I have to admit that I’m a late-comer to Sandra McCracken, being introduced to her music at the 2018 Gospel Coalition National Conference and the last few Getty Music Sing! Conferences. I also really enjoyed her 2019 Christmas album, one of my favorites of last year.
This new album of worship songs features 9 new songs, and a reimagined hymn, all written or co-written by McCracken. The album, which was produced by Ben Shive and Tyler Chester, was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, with friends collaborating and recording across four states. Patient Kingdom is an excellent album, which I’m sure will end up high on my “Best” list for 2020.
Below are a few comments about each song:
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
More of this review and a review of Over the Rainbow: The American Standard EP by James Taylor
American Standard is James Taylor’s 19th studio album, and first new album since 2015’s Before This World. The songs on the album are songs he has always known. He writes in the liner notes that most were part of his family’s record collection, the first music he heard as a kid growing up in North Carolina.
Work on the album began a little over two years ago when John Pizzarelli joined Taylor at the Barn, his recording studio in Massachusetts to work on a few songs. Taylor loved the sound of their two guitars together, and that forms the basic sound of these songs, giving it the feel of Taylor’s early recordings. As he reinterprets these songs, he is supported by his regular family of players who tour and record with him, as well as contributions from Viktor Krauss (upright bass), Stuart Duncan (violin) and Jerry Douglas (dobro). The album is produced by Taylor, along with Dave O’Donnell and John Pizzarelli.
Below are a few comments about each of the songs on the album:
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
More of this review and reviews of
More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 – Bob Dylan
As we settle into 2020, there are a number of new and upcoming albums, in a variety of genres, that I’m excited about, and you may be as well. Let’s get started….
Let There Be Wonder is worship leader, singer/songwriter Matt Redman’s fourteenth album, and first since 2017’s Glory Song. Redman has given us worship classics like “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)” “The Heart of Worship” and “Blessed Be Your Name”. The new album was produced by Jacob Sooter and Joshua Silverberg, and was recorded live in front of more than 1,000 people at a California church. Redman wrote all of the songs with a variety of collaborators. This is the first really good album that I’ve heard of 2020, and is sure to make it onto my “Favorites” list for the year.
Click on ‘Continue Reading’ to find more new tunes. Enjoy! Continue reading →
The Eagles and James Taylor at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. (June 26) ****
This concert was actually my wife and my Christmas gift to each other. It was the most (by far) we had ever spent on a concert ticket, and it wasn’t nearly the highest price ticket for the concert. And it turned out to be one of the best concerts we have ever been to – and we’ve been to a lot of them over the years. Back in the late 1970’s we saw Fleetwood Mac and were stunned at the ticket prices – at the time they were $20 each. My oh my how times have changed.
James Taylor is one of our favorite artists. We have seen him in concert several times, and he’s always outstanding. He was the “opening act” on this warm and humid night at the packed home of the baseball Nationals in our nation’s capital. “JT” was backed by his “All-Star Band”, and they all got an opportunity to show off their many talents. Taylor and the band were clearly having a great time during their 90-minute set (as an opening act, somewhat shorter than his usual set). The only disappointment was that surprisingly, Taylor didn’t play any songs from his 2015 comeback album Before This World. Instead, he focused on his more popular songs from his catalog, beginning with “Something in the Way She Moves”, from his 1968 debut album on the Beatles’ Apple Records.
Taylor started his set precisely on time at 7:00 pm, as the music on this evening would not end until 4 and a half hours later. Check out Taylor’s setlist here.
I had last seen the Eagles more than 38 years ago when they played the Alpine Valley Music Theatre about 45 minutes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June 1980, with Christopher Cross as the opening act. I had just started my career the month before, and that concert was on a weeknight. Despite the three-hour drive home (after getting out of the parking lot), I still went to work as scheduled the next morning. Oh, to be young!
After the death of Glenn Frey in 2016, I doubted that the Eagles would tour again. But with country artist Vince Gill and Frey’s son Deacon joining the band, the Eagles have returned, and they are at the top of their game.
After about 35 minutes to change the stage, the Eagles opened with a pitch perfect ‘Seven Bridges Road’. With five different vocalists – Frey, Gill, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmidt and Joe Walsh – taking leads, the band would play for two and a half hours without a break. Unfortunately, some fans had to leave before the end of the show in order to catch the last Metro ride from the Navy Yards station.
