New & Notable Music

While most of what finds its way into my mailbox is books, I also receive a surprising amount of music. This works out well since I happen to love listening to music while going about my daily work. Here are a few of my favorite recent albums.

Jesus In My PlaceJesus in My Place by The Summit Church. This is an album of modern worship that focuses on the good news of the gospel. The artists say, “Our prayer is that these songs deepen your personal worship of Jesus. The Christian life is ultimately a life of worship, and nothing fuels worship like dwelling on the glorious gospel of Christ. Wherever you are and wherever you go, these songs will help you rehearse the truths of the gospel, allowing the Holy Spirit to stir your affections for Jesus.” You can find lyrics and chords at the church’s web site. Musically, you will find that it is similar to Sovereign Grace Music, Chris Tomlin, and the like.

The Grand NarrativeThe Grand Narrative by Heath Hollensbe - Heath is a Christian musician who has worked and traveled with some of the biggest acts in Christian music. The Grand Narrative is a “6 song concept record that encompasses the history of the universe through the future that is in store for Christians. Each song is titled by a word that describes the steps in the movement (Hovering, Creation, Failure, Atonement, Covenant, Re-Creation).” If you are into music that is experimental in the vein of Keane or Sufjan Stevens, you may want to give this one a try. I’ve enjoyed it a lot.

Rain for RootsBig Stories for Little Ones by Rain for Roots - Here’s one for the kids. “Rain For Roots is a collective of songwriters, young mothers and friends who came together around a single vision to make new scripture songs for children. Inspired by traditional folk melodies, this band of four set out to make new, timeless songs about the old gospel Story.” These songs are based on the poems of children’s author Sally Lloyd-Jones and appear to be targeted primarily at young children.

Church ClothesChurch Clothes by Lecrae - Lecrae is the most popular of all the Christian hip-hop artists and Church Clothes is a new mixtape (which means that it is free). The album has 18 songs that feature Lecrae with other popular Christian rappers. You can read a lengthy and interesting article he wrote in response to the album’s unexpected popularity right here.

The Hidden Life of Prayer

Read on and you will be able to download a free audiobook. That’s a teaser, of sorts. Before we get there, I want to remind you of the new Reading Classics Together project that will begin next week.

John Piper once said, “God brings books at their appointed times. The Hidden Life of Prayer arrived late but well-timed. This little jewel-strewn tapestry has done for me at 64 what Bounds’ Power Through Prayer did at 34. I could be ashamed that I need inspiration for the highest privilege. But I choose to be thankful.” For all the great classics we’ve read as part of the Reading Classics Together program, none of them have focused exclusively on prayer. For that reason, and based on its history and acclaim, we will turn next to The Hidden Life of Prayer. Already hundreds of you have agreed to read along.

The format is simple: Beginning next Thursday will read one chapter of the book each week and then gather here to discuss it. If you want to participate, all you need to do is get a copy of the book and start reading. For next Thursday just read any introductory matter along with chapter one. 

There are many ways you can get a copy of the book, some of which are free and some of which will require just a few dollars.

  • Westminster Books has kindly discounted a print edition to just $5.49. Click the link to take advantage.
  • The Kindle edition is available for just $0.99.
  • Chapel Library has the PDF for no charge.
  • Granted Ministries has a nice new edition that also includes The Prayer-Life of Our Lord, a sequel of sorts. The cost is just $7.50.
  • A Google search will turn up many online editions.

After I announced that we would be reading this classic, ChristianAudio got in touch with me and said that they would like to record and then give away the audio version of the book. They recorded it earlier this week and it has now been added to their catalog.

  • Click here to take advantage. Simply add the book to your cart and apply the coupon code HLOP12. That will reduce the price to $0.00. Then follow the checkout procedure and you will be all set. It won’t cost you a dime.

