£7.99

'What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!' Jacob's words, spoken in the cool stillness of a Bethel morning convey the patriarch's wonder at the realisation that he had spent a night in the presence of God. It is a central conviction of this book that his words apply with equal force to the 'house of God' in this dispensation – 'which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth' (1 Tim. 3:15). This book provides a careful, contextual examination of the key passages of Scripture that outline the purpose, pattern, and practice of a New Testament assembly. It demonstrates from Scripture that the assembly belongs to God and is for God, and emphasises its unique significance. It considers a range of important subjects, including the Lord's Supper, headship, the exercise of gift and the earning of reward, and rule in the assembly. This book provides a lucid overview of a subject that must be of vital importance for every believer who wants to be where the Lord is.

is in fellowship in the assembly at Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland. He is an Assistant Professor of English with Digital Humanities in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin, specialising in seventeenth-century literature and the history of evangelicalism. He is the author of a number of books including Sanctify Them Through Thy Truth: God's Word in Human History (published by John Ritchie), The Dispensations: God's Plan for the Ages, Worship: The Christian's Highest Calling, and To the Day of Eternity: Future Events in Bible Prophecy (published by Scripture Teaching Library).

THERE AM I - By Mark Sweetnam

In There Am I (9781909789302) Dr Sweetnam giveS 99 pages of enlightening teaching and guidance concerning “the purpose and pattern of the New Testament Church”. The author defines what a New Testament assembly is and the reasons why it exists. He then takes up a series of subjects over a total of 14 chapters, including “the Lord’s Supper”, “Headship”, “Spiritual Gifts” and “Rule and Government”. This work features contextual examinations of the key passages of Scripture relating to the purpose, precepts and practices of local assemblies gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:20, Acts 2:42 etc.). The New Testament pattern for the local church is surprisingly simple, as well as fundamentally different to that which pertains in the major denominations of Christendom in the 21st century. There Am I is a call to the serious reader to go back to first principles and examine what the New Testament has to say about “gathering principles” for the baptised believer in Christ. This book is full of practical Biblical advice and counsel and makes a great gift for anyone interested in the mind of the Lord for local church testimony today.

Credits: Review by Michael Penfold

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