This summer, my wife and I wanted to challenge our oldest daughter with some challenging reading material that would both stretch her mind and strengthen her faith. A few books immediately came to mind, and I solicited suggestions from Facebook friends to get more ideas. After some collating, I’ve put together the final list of books my 10-year-old will be reading this summer. I’d recommend any of these books to any teenager or preteen with good reading skills.
- Basic Christianity by John Stott
- Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper
- Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
- The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul
- Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
Just missing the cut, but still recommended: Don’t Waste Your Life, The Pleasures of God, and God is the Gospel by John Piper, The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, Putting Amazing Back Into Grace by Michael Horton, and Knowing God by J. I. Packer.
June 28 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Desiring God is giving away a Logos Scholar’s Library, 2 pairs of tickets to their Pastors Conference, and 100 copies of the John Piper Sermon Manuscript Library (in Logos/Libronix format).
As the proud owner of both Scholar’s Library and the Piper Sermon Library, I strongly encourage you to enter the contest! (Full Disclosure: I used to work for Logos, and I’m a rabid fan of their stuff.)
January 06 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
As usual, John Piper’s words are used by God as a 2×4, applied directly to my forehead:
I suspect that the reason the Ten Commandments begin with the commandment “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) and ends with the commandment “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17) is that they are essentially the same commandment. They bracket the other eight and reveal their source.
Read the whole thing.
June 25 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
When I left for the Together for the Gospel conference last week, I was planning to post to this blog frequently, and maybe even upload some video. In my backpack was a huge stack of newly-minted business cards, which I hoped to distribute to raise my company’s profile so I could (eventually) get some business from churches. However, while sitting in the airport getting ready to leave Seattle Monday night, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to change my plans. The laptop stayed in the bag, and I gave out less than 10 cards – and only then because my email address was on them. I didn’t go to T4G as a business owner or a citizen journalist, but as a Christian.
I also decided to wait until a week after my return had passed before posting my reflections on the conference. Had I posted during or immediately after the event, I would have gushed about Sproul’s or Piper’s message (which were excellent, as were the others), or about how much the worship moved me (apparently, hands were raised, which isn’t something I’m prone to do). In the week since I’ve been back, I’ve relistened to five of the eight messages (I’m going in reverse order, so I’ve reviewed the sermons by Mahaney, Piper, Mohler, Sproul and Dever, with Macarthur, Anyabwile and Duncan still to go) and spent a lot of time thinking and praying. The usual “conference glow” has largely subsided.
And one week later, I can say this with complete confidence: T4G 2008 changed my life.
By God’s providence, the Wednesday speakers – Macarthur, Dever, Sproul, and Mohler – together set forth a glorious picture of the Gospel. They together pointed out areas where the Gospel is under attack in our day, and held forth the glorious truth of Jesus dying in our place, bearing our just punishment and satisfying the wrath of His Father, becoming a curse for us. (As Sproul so powerfully put it, “the gospel is our only hope – and it is hope enough.”)
And then Thursday morning, John Piper spoke on how that same gospel spurs us on to radical sacrifice. One of the texts Piper used was Hebrews 13:12-14:
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
At T4G, God stirred my heart. I want to go outside the camp – no, I want to go to Jesus outside the camp. I want to bear his reproach.
I used to me a little angry with my church because it seemed that I rarely get opportunities to teach (and never to preach), even though the feedback has been uniformly positive whenever I’ve done so. I think I see now why God orchestrated my forced sabbatical – there was a lot of pride in me that needed to be dealt with. I’m not saying that I’m now pride-free (that likely won’t be the case until I’m with Jesus), but at least now I see it and I hate it for the destructive sin that it is.
If God wants me to teach the gospel to a few 5 year olds, I’ll do it. If God wants me to go back to school, I’ll do it. (Granted, He’ll have to supply the means to do so – I do have a family that relies on me!) I’m not putting any parameters or limits on this. I’ll suffer if I have to. I’ll do without if I have to. I’ll look like a fool if I have to. I’ll take any opportunity that God brings my way to proclaim His gospel, because it is the world’s only hope. And it is hope enough!
Here I am, Lord. Send me!
April 25 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Random thoughts from a Tuesday morning:
- For Easter, my wife bought me an iTunes gift card, which I promptly spent on albums by Jeremy Casella (10,000 Angels) and Andy Gullahorn (Reinventing the Wheel). I recommend both highly.
- Today is the day of the “big ultrasound” – if the baby cooperates, we’ll know whether a boy or a girl is coming in late July. We’re taking our three kids with us today to watch, which should be interesting! To be helpful, I told my 3-year-old son that copious quantities of blue goo was involved. Not sure if that will prove to be a good idea or not…
- I’ve been listening through John Piper’s sermon series on the new birth, and I’m almost caught up with the podcast. In the sermon I listened to yesterday, Piper pointed out an interesting relationship between I John 1:8 and I John 2:1. The verb translated “we have” (the Greek echomen) in both is a present active indicative, which indicates a continuous state of affairs. The first verse makes it clear that we have sin – that sinfulness is my condition right now. The second verse tells me that Christ is my advocate right now – to the same extent. Right now, as I type this on my computer, two things are true about me: I am sinful, and Christ intercedes for me. Those twin truths keep me from pride on the one hand and despair on the other.
- I’m thinking about buying a Flip camcorder – they get really good reviews. Anyone out there have any experience with this device?
March 25 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
The guys (Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Lig Duncan and C.J. Mahaney) who put on the Together for the Gospel conference in 2006 are doing it again next month in Louisville, KY. I didn’t get to go in 2006, but I did buy the MP3′s of all 7 sessions and I’ve listened to them repeatedly. (The addresses by Dever, Mahaney and John Piper are especially good, although I can easily recommend all 7.) I would really like to go this year, but the facts are these:
- I don’t know anyone who lives in Louisville, so I’d have to get three nights in a hotel – and since I don’t want to rent a car, it would have to be close to the venue. Cost: around $350, once you factor in the hotel taxes.
- Louisville, KY isn’t within easy driving distance of Mount Vernon, WA, so I’d have to fly. Cost: $250-300, depending on when I buy the ticket.
- Then, I have to actually register for the conference. Cost: $299.
- I might want to eat sometime during my trip. Cost: $100-200, depending on what kind of restaurants are available in the area.
So, to add it all up, I’m looking at paying over a thousand dollars for this conference. Is it worth it? On the one hand, yes. The preaching will be stellar, and the opportunities for meeting people will be good. (I’d especially like to touch base with Tim, Justin and Thabiti, all of whom write blogs that I regularly frequent.) I also want to see how the mapping application that was built for T4G turned out. (The T4G guys asked software companies for bids to build it, and I was “first runner-up.” I’m curious to see the results from the winner!)
On the other hand, that’s a lot of money, and there are many other ways to spend it – debt retirement, home improvements, family trips, etc.
How to decide? Again Messrs. Mohler, Dever, Duncan and Mahaney are here to help me out. They’re asking questions on the T4G blog and giving out free registrations to the best answer to each question. (I’ve answer four of the five questions so far. Haven’t won yet.) If I won a ticket, that would probably put me over the edge into the “going” category.
So, anyone know of cheap accommodations in Louisville, just in case I find favor in the site of … whomever is choosing the best answers?
March 10 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »