Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

Monthly Archives: June 2023


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


Lamb of God (Live) – Matt Redman
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In his new album “Lamb of God,” his seventeenth, longtime respected worship leader Matt Redman – “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)”, “Blessed Be Your Name” – gives the church the gift of new songs written for congregational singing. The album, which was produced by Steve Marcia, was recorded live at the Mission in San Capistrano, California, a house of worship first established in 1776.
Among the themes on the album include Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, the goodness of Jesus’s heart, the grace of Jesus, the unconditional love, hope and joy of God, the holiness of God, praising God when the blessings flow and when it seems they don’t, and worshipping God no matter what comes.
The album features three versions of the song “Son of Suffering” and a new version of Redman’s classic “Heart of Worship.”
Below are a few comments about each song on this excellent new album:

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  • More of this review
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Heart of Worship by Matt Redman

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS


Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation by Collin Hansen. Zondervan. 309 pages. 2023
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If you have been blessed by the ministry of Tim Keller as I have (he died on May 19 after battling pancreatic cancer for three years),  I believe you will enjoy this book that tells Keller’s story from the perspective of his influences, more than his influence, by Collin Hansen. The author had three years of interviews with Keller for the book, as well as free access to Keller’s family, friends, and colleagues. The book is the story of the people, the books, the lectures, and ultimately the God who formed Keller.
The book is not the definitive biography of Keller but does follow his life chronologically as it describes his influences. Keller would be baptized as a Roman Catholic, confirmed as a Lutheran, enrolled in seminary as a Wesleyan Arminian, and ordained as a Presbyterian.
His mother Louise moved the family from a Roman Catholic Church to a Lutheran church, and then to the Evangelical Congregational Church. Keller would go to Bucknell University and profess Christ in 1970 after which he became a part of InterVarsity leadership. After seminary, Keller would serve at West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia for nine years. Through role models in books and other pastors in Hopewell, Keller learned what it meant to be a pastor and not just a preacher. Keller would recall his time in Hopewell as the most formative ministry years of his life.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
BOOK REVIEW ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Providence by John Piper
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading →


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Keep Learning This Summer


Summer can be a more relaxed time, with the warm temperatures, shorts and t-shirts and the fact that it stays light longer. This is especially true during a summer vacation (if you take one). But summer is also a time to continue learning.
This year, as we have in many years in the past, we went to Turkey Creek Ranch and Resort (TCR), where Tammy’s family vacationed many times. TCR was founded by the Edwards family, who still run the place, in 1959 with a few cabins primarily as a fishing vacation resort. Over the years, 20+ cabins, two swimming pools and an office/recreation center were built. Along with the lake resort is a 600+ acre cattle ranch with anywhere from 50-100 head of cattle and horses. Tammy’s family first visited TCR in 1966. To say that her family has a lot of history with TCR is an understatement.  Nineteen of us (eleven adults and eight children, eight and under), gathered at TCR for a week in mid-June. Here is a picture of our group ranging in age from 4 months to 68 years old. Continue reading →


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Do I Have to Stop Shopping at Target? Courtney Reissig writes “We all must recognize it’s not our job to compel people toward our position when Scripture doesn’t. You might feel free to shop at Target, but if your friend in Bible study doesn’t, it’s not your job to change her mind, and vice versa. It’s your job to love her and not to do anything to cause her to stumble—which could mean not inciting a debate about the merits of Target shopping.”

  • Not Dead Yet: Fighting Nine Fears of Old Age. In this message, John Piper states “I have nine fears we will walk through together, and I’ll give you biblical antidotes for those fears. These antidotes will work through faith, and without faith they won’t work. But by faith they will work, and fear will be overcome, and we will go to be with Jesus in due time without walking in fear during our last season.”

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  • More interesting article links
  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Help! My Job Asks Me to Communicate Unbiblical Messages. Miranda Carls responds to the question “I have to write about unbiblical topics for corporate communications. Is that sinful?”
  • Lies at Work. Howard Graham writes “Many people see their work as a grinding drudgery, often frustrating and sometimes humiliating. They see themselves as pawns in a system without much value or opportunity to make a difference. Others see work as a chance to get ahead. A means to build a future and a life.”
  • How Can I Correct Employees Well? Fernie Cosgrove responds to the question “I have a hard time correcting and being stern with my employees. What should my tone and delivery look like?”
  • Four Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me at Graduation. Hugh Whelchel writes “After a lifetime of work, here are four biblical truths that I wish someone had told me when I graduated.”

