Coram Deo ~

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Author Archives: Bill Pence


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

The Beautiful Letdown (Our Version) – Switchfoot
****

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
****

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.

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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 →


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Two Crucial Questions Book Reviews from R.C. Sproul

With the release of these books in R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions series, there are now 35 books in the series, all of which are free in the Kindle edition.

What is Predestination? by R.C. Sproul. (Crucial Questions) Reformation Trust. 76 pages. 2019

In this book R.C. Sproul writes that no doctrine in the Christian faith engenders more debate than the doctrine of predestination. He also tells us that no other doctrine more clearly demonstrates our utter dependence on divine grace and mercy than the doctrine of predestination. He writes that much is at stake in how we understand predestination, and we must be extraordinarily sensitive and careful in how we handle this doctrine. Studying predestination forces us to ask and answer hard questions, and if nothing else, it forces us to look more closely at the character of God and at our own sinfulness. Continue reading →


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Giving Thanks for Harry Reeder (1948 – 2023). Kevin DeYoung writes a tribute to Harry Reeder, who died on May 18. Albert Mohler adds “Every age needs heroes and heroines, models, and mentors. The Church needs examples of faithful ministry and the encouragement of tested ministry. Christ’s flock must be fed the meat of God’s Word and tended by faithful pastoral shepherds. Dr. Harry Reeder was such an example, a quintessential encourager, and a true pastor.”
  • Tim Keller died on May 19 after battling pancreatic cancer for three years. Here is a tribute from Don Carson. Here is one from Michael Kruger, from Kevin DeYoung and another from Collin Hansen.

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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

  • Does It Matter Where Women Work? Carolyn McCulley writes “Bedroom or boardroom, the Bible makes it clear that God wants us to think strategically about how to create everlasting value through our labors at home and in the marketplace.”
  • How Much Time Should I Spend Developing Relationships at Work? Russ Gehrlein writes “Which is more important: the accomplishment of the mission or taking care of people?”
  • Is Your Work Life Biblically Balanced? Bryan Chapell writes “There is a genuine busyness that flows from dedicated devotion to God’s purposes. But it’s not a devotion that excludes him. Biblical balance keeps us available to God. Hellish busyness makes us unavailable to God.”

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The Importance of Completed Staff Work

During my nearly 38-year career at a Fortune 50 organization, I worked with a number of talented leaders, each of whom emphasized different aspects of leadership. I learned a lot from the men and women I worked with. As an example, see my article “11 Things I Learned to Do From My Leaders”. One of my leaders emphasized the importance of follow-up, another emphasized bringing a possible solution to a problem, while another emphasized critical thinking and completed staff work, the latter of which may not be a concept that everyone is familiar with. The leader who emphasized completed staff work did it so frequently that in one of our function meetings we did a skit about it, and even had a rap group named CSW (Completed Staff Work) do a song about it. It was all done in good fun, and to emphasize the importance of completed staff work. But what is completed staff work, why is it important, and is it always necessary to do it?      Continue reading →


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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

HOPE – NF
****

HOPE is thirty-one-year-old NF’s (Nathan Feuerstein) fifth album, and first since 2021’s CLOUDS (THE MIXTAPE). NF has built a loyal following that has earned him over 30 billion global streams on music platforms.
Themes on the excellent new album include taking the reins of his life, staying true to himself, faith, overcoming odds, relationships (his mother, wife, child, and a failed relationship), being a lonely soul, being at the top of his game, and running from darkness and depression. There are two guest artists on the album – Cordae and Julie Michaels.
Here are a few brief comments about each song:

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  • More of this review and a review of Sing! Christ Our Hope in Life and Death. Live at the Getty Worship Music Conference by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Friends
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS


Uppity: My Untold Story About the Games People Play by Bill White with Gordon Dillow. Grand Central Publishing. 309 pages. 2011 
****

I decided to read this book after watching the History Channel Documentary After Jackie, which featured Bill White, Bob Gibson and Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals. White had an incredible career in baseball. He played first base the New York Giants, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1956 to 1969, winning six Gold Glove Awards, and was selected to the All-Star Game five times. After his playing days, he had a second career in the media, including serving as an announcer on New York Yankees games on radio and television from 1971 to 1989. Then, from 1989 to 1994 he served as President of Major League Baseball’s National League. In 2020, White was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
White was born in Paxton, Florida, near the Florida-Alabama border, in 1934. His mother was only 16. His father left town shortly after White was born and played no role in his upbringing or his life. In 1937, White and his mother boarded a train to Warren, Ohio, which he has always considered home.
White was an honor student and graduated second in his high school class of 120 students in 1952. However, until the day his mother died in 2001, despite all his accomplishments in professional baseball and beyond, his mother never quite forgave him for not finishing college.

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BOOK REVIEWS ~ 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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A Tribute to Tim Keller

I didn’t know Tim Keller, author and pastor who died May 19 after battling pancreatic cancer for three years. Many who did know him have written wonderful tributes. For example, here is one from Don Carson, who co-founded the Gospel Coalition with Keller. Carson writes that “A giant has left us”.
I saw Keller twice. We were both members of the Presbyterian Church in American (PCA) denomination. In 2017, I attended our annual General Assembly in Greensboro, North Carolina to present a seminar. As my wife Tammy and I walked up to the entrance to the convention center we saw Dr. Keller standing outside. I remember being surprised how tall he was. A second time was when he was walking in front of us toward the convention center where the 2019 Gospel Coalition National Conference was being held. It was at that conference that we heard him speak in person for the only time. Both times I was tempted to say hello to him and tell him how much we appreciated his ministry, but didn’t, thinking it would be seen as hero worship. But truth be told, he was one of our theological heroes. Continue reading →


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • AI, Man and God. Mathematician, bioethicist and Christian apologist Professor John Lennox is interviewed by John Anderson on the current and future impacts of artificial intelligence technology.

  • 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.
  • Should You Accommodate an LGBT Person’s Requests? Alan Shlemon writes “There’s no moral principle that elevates relationships to a point where they trump your deeply held beliefs. Therefore, there’s no duty to accommodate every request made by a friend or family member who identifies as LGBT.”
  • Jesus’ Teaching on Marriage and Gender. Many people are rejecting the teaching in Genesis about the boundaries of marriage and gender. But Jesus didn’t reject it. On this episode of the Things Unseen podcast, Sinclair Ferguson shows that Christ’s way is the only way for God’s image-bearers to flourish.

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  • More interesting article links
  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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