While I’ve always been an avid reader of books, in the past twelve months or so I’ve also become an avid listener. After seeing hundreds of Audible ads advertising “Download a Free Audiobook Today!” I finally went ahead and signed up and downloaded my free audiobook (and yes, you actually can join, get that free…
Happy New Year – Paul Tripp offers a lot of wisdom when it comes to resolutions. “Few smokers actually quit because of a single moment of resolve, few obese people have become slim and healthy because of one dramatic moment of commitment, few people who were deeply in debt have changed their financial lifestyle because…
This is the seventeenth installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, atonement, adoption, sanctification and incarnation. “For what is idolatry if not this: to worship the gifts in place of the giver himself?” (John Calvin, Institutes…
When the Perfect Comes – “Another year is passing away. Thank God. Not only for the massive amounts of unquantifiable grace we have received from him, but also because we are one year closer to the passing away of this partial age and all of its incumbent sorrow and weariness.” 2013 Book Awards – Christianity…
This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by CBD Reformed. There will be 5 winners this week, and each of them will win the following 3 books: In addition, CBD Reformed is offering a 4-day sale (December 28 – 31) on the following three products: You don’t have to win the prizes to take advantage…
Where Was God’s Goodness in 2012? – Articles like this remind me why I have such respect for John Piper. “As this year ends, the question I am asking is: Where was God when so many good things happened this past year? … How can God be righteous and do so much good to us…
Let me allow you in to a little secret of the blogosphere: The week between Christmas and New Years is the slowest week of the year for site visits. We are all busy and distracted and otherwise out of our routines, so traffic to blogs plummets to a mere forty or fifty percent of the…
Top Theology Stories of 2012 – Collin Hansen looks back at the year that was and digs up what he considers the top theology stories of 2012. I tend to agree with most of his picks. Meanwhile, you can visit Gene Veith’s blog to see the top news stories as chosen by Associated Press. The…
Some time ago a reader of this site asked if I could address a concern in his life. He had been pursuing a young lady and beginning to think about marriage, but rather suddenly found that he was no longer attracted to her. She was a godly person and just the kind of woman he…
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast – The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast, which she writes herself, is often profoundly biblical, and this year is no exception. You can click the link to watch the video, or click here to read the transcript. My Daughter’s Beauty – “How do I raise my daughter to know the true definition of…
It is a stay-at-home kind of Christmas this year. I always find it fun to run back through the blog posts from December 25ths of the past to see where my family was and what we were doing that day. Some years we head down to Chattanooga to join my parents and siblings, while other…
I enjoy reading thematically–following a certain theme through a variety of books. Recently I noticed that some of today’s most popular Christian mega-pastor authors had released new books and I thought I’d work my way through that list. The list includes new titles by Francis Chan, Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll, James MacDonald and David Platt.…
Christianity Is Close to Extinction – According to this report, Christianity is nearing extinction in the Middle East. “The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says, claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a fear that criticism will be seen as ‘racism’.” Touch Not the Lord’s Annointed…
This is the sixteenth installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, atonement, adoption, and sanctification. We sing joy to the world at Christmas, says Spurgeon, “because it is evermore a joyous fact that God should be…
Does God Hate Westboro Baptist? – Josh Buice makes the case that God hates Westboro Baptist Church, the group that pickets funerals and other events with signs saying “God Hates Fags” and so on. A Veteran at 13 – Smithsonian has the fascinating tale of Calvin Graham who enlisted during World War 2 at the…
I am in the unique and enjoyable position of receiving copies of most of the latest and greatest Christian books and I like to provide regular roundups of some of the best and brightest of the bunch. Here are some of the notable books that I’ve received in the past few weeks. Through the Eyes…
This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Reformation Heritage Books, a company that has sponsored lots of these giveaways and always manages to dig up some good prizes. This round is no exception. They are giving away 5 great prize packages and each one will consist of 2 books and 3 great devotionals. Here…
Review of The Hobbit – Mel Duncan has written a great review of the new movie adaptation of The Hobbit. “By all means go see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, then go see it again. You will recognize the story as vaguely Christian. But better yet read The Hobbit, especially to your children, as my…
I don’t know that even the greatest theologian could ever plumb the depths of all it means that humanity was created in the image of God. But whatever else it means, we know that because we are made in God’s image, we are like God in certain ways and for a certain purpose. John Piper…
The Media and the Massacre – Andy Crouch: “All that any of us who do not live in Newtown, Connecticut, truly needed to know—possibly more than we needed to know—appeared in a 12-word news alert on my phone Friday afternoon. Almost everything else, I believe, was a distraction from the only thing that we who…