Finally, a word about The Hidden Life of Prayer:

The Hidden Life of Prayer

This classic was written by David McIntyre (sometimes spelled M’Intyre) who lived from 1859 to 1938. McIntyre was a Scottish preacher who succeeded Andrew Bonar as minister in Finnieston and later served as principal of the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow from 1913 to 1938. His book was first published in 1913. He describes the book’s purpose in his preface: “Books on secret prayer are without number; but it seems to me that there is still room for one in which an appeal may be taken, steadily, and from every point, to life—to the experience of God’s saints.”

One publisher’s introduction to the book says this: “Upon the foundation of biblical teaching, M’Intyre piles example after example of what has been helpful and effective in the prayer lives of many Christians, from Augustine to Spurgeon. The result is a handbook for prayer based both on Scripture and on the time-tested wisdom of God’s people through the centuries. Reading this book will, therefore, give you an abundance of counselors (Proverbs 11:14) to help you toward a victorious prayer life.” 

A La Carte (5/24)

Dancing on the Edge of Finished - Seth Godin has an important word to say here: “Before, when your shift was done, you were finished. When the inbox was empty, when the forms were processed, you could stop. Now, of course, there’s always one more tweet to make, post to write, words with friends move to complete. There’s one more bit of email, one more lens you can construct, one more comment you can respond to. If you want to, you can be never finished.”

The Unteachables - I know some teachers and professors who agree with this whole-heartedly: “The greatest tragedy of progressive education is not the students’ lack of skills, but of teachable character.” This is an interesting and important article.

How to Start at Your New Church - Here’s a top-notch article from Kevin DeYoung about how to start out at a new church.

Hymns for the Ascension - Cardiphonia has released a new album of hymns related to Christ’s ascension. It’s free for the download!

The Bald Leading the Bald - This is a clever article from Paul Levy, and one with a good lesson. “However, as I looked at the screens I could see a man dressed similarly to me, about my height who had a bald spot reflecting from the lights and whose hair was noticeably thinning. I looked around but there was no one else in the shop.” Uh oh.

Love and Serve Your Wife - Brian Croft offers a list of ten practical ways that a husband can love and serve his wife. On a similar note, here is John Piper’s take on words that you just cannot say too often.

He that has doctrinal knowledge and speculation only, without affection, never is engaged in the business of religion. —Jonathan Edwards

Interviews About Everything Else

I have been able to conduct a lot of interviews in the many years I’ve been running this blog. A couple of weeks ago I drew up a list of interviews featuring Christian artists. Today I’ve got a second round-up for you, this one showcasing interviews about, well, everything else.

About Everything

”10 Questions with John MacArthur” and “5 More Questions with John MacArthur”

About Books They’ve Written

”Spiritual Healing in the Midst of a Husband’s Addiction to Pornography” about Vicki Tiede’s forthcoming book When Your Husband Is Addicted to Pornography.

”5 Questions with Josh Harris” about his book Dug Down Deep.

”Who Made God? An Interview with Edgar Andrews,” about his book Who Made God?

”The Gospel: The Key to Parenting” about Bill Farley’s book Gospel-Powered Parenting.

”The Soul in Cyberspace: An Interview with Douglas Groothuis” about his book The Soul in Cyberspace.

”An Interview with Os Guinness” about his book The Case for Civility: And Why Our Future Depends on It.

About Faith in Real Life

”The Most Unlikely of Heroes,” an interview with Lee Dyck about adopting a special needs child.

”The God Who Gives Strength as Needed: An Interview with Terry Stauffer” about the power of the gospel in dealing with the murder of his daughter.

”Memorizing Scripture - An Interview” with Ryan Ferguson about the discipline of memorizing scripture.

”An Interview with Ben Zobrist” about being a Christian and a major league baseball player.

”Interviewing the ProBlogger,” an interview with Darren Rowse about being a Christian and a blogger.

About Theology

“Continuationism and Cessationism: An Interview with Dr. Wayne Grudem,” Part 1 and Part 2

“Tongues! Signs! Wonders! An Interview with Dr. Sam Waldron,” Part 1 and Part 2

The Ledger

Near the center of every religion is a ledger. Every religion acknowledges, on one level or another, that people do good things and bad things and every religion then maintains a tally, supposing that one day there will come a reckoning. Every religion hopes that on the day of accounting, the day of the audit, the good will outnumber or outweigh the bad. There is hope for those who come to that day with a surplus and no hope for those who come with a deficit.

Islam acknowledges sin—deeds that contradict the will of Allah—and calls its adherents to do good that will outweigh the bad. Good deeds are repentance, prayer and certain acts of charity and kindness. Each of these go in the ledger as credits meant to balance the debits.

Judaism acknowledges sin—violations of God’s commandments—and calls on its adherents to make atonement, reparation of relationship with God, through the good work of repentance, through making right the wrongs done to another person, through prayer and devotion. Each of these is a black entry in the ledger that may outweigh the red.

Buddhism acknowledges sin, or something like it, and calls on its adherents to avoid it in favor of something higher and better. Bad deeds bring bad karma which must be outweighed by the good deeds that bring about good karma. When the accounting comes, the good must outweigh the bad, or fate will not be kind.

Hinduism acknowledges deeds that draw us toward and deeds that draw us away, though a Hindu would hesitate to describe such deeds as sin. Still, it calls on its adherents to repent of what they have done that is bad and to restore parity with repentance or acts of contrition.

Keep Reading →

A La Carte (5/23)

Dictionary of the Old Testament - The final volume in the Dictionary of the Old Testament series has been released and for the next couple of days Westminster Books is offering it at a great price.

Rulers of Israel and Judah - Here’s a nice new infographic that displays the rulers of Israel and Judah in the time of 1 Kings and 2 Kings.

An Unexpected Ministry - I enjoyed this interview with Justin Reimer. He discusses his ministry, The Elisha Foundation. 

Does Facebook Wreck Marriages? - “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed his status to ‘married’ Saturday and received over one million ‘likes’ from his followers. But the site he founded isn’t always so marriage-friendly.  In fact, lawyers say the social network contributes to an increasing number of marriage breakups.”

Where Are They Now? - This article tracks down some of Harold Camping’s followers and, in the aftermath of his failed predictions, asks, Where are they now?

Are You Mom Enough? - This article is a great read for moms. It deals with the mommy wars. “But I am on the frontlines of another war. The battles are raging and the casualties could be my children, my husband, or myself. This war isn’t about me being mom enough. This war is about God being ‘God enough.’”

Christ is so in love with holiness, that at the price of his blood he will buy it for us. —John Flavel

Visual Theology - One Another

Visual Theology
I trust you are enjoying this Visual Theology series of infographics as much as I am. The series has now visited the ordo salutis, the attributes of God, the books of the Bible, Philippians 4:8, the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, Philippians 2:5-11, the Old Testament tabernacle, the fruit of the Spirit and Reformed Theology. Today it continues with a look at the “one another” passages of Scripture.

The New Testament contains at least 40 passages that contain the words “one another” and each one points to a way that Christians are to treat, or are not to treat, each other. This graphic seeks to display the whole lot of them.

(Click on the thumbnail image below to see the complete infographic)

One Another

Visual Theology Store

If you are after a high-res version, you can have it here in JPG format (9 MB). Please feel free to download, copy, email, share, or print the graphic; I just ask that you don’t sell it.

If you have other ideas for theological infographics, please feel free to leave a comment. Several more are already in development.

One Thousand Gifts

One Thousand GiftsI guess I’m a little late to the party. Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts was released almost eighteen months ago and since then has been a consistent bestseller. If anecdotal evidence can be trusted, its appeal has been almost entirely to women. Not surprisingly, I’ve received many questions about the book and most of them have come from women—women who have been given the book or who have been told to read it. So at long last I had the book sent to my Kindle and I gave it a read.

