As I have done for several years now, I am going share my favorites in a variety of categories. All items listed were released or have taken place during the first half of 2024, except for books, which reflect books that I read in 2024, regardless of publication date. I hope you enjoy this list!
Movies 
Top Pick: The Boys in the Boat
Other movies that I’ve enjoyed, in order, were:
Pilgrims by Faith – Jon Troast
****
Recording artist Jon Troast is best known for his continuing series of five song EPs titled with letters of the alphabet. Thus far, he has released “A” through “J”, and the “K” EP should be out soon.
In 2020, Jon became the worship leader at the church I attend (Christ Church PCA in Normal, Illinois). He often writes songs for our sermon series, and teaches them to our congregation. For his new worship album Pilgrims by Faith, Jon travelled to Nashville last fall to capture the bulk of the recording with producer Andy Osenga. Then, earlier this year, Osenga came to Christ Church to capture our congregation singing these songs. He then mixed that audio with the studio recorded tracks.
Paul Eckberg plays drums and percussion, Kevin Whitsett plays bass, Mike Hicks plays piano, organ, and keys, Stacy Lantz and the Christ Church congregation contribute background vocals. Andy Osenga plays guitars and synth and Jon Troast contributes lead vocals, acoustic guitar and wrote all of the songs.
Here are a few comments about each song: Continue reading
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
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. Memorial Day to Labor Day. Summer is 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.
Summer is an opportunity to make memories by reuniting with family and friends for a special vacation, a reunion, a picnic, or a trip to the ballpark of our favorite teams.
Father, I am thankful for the opportunity to watch my brother play softball each week, when just a few years ago we weren’t sure he would live through COVID, much less ever play softball again. Sadly, one of his longtime softball friends was taken by COVID. Let us not forget the mercies You have shown us in our lives.
Thank you for peaceful walks with our dog in the park and neighborhood and the friends we meet along the way. Thank you for the technology to listen to wonderful Christian podcasts or our favorite music as we stroll along.
Although the pace can be slower and more relaxed, we want to be teachable this summer. Father, what do you want to teach us this summer? From your Word? How to be a better spouse, sibling, friend? Are there relationships you want us to focus on this summer? Relationships that need to be mended, or relationships that have lapsed that need to be rekindled? What books should we read to grow in areas that we need to grow in? Help us to use the skills, talents and experiences you have provided to serve you and others in any teaching, mentoring or volunteering opportunities that will be pleasing to you.
Father, we look forward to this summer and your continual guidance of our lives.
In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen
We’d like to introduce you to Jon Troast, recording artist and for the past few years worship leader at our church, Christ Church. You can access his music on all streaming platforms.
Q. Hi Jon. Please tell us a little bit about yourself (where you grew up, your family, etc.).
I grew up mostly in the Midwest (MI, WI) I spent about 8 years in Nashville, TN before moving to IL in 2018, when my wife and I got married. I come from a fairly large family (7 kids), which I’m grateful for. It definitely shaped me and influenced my songwriting.
Q. You have been making music for some time now. Please tell us about how you got started, your house concerts, recordings, etc.
I started out playing with my brother and some friends from high school in a band (The rubberband). I was quite shy as a teenager, but music gave me a little outlet. After some fairly terrifying open mics, etc. those nerves started to relax. I would play (solo and with the band) at various coffee shops, colleges, restaurants, etc., eventually realizing I could probably make enough money to pay my minimal bills at the time. I traveled down to Nashville a few times to record (prior to moving there), and those recordings opened a few doors for me, including a chance to play on “A Prairie Home Companion” and some songs on Sirius XM’s “The Coffeehouse”
After a few years of doing music full time, I decided to start playing house concerts as a way to connect more with my audience. That became my “bread and butter”, traveling coast to coast, playing hundreds of concerts, meeting all sorts of people and hearing many great stories, which led to more songs.
Those songs are on a continuing series of albums (5 song EPs) simply titled letters of the alphabet. I’ve released “A” through “J”, and “K” should be done soon!
Q. You became worship leader at Christ Church a few years ago. How did that come about, and what do you enjoy most about that role?
I’ve always loved leading worship, but traveling as much as I did made it hard to do that consistently. As a husband and father, I also had the desire to not be on the road quite as much, though I still really enjoy touring. During the great “shakeup” of 2020, the opportunity came up to step in at Christ Church. It has been a blessing to be in that role and be home more, but still have the flexibility to continue playing house concerts.
