Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview


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My Review of the Movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day, rated PG-13
***

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an exciting and entertaining action film. Due to the action violence and adult language, it would be best for teens and older.
The film, which follows 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (The Glass Castle, Just Mercy), and written by Emmy nominee Chris McKenna (Community), and Emmy nominee Erik Sommers (American Dad!). The film had an estimated budget of $225 million, and after two weeks had already grossed $1.7 billion worldwide.
Dr. Strange’s spell erased Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, (also in the theaters in his role in The Odyssey), from the memory of everyone who loved him, particularly MJ, played by two-time Emmy winner Zendaya (Euphoria), and his best friend Ned Lees, played by Jacob Batalon.
Peter has been living an isolated life ever since, which is what he wanted. He wanted the world to forget he ever existed. After Aunt May’s death, played in flashbacks by Oscar winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny),  he didn’t want to endanger the lives of anyone else he cared for. Continue reading →


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • What About Pet Idolatry? Randy Alcorn has a forthcoming book in which he provides a biblical view on animals and pets. Here he answers a question about idolizing pets.

  • Is the Devil Real? During a live Clearly Reformed Q&A Event, Kevin DeYoung answered a range of questions presented to him by attendees.
  • Obedience Will Never Ruin Your Life. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “What would you say to a young single woman, a Christian, who is secretly considering an abortion because it would make life easier? This is where I find myself right now, and I never imagined it would happen to me, yet here I am, shattered and scared.”
  • Who is Jesus? During a live Clearly Reformed Q&A Event, Kevin DeYoung answered a range of questions presented to him by attendees.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

  • More interesting article links
  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →


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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Called to Lead. My book Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the Workplace is available in both a paperback and Kindle edition. Read a free sample (Introduction through Chapter 2).
  • What Can We Learn from the Repair Shop? Russ Gehrlein writes “I pray that you will see the work of restoration that is done by others (or yourself) in a new light. My desire is that ordinary Christian workers experience God’s presence at work every day and that they remember that their work matters for eternity.”
  • A Leader Worth Following. My new book A Leader Work Following: 40 Key Leadership Attributes and Applications to Masteris available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Read a sample of the book (found under the book cover in the above link).
  • Hints of Hope: A Conversation with Steve Garber. On this episode of the Faith & Work podcast, enjoy this conversation with Dr. Steve Garber as he explores the profound connection between story, vocation, and faith, using Tolkien’s hobbits and biblical narratives to illustrate how understanding our meta-narrative shapes our life’s purpose and resolve.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

  • More links to interesting articles
  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith, Work and Leadership Book Review – The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do (4th Edition Revised and Expanded) by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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When is it Time to Leave Your Job?

Nobody likes to face the prospect of looking for a new job. What a hassle that is, and a major disruption to your life. But there are times when it becomes necessary to do so. What are those times? Here are six that I can think of:

  • Conflict with supervisor. Probably the key relationship you have in the workplace is with your supervisor. If that relationship is positive, that is a good thing. However, if there is conflict and stress in that relationship it can spill over into other parts of your life (family, church, etc.). If you have unresolved conflict with your supervisor, you may need to change jobs.

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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

The Boys of Dungeon Lane – Paul McCartney
****

This is the twentieth solo album by Paul McCartney, and his first since 2020’s McCartney III. The album is named after a road in the Liverpool suburb of Speke. As a boy, McCartney used to wander down Dungeon Lane to look at birds.
The album was produced by Andrew Watt (Rolling Stones) and McCartney. McCartney handled most of the lead and backing vocals along with playing most of the instruments. The album also featured Ringo Star on lead vocals, drums, and tambourine, Andrew Watt on acoustic and electric guitar, synths, and tape loops, Chrissie Hynde and Sharleen Spiteri on background vocals and Mike Davis on trumpet. Orchestration and arrangements were by Ben Foster and Giles Martin.
The album offers varied musical styles from love song ballads to rockers. About half of the songs has McCartney nostalgically looking back on his life.
Overall, the album is a wonderful collection of songs about hope, love, living for now and remembering the past. It’s a sonic treat that sounds better with each repeated listening, and my favorite album of 2026 thus far.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

  • More of this review and a review of In Christ Alone – Sing! Hymnal at the Piano
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Running to a Runaway – Phil Wickham

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

Romans 1-7 For You (God’s Word For You) by Tim Keller. The Good Book Company. 217 pages. 2014
****

The Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies at our church are both studying Paul’s epistle to the Romans, and both groups are using this book by Tim Keller from the excellent God’s Word for You series from The Good Book Company. I have used a number of books from this series and always found them helpful. This volume covers chapters 1-7 from Romans, and an accompanying volume covers chapters 8-16.

The books in the God’s Word For You series are accessible (easy to understand, not technical) commentaries. They are designed to be read devotionally or to help with teaching or preaching a passage. Each commentary walks through a book of the Bible, paying careful attention to the text, and giving the original historical, cultural, and biblical context while offering clear and grounded application for the Christian today.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~What Is Wrong with the World?  The Surprising, Hopeful Answer to the Question We Cannot Avoid by Tim Keller
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading →


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New and Upcoming Music

I like music in a variety of genres, and perhaps you do as well. Here are ten new and upcoming releases.  Let me know what music you are looking forward to.  Enjoy!

 


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My Interview With Kirk Billiter, author of “Strike the Flag: The Significance of Surrender in Leading and Serving Others”

We recently had a chance to visit with Kirk Billiter, author of the new book Strike the Flag: The Significance of Surrender in Leading and Serving Others, and a long-time friend.

 CD: Writing a book is a significant undertaking. What led you to write this book?

KB: My short answer is: I had stories—many of them, lived, remembered, and redeemed by God. I began gathering them years ago, writing about God’s redemptive hand in my life and the quiet, steady ways He has proven faithful through both ordinary days and seasons marked by deep struggle and change.
The second thing my wife Rebecca and I did in 2021 that led me to write this book was join our friend, Eric Elder’s on-line writer’s cohort. We learned so much from him and others in the cohort. In 2022, the whole writer’s cohort went up to Starved Rock to meet for a weekend of writing and training.  That jump started me to begin gathering the ideas for writing this book. Continue reading →


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Praying That God’s Will Be Done

For the Christian, there are many ways to approach prayer. Some have a daily time set aside for prayer built into their schedule, perhaps in the morning with a cup of coffee and their Bible and devotional reading, or perhaps it is as you rest your head on the pillow. I  tend to pray throughout the day, but do most of my praying as I take walks, with a brief time of prayer as I rest my head for sleep at night.
There are also a number of ways to organize our prayers. I used to use a written prayer list. These days I use the ACTS model. The ACTS model is:
A – Adoration
C – Confession
T – Thanksgiving
S – Supplication Continue reading →


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • The Life of Telling Your Truth. Rosaria Butterfield writes “Days such as ours call for bold proclamations of the truth in both the church and the public sphere. We must be willing to risk our reputations with our unsaved neighbors for the sake of their souls.”
  • 4 Right Responses to Suffering. Randy Alcorn writes “When suffering and evil come our way, they’ll exert a force that either pushes us away from God or pulls us toward Him.”
  • Let’s Uncomplicate What Spiritual Formation Looks Like. In this video, Matthew Bingham, author of A Heart Aflame for God, states “I think sometimes we overcomplicate the spiritual formation question. I think some of the literature that’s out there today perhaps does this with good intentions.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

  • More interesting article links
  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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