Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • What About Pet Idolatry? Randy Alcorn has a forthcoming book in which he provides a biblical view on animals and pets. Here he answers a question about idolizing pets.

  • Is the Devil Real? During a live Clearly Reformed Q&A Event, Kevin DeYoung answered a range of questions presented to him by attendees.
  • Obedience Will Never Ruin Your Life. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “What would you say to a young single woman, a Christian, who is secretly considering an abortion because it would make life easier? This is where I find myself right now, and I never imagined it would happen to me, yet here I am, shattered and scared.”
  • Who is Jesus? During a live Clearly Reformed Q&A Event, Kevin DeYoung answered a range of questions presented to him by attendees.

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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

  • 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).
  • What Can We Learn from the Repair Shop? Russ Gehrlein writes “I pray that you will see the work of restoration that is done by others (or yourself) in a new light. My desire is that ordinary Christian workers experience God’s presence at work every day and that they remember that their work matters for eternity.”
  • A Leader Worth Following. My new book A Leader Work Following: 40 Key Leadership Attributes and Applications to Masteris available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Read a sample of the book (found under the book cover in the above link).
  • Hints of Hope: A Conversation with Steve Garber. On this episode of the Faith & Work podcast, enjoy this conversation with Dr. Steve Garber as he explores the profound connection between story, vocation, and faith, using Tolkien’s hobbits and biblical narratives to illustrate how understanding our meta-narrative shapes our life’s purpose and resolve.

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  • More links to interesting articles
  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith, Work and Leadership Book Review – The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do (4th Edition Revised and Expanded) by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

The Boys of Dungeon Lane – Paul McCartney
****

This is the twentieth solo album by Paul McCartney, and his first since 2020’s McCartney III. The album is named after a road in the Liverpool suburb of Speke. As a boy, McCartney used to wander down Dungeon Lane to look at birds.
The album was produced by Andrew Watt (Rolling Stones) and McCartney. McCartney handled most of the lead and backing vocals along with playing most of the instruments. The album also featured Ringo Star on lead vocals, drums, and tambourine, Andrew Watt on acoustic and electric guitar, synths, and tape loops, Chrissie Hynde and Sharleen Spiteri on background vocals and Mike Davis on trumpet. Orchestration and arrangements were by Ben Foster and Giles Martin.
The album offers varied musical styles from love song ballads to rockers. About half of the songs has McCartney nostalgically looking back on his life.
Overall, the album is a wonderful collection of songs about hope, love, living for now and remembering the past. It’s a sonic treat that sounds better with each repeated listening, and my favorite album of 2026 thus far.

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  • More of this review and a review of In Christ Alone – Sing! Hymnal at the Piano
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Running to a Runaway – Phil Wickham

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

Romans 1-7 For You (God’s Word For You) by Tim Keller. The Good Book Company. 217 pages. 2014
****

The Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies at our church are both studying Paul’s epistle to the Romans, and both groups are using this book by Tim Keller from the excellent God’s Word for You series from The Good Book Company. I have used a number of books from this series and always found them helpful. This volume covers chapters 1-7 from Romans, and an accompanying volume covers chapters 8-16.

The books in the God’s Word For You series are accessible (easy to understand, not technical) commentaries. They are designed to be read devotionally or to help with teaching or preaching a passage. Each commentary walks through a book of the Bible, paying careful attention to the text, and giving the original historical, cultural, and biblical context while offering clear and grounded application for the Christian today.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~What Is Wrong with the World?  The Surprising, Hopeful Answer to the Question We Cannot Avoid by Tim Keller
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • The Life of Telling Your Truth. Rosaria Butterfield writes “Days such as ours call for bold proclamations of the truth in both the church and the public sphere. We must be willing to risk our reputations with our unsaved neighbors for the sake of their souls.”
  • 4 Right Responses to Suffering. Randy Alcorn writes “When suffering and evil come our way, they’ll exert a force that either pushes us away from God or pulls us toward Him.”
  • Let’s Uncomplicate What Spiritual Formation Looks Like. In this video, Matthew Bingham, author of A Heart Aflame for God, states “I think sometimes we overcomplicate the spiritual formation question. I think some of the literature that’s out there today perhaps does this with good intentions.”

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  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • Young Men, Don’t Let AI Steal Your Work Ethic. Seth Troutt writes “How might we disciple young men to embrace their identity as workers at a time when the future of work feels so up in the air?”
  • A Leader Worth Following. My new book A Leader Work Following: 40 Key Leadership Attributes and Applications to Masteris available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions. Read a sample of the book (found under the book cover in the above link).
  • Help! My Coworkers Claim to Be Christians but Don’t Act Like It. Miranda Carls responds to the question “I work as an administrative assistant in a public school system. This has been challenging and often discouraging, but I’ve also been able to share my faith with non-Christian colleagues. My bigger challenge is actually fellow Christian colleagues, some of whom are so liberal I’m not sure what parts of the Bible they believe. Do you have any advice on how to share Christ with people who think they’re already walking with him?”

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  • More links to interesting articles
  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ How to Get a Return on Failure: Fail Smarter—Return Stronger by John Maxwell
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Work by Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


Sing! From Generation to Generation (Live at the Getty Music Worship Conference) – Keith & Kristyn Getty and Friends
****

A live album is released after each of the Sing! Getty Music Worship Conferences held in Nashville. The album from the 2025 conference, which had a theme of From Generation to Generation. Artists included on the album are Keith and Kristyn Getty, CityAlight, Fernando Ortega, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, Cochren & Co, Sandra McCracken, Dwan Hill and the late Jubilant Sykes.
Sing! From Generation to Generation holds many of the finest musical moments from the 2025 Sing! Conference.  Thousands of voices, young and old, were gathered from 27 countries celebrating God’s faithfulness across 20 centuries and teaching the coming generations through song.

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  • More of this review and a review of Long, Long Road by Ringo Starr
  • Music News
  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Absolution by Switchfoot

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

Things Unseen: One Year of Reflections on the Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson. Ligonier Ministries. 570 pages. 2024
****

This book is based on the popular Things Unseen daily devotional podcast that respected theologian Sinclair Ferguson produced with Ligonier in 2023 (and is still available today). The book contains all 260 episodes edited from the spoken to the written form. The book has 52 topics, one for every week of the year, and follows each theme through from Monday to Friday. Each of the short readings can be completed in just a few minutes each weekday. I used this book as a part of my daily devotional readings in 2025.
Here are 30 helpful quotes from the book:

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review…
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~What Is Wrong with the World?  The Surprising, Hopeful Answer to the Question We Cannot Avoid by Tim Keller
I’M CURRENTLY READING…. Continue reading


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • The Root of Anxiety and How to Fight It. John Piper writes “If anxiety could be conquered, a mortal blow would be struck to many other sins.”
  • Stop Believing Your Best Years Are Behind You. Daryl Dash writes “As you get older, expect physical decline. Try to hold it off as long as possible, but be realistic: you’ll never be able to keep up with those who are young. But refuse to believe that your best years are behind you.”

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  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

  • More links to interesting articles
  • The Top 10 Faith and Work Quotes of the Week
  • Faith and Work Book Review ~ The Clay Pot Conspiracy: God’s Plan to Use Weakness in Leaders by Dave Harvey
  • Quotes from the book Working for Better: A New Approach to Faith at Workby Elaine Howard Ecklund and Denise Daniels

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