~ THIS AND THAT ~

IN THE NEWS:

• The faith based film Alone But Not Alone is now showing at the Starplex Normal Stadium 14 in Normal. Check out the times it is showing here: http://www.starplexcinemas.com/locations.php?theaterid=1022
• Ever since Jimmy Fallon took over The Tonight Show, Tammy and I have recorded the show. After watching David Letterman for years, Fallon has been refreshing. He seems to be having as much fun as his audience. Check out this story from Christianity Today “How Jimmy Fallon Made Comedy Fun Again” here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/june/jimmy-fallon-return-of-late-night-fun.html?utm_source=ctdirect-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=9449742&utm_content=279485589&utm_campaign=2013&start=1
• And speaking of Jimmy Fallon, one character that we love is #HashtagPanda. Check him out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWDI-vKvdFc
• The television series Game of Thrones has become rather infamous for its explicit nudity and sex scenes, and for graphic scenes of rape and sexual violence against women. Game of Thrones is now the most popular series in HBO history, with an average audience of 18.4 million viewers. What about Christians who watch the program? John Piper challenges Christians to consider 12 questions before watching the program. Read more here: http://www.desiringgod.org//blog/posts/12-questions-to-ask-before-you-watch-game-of-thrones
• The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted on June 19 to allow gay and lesbian weddings within the church, making it among the largest Christian denominations to take an embracing step toward same-sex marriage. Read more here in this article titled PCUSA Redefines Marriage: http://www.worldmag.com/2014/06/pcusa_redefines_marriage
• The Peoria Chiefs will host Faith and Family Night with Royal Tailor at Dozer Park in downtown Peoria at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 27th.
• Hoerr’s Berean Bookstore in Bloomington is closing. They had opened in September, 2009. The Peoria store will remain open.
• St. Louis Cardinal Adam Wainwright showed his support for the U.S. soccer team before their June 22 World Cup game against Portugal:

BOOKS:

• Here is an interview with Bryan Chapell on his new book on Daniel, The Gospel According to Daniel. Chapell is the Senior Pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, and was formerly President of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis – http://byfaithonline.com/the-gospel-according-to-daniel/
• Tim Challies continues his look at best-selling Christian books, this time taking a critical look at the increasingly popular Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Read his take on the book here: http://www.challies.com/articles/the-bestsellers-jesus-calling
• God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines is now available on Kindle for just $.99. Published by Southern Seminary, one of the contributors is seminary president Dr. Albert Mohler. You can order here – http://www.amazon.com/God-Gay-Christian-Response-Conversant-ebook/dp/B00KBA8L9Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403001588&sr=1-1&keywords=albert+mohler
• Tim Keller’s forthcoming book on prayer will be published on October 28, and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
• The final book and album of Michael Card’s Biblical Imagination Series, on the Gospel of John, will be released July 15, and are now available for pre-order here.

MUSIC:

• NEEDTOBREATHE recently released the official video for “Multiplied”, one of my favorite songs off of their chart-topping album Rivers in the Wasteland. It was recently filmed in Nashville. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGF-MGGLpB0&feature=youtu.be&eml=2014June13/1630811/6010042
• Recently, Tammy and our brother in law Al were talking about some of the all-time great albums. Some that came up were Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, the debut album by Boston, Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton, Thriller and Off the Wall by Michael Jackson. I’ll add Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band from the Beatles, Born to Run from Bruce Springsteen and Tapestry from Carole King. What about 21 from Adele? What albums would you add to this list? Let us know.
• U2 leader Bono was given a humanitarian award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The festival presented the rock star with its inaugural Cannes LionHeart award, which recognizes a person or organization “that, through innovative use of commercial brand power, has made a significant and positive difference to people or the planet.” Read more here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/06/21/u2-bono-cannes-lions/11209463/
• Amy Grant’s 1991 hit “Baby, Baby” has been amped up and reimagined for the singer’s first-ever album of remixes. “In Motion: The Remixes” will be released August 19 on Sparrow Records, and is slated to include other Grant pop classics like “That’s What Love Is For” and “Every Heartbeat.” Ready about the new album and listen to the remix of “Baby Baby” (which is actually pretty good), here.

