Today’s Kindle deals include a few books that rarely go on sale, plus a number of titles by R.C. Sproul.
From now until September 8, you can get 30% off one entire order at Logos. Just load up your cart and use the coupon code LABORDAY.
(Yesterday on the blog: Lessons In Becoming a Better Listener)
Opposing Netflix’s Outrageous Exploitation
Colin Smothers writes about Netflix’s outrageous exploitation of young girls in the film Cuties, and the poster advertising it. “One of the most harmful and perverse aspects of contemporary American culture is the sexualization of our children, especially our young girls. While not new, this trend seems to be snowballing through various age-targeted marketing campaigns which advertise suggestive clothing, wanton pop idols, and bawdy TV shows and movies that are improper for any age, let alone preteens.” (See also: Netflix: Too Cute by Half).
The Trinity Is Missing from Christian Worship Music
How interesting and how concerning. “According to Tapper, lay Christians learn a lot of their theology from their music. He has found that many Christians can’t name the topic of the last sermon they heard and many can’t quote even fairly popular Bible passages, such as Romans 12:1–2. But almost anyone who has been to an evangelical church in the past few years can complete the sentence ‘You called me out upon the _____.’”
Matthias Media’s Latest ‘Project’
Learn, pray, and work together to become God’s big-hearted people through Tony Payne’s The Generosity Project. Small groups, churches, or a few friends can use the book, free online videos, and the free leader’s guide to engage with the Bible, hear from leading pastors and teachers, and live a life driven by God’s powerful, salvific, generous Son. Add this six-session course to your curriculum and get started! (Sponsored Link)
The Abomination of Lying Lips
Keith Mathison reminds us that among the things that God regards as nothing less than an abomination are lying lips. “I don’t know who will read this blog, but for those who are Christians, avoiding dishonesty and the spread of falsehoods has to be a priority in our lives if we are to faithfully follow Jesus Christ. Lying, slander, gossip, deceit, etc. should not and must not exist among us. We are to be people who love the truth and speak the truth.”
A Solid Piece of Advice for Living on Mission
Sometimes we need to be reminded of the simplest advice.
Will the New Creation Look Like This One?
John Piper comments on how the New Creation will and will not resemble this one. “As I read the New Testament — indeed, the whole Bible — it seems to me that we are encouraged, on the one hand, to believe that in the age to come beyond death, beyond this fallen world, there will be enough overlap with our present experience of creation and of God that we should hope for a sweet sense of sinless familiarity. That’s one emphasis I see. But on the other hand, we are confronted in the Bible with inevitable dimensions of the future that are unknown — really unknown: the unknowns of what those joys will be like beyond our present capacity to experience and to imagine.”
God’s Efficiency
“I get frustrated when I try to plan my schedule efficiently in order accomplish what I think He wants me to do, and then an interruption, delay, or snafu occurs. Didn’t He know those things were going to happen? Couldn’t He have directed my planning so as to avoid them? Sure. Then why didn’t He? I don’t know all the reasons, but perhaps one is to teach me the longsuffering I pray for. You can’t learn longsuffering with suffering long. You can’t learn patience without being put in a situation where patience is required.”
God Showed Up Anyway
Here’s one of those times when everything went wrong at church, but God still showed up. He’s good that way, isn’t he?
Flashback: How Petra Rocked My Soul
All of that parenting and Bible-reading and sermonizing and catechizing had done its work in me, but somehow it was just waiting for one more thing—for news of the warm and personal relationship with God that Petra kept singing about.
What a comfort is this: when Satan is tempting, Christ is praying!
—Thomas Watson
