Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

Tag Archives: Christ and culture


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Voddie Baucham: A Faithful Witness to Christ. Robert J. Pacienza writes “On September 25, 2025, the church lost one of its great voices. Voddie Baucham is now with the Lord. The news of his passing struck me deeply, not only because Voddie was a personal friend and ally, but because his absence leaves a void in an hour when his voice was needed most.”
  • Voddie Baucham (1969–2025) on the Resurrection. “Voddie Baucham (1969–2025) has gone hometo be with the Lord. In light of the common hope we hold as Christians, we’re looking back at his message from The Gospel Coalition’s 2015 National Conference.”
  • My Life’s Journey with Dr Voddie Baucham Jr. Conrad Mbewe writes “I am greatly indebted to Voddie for the nine years he invested spiritually in our people in Zambia and in Africa. I thank God for the friend he gave me in this man whom I now look forward to meeting in glory together with our son Mwansa. Farewell, Voddie, see you in the morning!”

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

  • The Power of Your Words at Work. Russ Gehrlein writes “The Bible is full of commandments and observations about how we use words. Since this topic is highly relevant for Christians who want to work in such a way that they abide in God’s presence and work for His glory, let me address this from a biblical perspective. I think all of us can use some reminders of how we can use carefully chosen words to convey respect, caring, and truth.”
  • Business and the Local Church. Joshua Nangle writes “Effective leadership and business practices should be incorporated in local churches, but not at the expense of robust, biblical ecclesiology. The church as a whole has a God-given design and purpose, and any human attempt, no matter how well-intended, that alters its core characteristics and practices will ultimately hurt it.”

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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS


Remembering Now – Van Morrison
*** ½

Remembering Now is the 79-year-old Van Morrison’s 47th studio album, his first of new music since 2022’s What’s It Gonna Take, and his best in many years. The album includes fourteen new songs of soul, jazz, blues, folk and country over sixty-eight minutes. Morrison’s voice is in fine shape on this album that has him singing love songs, looking back to his early years in Belfast, considering spiritual themes and a sense of wonder.
Morrison’s core band has been with him since the Three Chords and the Truth album in 2019. They are Richard Dunn (Hammond organ), Stuart McIlroy (piano), Pete Hurley (bass), and Colin Griffin (drums).  Fiachra Trench, whose history with Morrison goes back to 1989’s Avalon Sunset album, does the excellent string arrangements, performed by the Fews Ensemble led by Joanne Quigley. There are also horns, Seth Lakeman’s fiddle, and  gospel background vocals by Crawford Bell, Dana Masters, and others. Morrison provides lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, saxophone, and production.

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  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Christus Victor (Amen) by Bryan Fowler and Terrian

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS

The Man on the Middle Cross: Are You Going to Heaven? by Alistair Begg. 10Publishing. 32 pages. 2025
****

In this short book, Alistair Begg shares three powerful stories. Each one records a conversation that alters the course of a life. These encounters are all found in the Bible.
The first story comes from John 4: 3-30; 39–42. This is the story of the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus at the well. Carefully, Jesus points to the woman’s need for personal forgiveness and for salvation. A true encounter with God and real transformation always begin here.
Begg writes that the standard picture in our culture is that God is playing hide-and-seek and doesn’t want to be found. But the account we have in the Bible is the reverse of that. We are the ones who have gone into hiding. Jesus comes looking for each one of us – not to condemn us but to offer us living water, the fulfillment that each of us longs for.
Note: Please be sure to watch this 4 minute video.

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BOOK REVIEWS ~ More of this review and a review of Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith (Revised Edition) by R.C. Sproul
BOOK NEWS ~ Links to Interesting Articles
BOOK CLUB ~ Truths We Confess by  R.C. Sproul
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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Thoughtful Christian Responses to Charlie Kirk’s Death. Tim Challies writes “A week ago, I created a roundup of immediate responses to Kirk’s death. Today, I offer a second roundup, and this one offers some mature and thoughtful reflections. Their purpose is not so much to explain what happened, but to consider what it means and how Christians ought to respond.”