The band’s vocals sounded great throughout, and their harmonies in particular were incredible. Gill tended to take care of the high notes that needed to be hit and Frey did a great job singing some of his Dad’s most popular songs, such as “Take it Easy”. Joe Walsh, a fan favorite, took over the last part of the concert, with James Gang favorites “Walk Away” and “Funk #49” and the sing along “Life’s Been Good” and “Rocky Mountain Way”, one of three encores with “Hotel California” and Don Henley’s closing “Desperado”. Check out the Eagles setlist here. The Eagles and JT gave us the Christmas gift to remember.
On a recent trip to Europe we stopped in Geneva for the afternoon and visited St. Peter’s Cathedral (Cathedrale St-Pierre) in the heart of Geneva’s Old Town, where John Calvin served for 25 years. Over the next two days in Paris I read this book, including a wonderful afternoon spent on a bench along the Seine River.
This book was the first in a series that examines the varied ministries of noted men from church history. Lawson states that Calvin “was a driving force so significant that his influence shaped the church and Western culture beyond that of any other theologian or pastor.”
Lawson writes that apart from the biblical authors themselves, Calvin stands today as the most influential minister of the Word of God the world has ever seen. He states that by overwhelming consent, he remains the greatest biblical commentator of all time.
Lawson begins the book with a brief biography of Calvin, whose father, a financial administrator for the Catholic bishop of the Noyon diocese, raised his son to enter the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. When his father died, the 21-year-old Calvin moved back to Paris to pursue his first love, the study of literature, especially the classics. He later returned to Bourges, where he completed his legal studies and received his doctor of laws degree. It was while he was studying at Bourges that Calvin came in direct contact with the biblical truths of the Reformation.
Calvin went to Basel, Switzerland (1534-1536), and began writing his magnum opus, Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin’s Institutes would become the defining masterpiece of Protestant theology, according to Lawson the single most important book to be written during the Reformation.
Calvin was first appointed professor of sacred Scripture in Geneva, then, four months later, pastor of Saint Pierre Cathedral. Calvin and Farel immediately began working to reform the church in Geneva. Their attempts to fence the Lord’s Table by excommunication resulted in their banishment from the city in 1538.
Calvin went into exile to Strasbourg where he pastored a congregation of some five hundred French-speaking refugees in Strasbourg. He also taught the New Testament in the local theological institute, wrote his first commentary (on Romans), and published the second edition of the Institutes.
During these years in Strasbourg, Calvin also found a wife, Idelette Stordeur, a member of his congregation. An Anabaptist widow, she had a son and a daughter from her first marriage. They married in 1540, when Calvin was 31. Idelette would die of tuberculosis in 1549.
Meanwhile, the City Council of Geneva found itself in much struggle, and called for Calvin to return as the city’s pastor. Calvin re-entered the city on September 13, 1541, never to relocate again. In Geneva, he made his mark as the Reformed church leader and the Reformation’s brightest light.
Upon his return, Calvin hit the town preaching, reassuming his pulpit ministry precisely where he had left off three years earlier-in the very next verse of his earlier exposition.
The rest of the book has Lawson reviewing the distinctives of Calvin’s preaching. They are:
Biblical authority
Divine Presence
Pulpit priority
Sequential Exposition
Diligent Mind
Devoted heart
Relentless will
Direct beginning
Extemporaneous delivery
Scriptural context
Stated theme
Specific text
Exegetical precision
Literal interpretation
Cross-references
Persuasive reasoning
Reasonable deductions
Familiar words
Vivid expressions
Provocative questions.
Simple Restatements
Limited quotations
Unspoken outline
Seamless transitions
Focused intensity
Pastoral exhortation
Personal examination
Loving rebuke
Polemic confrontation
Succinct summation
Pressing appeal
Climatic prayer
The book concludes with two appendices:
Appendix A: John Calvin’s Verse Distribution for Sermon Series
Appendix B: John Calvin’s Unspoken Outline of Job 21:13-15 Organized by T. H. L. Parker
I have read several of the books in this series of short biographies (Luther, Owen, Whitefield, Spurgeon), and plan to read books on Tyndale, Knox, Watts and Edwards. I enjoyed this look at Calvin’s expository preaching, which will be most appreciated by those who preach the Word.
BOOKS AND OTHER RESOURCES:
Withering and the Word: John Calvin at 500. Kevin DeYoung writes “Whatever lasting impact John Calvin has had on the church of Jesus Christ, and on the whole world for that matter, is owing to his commitment to understanding and explaining the word of God.”
The Greatness of John Calvin. Burk Parsons writes that John Calvin was among the greatest men of all time, stating that his greatness, as B. B. Warfield recognized, was not in his service to himself but in his surrender to God.
Calvinism and the Christian Life. In this new 6-part teaching series from Ligonier Ministries, Pastor Ian Hamilton demonstrates that Calvinism is biblical, God-centered Christianity with important implications for our daily lives. This theology is not simply academic. It is a theology for all of life—a theology in which the grace of Jesus Christ shapes everything.