What do I enjoy most about it? Well, I really have loved writing corporate worship songs that go along with our different sermon series. When the creativity is clicking, I feel like in some ways it’s what God made me to do. Maybe not un-similar to the runner Eric Liddell saying “when I run, I feel His pleasure”.
Christ Church is also a great singing congregation, so being up front, hearing and leading a group of worshipers praising our glorious God is a great privilege.
I also get to work with a lot of talented, servant-hearted musicians and singers. So, yeah, there are a few things I enjoy about my role at Christ Church. 🙂
Q. Please tell us about your new album. It’s different from your previous recordings. How did it come about, who worked on it with you, what are your hopes for the music, etc.?
The new album, “Pilgrims by Faith”, is made up mostly of the songs I’ve written for the different sermon series (Isaiah, Daniel, John, Philippians, and Hebrews), plus a song I wrote a few years back (“The Rising of the Son”) coming out of a season of depression, and another song written for a service of lament in 2020 (“Lord, Have Mercy”).
The intention is that these would be corporate worship songs, with melodies that are more accessible and in a range that works for a majority of voices. My hope was that these songs would be a blessing to our congregation as reminders of ways God has worked in these different seasons of our church, but also that they might be a blessing to the larger body of Christ as part of the chorus of praise around the globe. So, I presented the idea to the elders, and they were very supportive.
I went down to Nashville last fall to capture the bulk of the recording with producer Andy Osenga (who actually grew up in IL, around the corner from Christ Church!). Then, earlier this year, Andy came up to IL to capture our congregation singing the songs and mixed that audio with the studio recorded tracks. Because we have such a singing congregation, I really wanted the corporate worship element to be included on these songs. I feel like it invites the listener to join in more freely.
Summer is a wonderful time for reading, whether it is on the backyard patio, a family vacation, or listening to an audiobook while driving, walking or running. This summer, I plan to read books in a variety of genres – biography, leadership, theology, Christian living, etc.
Here is what I have planned to read this summer:
Bible Reading. My wife Tammy and I are reading through the Bible, a chapter at a time. As of this writing, we are in the Psalms, using the Reformation Study Bible (English Standard Version).
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for more good summer reading: Continue reading
Unsung Hero: The Inspired By Soundtrack – For King + Country
***
This album, by the four-time GRAMMY Award winning duo For King + Country, comprised of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, is a collection of songs (covers, previously released songs by the band, etc.), that were inspired by their film Unsung Hero. You can read my review of the film here.
The album has the band collaborating with a number of artists, including Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, sister Rebecca St. James, Stryper, Lecrae and more.
Below are a few comments about each song:
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
Hard Sayings: Understanding Difficult Passages of Scripture by R.C. Sproul. Ligonier Ministries. 152 pages. 2023
****
Ligonier Ministries, with the assistance of Vesta Sproul, edited and adapted R.C. Sproul’s original teaching material to create this book. I remember listening to the various “Hard Sayings” teaching series when they were available on cassette tape.
Sproul begins by asking what makes a saying hard? He tells us that in the first place, a saying of Scripture may be a hard saying if it appears to us to be somewhat harsh in its orientation. The second category of hard sayings is one that’s hard to understand. The third category, similar to the second, is a hard saying that has become controversial in the history of biblical interpretation, usually because of one of the first two reasons.
In this book, Sproul explores twenty-seven of the more prominent hard sayings of Scripture. Among the hard sayings addressed in the book are whether the earth was created in six twenty-four-hour days, the hardening of Pharoah’s heart, Rahab’s lie, the unpardonable sin, the rapture of the church, head coverings for women, whether Jesus descended into hell, and many more.
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Truths We Confess by R.C. Sproul
I’M CURRENTLY READING….
I have previously written about our legacies, first when writing about Bob, a friend from church, and more recently about my mother in law. Recently, my wife Tammy and I attended a class that addressed our legacies and what our message will be to the next generation.
For many years, Bob Smart, our longtime pastor, has taught the information from his series on the seasons of spiritual formation (Identity, Calling, Intentionality and Legacy). There is a short book that goes with each of these classes. The book for the Legacy class is Legacy from Christ: What’s My Message?
Pastor Smart tells us that the Christian in this final season of spiritual formation is a blessed person, and their influence is greater than ever before. This season is designed to shape us into the glorious likeness of Jesus Christ. It will sufficiently prepare us to leave this earth with a message and a benediction, and to enter eternity in heaven and the new earth. The spiritual formation season of legacy is the best season to speak the message God has given you. This is a season of life to reflect and clarify how we may speak well of others’ futures, express our lives’ messages, and prepare our final wills and testaments. Continue reading