  • Are You Worshipping God in Vain? John Piper writes “Almost everyone would agree that biblical worship involves some kind of outward act. The very word in Hebrew means “to bow down.” Worship is bowing, lifting hands, praying, singing, reciting, preaching, performing rites of eating, cleansing, ordaining, and so on. But the startling fact is that all these things can be done in vain. They can be pointless, useless, and empty.”

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FAITH AND WORK: Connecting Sunday to Monday

Faith and Work News ~ Links to Interesting Articles

    • Investing Billions for the Common Good: A Conversation with Robin John, CEO of Eventide. How far can our impact investing go? What if we evaluated the impacts of companies and products by examining supply chains, employment practices, and second-order effects on customers, communities, and the world? Meet Robin John, co-founder and CEO of Eventide, a Boston-based investment firm. Robin joins Dan on this episode of Working with Dan Doriani, to talk about why our investment decisions matter, and how they might change our different corners of the world.
    • Work Hard, Be Humble. Paul Tripp writes “Christians ought to be the hardest workers on earth.”

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MUSIC REVIEWS and NEWS

Walk This Road – Doobie Brothers
*** ½

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Doobie Brothers celebrate their 54th anniversary as a band with the release of Walk This Road, their sixteenth album, and their first of new material with Michael McDonald since 1980’s One Step Closer.  The album, which was produced by John Shanks, features ten new songs, including “Lahaina” featuring Mick Fleetwood and Jake Shimabukuru, which was released in 2023.
McDonald, who rejoined the band for their 50th anniversary tour, which we saw in Peoria June 24, 2023, makes his presence known from the beginning notes of the title song, which features Mavis Staples. He also sings lead on “Learn to Let Go”, “The Kind That Lasts”, and “Speed of Pain”. McDonald joins cofounders Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons and guitarist John McFee, an on-and-off member since 1980.

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  • Song of the Week Lyrics ~ Oh, What High and Holy Privilege by Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell and Matt Papa

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BOOK REVIEWS and NEWS


How Should I Approach Suffering? by R.C. Sproul. Ligonier Ministries. 87 pages. 2025
*** ½

The Crucial Questions booklets by R.C. Sproul provide a quick introduction to definitive Christian truths. These booklets are adapted from previous writings and teachings by Sproul. All of the Crucial Questions booklets are free in the Kindle edition, and available for a small amount in the print edition. You can see all of the ebooks in the series here.
Sproul tells us that suffering is one of the most significant challenges to any believer’s faith. He tells us that the promise of God is that He will never put more on us than we can bear. What is difficult to bear without Christ is made far more bearable with Christ.
Scripture admonishes us not to think that it is a strange or unusual thing that we should suffer. Our suffering has a purpose. For the Christian, suffering is never an exercise in futility.

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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
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My Review of Eleanor the Great

Eleanor the Great, rated PG-13
****

Eleanor the Great is a powerful film about the importance of friendship in our lives. The film is directed by two-time Oscar nominee (Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit), Scarlett Johansson in her directorial debut. It was written by Tory Kamen.
Eleanor Morgenstein, played by Oscar nominee June Squibb (Nebraska), is a 94-year-old woman living in Florida with her good friend and fellow widow Bessie Stern, played by Rita Zohar. Eleanor listens as Bessie recounts the horrors of surviving the Holocaust. When Bessie suddenly dies, Eleanor moves back to New York to live with her daughter Lisa, played by Emmy nominee Jessica Hecht (Special), and grandson Max, played by Will Price.
Eleanor is immediately seen as a burden by her daughter, who quickly looks for a place for her mother to move to. In the meantime, she tries to find things for Eleanor to do during the day. Continue reading →


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My Review of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, rated PG-13
*** ½

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is a pleasing ending to the television and film franchise about the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in England. The film was directed by Simon Curtis (Downton Abbey: A New Era), and was written by Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park). It is the sequel to 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, and is the third, and presumably final, Downton Abbey film.
The film takes place in 1930, a year after the stock market crash, in London and Yorkshire. Long-time fans of the television series will be pleased to see most of the loved characters from the series returning (Dame Maggie Smith, to whom the film is dedicated, died in 2024). Continue reading →