Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

Monthly Archives: December 2024


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My Review of the Movie “A Complete Unknown”

A Complete Unknown, rated R
*** ½

This film about the career of singer/songwriter Bob Dylan from 1961-1965, is directed by two-time Oscar nominee James Mangold (Logan, Ford v. Ferrari), and written by Mangold, two-time Oscar nominee Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York, The Age of Innocence), and is based on the book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night that Split the Sixties by Elijah Wald. The film has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards – Best Motion Picture, Best Performance by a Male Actor (Timothée  Chalamet), and Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Edward Norton). It’s the best film I’ve seen this year.
The film opens with Dylan, played by Oscar nominee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name), arriving in New York City, searching for Woody Guthrie, played by Scoot McNairy, a hero of his. He finds Guthrie, who is suffering from Huntington’s disease in a hospital. There he meets Pete Seeger, played by three-time Oscar nominee Edward Norton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), American History X, Primal Fear). Seeger asks Dylan to sing a song for Guthrie.
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A Prayer for Christmas Day

Father in Heaven, on this Christmas morning, we thank you for Jesus, your only and beloved son. The busy period leading up to Christmas is now over. The decorating of our homes, the gift buying and wrapping, the sending of cards, the parties with friends, special programs at church, etc. The sound of Christmas music has been filling the air, sharing the gospel in music with some who would not normally hear it.
We’ve been looking forward with joyful anticipation during Advent to celebrating Jesus’ birth, His first coming. This is indeed good news of great joy.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David 
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 Continue reading →


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

Music Reviews

Bob Dylan and The Band: The 1974 Live Recordings

The 1974 Live Recordings – Bob Dylan and the Band
****

On January 3, 1974, Bob Dylan and the Band kicked off a 40-concert, 30-date, 21-city tour in Chicago. Dylan’s first ever arena tour had an average attendance of 18, 500. They would often play two shows a day.
The new studio album Planet Waves, on which Dylan was backed by the Band, would be released two weeks after the start of the tour. Dylan had not toured for eight years, following his July 1966 motorcycle accident. A double live album from the tour, Before the Flood, featuring both Dylan’s and the Band’s performances, was released on June 20, 1974.

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  • More of this review and a review of Mat Kearney
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ How Great is the Greatness of God by Matt Boswell, Bryan Fowler, and Matt Papa

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

What a Fool Believes: A Memoir by Michael McDonald with Paul Reiser. Dey Street Books. 323 pages. 2024
****

This book, well written with Paul Reiser, is a fascinating look at seventy-two-year-old musician Michael McDonald’s life. It takes us from his Irish Catholic upbringing in the St. Louis area, through his musical career, right up to the current day once again touring with the Doobie Brothers.
He writes a lot about his father, also a singer, who he says would always be a larger-than-life hero to him. During McDonald’s early years, many times, his father would leave the home, with Michael not knowing if he would return. Sadly, his parent’s marriage would not last, ending when he was about thirteen, though they would become better friends than they were when married.
It was with a homemade guitar at the age of twelve, and inspired by the British Invasion groups, he would start his first band: Mike and the Majestics. He would go on to be a part of many other bands in the St. Louis area as time went on.

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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…. Continue reading →


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10 New and Upcoming Books

I love to read books in a variety of genres – theology, biography, sports, leadership, faith and work, Christian living, etc. – and am always on the lookout for new books. Here are 10 new and upcoming books you might be interested in.

2084 and the AI Revolution, Updated and Expanded Edition: How Artificial Intelligence Informs Our Future by John Lennox

From the Amazon description:
“You don’t have to be a computer scientist to have discerning conversations about artificial intelligence and technology. We all wonder where we’re headed. Even now, technological innovations and machine learning have a daily impact on our lives, and many of us see good reasons to dread the future. Are we doomed to the surveillance society imagined in George Orwell’s 1984? Continue reading →


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • God Brings Us Bad to Give Us Best. Joni Eareckson Tada writes “When God lobs a hand grenade into life and rattles our faith to the core, we wonder how he’ll work the pieces of shrapnel together for our good. What does good mean, anyway?”
  • What if I Feel Deserted by God? What encouragement would you give to a Christian who feels deserted by God? In this video, Sinclair Ferguson points to a prescription, a remedy, and a great prognosis for Christians.

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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

  • Moses Doubted His Leadership Abilities – Can You Relate? Russ Gehrlein shares part two of an article that explores the long conversation Moses had with God at the burning bush. Moses expressed five doubts about his qualifications to fulfill his calling as God’s co-deliverer of the Israelites in Egypt.
  • “I Feel Guilty When I’m Not Overworking.” Reagan Rose writes “We often focus on vocation as one area God has given us to steward. While it’s important to do our work well and treat it with care, problems arise when relationships, recreation, rest, or our spiritual lives are pushed aside because we’re working too much.”
  • 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).

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Leaders, Shepherd Your Church

My wife Tammy and I began attending the church we belong to in December, 1994. I became an elder at the church in March, 1996. We were a small church back then, with attendance of approximately 80 for worship each Sunday. Over the years, we’ve seen slow, steady growth and now we have approximately 400 in attendance each Sunday morning, and are in the process of adding an additional site in our community as a result of the Lord’s blessing; we have outgrown our current facilities.
Whether you are a large church with thousands of members or you are a church with less than one hundred, the challenge of how to care for your members remains. Timothy Witmer’s book The Shepherd Leader is helpful in doing this. Continue reading →


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


Everything: Hymns for Little Hearts – Keith & Kristyn Getty, The Getty Girls and the Getty Hymn Writing Team
****

This EP features three songs for children performed by Keith & Kristyn Getty, the Getty Girls, Sandra McCracken, Skye Peterson, Jordan Kauflin and Joni Eareckson Tada. The songs were written by the Getty hymn writing team.

Here are a few comments about each song:

Everything – This song, based on Psalm 150, was written by Kristyn Getty, Skye Peterson, and Sandra McCracken. The joyful song was performed by the Getty Girls, Kristyn Getty, Sandra McCracken and Skye Peterson. The song features acoustic guitar, bass, drums, piano, backing vocals, and guitar.
Key lyric:
Let everything, everything
Let everything that breathes
Let everything that breathes
Come praise the Lord

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  • More of this review and a review of Christmas by Mac Powell
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Welcome Home by CityAlight

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

BOOK REVIEW:
Amazing Grace: The Life of John Newton and the Surprising Story Behind His Song by Bruce Hindmarsh and Craig Borlase. Thomas Nelson. 234 pages. 2023
***

This book was written on the 250th anniversary of the hymn “Amazing Grace” by John Newton. The book reads like a novel, though the authors tell us it is a dramatized biography with the feel of a film or live play.
Newton’s father was a ship captain and his mother died when John was young. Newton’s father would remarry within two years of his wife’s death.
John met Polly (Mary) when she was just fourteen. He longed to marry her, and although her parents were against it, they eventually did marry. Mary and John adored children, and though they had never had any of their own, they did raise two nieces – Eliza and Betsy.
We read about the young John being snatched from the streets of London and taken on board the Harwich to serve as a common sailor in the Navy. Although earlier he had professed faith, he was soon mocking Christianity, and made it his business to pour scorn now on anyone who took the Bible at all seriously.

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…. Continue reading →