GET INFORMED:

Desiring God –                          

• The 2014 Desiring God National Conference will be held September 26–28 in Minneapolis. It will be the twelfth and final fall conference as we have known them. Desiring God is calling it Look at the Book: Reading the Bible for Yourself. John Piper will do five sessions, modeling Look at the Book from Romans 8 and unfolding the biblical foundations and fruit of seeing the Bible in this way. Jerry Bridges, Nancy Guthrie, Ben Stuart, and others have agreed to come and speak on topics related to personal Bible reading. Registration is only $150 if you register by July 25. Read more here and watch the trailer for the conference here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/no-book-like-the-bible
• Here’s a helpful article on evangelism from Desiring God titled “Are You Too Christian for Non-Christians?” Read it here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/are-you-too-christian-for-non-christians
• Jon Bloom, in his article “Jesus Wants You to be You”, writes: “God had you specifically in mind when he created you and called you to follow him. You are custom-designed for your calling. But when you face the difficulty of your calling, you may look at others and be tempted to wonder why they don’t seem to bear the same burdens you do”. Read the entire article here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/jesus-wants-you-to-be-you
• In Jon Bloom’s article “This May Push You Over the Edge” – http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/this-may-push-you-over-the-edge, he references John Piper’s sermon on suffering “Live to Die,” with his primary text being Colossians 1:24. Bloom encourages us to listen to the message, not just to read the transcript. He says that it will shake us, that it gets to the core what it means to live as a Christian in this age. It is not a comfortable message.
• John Piper continues looking at the ten most highlighted passages – this time Philippians 4:13 – in this article entitled “The Secret in Every Circumstance”. Read the article and watch the 3-minute video here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-secret-in-every-circumstance

Ligonier Ministries –

• Check out this article Salvation: A Sovereign Work of God which includes an excerpt from John MacArthur’s message at Ligonier Ministries’ 2010 National Conference. He considered Romans 9, the sovereignty of God in salvation, and man’s responsibility to have faith. Read the transcript or watch the video clip here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/salvation-sovereign-work-god/
• Dr. Steven Lawson, one of Ligonier Ministries’ Teaching Fellows, writes about his transition from pastoral ministry here: http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a58b5a079d2b021cc6f003936&id=c56103a743&e=441c1445ed
• In this article “#TruthAtTheCup: Spreading the Truth of God’s Word at the 2014 FIFA World Cup” Ligonier Ministries provides an update on this effort to distribute some theological material at the World Cup: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/truthatthecup-2014-fifa-world-cup-week-one-update/
• The subject of a real Hell has been a “hot” one in past years. Check out this short article from R.C. Sproul “What is Hell” here: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/hell/

Other –

• Speaking of hot topics, the doctrine of sanctification has certainly been that in Reformed circles. Read this short article summarizing some recent thoughts Derek Thomas has on the subject: http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/06/much-needed-clarity-on-sanctif.php
• Check out this interesting article from the Gospel Coalition about women and faith in the marketplace: http://thegospelcoalition.org//article/when-faith-meets-the-marketplace
• Tim Challies writes on the issue of abortion in this article titled: “Making the Case: Abortion”. Check it out here: http://www.challies.com/articles/making-the-case-abortion
• Check out this article from Kevin DeYoung “Five Questions for Christians Who Believe the Bible Supports Gay Marriage”: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2014/06/17/five-questions-for-christians-who-support-gay-marriage/
• Watch this 12-minute video to hear Tim Keller and D.A. Carson discuss when they experienced revival – http://thegospelcoalition.org//article/keller-and-carson-on-revival
• Should we pray for revival? Check out this article: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/should-we-pray-for-revival
• Check out this article from Patrick Lencioni on the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs “The Healthiest Organizations Win”: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/305805/e30f37dd55/1478741531/5eb9ab89ef/

 The 5 Love Languages Book Club Week One

Tammy and I started our summer book club of Gary Chapman’s The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to a Love that Lasts last week. We covered the introductory chapters. Here are a few passages we highlighted:

