and perhaps be an ideas prompter for fellow preachers. It could also be useful if used in private reflection and prayer, or as a stimulus for group discussion.Like many others, I have tried to learn from the great John Wesley who wrote the followi...

A detailed account of Salvation Army work and attitudes in wartime, analysing the three main principles which governed Salvationist reactions during the period 1899-1945:the spiritual priority of Christian evangelism and soul-saving;the practical priority of compassionate good works;the upholding of Christian internationalism.This book also considers the elements of pacifism that became evident among Salvationists, particularly during the Second Wor...

The Lord wants lordship over our homes and our family life as much as over any other part of our existence. The famed American evangelist, Billy Graham, once said, “A nation is only as strong as its homes. Home life is the bedrock which holds up everything else.Twenty Talks… is a series of short uncomplicated talks that seek to be helpful as possible thought and theme prompters for preachers, but also for small group discussion and as aids to private reflection and prayer.

General Shaw Clifton was elected world leader of The Salvation Army in 2006.Having retired in 2011 after five years as General, we now have from his pen and personal Journal a collection of candid autobiographical essays revealing his heart and mind, and much about the Army God raised up to span the globe.

From the author:Poetry and music have long played their part in communal worship. The Old Testament Psalms are much loved, much read evidence of this. Written long before Jesus was born, they have – since his advent – become more and more meaningful to Christian believers. They serve to nourish us, and that is at the root of my offering this third small collection of plain Talks which might be found helpful if used for one’s private devotions or for small group discussion. Preacher...

Christian preaching still has its place in the modern world. It has not been eclipsed by television, radio, cinema, the Internet, or any other modern means of communication.Preaching is as old as the beginnings of Christianity. Mark 1:4-15 tells us that John the Baptist came preaching and so did Jesus, ‘proclaiming the good news of God’ (verse 14).This short collection of uncomplicated Talks, on passages from the four Gospels, seeks to be helpful as a possible thought or th...

From the Author's Introduction:This fourth collection of plain Talks includes material based on eleven different books of the Old Testament, a modest sampling of its deep and wide riches.Some readers may be familiar with the writings of the celebrated German theologian and preacher, Helmut Thielicke. It was in January 1933 that Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist Party seized control in Germany. Thielicke thus lived under Nazi rule for the next seven years while teaching theo...

This further collection of Christian Talks, like the five already published, aims to encourage fellow believers, not least fellow preachers.The Talks are intended to be suitable for Holy Week, the pinnacle of the Christian year, when any preacher feels blessed and honoured to be sharing publicly from the Scriptures. These Talks cover Palm Sunday and the days following, then Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day.

The composer J.S. Bach’s original music scores ended with ‘SDG’: ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ – to the glory of God alone. If it is possible to compose music ‘SDG’, then it is possible also to create literature ‘SDG’, for the glory of God alone. This fifth little volume of Talks is offered in that spirit.Christian preachers are free to take and use any of the Talks in any way that helps them. Study or fellowship groups might find them useful, as also those preferring to sit, read and ponder q...

From the author's Introduction:Pentecost is about purity, and then power. The event recorded in Acts 2 still, through the Holy Spirit, sanctifies and galvanises the Christian Church. That is the main thrust of this seventh collection of short Talks, which is offered to readers as a possible help for group study and discussion, and to preachers as a prompter of ideas and themes. Perhaps some readers will prefer to use the material as an aid for private reflection. I have arranged th...

Constantly growing in numerical strength and in its geographic presence, The Salvation Army has continued to meet human need on every continent while also functioning as a worldwide evangelical church.This ninth volume of its official history tells of countless initiatives to reach the needy, of bold responses to natural and other disasters, and of the Christian motivation at the heart of every Salvationist endeavour.Each chapter carries the reader through another year of o...