Starting gospel conversations at Christmas

During the holiday season, many of us have more opportunities to be with non-believers than at other times of the year. Office parties, family get-togethers and neighborhood socials all provide times for us to see more unbelievers than we usually might. And very often, we desire to turn those visits into gospel opportunities — chances […]

The Hobbit

While the ratio of reading fiction books compared to non-fiction (and even more specifically, secular to spiritual) has decreased over the years, I still read a few non-fiction works. I read them for pleasure, as well as just exposing myself to good writing and good vocabulary. And sometimes those non-fiction works also have significant spiritual […]

Book blurbs

In the interest of “something is better than nothing,” here are a few blurbs and comments on some books I’ve recently completed reading: Title: Atheism Remix Author: R. Albert Mohler, Jr. Publisher: Crossway, 2008, 108 pp., $15.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Summary: This book is based on a series of four messages that Mohler gave at […]

Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson

One final post about Christopher Hitchens. A couple of years ago, he and Douglas Wilson had a series of debates about the goodness of God and Christianity. This film was produced about those debates. HT: Justin Taylor.

How to think about the death of an unbeliever

The death of Christopher Hitchens this week has prompted much discussion among Christians. Justin Taylor reflects on Hitchens’ life through a remembrance of his own “crisis of faith” while in college. Taylor ultimately moved towards Christ while Hitchens was adamant of his rejection of Christ: Hitchens suspected there would be rumors of a deathbed conversion—but […]

A reflection on Christopher Hitchens’ death

Christopher Hitchens, considered a leader in the “New Atheism” movement, has died. Pastor and theologian Douglas Wilson, who had a long-standing relationship that grew out of a series of debates with Hitchens (he commented one time, “if Christopher and I were not careful, we were in danger of becoming friends”), has written a compelling reflection […]

Four reasons to avoid pornography

Yesterday I came across an article that revealed, “5 proven ways pornography warps your mind.” The list is good. I agree in large part with the list. It rings true both to research studies and anecdotal evidence: Watching porn decreases our sexual satisfaction Watching porn disconnects us from real relationships Watching porn lowers our view […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles I’ve spotted around the internet recently: John Knight reminds us about the subtle ways in which the agenda of abortion is pushed in the media. “Three continents. Six children dead. Every headline mistaken.” is a tragic tale of the death’s of six innocent children, and a sorrowful demonstration of how far the understanding […]

20 Things a Husband Could Say to Defuse an Argument with His Wife

From Paul Tautges: If, like me, you are striving to grow in grace as a godly husband then you will be helped by more counsel from Lou Priolo’s excellent book, The Complete Husband: A Practical Guide to Biblical Husbanding. Priolo writes: “Listed below are some transition sentences that may help you when you’re attempting to […]

Free eBook — Bringing the Gospel Home

From Monergism Books: FREE eBook — especially to help you engage skeptics in your family during Christmas: “Bringing the Gospel Home: Witnessing to Family, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well”. in ePub, .mobi and .pdf formats. This is a book that’s been sitting on my bookshelf for several months and now in my […]

eBook Sales

There are a number of good sales on eBooks right now. For instance, Shepherd Press has all its ebooks on sale for 99¢ until the end of December (Kindle or ePub formats). You will find a number of helpful books there, including books like, Christ in You, Everyday Talk, Lost in the Middle, Red Like […]

2012 Bible Reading Plan

Every year many people make plans on reading through the Bible in a year. It’s a worthy goal. But too many get bogged down somewhere in the middle of Numbers or one of the prophets, and never make it through the Bible. What is more important than reading through the Bible in a year, is […]

God’s grace and genealogies

If you haven’t heard it already, probably within the next couple of weeks you will hear read (or read yourself) the genealogy of Jesus. What is one to do with such passages? We are to hear the grace of Christ, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones has noted: The Lord Jesus Christ has manifested his Father, and has […]

Just what is the Advent wreath?

On Sunday mornings during the Christmas season, as part of our worship service, we light Advent wreath candles in conjunction with a Scripture reading. You may be wondering about the origin of this practice, and just what an advent wreath is. As one writer notes, “For four weeks, it’s as if we’re re-enacting, remembering the […]

Memorizing and Reciting Scripture

For more illustrations of the power of Scripture memorized well, see Memorizing and Reciting Scripture (Justin Taylor). Several years ago, Pastor Andy Davis has written an article about how to memorize extended passages of Scripture. Recently I also came across the Fighter Verse app, which I have found to be very helpful in […]