A Suicidal Craze – John Piper discusses the folly of the lottery. He said it well in a tweet: “Can you picture Jesus playing the lottery?” In this article he says, “There are at least seven reasons you should not gamble with your money in this way — and should tell your congressmen not to…
I love writing book reviews and I love reading them. Since I cannot possibly read and review all of the interesting books out there, I’ve decided to put together some occasional round-ups of reviews written by other writers. Here are a few notable links I’ve collected over the past few weeks. The World-Tilting Gospel by…
This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Harvest House Publishers. As [almost] always there are five prizes to win and each prize is comprised of several books. Each of the five winners will receive: What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him is a book I read recently and one I enjoyed a…
Rescued – I didn’t cry while reading this article. I just had something in my eye. Honest. “When I was just a little girl, like a wee little thing, I had a different mom and dad. And they were kind to me, but they had hurts and they had addictions and they didn’t know how…
Today is the 224th anniversary of the death of Charles Wesley, one of history’s most well-known and best-loved hymn writers. His contributions to the English-speaking church are remarkable, which becomes apparent when you read the introduction to his brief biography at ChristianHistory.net: He was said to have averaged 10 poetic lines a day for 50…
Today we continue reading John Bunyan’s classic work The Pilgrim’s Progress, and we arrive at the fourth stage of his journey. Last week Christian looked to the cross and had his burden fall from his back. And now his journey begins anew; the difficulties have only just begun. Discussion The fourth stage of Christian’s journey…
Keeping Priorities in View – “Bible scholar Don Carson cautions us about parental hypocrisy by recalling the enduring impact of his parents’ prayerful example.” This is a beautiful article. The Kokomo Krusade – I loved reading this short anecdote from the life of James Montgomery Boice. “Like a call from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, back when…
This Visual Theology series of infographics has now visited the ordo salutis, the attributes of God, the books of the Bible, Philippians 4:8, the genealogy of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. Today’s graphic is a visual representation of one of my favorite texts: Philippians 2:5-11. This text challenges us to grasp the extent to which…
I happen to know two people who have read the complete written works of D.A. Carson–at least everything that is publicly available. This takes some dedication, considering that Carson’s bibliography includes 62 books, 257 articles and 115 reviews. I recently interviewed the two of them, trusting that they would be able to give us an…
John Piper’s Successor – “The Bethlehem elders are announcing to the congregation their candidate for Associate Pastor for Preaching and Vision and, God willing, John Piper’s eventual successor as the church’s senior pastor. Jason Meyer, 36-year-old Assistant Professor of New Testament for Bethlehem College and Seminary, is the elders’ recommendation for congregational consideration and vote…
Is it satire or is it parody? Whatever it is, Douglas Wilson’s Evangellyfish must be unique in the Christian market. This is a book, a novel, first serialized online but now re-edited and formally published, that provides a scathing indictment of evangelicalism. It does it well. Of course if you know evangelicalism you know that…
Britain’s Got Talent – I’m never sure if people are clapping for the performers or just because they know they’ve found the next big story, but this is still fun. Mohler and Carter – Al Mohler: “Today’s Thinking in Public program features my interview with former President Jimmy Carter. The conversation was remarkable, and I…
I am kicking off a new series of posts today that will go through a list of theological terms to provide a concise and hopefully simple definition for each of them. By “basic” I don’t always mean that the words are commonly used among Christians (or even found in the Bible, for that matter), but…
Here in Ontario there is a criminal trial taking place of the kind that is so disturbing that I cannot bear to read any details. It involves the taking, raping and killing of a young girl. The very few details I’ve seen in headlines and bylines have been more than enough to convince me that…
Boycott Starbucks – Some Christians are calling for a boycott against Starbucks. Russell Moore looks at the issue. “It’s not that I’m saying a boycott in and of itself is always evil or wrong. It’s just that, in this case (and in many like it) a boycott exposes us to all of our worst tendencies.…
Here is some wisdom from Richard Sibbes–the kind of wisdom that, if we could just take it to heart, all the way to heart, it would make every difference in our lives. If we would make it evident that our conversion is sound we must loathe and hate sin from the heart; now a man…
Trayvon Martin, Race, and the Gospel – John Piper: “Racial tensions continue to rise just as I prepare to go to New York next week to talk with Anthony Bradley and Tim Keller about race and the Christian. I watched a video on Wednesday of an African American pastor who said that recently he was…
2 Samuel 24:1 states that David took a census of Israel due (at least in part) to the anger of God: “Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’” 1 Chronicles 21:1, on the other hand, while recounting the same moment…
This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by CBD Reformed and, as always, they have a pretty good prize for you to win! There will be 5 winners this week and each of those winners will take home a prize package that includes: At the Throne of Grace is a book of the pastoral prayers…
Wasted Depression – I found this reflection on depression to be very helpful. “Depression makes people run away. That is why it is so easily wasted and so cleverly hidden from great minds and friends who can become very stupid when reacting against what they perceive to be character flaws or sins.” Waiting to Belong…