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The Magician's Nephew
5 of 5 stars to The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
2018: It is so goosebump inducing to read this as the sixth book, as it was in publication order, rather than to read it as the first book, which it is in Narnian chronology. The creation account, while different from the actual creation account of our world in many ways, really sings. We’re also reminded that for those who love Aslan, Aslan loves those we love who are suffering even more than we love them.
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The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
5 of 5 stars to The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs
I started reading this with my 5th-6th grade Bible class last school year, but we didn’t finish it. I started over when summer break began, then got sidetracked a couple times. Then I committed to plodding at two pages per day and it was a fantastic kick in the contentment pants every day. Though brief, it’s not really a book to read in a week, any more than one wants to take a month’s worth of antibiotic pills in one gulp.
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Thankful for the Body
When we combine this season of thanksgiving with the communion we share at the Lord’s Supper with the diversity of Spirit-gifted members in the body, we have reason to get specific in gratitude for the different gifts we see.
When I look around the Table on Sunday morning, or, after everyone has come to the Table and is back in their spot ready to eat and drink together, I am very thankful.
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Make It Perfect
There are two ways to make your Thanksgiving holiday family time together perfect this week. One way to make it perfect is to have your family not spend any time together. Really. Where two or three are gathered together, there is disagreement in their midst. This is merely “perfect” in the sense of free from strife, though that is probably an imperfect definition of perfect. When we as Christians think about perfect we usually think about what is as good as it could possibly be.
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The Odyssey
4 of 5 stars to The Odyssey by Homer
Read this again in 2018 with the Omnibus Tenebras group. I’m doubling my previous star rating, and adding that this time I grew in admiration for Odysseus and Penelope, for a story of glory in fighting for marriage and family rather than glory in circuitous fighting as in The Iliad. Good work, Homer.
2012: 2 of 5 stars. I’m glad that I read it.
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Me First: The Deaths We Should Die for Our Students
More than a month ago I got to address a group of teachers at the first ACCS Regional Schools Training Day held at Providence Classical Christian School. Here are the notes for my talk.
TL;DR or Abstract: The gospel is good news that Jesus died so that we might live. As Christians the gospel is not only something we must believe and proclaim, it is also something we must embody. Like Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, teachers have many and various opportunities to bring life to their students (and the students’ families) by dying.
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Royal Blood
David wrote a song about how “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). He called that Lord the “King of glory.”
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
The LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
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The Biggest Display at the Ministry Fair
We’re headed into an extended look at spiritual gifts over the next few months in the Sunday morning sermons. There are a variety of ways, as usual, to mess up our blessings.
One way is to lift up whatever gift God has given to us as the best one, to act superior over our brothers, or to expect that what we’re called to do is what everyone should be doing. These Christians not only have the biggest display at the Ministry Fair, but they give you the most Pharisaical look of disapproval for even looking at the other tables.
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Comparatively Uppity
On earth, the Lord’s Table may be the pinnacle of places where people do not get what they deserve. If we first examine ourselves, rather than being exposed by the Lord, we know that we are guilty outside of Christ, and that even after we came to Christ we have not always appreciated what He’s done for us.
Yet somehow we can still get uppity when we compare ourselves to others who are coming to the Table.
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Eye Opening
It is the work of God to open eyes.
The apostle John told the story of a man born blind in John 9:1-41. Initially the disciples assumed that the man’s blindness was a direct result of someone’s sin, either his own sin or his parents. Jesus didn’t deny that this could happen, but Jesus did deny that it happened here. “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (verse 3).
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The Supper Is a Sermon
Or, You Are Always Preaching
Preachers are often asked how long it takes them to prepare a sermon. The question wants to know how many hours the preacher spent that week getting ready to preach. Did he translate the verses for himself? Did he brainstorm? Did he read any commentaries? Did he write out his notes? Did he pray specifically over the sermon? There are any number of steps.
But it’s actually a more difficult question than that.
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The Vocabulary of Repentance
We owe some of our most cherished vocabulary to the Reformers. This is Reformation Sunday, the Sunday closest to October 31st when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses against the sale of indulgences. It is good for us to be thankful for God’s use of faithful men.
William Tyndale was the first man to translate the New Testament into English from Greek. John Wycliffe hand-wrote copies from Latin into English, but Tyndale had access to the Greek New Testament thanks to Erasmus, and his printed English copies created a firestorm.
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More Melody Than Misery
It is more than possible that at least some of the Corinthians had participated in the worship of Dionysius, also known to the Romans as Bacchus. Bacchus was the god of wine and festivity and fertility, a god well known and served for centuries before Christ came. In the name of Bacchus men and women became drunk and in many cases caused destruction through frenzy and ritual unrestraint. Some of the Corinthian Christians may have brought this baggage with them to their fellowship meals.
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The Horse and His Boy
Upping my star count from 4 (in 2010) to 5 of 5 (in 2018) for The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.
Good stuff about Aslan’s protective, and sometimes painful, providence. Also a story of two princes: one who transitioned from a slave boy to a royal leader, the other who transformed from a royal jerk into an actual ass.
Also read in 2010. Is it okay to get this excited every time Aslan shows?
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Because Others Refused
The reason we confess our sins as part of our church’s worship on Sunday mornings is because of unconfessed sin. I don’t mean that we are trying to provide an opportunity for those who failed to make things right with the Lord in the previous six days, though it does do that. I mean that we wouldn’t even be in this position as a church had not sin been defended and its ugliness demonstrated.
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The Nature of Bread and Wine
We know from Psalm 19 that the heavens declare the glory of God so that all men should see His handiwork. We know from Romans 1 that creation reveals the existence and power of God so that all men should honor God and thank Him. And in 1 Corinthians 11 we read that nature makes it so that all men know how long to cut their hair.
What does nature teach about the Lord’s Table?
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Bolognology
Men lie. Christians of all people should know this, or at least stop believing what everyone says. Men lie. They’re lying if they say they aren’t.
By “men” I mean human beings, male and female, young and old, from every tribe and language and people and nation. This nationality piece is especially significant, because it extends to all peoples. By “lie” I mean to present an untrue statement as true with the intent to deceive.
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Every Single Thing is Now Different
This is a challenging article by David Bahnsen, Every Single Thing is Now Different: The Kavanaugh moment is not done. It is just beginning.
I’m not actually as pessimistic as Bahnsen sounds (Kavanaugh was confirmed), and also Jesus talked about when others “utter all kinds of evil against you falsely,” which, whether that applies to Kavanaugh or not, at least shouldn’t surprise Christians. Regardless, the article is good, and near the end he makes a brutal (and sadly accurate) comment about how evangelical churches, and their pastors, are providing no support for those conservative Christians endeavoring to live courageously in the culture.
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Head Covering: A Forgotten Christian Practice for Modern Times
5 of 5 stars to Head Covering: A Forgotten Christian Practice for Modern Times by Jeremy Gardiner
I’m preaching through 1 Corinthians 11 and saw a positive review of this book on FB. The author’s conclusion is obvious from the title of the book, and the fact that he started the Head Covering Movement is also a give-away.
Surprising to me, I really enjoyed the book. I appreciated the exegesis he presented, the tone he took, and the resources he cited.
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Worldview Guide for The Iliad
4 of 5 stars to Worldview Guide for The Iliad by Louis Markos
I attended a couple talks by Louis Markos at the 2017 ACCS National Convention and really appreciated his energy and his knowledge. When I saw that he had written Worldview Guides for Canon Press for The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid, and since we’re reading all three of those in Omnibus Tenebras, I ordered them immediately. After reading his guide on The Iliad I’m glad I did.