Wednesday September 19, 2007 Baptism, Church Membership, and GraduationThis blog has an interesting story told in a gracious way showing how the relationship is between baptism and church membership. (HT: Thabiti) Weird Story of the DayA married couple who didn’t realise they were chatting each other up on the internet are divorcing. Transracial Adoption and…
Brian McLaren shares two gospels, one new and one old. Those of us who have been keeping a wary eye on the Emerging Church know that to understand the movement we need to understand Brian McLaren. Though it is not quite fair to label him the movement’s leader, he certainly functions as its elder statesman…
It’s Tuesday today, and that means we have a new lot of reviews for you to read over at Discerning Reader. We’ve also got a fascinating interview with one of the authors whose work we have reviewed today. So read on! To start, I’ve added a short review of Iain Murray’s The Life of John…
Tuesday September 18, 2007 Messages on Heaven and HellA few days ago I posted a review of Edward Donnelly’s book on heaven and hell. The original messages the book was based on are available here (1997 and 1995). Persecution in AzerbaijanA reader sent along this story of a Baptist pastor imprisoned in Azerbaijan for holding…
The subject of reading has been much on my mind lately. I love to read but often receive emails from people who struggle to read and struggle to enjoy reading. Thus I thought it might be beneficial to piece together a list of tips to read more and to read better. I hope you find…
Monday September 17, 2007 Pastors and EvangelismA recent article at Pastors.com does a good job of challenging pastors to take the lead in evangelism. CBMW RedesignedThe Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood recently relaunched a new version of their web site. There are tons of great resources at the site. Rule of ThumbsAn article in…
Yesterday I finished Iain Murray’s biography of theologian John Murray (there is no relation between the two Murrays) and was struck by John Murray’s insistence on the importance of memorizing the catechisms. I was raised on a steady diet of the Heidelberg Catechism at church and the Shorter Catechism at home and can attest to…
Some books receive titles that are a little bit mysterious, only hinting at what the book contains. There are others that just give it all away in the title. Biblical Teaching on the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell pretty well says it all. Edward Donnelly simply turns to Scripture to see what God says about…
How endless choice is making us endlessly miserable. A few weeks ago my cell phone went missing. For a few days we looked for it passively, keeping half an eye out for it as we went about our business in the house. It didn’t show up. So for one morning we tore the house apart,…
Friday September 14, 2007 Mohler’s Motives and MinistryHershael York has written an interesting defense and appreciation of the ministry of Dr. Mohler. Signed by ChantryYou’ll have to act quickly as Steve Burlew of Banner of Truth is offering signed copies of Walter Chantry’s new book “David: Man of Prayer, Man of War”–but only until noon.…
At some point I need to write an article about how to build a library on the cheap. When I do it will mention inventory reduction sales. Speaking of which… Westminster Books is holding just such a sale right now. Since, like several good, Reformed online retailers they don’t really stock any bad books, everything…
“We must be saints before we die, if we are to be saints afterwards in glory.” Today those of us who are engaged in this project to read some great Christian classics together are going to be looking at the second chapter of J.C. Ryle’s Holiness. You can read more about this effort here: Reading…
Thursday September 13, 2007 Vintage JesusCrossway has posted the cover and description for Mark Driscoll’s first book of 2008 (rumor has it he has 5 or 6 due for release). This one is called “Vintage Jesus” and deals with apologetics. How Not to Measure TemperatureA reader who works for an environmental agency sent along this…
Making an impact on the world of social media. On Saturday I had 11,000 unexpected guests drop by. One of my stories got picked up by Reddit and StumbleUpon, two of the big social media sites, and it ended up on the front page of both sites concurrently. This caused about 11,000 people to drop…
Wednesday September 12, 2007 Do Sports Build Character?Looking at an abundance of evidence in major league sports, Anthony Bradley has determined that sports do not build character. Portable SoundsChristianity Today is in the midst of a series looking at how the Internet and the digital revolution are changing the way we listen, purchase, and even…
In recent weeks I have been attempting to make my way through some of the Shepherd Press catalog of books. Many of the titles and some of the authors were unfamiliar to me. Yet it seems that every time I read one of these titles I unearth some new treasure. Books like Polishing God’s Monuments…
Tuesday September 11, 2007 How Kids ThinkHow Kids Think is a project of God’s World Publications, the publisher of WORLD Magazine. They invite you to participate in research of what it means to teach children from a biblical worldview in a postmodern world. God, Politics, PoliticiansAl Mohler asks and answers “How are we to think…
Avoiding Kids: How Men Cope With Being Cast as Predators Ted Wallis, a doctor in Austin, Texas, recently came upon a lost child in tears in a mall. His first instinct was to help, but he feared people might consider him a predator. He walked away. ‘Being male,’ he explains, ‘I am guilty until proven…
Monday September 10, 2007 Book Lover’s ChairHere’s a chair for the book lover in your life. “Bookinist is a mobile reading chair, with enough built-in storage to hold 80 of your favorite books nearby.” Teen Suicide RatesCBS has the sad news that suicide rates among teenage girls is on the rise. “The suicide rate among…
Christopher Hitchens weighs in on the atonement and John Calvin. I just finished reading Christopher Hitchens’ atheistic screed God is not Great. Demanding the end of all religion and proclaiming that belief in God is harmful to individuals and to society, Hitchens attempts, at least in portions of the book, to mock and even to…