12 THINGS GOD CAN’T DO
…and how they can help you sleep at night
By Nick Tucker
The Good Book Company. 185 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 784 966 766
It was a delight to speak to Nick briefly about this book. It grew out of a series of four messages at a church weekend away, then delivered in four sessions at Word Alive, before someone suggested that it be turned into a book.
The author says: ‘I wanted people to look up and see God more clearly, and find their internal landscape reshaped as they reflect on His glory.’
This book paints a picture of a big, free and dependable God. Along the way the author navigates some of the challenges to the Biblical portrait of God. He deals with detractors with precision and grace.
Interspersed throughout the book are five interludes that explore how in Jesus, God became man, slept, went to school, appeared, suffered and died alone, and was tempted. Nick says that these sections ‘help us to see the gospel in more glorious colours; we are so used to seeing the incarnation and God’s Son giving His life that it isn’t as scandalous as it actually is.’
One feature I appreciated in this book was the skillful use of quotations from the Early Church Fathers. Nick says: ‘I quote from the Church Fathers because I want to show that this is really deep, going all the way back to the beginning. They were very acute readers of Scripture; they have stood the test of time and worth paying attention to now.’
I asked Nick what preachers might learn from this book?
‘I would hope that it would give a preacher confidence to dig deep into a classic doctrine of God. One of the challenges in the early days of being a preacher was that practicality was all. What difference does this make to me on a Monday morning? I want to say that that is a really good question, but there is another question, which is, what difference does this make as it builds up my character and faith over a long period of time?’
This book is a great attempt to make what is inaccessible accessible to the ordinary person. It is full of wise theological insight and helpful practical application.
