The Wiggles are big business. The group of four Aussies, who got their start fifteen years ago, are now among the world’s most popular children’s entertainers. Its four members (Anthony, Greg, Murray and Jeff) and their friends (Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and Captain Feathersword the friendly pirate) have been entertaining…
Having just read a book about prayer, and having sought recently to increase the presence of prayer in my life, I turned a few days ago to the topic of persistence in prayer. I soon found something I had written about this in the past and thought I would share it with you today, hoping…
Wednesday September 20, 2006 Fundamentalism: Someone else is trying to put the fun in fundamentalism…but it doesn’t sound like much fun. “The beauty of the Edinburgh Fringe and its uncurated philosophy is that it provides a useful annual barometer of the nation’s obsessions. And this year, unsurprisingly, the nation is obsessed with God.” Du Jour:…
Gaithersburg, MD – From Sovereign Grace Ministries, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, comes news of an exciting new competition. Throughout the Fall, Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) will travel the length and width of America, visiting malls and megachurches across the nation seeking The Successor®. The ministry expects more than 10,000 young men to vie for their…
Tuesday September 19, 2006 Blogspotting: My pastor thinks Josh Harris must be confused. Take a look and see if you agree. Education: ESV Blog pointed me to Biblical Training, a site that offers online courses by a wide variety of notable Christian teachers. Looks like there is lots to learn there! People: Snopes.com, the Urban…
I don’t envy the man who writes a book on prayer, for I can’t think of too many topics that have been written about more extensively than this. There are many spiritual classics dealing with the topic and surely an author must wonder if anything he writes can contribute to the discussion. New to the…
Monday September 18, 2006 Books: Derek Thomas has an glowing review of J.I. Packer’s latest book “Praying.” Somehow this one escaped my attention but it looks like one I may need to add to my reading list. Abortion: FoxNews has an article about a new strategy used by pro-life organizations: buy the properties being used…
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, many Muslims throughout the world are terribly upset by comments made by the pope during a recent speech. While speaking to a group of university professors in his native Germany, the pope cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet…
King for a Week is an honor I bestow on blogs that I feel are making a valuable contribution to my faith and the faith of other believers. Every week (or so) I select a blog, link to it from my site, and add that site’s most recent headlines to the sidebar on this site.…
Friday September 15, 2006 Church: Mark Driscoll has written an excellent article about Church Smith Jr. and Sr., using the rift in their relationship to encapsulate the wider rift between generations of evangelicals. Weird: Is your dog zen? If not, you’ll no doubt want to get him some zen dog treats. “ZenPuppy Treats are formulated…
God, Max & Me – I’ve felt a little bit brain-dead this week. Grieved by the shallowness of my devotional life and my difficulty in making sufficient time for it, I recently decided to try a whole new approach. I now wake up an hour earlier than I used to but leave my Bible on…
Yesterday my friend Justin Taylor (I think he’s everybody’s friend, actually. I’ve been meaning to ask him–is there a Reformed author whose Justin hasn’t spoken to just a couple of days ago?), sent me an article entitled “The Ambiguously Cured Soul” that was written by David Powlison and published in the Spring 2001 edition of…
Thursday September 14, 2006 Travel: Fox reports on how hotels, car rental agencies and others are reacting to the new rules banning liquids from flights. “Some marketing experts see the new carry-on restrictions as a business opportunity. And they say businesses should not miss the boat.” Art: Reformation Art, a company whose art work adorns…
It was an interesting experience reading Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor), for only a year before its release I had been present at the Desiring God National Conference where the contents of the book were first presented as keynote addresses. With only a couple of exceptions, each…
Wednesday September 13, 2006 Blogging: “World” magazine has an article on “Six homeschoolers [who] are using blogs to rebel against rebellion. Unfortunately subscription is required to read the complete article. Weird: There is great joy in Kenya after the world failed to end as a particular cult had predicted it would. “Residents of Nyandarua village…
I have only elementary knowledge of American history. This is shameful, really, as in high school and university I took at least two courses on American history and did quite well in them as memory serves. Still, somehow I have forgotten much that I ought to know. Popular history, books written about periods of the…
Tuesday September 12, 2006 Music: Yesterday’s Sovereign Grace Ministries newsletter had news of SGM’s first Christmas album. “Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man (to be released in November), will focus on the incarnation of Christ. In October you’ll get a preview of the CD with a free download of the song “Hope Has…
A week ago Suzanne Sataline published an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Veneration Gap: A Popular Strategy For Church Growth Splits Congregants.” The article examines several examples of churches that have experienced great trial and turmoil as a result of attempting to become Purpose Driven. The article does not seem to be an…
Monday September 11, 2006 Church: A new article in “Time” asks “Does God want you to be rich?” Alex Chediak summarizes the article and provides some quotes. Education: Dr. Mohler writes about Gerry Garibaldi. He “was in the movie business for 25 years, then he decided to become a teacher. That was a brave enough…
You may recall that last year I did several interviews and posted them to this site. I interviewed, among others, Sam Waldron, Wayne Grudem and Derek Webb. I would like to put together another series of interviews to be posted sometime this fall and winter. I am thinking of turning them into podcasts, posting audio…