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2 Things Leaders Must Be Brutally Honest About

It’s important for leaders to be honest in all things. If team members cannot trust their leaders to be honest, they will no longer follow them. Given that a leader must be honest in all things, there are two specific areas that are so important that a leader must be brutally honest with their team members about – their performance and their potential.
Performance. Annual performance reviews were without a doubt one of the least favorite aspects of my job as a leader. Doing a good job on these reviews is hard and takes discernment. The reviews were very important, not only for that particular performance period, but in the career of an individual, especially if they were pursuing a leadership position, for whom excellent reviews were expected. Continue reading →


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My Love for Dogs

I’ve always enjoyed dogs. Growing up, the first dog we had was Fluffy. She was what some would call a “mutt”, but we loved her. Mostly, we had German Shepherds. I don’t have anything against cats. We had one cat growing up, but I’m definitely a dog person.
Since we’ve been married, Tammy and I have had five dogs, all in what the American Kennel Club would call the “Working Group”. We have had four Alaskan Malamutes and one Samoyed. I’m not sure what attracted us initially to the Alaskan Malamute breed, but they are a great fit for us. They don’t bark, though some howl, which I personally think is adorable. They are pretty independent – “Feed me, walk me, give me treats, and I’m good” type independent. They do shed however, “blowing their coat” once a year, making what we call ‘tumbleweeds’. Continue reading →


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A Prayer for the Summer Season


Our Father in Heaven,

Although the calendar tells us that summer doesn’t begin until June 21, summer has always seemed to begin for me when school gets out and we celebrate the Memorial Day weekend. I’ve always thought of summer as the months of June, July and August. It’s by far my favorite season of the year.
Thank you, Father, for the season of summer. I love the warm temperatures, the green grass, trees blowing in the wind, and the fact that here in the Midwest it will stay light until nearly 9:00 pm. We are just beginning to see the soybean and corn crops coming up through the rich soil we are blessed with here. Throughout the summer we look forward to watching the crops grow to maturity. Continue reading →


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) – Switchfoot
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Although Switchfoot has long been one of my favorite bands, I haven’t really enjoyed their past three releases (Covers (EP), interrobang, and this is our Christmas album). To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their breakthrough album The Beautiful Letdown, the band has completely re-recorded the album and released it as The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version). The band’s fourth studio album was released February 25, 2003 and has sold over three million copies. It features the popular songs “Meant to Live” and “Dare You to Move”.
This is not like U2 reimagining their songs on their recent Songs of Surrender album. There are not major changes to the songs here. There are a few minor lyric changes on “Gone”: “Al Pacino’s cash” is now “Al Capone’s cash“, “Lexus cages” is now “Tesla cages“, and “my high school sweets” is now “my high school sweethearts.”
This re-recording sounds great with a clean mix, and these songs remind me of why Switchfoot became one of my favorite bands in the first place.
The celebrate the anniversary of the album the band will be playing the album in its entirety for the first time on their current tour. For more information go here.

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  • A Review of Fragments ~ Time Out of Mind Sessions 1996-1997 The Bootleg Series Vol. 17 Deluxe Edition by Bob Dylan
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ “Dare You to Move” by Switchfoot

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS


Galatians: An Expositional Commentary by R.C. Sproul. Ligonier. 143 pages. 2022
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This is the latest in a series of books containing adaptations of R.C. Sproul’s sermons delivered at St. Andrews Chapel in Sanford, Florida, where he preached from 1997 until his death in 2017. In these sermons, though he sought to at least touch on each verse, he focused on the key themes and ideas that comprised the “big picture” of each passage he covered. Sproul’s recommendation is to use these books as an overview and introduction.
Sproul writes that in all probability, this letter from the Apostle Paul was the first of his letters. It was also the most fiery. Paul wrote the epistle in a spirit of righteous indignation.
A heresy had developed among the Galatians, and it threatened and denied the very gospel. It threatened the authority of Christ. Sproul tells us that the heresy, known as the Judaizing heresy, argued that to be a Christian, you must continue to practice the rituals and the ceremonies of the Old Testament law. This would, by implication, deny the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
BOOK REVIEW ~ 20 helpful quotes from the book
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Providence by John Piper
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading →