Tim Keller's two new "God's Word for You" commentary-like books from The Good Book Company are only $1.99 each for the eBooks! But it only lasts more days. Click here to grab them. Just loving this new series of books.
Jalen Rose predicts 50 year old Michael Jordan will play this year. Really?
If I were to write a book on suffering, I would wonder what Joni Eareckson Tada thought of it. Well, she writes a glowing review of Tim Keller's new book on suffering, Walking With God Through Pain & Suffering. Here's a blurb...
Yes, suffering is a mystery, but it is not a mystery without at least some explanation. Besides, life may be hard, but God is good—much more so than we can possibly imagine. And he stands ready to give, well, perhaps not the answers the world would like, but to give the One who holds all the answers in his hand.
Tim Keller does a righteous job of showcasing to us, and to the world, that Jesus is worth trusting. Period. End of argument. After all, when they hang you on a cross like meat on a hook, you have the final word on suffering.
Go read the rest of the review. And pick up Walking With God Through Pain & Suffering for 41% off (or Amazon | Kindle)
My new favorite band, Chvrches, which I encouraged you to check out recently, played Jools last night. Here are two of their best songs live. Then pick up their excellent album, The Bones of What You Believe, which is burning up my iPod like few others have.
As the government "shuts down" I found this segment of Morning Joe this morning to be a treat.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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Jen Thorn, Joe Thorn's wife, has a new website. Bookmark it, Feedly it, read it. She's a gem.
John Wesley on the Discipline of Reading by Brian Hedges
Reading requires discipline. But the investment of time yields great dividends for our personal life and ministry. The depth and breadth that reading will add to our thinking and preaching are surely worth the effort. Fellow pastors, do not neglect reading!
10 Ways to Become a Better Preacher by Justin Buzzard
In my opinion good preaching is something that flows through the heart of a man who is excited about Jesus because he’s personally enjoying the love of Jesus. I think the single most important thing a pastor can do is wake up each day and focus his energy on enjoying Jesus and having as much fun as possible. This is the only thing I know of that will protect you from the burnout most pastors experience from the relentless strain of preaching and leading a church. I don’t think there’s much power in preaching grace if you yourself are not reveling in grace.
Is a Deacon Just a Servant? by Russell Moore
The question is not whether deacons serve or lead. Leadership, scripturally defined, is servanthood. The question is in what way do deacons lead. Deacons maintain the unity of the Body by giving leadership to the serving of temporal needs. They’re not a corporate board, nor are they a spiritual council of directors. They serve the Body by removing potential obstacles to unity by meeting human needs.
20 Great American Cities for Writers --> Go Chicago!
If you can’t live somewhere that isn’t a big, bustling city and you don’t want to pay New York City or California rent, you can’t beat the Windy City, which boasts great bookstores like Myopic in Wicker Park, Powell’s in Hyde Park, and the best place to get your weird zine/chapbook/comic fix: Quimby’s. There’s plenty of art and architecture to admire, wonderful coffee from local roasters like Metropolis, nice-sized and somewhat affordable places to live, plenty of great bars, schools like the University of Chicago, writers and poets like Adam Levin and Lindsay Hunter calling the place home, the Printers Row Lit Fest … All of which is to say, Chicago plays second literary city to nobody.
George Whitefield, on this day, September 30, 1770, woke at 2am with an the beginning of breathing problems that he suffered from for some time and thought was asthma. He decided to take 2-3 days off of preaching to recover. Then soon after decided it would be better to preach that day. "A good pulpit sweat today may give me relief. I shall be better after preaching."
Richard Smith, his assistant, responded, "I wish you would not preach so often, sir."
Whitefield: "I would rather wear out than rust out."
He sat up in bed, praying. When finished, he went back to sleep for an hour and then awoke at 4am barely able to breathe. That morning George Whitefield died, fighting for each breath, until he met his Savior face to face.
Maybe the best football/popcorn clip ever...
Matthew Smith was in Crystal Lake, IL last night and thanks to some generous church members my family was able to go. I've known of Matthew and Indelible Grace for a long time, and preached at Michael Spencer's (iMonk) school in 2006 alongside Matthew's worship leading. What's remarkable about Matthew is that he sounds as good or better live than his recordings. There's nothing wrong with his recordings. His voice is just true and rich. His music fills our house often, especially on Sunday mornings.
If you don't know Matthew, introduce yourself by checking out his albums All I Owe or Watch the Rising Day. Here's Matthew playing "Reedemed, Restored, Forgiven."
