#glib

The Ever-Growing Mountain of Words

A few days ago I reflected on the human brain, God’s masterpiece. Those reflections came as I read the popular book Moonwalking With Einstein, a book that deals with the art and science of remembering everything (or anything, for that). The first lesson is the one I shared in “God’s Masterpiece”–that the human brain is a remarkable creation that screams the existence of God. The second lesson is a very simple one: there are no foolproof shortcuts to memorizing. There …

An Interview and a Free Album

It was a week or two ago that I came across a band called The Gray Havens. I listened to a few clips and decided to pre-order their first album, an EP that releases today. It turns out that they are readers of this site. I thought it would be fun to do an interview and they thought it would be fun to give you a copy of their album. So here goes! Why don’t you start by telling me …

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A La Carte (9/19)

Praying for Your Pastor – “One of the great encouragements in my ministry is knowing that many at Redeemer regularly and frequently pray for me. There are a number of ways we should be praying for our leaders in the church, but as we approach Sunday I want to encourage you to pray for your pastors and their preaching in 4 specific ways.” Quit Picking on Video Games – Video games and the people who play them have become an …

A La Carte (9/18)

Shopping and False Intimacy – This is a very, very interesting article, and one worthy of some reflection. “All of this has me considering church in 21st century America. I fear we may be loosing a valuable sense of intimacy between pastor and member. In a world where pastors tweet and congregations have Facebook accounts, it’s easy to think an intimate relationship exists when all we really have are some dots of data loosely connected by our own assumptions and …

5 Reasons To Read Lit!

If there is something you do that consumes a lot of your waking hours, it makes good sense to read at least the occasional book that will challenge you to do that thing better. A preacher will read books on preaching, a hobbyist will read books about how to grow in skill at his hobby, one hopes that his doctor reads updated medical journals–you get the idea. I spend a lot of my life with a nose in a book …

Weekend A La Carte (11/19)

Hipsterification – “On the streets of Franklin and Nashville and almost every town throughout America now, hipsters scuttle by on scooters, zip around in Zipcars or Smart cars, roll by on fixed-gear bikes or walk about in snazzy high-top sneakers and longboard shorts. They snap Instagram photos of each other — in black skinny jeans and T-shirts with funky epigrams…” $5 DVD Sale – Desiring God is having a $5 DVD sale. So I guess it’s a good time to …

A La Carte (6/30)

The Pain of Loneliness – This is an article I wrote for Boundless; they published it yesterday. “Could you go just one day without checking e-mail? And without logging in to Facebook? And without using a cell phone? And without turning on your television? Could you go 24 hours without using any media at all? This was a question put forward by the International Center for Media and Public Affairs and a challenge accepted by 1,000 university students worldwide.” Family Worship …

A La Carte (6/17)

Matthias Media has a surplus of their rather excellent Two Ways to Live booklets. You can help them clear their warehouse by buying a box or two. They are selling the boxes, which include 720 copies of the booklet, for $180 which is half the usual cost. Plus you get free shipping. The deal won’t last long, so stock up and give them away! $5 Friday – Ligonier Ministries has The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and a lot of other …

Free Stuff Fridays

For several years now every Free Stuff Fridays has been introduced with the same graphic. At long last it has gone into retirement and has been replaced by a new one. I guess that’s just the way the world works. Now, let me get to the good stuff. This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Missional Wear. Missional Wear provides quality apparel (and other stuff) that is inspired by reformed theology and missional living. They are giving away 5 prizes. …

Weekend A La Carte (5/7)

It’s funny what happens to Saturdays when the family grows. Already I’ve taken my son to baseball practice, my daughter to ballet and worked over tomorrow’s sermon in the meantime. Next up is a list of chores (passport photos, baseball helmets, groceries). I remember when weekends were relaxing. But I think it’s a fair trade. Blood on the Carpet – I thoroughly enjoyed this blog post, which includes the longest run-on sentence you’re ever likely to read. Your First Name …