NPM16 - Kindle Poetry

I've found some great deals on good poetry for your Kindle or Kindle app. Happy National Poetry Month!

• The Selected Poems of Donald Hall ($2.99) - I paid full price for hardback a while back and I really like Hall. This deal is pretty rare in my experience with newer poetry books.
• The Best of Poetry ($2.99, 200 poems)

SCOTT CAIRNS (all $2.99)

• Idiot Psalms 
• Endless Life: Poems of the Mystics

DOVER THRIFT - POETRY BOOKS (all $0.99) - Dover Thrift Edition books are made to be super cheap and therefore accessible to many. I have a number of paperback Dover books from years ago. 

• Great Short Poems
• 100 Best-Loved Poems 
• 100 Great American Poems
• Songs for the Open Road: Poems of Travel and Adventure

The Black Delph Bride

A beautiful, haunting poem from Liz Berry's new book, Black Country.

What Happens To A Dream Deferred?

It is said that Martin Luther King's "Dream" speech was inspired, at least in part, by reading Langston Hughes' poem "Dream Deferred." Here is Hughes' "Harlem" from his montage of "Dream Deferred" (published 1951, found in his Collected Poems) and then MLK's full speech (1963). As you can see by the text, Hughes is not only speaking of his day, but also ours. And the pairing together the fears of a dream deferred to the proclamation of a dream hoped and longed for is a powerful thing.

Harlem
by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

      Does it dry up
      like a raisin in the sun?
      Or fester like a sore—
      And then run?
      Does it stink like rotten meat?
      Or crust and sugar over—
      like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags
      like a heavy load.

      Or does it explode?

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

In college I got into the short stories of Ernest Hemingway through the influence of my English professor. One of my favorite stories, which continues to haunt me whenever I come across a similar place in the world (or a similar condition of my heart), is "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." It was also possibly the favorite short story of Hemingway and James Joyce said it's one of the best short stories ever written. The way Hemingway loads only 4 pages of text with so much weight is remarkable. This is a well-lit but dark story about loneliness, the fear of nothingness. It is one of the rare pieces of writing that has stayed with me over time. Here's how it begins...

It was very late and every one had left the cafe except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference...

I encourage you to pick up The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. You can read the rest of "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" online here. 

The Best Work Comes In Middle Life

I'm reading The Selected Poems of Donald Hall. The book ends with Hall delivering a very interesting "postscriptum" about his life as a poet, how the experiences in his life changed what and how he wrote, etc. The postscriptum ends with this paragraph, which I think is not only worthy of reflection for poets, but writers of all sorts, pastors, creatives, artists, thinkers, and, well, most anyone. Apply these observations to your life and family and work...

People have long assumed that poets flourish when they are young, but for most poets their best work comes in middle life. Wallace Stevens said, "Some of one's early things give one the creeps." A friend insists that no one should publish a poem written after eighty (Note: Hall is over 80). I hope I wrote good things, young and old, but my best work came in my early sixties. Over the years I felt my poems gradually diminish. I lost my powers as everyone does. It was frustrating at first, but finally I accepted the inevitable. How could I complain, after seventy years of ambition and pleasure? Happily I am able to write prose.

Cheap Kindle Books 1.4.16

A little searching and I found a bunch. Enjoy!

• What's Best Next by Matt Perman ($2.99)
• Center Church by Tim Keller ($4.99)
• Dangerous Calling & Awe by Paul Tripp ($4.99 each)
• The Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus ($1.99)
• H3 Leadership by Brad Lomenick ($3.99)
• Ordinary by Mike Horton ($2.99)
• Heaven (Theology in Community series) ($2.99)
• How People Change by Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp ($1.99)
• Help My Unbelief ($3.99) & The Pastor's Kid ($0.99) by Barnabas Piper