• With all the help available from media experts, why is it that so few couples seem to have found the secret to keeping love alive after the wedding?
• The problem is that we have overlooked one fundamental truth: People speak different love languages.
• We must be willing to learn our spouse’s primary love language if we are to be effective communicators of love.
• My conclusion after thirty years of marriage counseling is that there are five emotional love languages—five ways that people speak and understand emotional love.
• In the field of linguistics a language may have numerous dialects or variations. Similarly, within the five basic emotional love languages, there are many dialects.
• The important thing is to speak the love language of your spouse.
• Seldom do a husband and wife have the same primary emotional love language. We tend to speak our primary love language, and we become confused when our spouse does not understand what we are communicating.
• Among those emotional needs, none is more basic than the need for love and affection, the need to sense that he or she belongs and is wanted.
• We needed love before we “fell in love,” and we will need it as long as we live.
• The need to feel loved by one’s spouse is at the heart of marital desires.
• I am convinced that keeping the emotional love tank full is as important to a marriage as maintaining the proper oil level is to an automobile.
• WARNING: Understanding the five love languages and learning to speak the primary love language of your spouse may radically affect his or her behavior. People behave differently when their emotional love tanks are full.
• We have been led to believe that if we are really in love, it will last forever. Unfortunately, the eternality of the in-love experience is fiction, not fact.
• After studying scores of couples, she concluded that the average life span of a romantic obsession is two years.
• Once the experience of falling in love has run its natural course (remember, the average in-love experience lasts two years), we will return to the world of reality and begin to assert ourselves.
• Some couples believe that the end of the in-love experience means they have only two options: resign themselves to a life of misery with their spouse, or jump ship and try again. Our generation has opted for the latter, whereas an earlier generation often chose the former.
• Our most basic emotional need is not to fall in love but to be genuinely loved by another, to know a love that grows out of reason and choice, not instinct.
• That kind of love requires effort and discipline. It is the choice to expend energy in an effort to benefit the other person, knowing that if his or her life is enriched by your effort, you too will find a sense of satisfaction—the satisfaction of having genuinely loved another. It does not require the euphoria of the in-love experience. In fact, true love cannot begin until the in-love experience has run its course.
• Love is the attitude that says, “I am married to you, and I choose to look out for your interests.”
• How do we meet each other’s deep, emotional need to feel loved? If we can learn that and choose to do it, then the love we share will be exciting beyond anything we ever felt when we were infatuated.

Each chapter ends with a helpful discussion question.

Next week we will cover the first love language Words of Affirmation. Won’t you join us?

 Integrating Faith and Work

• Check out this article “God’s Will and Your Job”, from R.C. Sproul: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/gods-will-and-your-job/
• Being a leader is about creating a way for people to contribute in order to make something extraordinary happen. Nancy Ortberg discusses two simple ways in which leaders can do this to humanize work. First, she explores the ways God reminds us to look in small places for great things. Second, she tackles the importance of workplace conflict and the need for giving feedback to those we respect. Check out her talk titled “Humanizing Work Through Leadership” here: http://www.faithandwork.com/humanizing-work-through-leadership/

~ UPDATED PAGES ON THE BLOG ~

Book Reviews:

• Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Timothy Keller with Katherine Leary Alsdorf
  – Book Review:  http://coramdeotheblog.com/integrating-faith-and-work/every-good-endeavor-by-timothy-keller/
  – Book Highlights:  http://coramdeotheblog.com/book-reviews/theology-and-misc-book-reviews/tim-keller-book-reviews/
• Decisive: How to Make Better Decisions in Life and Work by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Movie Reviews:

• Jersey Boys
• Lone Survivor

Quotable

We can put it this way–the man who has faith is the man who is no longer looking at himself and no longer looking to himself. He no longer looks at anything he once was. He does not look at what he is now. He does not even look at what he hopes to be as the result of his own efforts. He looks entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work, and rests on that alone. He stops saying, ‘Ah yes, I used to commit terrible sins but now I have done this and that.’ If he goes on saying that, he has not got faith. Faith speaks in an entirely different manner and makes a man say, ‘Yes I have sinned grievously, I have lived a life of sin, yet I know that I am a child of God because I am not resting on any righteousness of my own; my righteousness is in Jesus Christ and God has put that to my account.’

-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (listen to 1,600 sermons from Lloyd-Jones at http://www.mljtrust.org/)