Let me remind you once more that my book Pilgrim Prayers will be released in just over a week. It’s available now for pre-order at Amazon and Westminster Books. If you plan to buy it anyway, pre-ordering helps booksellers make sure they have enough in stock on release day.
Today’s Kindle deals include Nik Ripken’s The Insanity of Obedience, Mary Jo Sharp’s Why I Still Believe, and more.
Meanwhile, Westminster Books has a good deal on a new book for younger Christians that covers the always-important topic of vocation. It is “a guide for young people seeking a calling.”
The Widening of God’s Mercy
Richard Hays is a prominent theologian whose new book, co-authored with his son, suggests that God has changed his mind about same-sex sex. This matters because the views of the theologians tend to be quickly popularized and make their way to the pews. Tom Schreiner has an in-depth review.
The Doves Didn’t Go Anywhere
This seems like an interesting and challenging one to me. Reflecting on people’s disconnection from nature, Shane Morris says “This is not the consequence of some economic downturn (none of these costs a penny to enjoy), environmental disaster (they’re all still here), or government conspiracy (birds are real, I checked). Rather, it is the result of a cultural withdrawal from objective, God-ordered reality into a dizzying funhouse of digital artificiality that has often left us blind to wonder, deaf to revelation, and dangerously ambivalent to the givenness of our world.”
7 Tips for a New Academic Year
Here are 7 tips for those who are setting out into a new academic year.
Begin With the Beginner
“I’m grateful for friendships where we can pass on the small talk and go right to the good and hard. Where we can humbly savor together the sweet places, and honestly confess the painful stuff of life.” Jill asked a friend about relating to adult children and received a great response.
‘Rings of Power’ Season 2: Getting Better, Still Flawed
I thought season one of Rings of Power was about as bad as a show can get. Brett McCracken reviews season two and says it shows some improvements. But I still don’t think I care enough to watch it.
Your Counselor Is Not Your Referee
John points out that a counselor—a marriage counselor in this case—is not meant to serve as a referee.
Why Nature-Inspired Technology Points Back to God
Katie Hulse: “Researchers in the fields of biomimetics and bioinspiration often give naturalistic evolution the credit for these designs. As one writer put it, ‘Given evolution has the benefit of millions of years of trial and error to perfect its designs in nature, it is logical that human construction can benefit in drawing from its influence.’ Yet evolutionary biologists are quick to assert that evolution is anti-teleological—it’s an undirected process that often results in poor designs.”
Flashback: We Don’t Celebrate the Tool
When we hear a sermon that stimulates our minds, we owe praise to God, not the preacher. When we hear a new song that provokes our hearts to worship, we ought to praise God long before the songwriter.
Your sins, child of God, can no more alter your Lord’s heart than can the petulance of a child alter its mother’s.
—F.B. Meyer