And let me add a video to the opening song from his concert last night. It's really the one song that's stuck in my head from last night. It's not a video from the concert or a recording by Matthew. It's Sandra McCracken from In Feast or Fallow with "Can't Help Myself." Just beautiful. Loved Matthew's version a lot. Lyrics are below and if you don't know the song I encourage you to follow along.
"Can't Help Myself"
I confess the things I am afraid of:
thorns and danger just around the bend
I pray for tongues of fire and bands of angels
to come and circle 'round me like a fence
I lift my eyes to the hills, where comes my help?
I lift my hands--empty hands--I can't help myself
I can't help myself; no, I can't help myself
My enemies surround me like an army--
within, without, the battle's raging on
I pray the Spirit will be strong and mighty
for courage through the night until the dawn
I lift my eyes to the hills, where comes my help?
I lift my hands--empty hands--I can't help myself
I can't help myself; no, I can't help myself
Oh trust the Lord--my soul and all that is in me--
oh trust the light to show your darkest parts
With wounds of truth and love, a friend who has known me;
a fool would keep his secrets in his heart
I lift my eyes to the hills; here comes my help
I lift my hands--empty hands--I can't help myself
I can't help myself, can't help myself
Can't help myself; no, I can't help myself; I can't help myself
It's been a year of a few great albums, but not enough. Good news: I'm absolutely gripped by the new (debut) album by Chvrches: The Bones of What You Believe. This is a Scottish electro-pop band around the M83 soundscape, but with a lot more dance beats. This music soars and it is almost continually fun and riveting. But it's anything but lightweight and the deeper you dive in the more you respect the richness of the music. These lyrics are dense. AV says, "Chvrches’ bread and butter remains highly melodic, synthesizer-based pop, but with just the right amount of darkness, thanks in part to [Lauren] Mayberry. She has a law degree and a masters in journalism, so she writes like she has something to say, not just to fill the space in the songs." I've been thinking about the opening track, "The Mother We Share," (colorful word in this song) for days now, listening to it over and over. This is thought-provoking fun and one of my favorite musical journeys of the year. The delicate vocals of Mayberry are just perfect. I've stopped what I've been doing to listen closely to the lyrics and I've been able to focus on work and just enjoy the music in the background. A rare album indeed.
Disclaimer: There are a couple of colorful words on the album.
Noteworthy Reviews...
Metacritic: 82/100 | AV Club 100/100 | Pitchfork 8.5/10 (Best New Music)
O Lord, your gospel is true to life. It reads me as much as I read it. How lofty, how noble are my intentions! But how ugly, how squalid, how embarrassing are my actions! I see your law for the holy thing it is. And I see myself, in my imagination, running off on my white charger to do battle against sin. But so often, I am defeated and shamed and seen to be the fool I am. In this ongoing encounter between your law and my sinfulness, I am learning one simple truth: I really am a sinner, and I really hate it, and I really want you to be my Savior. Draw near to me now, dear Lord. Nurture within me an undying, persistent, rugged love for you that will fight on through the warfare of this life, never giving up and never giving in, but striving on for the holiness you have promised to perfect in me in heaven. Keep your bright promises before me, dear Lord, especially when I fall defeated in sin. In the holy name of Christ. Amen.
Ray Ortlund, Jr. in A Passion for God, pgs 105-106.
It's good when Amazon celebrates something, because they give us something to celebrate too. A BUNCH of great albums are just $6. Grab a couple...
This is the music I was playing in 1984...
Tim Keller's Encounters With Jesus eBook series concludes. Here are all installments for $1.99 each...
Some really nice music in this batch of $5 albums. It's not been this good in a while.
Go check out the all-new Kindle Paperwhite. Or read through a free app.
The new worship album, Keith & Kristyn Getty: Modern & Traditional Hymns - Live at The Gospel Coalition is out today. Go get it!
If you like your sports news with a Seinfeldian flavor, here you go. My favorite part starts 3:30 in with the Bears/Bengals recap.
I loved the book by Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling (Kindle | WTS). I listened to his TGC talk via the TGC podcast yesterday, "Dangerous Calling," and it was wonderfully convicting. It's still pursuing me. I don't quite like how he handles the issue of sermon prep, though I agree with him in theory.
Check it out if you are a pastor, a pastor's wife, or if you need to know what your pastor may be going through. And if you are a pastor, don't just listen for you. Listen for the sake of your wife. It's in your face, but it's good.
