Day by Day with Jonathan Edwards

I’m not sure how long this book has been available, but the entire text of Day by Day with Jonathan Edwards is available on Google Books. I’ve been reading this book as part of my devotional reading this year and have found it to be very helpful and encouraging. The editor, Randall Pederson, has selected […]

Book blurbs

I have recently finished reading a number of books and pamphlets and the thought of writing several full-length reviews has become too daunting. I know myself and recognize that if I don’t write something short, then I won’t write anything at all about these works. So, in the interest of “something is better than nothing,” […]

One trouble with TV

Phil Calloway, while on his back recovering from an ATV accident, exposed himself to too much TV, and he recognized a particular problem with that: The trouble with TV is that it is filled with whatsoever things are of bad report. Who would keep a friend around who is rude, loud, and uncouth? One who […]

The Innkeeper

For years, John Piper would write four poems each advent season to commemorate the coming of Christ. One of my personal favorite — and evidently the favorite of many others as well — is called, “The Innkeeper”. You can listen to it here, as well as hear about the two influences that motivated him to […]

The way to God is open

Jonathan Edwards contemplated the reality that Christ has made a way available for us to have access to the Father: [God] sits on a throne of grace, and there is no veil to hide this throne and keep us from it. The veil is rent from the top to the bottom. The way is open […]

2011 Sola Conference

Registration is now open for the Sola Conference at Countryside Bible Church. This fifth conference on the sola themes of the Reformation will be held Feb. 11-13 and address the topic Soli Deo Gloria — “to the glory of God alone.” The speakers this year include: John MacArthur, Richard Phillips, Bruce Ware, and Jerry Wragg. […]

It’s Christmas Day

Another poem from Christina Rossetti to stimulate your thoughts toward Christ this Christmas morn: Christmas Day A baby is a harmless thing And wins our hearts with one accord, And Flower of Babies was their King, Jesus Christ our Lord: Lily of lilies He Upon His Mother’s knee; Rose of roses, soon to be Crowned […]

Since Christ has been born…

A few years ago, pastor Sam Crabtree filled in the blanks to the statement, “What Would Not Be if Jesus Had Not Been.” Reading that contemplation and pondering some additional related thoughts then led me to consider the statement, “Since Christ has been born…” Here are the Biblical realities that we, as believers, experience because […]

Book Review: The Case for Christmas

Title: The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger Author: Lee Strobel Publisher: Zondervan, 2005; 96 pp. $9.99 (print), $1.99 (e-book) Recommendation (4-star scale): Lee Strobel was a journalist who rejected Christ. His hatred was such that he decided to prove once-and-for-all that Christ was not who He […]

It’s Christmas Eve

Christina Rossetti wrote some wonderful Christian poetry. Here is one that is fitting for this day: Christmas Eve Christmas hath a darkness Brighter than the blazing noon, Christmas hath a chillness Warmer than the heat of June Christmas hath a beauty Lovelier than the world can show: For Christmas bringeth Jesus, Brought for us so […]

Love God and do what you will

I have long appreciated Augustine’s statement about the will of God: “Love God and do what you will.” Many years ago I made that statement in a sermon and a young college student responded to me by email and said, “If I do what I want I will end up in sin.” To which I […]

A retro Christmas

My family has long questioned my propensity for saving items past what seems to be the life of usefulness of the item(s) in question. My “collections” of ties, sweaters, t-shirts, cassette tapes, school papers, magazines, screws and the like have all been questioned. But this evening, one assortment of saved items has turned into a […]

The meaning of Christmas

Looking for a way to introduce the topic of Christmas to your unbelieving family and friends? This video may be a good conversation starter: [HT: Justin Taylor] You might also consider a list of questions that Don Whitney has provided to stimulate spiritual discussion at Christmas gatherings.

Sunday Leftovers (12/19/10)

There is a tendency, both culturally and in the church, to disconnect the infant Jesus from the crucified Christ. Too many want to insulate the babe in the manger from the God-Man who cried from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Yet there is no meaning in Christmas without a […]

The preciousness of Christ

I am now reading Octavius Winslow’s 18th century work, The Precious Things of God. Yesterday I came across this statement, which is a fitting reminder for the Christmas season: Other objects often lose their attraction, their desire to interest, or their power to charm us, by the lapse of years; but Jesus is that glorious […]