Cheap Kindle Books 11.17.15

• Paul and the Faithfulness of God by N.T. Wright - $7.99 (1,700 pages!)
• Recovering the Reformed Confession by R. Scott Clark - $0.99
• Meet the Puritans by Joel Beeke - $2.99 (800 page book)
• Puritan Evangelism by Joel Beeke - $0.99
• Salvation by Grace by Matthew Barrett - $0.99
• Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of his Life & Thought by Stephen Nichols - $1.99
• Tributes to John Calvin - $1.99 (600 page book)
• Hero of Heroes: Seeing Christ in the Beatitudes by Iain Duguid - $1.99
• The End of the Law (NAC Studies) by Jason Meyer - $0.99
• Enthroned On Our Praise (NAC Studies) by Timothy Pierce - $0.99
• Sermon on the Mount (NAC Studies) by Charles Quarles - $2.99
• The Ten Commandments (NAC Studies) by Mark Rooker - $2.99
• The Church: Why Bother? by Jeffrey Johnson - $2.99

Cheap Kindle Books 11.2.15

• Saturate by Jeff Vanderstelt $4.99
• Pursuing Peace by Robert Jones $3.99
• Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns $3.99
• Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware $2.99
• Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of His Life & Thought by Stephen Nichols $1.99
• The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation by Michael Reeves $2.99
• Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George $2.99
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield $2.60

Cheap Kindle Books 6.23.15

Some supercheap gems...

NAC Studies in NT Theology

• Believer's Baptism by Tom Schreiner & Shawn Wright ($0.99)
• The End of the Law by Jason Meyer ($0.99)
• God's Indwelling Presence by Jim Hamilton ($0.99)

Also...

• Entrusted with the Gospel edited by Kostenberger ($0.99)
• The Underestimated Gospel -- Chandler, Platt, Piper, DeYoung, Dever & more ($2.99)
• Pastors in the Classics by Leland Ryken ($1.99)
• Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church by Michael Lawrence ($3.99)

This Is My Manifesto

From Crossway, on The Prodigal Church...

"This is my manifesto. I'm not angry about it. I'm not throwing stones. I just want to raise the banner for the gospel. I want it to fly high over all of our churches. Because in the end, they're not our churches, but Christ's.."

The Mission is for the Unimpressive

This book is for you--the normal, unimpressive, everyday person, young or old, male or female--because Jesus means to carry out his mission of filling the world with his presence through you. You are meant to do this.

The mission of Jesus is yours to participate in. It has always been God's intention to choose normal, everyday people, and to show his amazing power and glory through them. He's not looking for the most impressive person because he already is that person.

Jeff Vanderstelt in Saturate (or Kindle), pgs 14-15.

Lots-o-Links 4.21.15

New Music - Out Today

• Built to Spill - Untethered Moon
• San Fermin - Jackrabbit
• Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color

Recent Noteworthy Books

Saturate by Jeff Vanderstelt -- I've been able to spend some time with Jeff the last few years at conferences and Soma School. Remarkable guy with a remarkable (and simple) vision for the church being the church. And the vision, as I have experienced it first hand, is being realized. A book I wish I could gift to every one of my pastor friends. 

Blind Spots by Collin Hansen -- "It's easier to associate only with our own. But anyone in the world can have that kind of community....True community results only from a miracle." Hansen explains and why the Church is are divided into three groups and how all three are important and should unite us.

The Reformation Study Bible (ESV) ed. R.C. Sproul -- Gorgeous and very useful. I use the ESV Study Bible every week, almost daily, and the RSB will now be used weekly as well. 

Mea Culpa by Kyle McClellan -- I served in a volunteer capacity with Kyle as he pastored a church in Lexington, Kentucky over a decade ago. This is a book about his service as a young pastor who made some mistakes. 

Bonhoeffer's Seminary Vision by Paul House -- As a guy who juuust missed having Paul House as a seminary professor (he left SBTS just as I arrived), I always look for chances to learn from him. Here's another opportunity specifically concerning theological education.

Links

17 Bucket List Fried Chicken Restaurants -- Steve is getting HUUUNGRY!

5 Solutions for Churches that are Stalled -- "It's one thing to spout off statistics about stagnant churches, but it's a whole different sack of potatoes to acknowledge that your church has stalled. So I won't tell anyone that you're reading this. Our little secret. Here are five things you do when your church stalls."

Lots-o-Links 2.25.15

9Marks -- Life, Ministry, & Books with Tim Keller Part 1 on Life, Part 2 on Ministry, Part 3 on Books - Excellent interview. 

