One of the more interesting sections of dialog in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress has Christian and Hopeful discussing the danger of backsliding, of falling away from what had the appearance of spiritual life and growth. That dialog, drawn from the tenth stage of Christian’s journey, is important and instructive. Bunyan presupposes that such people…
Some of the best writing, the writing that is most heartfelt and true, finds it source in life’s deepest valleys. This is exactly the case with Michael Kelley’s Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal. Wednesdays were normal days for the Kelley family until they received the shocking news that their son Joshua, just two years old, had…
Are You For Your Husband? – Rick Thomas lets women into a secret: “Men are needy. Your husband is not as independent and self-reliant as he may want you or others to think. If he can get over himself and this macho image thing he is wrapped up in, he will tell you how much…
I love writing book reviews and I love reading them. Since I cannot possibly read and review all of the interesting books out there, I publish occasional round-ups of reviews written by other writers. Here are a few notable links I’ve collected over the past few weeks. (Note: I’ve formerly titled this feature “Reviews I…
Many a father has held an infant son in his arms, looked at that child and declared his delight. Yet, sadly, many years later the delight has turned to disgust, the joy to mourning. The son has done something, he has become something, that has driven away his father’s delight. I thought of my own…
Pray With, Pray For – Why should a mother pray for her children with her children? Brian Croft gives an answer. How Much Water? – How much water is there is, on and above the earth? Here’s an interesting and surprising visualization. The German Sniper – Here’s a short video that details just a short…
We are not God. That seems obvious when we consider it and yet so often we act as if we actually are God, or gods, at least. John Piper talks about this and many of its implications in one of his meditations from Pierced by the Word. Here is what he says: We are not…
The Hunger Games – Mark Meynell introduces an interesting two-part review of The Hunger Games. “What got me really fired up about the books was the surprise of how political they are. There are cultural and mythological references aplenty, and Suzanne Collins clearly draws on a wealth of dystopia writing. But it was thinking about…
The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about preaching, but I think the majority of it can be grouped under six main headings or ideas. You could, of course, extract specific teaching points from each one, but I think there’s value in looking at them in a broad sense. Here is what Paul says…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by Christian Focus Publications and they are offering quite the prize package (or five of them, to be more precise). First, they are introducing two brand new titles from a brand new series from Christian Focus Publications in the Mentor imprint, so new they are not even available…
Josh Hamilton – “I sometimes get nervous when I listen to Christian athletes talk about their faith on the big stage. While I appreciate their desire explicitly give glory to Jesus during interviews, they can come off as glib, token, or perfunctory. … This is why Josh Hamilton’s appearance last night on ESPN’s Pardon the…
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a short series of articles on The Lost Sin of Envy, saying that envy is a sin that few of us still have a category for and, therefore, a sin that many of us have unwittingly fallen prey to. As I studied envy, I saw mounting evidence of…
Today we come to the final chapter of John Bunyan’s classic work The Pilgrim’s Progress. Last week Christian and Hopeful endured an encounter with Athiest and a journey across the Enchanted Ground. This week they finally arrive at their destination, but not without some drama. Discussion The tenth and final stage of Christian’s journey combines…
Evolution’s End? – Dr. Mohler writes about President Obama’s evolution toward this new “historic and tragic milestone.” “An incumbent President of the United States has now called for a transformation of civilization’s central institution. And yet, no observer of this president could be surprised. The arrival of this announcement was only a matter of time.”…
Today I’ve got another batch of books that I didn’t review. Life is such that there are lots of great books that I just cannot find the time to read and many other books I’m simply not qualified to review. These books tend to find their way into these round-ups of the ones I received…
It is among the most emotional—certainly one of the most stirring—scenes in The Lord of the Rings. The enemy forces have pressed hard against Helm’s Deep, they have approached in overwhelming numbers, they have raised the siege works and battered the gates and have slowly driven back the armies of the Rohirrim. Hope has grown…
Her Primary Ministry – I’ve been enjoying Gloria Furman’s series on the pastor’s wife. Looking to the New Testament she asks, “But where is the list of qualifications to be an elder’s wife? Scripture-based ecclesiology offers no explicit job description for the office of pastor’s wife, because there is no such office.” Her answer is…
I have been able to conduct quite a few interviews in the many years I’ve been running this blog. Recently I ran through those interviews and noted how many of them featured Christian artists, ranging from musicians to photographers to illustrators. Here are a few of my favorites: Musicians Illustration Photography Performance Art Nihonga
I guess I’ve made my love of baseball well-known around these parts. Just as a sampler, I’ve reviewed a biography of Albert Pujols, I’ve interviewed Ben Zobrist, and a long time ago, back when the site was in its infancy, I gave a short example of why I love the game. Baseball remains the best…
Honor the Vanilla Men – Carl Truemen on the apostle Paul: “What he advocates is the appointment of rather bland, non-descript, respectable men as elders. These vanilla men, basically competent and with no skeletons in the cupboard, are to be entrusted with keeping the church on the straight and narrow.” One Remarkable Marriage – This…