The book’s appeal seems to come on at least two levels. In the first place, it features a uniquely poetic form of writing. Voskamp has a style all her own; it appeals to some and is exasperating to others. Just to give you a taste, here is an excerpt from the first page:

A glowing sun-orb fills an August sky the day this story begins, the day I am born, the day I begin to live.

And I fill my mother’s tearing ring of fire with my body emerging, virgin lungs searing with air of this earth and I enter the world like every person born enters the world: with clenched fists.

From the diameter of her fullness, I empty her out—and she bleeds. Vernix-creased and squalling, I am held to the light.

Voskamp likes to use language in unexpected ways, moving around the order of words, blurring the lines between prose and poetry so that a gift isn’t “tied with ribbon,” but is “ribbon bound.” Sentence fragments are acceptable, rules malleable. There is clearly a kind of appeal to it so that those who don’t hate it, love it.

The second level of the book’s appeal involves the topic so that what she writes about resounds with many of her readers.

Voskamp’s story begins with the twin themes of suffering and ingratitude. She recounts the heartbreaking story of the death of her sister and shows how this, along with other great sorrows and disappointments, drove gratitude far away. One Thousand Gifts is a biographical account of first seeing her need for gratitude and then learning to express it not just in spite of life’s trials, but even through them. She refers to this as eucharisteo, a Greek word for thanksgiving.

Keep Reading →

A La Carte (5/22)

Overcoming Temptation - D.A. Carson talks about some simultaneous steps to take for overcoming temptation, including a deepening delight in Jesus.

A Crossway Opportunity - Crossway is not only a publisher but also a not-for-profit ministry that relies in part on gifts from people like you to accomplish major ministry projects worldwide. They have a unique opportunity they want you to help with.

Four Marks of Fruit-Bearing Christianity - Here’s some wisdom from J.C. Ryle. “The Christianity which I call fruit-bearing, that which shows its Divine origin by its blessed effects on mankind—the Christianity which you may safely defy unbelievers to explain away-that Christianity is a very different thing. Let me show you some of its leading marks and features.”

False Promises - Thomas Sowell is at his quotable best in this article. “The fact that so many successful politicians are such shameless liars is not only a reflection on them, but a reflection on us.” “What is amazing is the implicit assumption that “the rich” are all such complete fools that they will do nothing to prevent their money from being taxed away.”

A Week in the Life - I found this a very helpful article. Stephen Um simply describes what his week looks like when he is preaching the following Sunday.

God does not do many things that he can, but he does all things that he will. —George Swinnock

Slow to Anger, Quick to Wrath

In God’s revelation of himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, he says that he is “slow to anger” (Exodus 34:6). However, later in the Old Testament, in the prophecy about Christ in Psalm 2, we are told to “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled“ (2:12).

So which is it? Is God slow to anger or is he quick to wrath? It can’t be both, can it?

It seems to me that the answer lies in understanding that there is a distinction between “getting angry” and “kindling wrath.” Getting angry refers to the attitude God has toward his creation. Kindling wrath refers to the ways in which he acts out that attitude.

In this sense, we can affirm both: God is slow to become angry, as he tells Moses on Mount Sinai (and repeats throughout the rest of Scripture (see Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15, etc.). But after he is angered, his wrath, the means through which that anger is manifested, can be kindled quickly.

Romans 2:4-5 captures this distinction powerfully. After mentioning how the people have been presuming upon “the riches of [God’s] kindness and forbearance and patience” (referring to the slowness of God’s anger), Paul says that they are storing up wrath for themselves “on the day of wrath,” which, as we know from Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, will come quickly, “like a thief in the night.”

Ultimately, each of these is true and each of them is a blessing to us. The fact that God is slow to anger means that there is time and opportunity for us to repent of our sin. The fact that he is quick to wrath guards us against presuming upon his mercy and prolonging our rebellion.

(For a look at other apparent contradictions in the Bible, see Justified by Faith or Works?, Who Incited David?, and That Pesky Rooster.)