Kindle Deals

• The Stories We Tell by Mike Cosper ($1.99)
• The Daring Mission of William Tyndale by Steven Lawson ($3.99)
• Imagination Redeemed by Gene Veith ($2.99)
• The God Who Is There by D.A. Carson ($3.99)
• Crazy Busy by Kevin Deyoung ($0.99)
• The God Who Justifies by James White ($2.99)

Can artists do good work in the suburbs?

The key attraction of the suburbs for artists is comparatively cheap and spacious accommodation; the same imperative that drove the first wave of artists who settled in the inner city. 

Noteworthy Books

• Experiencing The Trinity by Joe Thorn

The fear of missing out kills productivity

Fear of missing out is a problem as old as humanity and has practically become an epidemic in our culture. Some suggest it has to do with social media. Others suggest it’s our fast-paced, technology-heavy lifestyles.

Others still say it’s a character flaw in the “next generation.”

No matter what you say the cause of FOMO is, there is one thing no one can deny and that is FOMO is impacting our lives in a couple of really important ways — namely our productivity.

Father John Misty: Antichrist of the 21st Century

...to the 21st Century music industry, he is the Antichrist. Love, lust, and sex sell because they are believed to be substitutes, to solve problems, to save you from a boring hell of a life. They are sold as a drug, marketed as a painkiller, a treatment for the culture in which you feel slightly ill most days. Hell, they’ll even give it away for free if they can keep you hooked on it!

Music

• Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear - A great album from an artist who is good at saying something when everyone else is saying nothing much at all.
• Screaming Females -Rose Mountain - This album is basically on repeat for me. It's everything I wish I could hear from Sleater-Kinney. And it's just rocking my face off with it's blistering-yet-mannered rock onslaught.
• Sojourn - New Again - New worship album from a church I love in Louisville, Kentucky. Of their last few albums, this might be my favorite. 

Fall Upon This Gospel

I say man must fall upon this Gospel and be broken to pieces and in deep consciousness lie prostrate, like a man that is powerless, unable to move hand or foot. He must only lie motionless and cry: Almighty God, merciful Father, now help me! I cannot help myself! Christ, my lord, do help now, for with only my own effort all is lost!

Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol 2.1, page 396-397.

Giveaway: The Happy Christian by David Murray

“Don’t carry one miserable sin for one miserable second.” David Murray, The Happy Christian, p 56

I've been given the opportunity to give away a copy of David Murray's new book, The Happy Christian: Ten Ways to be a Joyful Believer in a Gloomy World. David is professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of the Free Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. I've reviewed his excellent book, Jesus on Every Page. A book that may not be on your radar but should be is Murray's Christians Get Depressed Too. I appreciate Dr. Murray giving us the flip side book to the topic of depression, The Happy Christian. An important topic and a helpful resource for the many Christians around you who need encouragement. 

GIVEAWAY --> I'll keep this simple. To enter to win... 

1. Tweet and/or share on Facebook -->  Tell folks about this giveaway so I can get the word out on this great book and use this link, please: http://bit.ly/gethappybook 
2. Comment below (be sure to input your real name and email so I can notify a winner) with your guess as to how many brands of pencils I have on my desk. I'll send out of secondary gift to the closest guess and I'll post a picture to show the correct answer visually. I'm a pencil geek so it isn't only a few. I'll use random.org to choose a winner from the comments below on Monday.

BONUS --> If you order The Happy Christian before February 24, you'll receive over $100 of free books and videos. More information on the resources at happychristian.net. Giveaway includes ebooks, study guide, and films. You don't have to buy it anywhere special to get these free items. Just send your online or bookstore invoice to: TheHappyChristianBook@gmail.com.

“Happy is a cheap word nowadays, hardly strong enough to describe the realistic, joyful, triumphant Christian life into which David Murray labors to lead us. His book overflows with earthy, deep-rooted biblical wisdom that many miss but all of us need.”

-J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College

The Best American 2014 Series

These yearly book releases in The Best American series comes to 2014 and they are only $1.99 each for Kindle, today only. I'm buying most (or all?) of them.

