TITLE: “Sketches of Faith” “An Introduction to Characters from Christian History”
STAR RATING: **** 4
AUTHOR: Various, Edited by John D. Woodbridge
PUBLISHER: 10 Publishing
NO OF PAGES: 223
PRICE: £14.99
ISBN NUMBER: 978-1-912373-79-6
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, 33 short overviews of the lives of believers throughout history, who were dedicated to serving God by spreading the Gospel at home and abroad.
For me it was a memory jogger, bringing back salient particulars of renown servants of God. Beginning with the Apostle Paul it then jumps to John Wycliffe and the 16th century reformers, subsequently working through the Evangelical Awakening and Missionary Movement of the 18th and 19th centuries to finish in modern times with C.S. Lewis, J.I. Packer, Jim Elliot and Chuck Colson. It introduced me to James Hannington, John Sung, and William Cameron Townsend, but left me wondering about the inclusion of Martin Niemuller.
For the younger generation, it could be a primer and possibly an incentive to explore, learn and emulate. It might also make suitable reading for family worship, educating and informing the next generation. I still remember reading ‘A Lion in Africa’, the story of David Livingstone as a boy!
Its publication is surely timely, there is a real need to stir again the vision given by our Lord’s example and His command to preach the Gospel to the whole world, perhaps, if put into the right hands it might stir readers to pray, act and even provide material for a future book of a similar kind.
William Horsburgh, Middleton Chapel, Middleton, North Yorkshire.