• The Best American Non-Required Reading
• The Best American Short Stories
• The Best American Sports Writing
• The Best American Mystery Stories
• The Best American Essays
• The Best American Travel Writing
• The Best American Science & Nature Writing

Logos - Bible Speaks Today NT Commentaries

For the last few months I've been using the Bible Speaks Today (BST) New Testament commentary series on Logos. They supplied me with the digital copy in my Logos library for use and review. I reviewed Logos 5 in March and my review for Logos 6 will be up in a few weeks. It's an outstanding program.

The BST commentary series isn't new to me. Commentaries from this set have been a blessing to me for years and are some of my favorite commentaries because they do so well at blending Bible exposition, pastoral considerations, and theology. They are deep without isolating folks who don't have knowledge of the biblical languages. Excellent work by John Stott. 

Like any commentary series with multiple authors, you have some outstanding commentaries and a few that just don't trip your trigger. Stott's commentaries in this series (Sermon on the Mount, Acts, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, the Timothys) are amazing. I've read the Acts commentary multiple times and used all the others I listed in part or in full. But Stott's volumes aren't the only good ones. Motyer, Clowney, and Milne are just a few of the others I've used in some form and really like. 

I've been using BST on Logos almost exclusively on my iPad. It's super quick. I have BST on the left and ESV on the right and it's the most fun I have using a commentary. I've used it on my iPhone when I forgot my iPad at home. 

Having a top notch New Testament commentary series everywhere I go is a delight. I'm currently using it Milne on the Gospel of John for my sermon series on John. I've typically used paper commentaries to read through once either in my home office or at a cafe and I take notes from it and don't look at it again. I find myself referring back more, and reworking my thoughts on a passage better, by having the commentary with me.

I've had Logos for a while and have a number of great resources to use on it. Most of the resources I've used are individual books or small sets on theology or culture. This is the first set of newer commentaries for Logos that I have and it's proven to be everything Logos has promised. I've replaced a piece of my library and I'm using it more than ever and better than ever.

What to replace next?

Check out Logos 6 and The Bible Speaks Today New Testament Commentary Series. For $99.95 you get the whole set, 22 volumes (8 are from Stott). A great deal. 

Do You Really Need Another Moleskine?

Cheap Kindle Books 10.28.14

• Preaching & Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones ($3.99)
• Pilgrim Theology by Michael Horton ($5.99)
• For Calvinism by Michael Horton ($2.99)
• A Place For Weakness by Michael Horton ($2.99)
• A Meal With Jesus by Tim Chester ($0.99)
• Church History: A Crash Course for the Curious by Christopher Catherwood ($0.99)
• Historical Theology by Gregg Allison ($5.98)
• Rediscovering Holiness by J.I. Packer ($2.99)
• Worship By The Book by Carson, Hughes, others ($2.99)
• Telling the Truth by D.A. Carson & others ($0.99)
• Learning Evangelism From Jesus by Jerram Barrs ($0.99)
• Holy Subversion by Trevin Wax ($0.99)
• The Gospel At Work by Traeger and Gilbert ($3.99)

Lots-o-Links 9.3.14

WTSBooks.com has a big sale on Kindle books, including these for $1.99 each...

• Systematic Theology by John Frame ($45 book!)
• Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller
• The Shepherd Leader by Tim Witmer
• Puritan Papers Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3, Vol 4, Vol 5 ed. J.I. Packer (Fantastic vols with essays/lectures on Puritans on various topics. I've used these for years.) 

What A War Artist Brings To War (Richard Johnson)

I’m heading back to Afghanistan this week to spend some time with the U.S. International Security Assistance Force troops overseeing the end of combat. 

[...]

As I was packing it all up recently I decided to also pack all the gear and supplies into an information graphic on what a visual journalist brings to war. So here’s what is in the old kit-bag this time around

Here's Why, How, and What You Should Doodle to Boost Your Memory and Creativity (Fast Company)

"It gets the neurons to fire and expands the mind."

Mobilizing the Church to Evangelize the College Campus (9 Marks)

...churches should seek to establish a dynamic of ministry that cycles between church to campus. As the church impacts the college campus, the campus is enfolded into the life of the local church, and then that church equips those students to walk with God and labor for the gospel back on campus. 

Dear College Students, Read These Books (Matt Smethurst)

This year I’d like to recommend six books for three different groups of students: non-Christians willing to learn about Christianity, new Christians, and students serving on (or preparing for) a ministry leadership team.