Living with a Sense of Eternity. Sinclair Ferguson writes “Calvin sought, personally, to develop a balance of contempt for the present life with a deep gratitude for the blessings of God and a love and longing for the heavenly kingdom.
Covenant Seminary Faculty Contribute to new Zondervan Study Bible. Dr. Jay Sklar and Dr. Robert Yarbrough both contributed work for the new Zondervan Study Bible being released next month. Dr. Sklar wrote the study notes for the book of Numbers + an article on sacrifice. Dr. Yarbrough wrote the notes for 1-2 Timothy and Titus.
New Jan Karon Book. The popular author returns with Come Rain or Come Shine (A Mitford Novel) on September 22.
“Watchin’ Over Me” is from James Taylor’s new chart topping album Before This World, his first album of new material since 2002’s October Road. It is one of my favorite songs on the album as Taylor sings of appreciation for those who helped him during his times of drug addiction. Watchin’ over me when I was high Holdin’ my hand and wipin’ my eye Watchin’ me cheat, watchin’ me lie Oh watchin’ over me Lookin’ back over on the damage I done Made no kind of plan to be carryin’ on Thought I might ought to been dead and gone I said oh the damage done
How’m I gonna pay that debt I owe Big red Jesus on the radio Down on my knees after the show I said oh the debt I owe
I learned my lesson again Well, I learned my lesson again Only one way to surrender Learned my lesson again Got to return it to sender Leave a little light in the window Got to remember my friend
Guess I got to say it’s a lovely day Nice enough to know it could ever be so Ready man, steady man, here I’m gonna go I said, oh, the lovely day
Brother. NEEDTOBREATHE recently appeared on Good Morning America to perform their song “Brother” with Gavin DeGraw.
No One Like Our God. Here’s a video of an acoustic version of Matt Redman’s song from Abbey Road.
Uncomfortable. Andy Mineo’s new album Uncomfortable is scheduled to be released September 18. Definitely one of my most anticipated albums of the year.
U2 Short Film “Song for Someone” With Woody Harrelson. Directed by Vincent Haycock, cinematography by Steve Annis and produced by Pete Vitale & Park Pictures, “Song for Someone” features Woody Harrelson as a man being released from prison after years of incarceration and features his daughter Zoe Harrelson. The piece thematically links to RECTIFY, SundanceTV’s Peabody award-winning series that follows the story of Daniel Holden and his family as they struggle to move forward after Daniel’s release from 19 years on death row.
Quotes from Musicians:
There are more animal shelters than there are shelters for women and children who need refuge from abuse. Andy Mineo
No, they did not take his life–he laid it down. And the chains of death could never hope to hold him, so in the night my hope lives on. Andrew Peterson
Worship helps us let the ‘throne set the tone’ for our lives – a declaration and a reminder that Jesus is Lord, and everything is in His hands. Matt Redman
This is “JT’s” first album of new material in thirteen years since October Road, which was released in August, 2002. The 67 year old member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hasn’t been idle during this time, regularly touring and releasing a Christmas album, two albums of covers, two live albums and a greatest hits compilation. The album was recorded primarily at the Barn, his recording studio just down the hill from his home in the woods in western Massachusetts, with his longtime touring band featuring Steve Gadd on drums and Jimmy Johnson on bass. The album is produced by Dave O’Donnell.
By pre-ordering the album, I’ve been able to listen to “Today, Today, Today”, “Angels of Fenway”, and “Montana” for several weeks now. Last week, the album was streamed in its entirety by The New York Times, so I’ve been able to listen to the entire album several times now. In addition, last June in his wonderful concert at the Ravinia Festival in the Chicago area, he debuted “Today, Today, Today”, “Stretch of the Highway”, “You and I Again”, and “Wild Mountain Thyme”, all included here.
So what can I tell you about the long-awaited album? Well, it will remind you of the best songs of Taylor’s early 1970’s catalog. JT’s signature storytelling skills are matched with his signature vocals surrounded by a mostly mellow mix of folk, light rock, and acoustic blues. It’s like hearing from an old friend who has been gone for a long time.
Before This World is an intimate, largely autobiographical album of nine new Taylor songs, plus the classic Scottish folk tune “Wild Mountain Thyme”. Close friends Sting and Yo-Yo Ma guest on the album. So, put on some coffee and take a listen. Here are a few brief thoughts on each song:
Today, Today, Today – was the first single released from the album. Taylor’s friend and collaborator Don Grolnick, a jazz and pop pianist who died in 1996, inadvertently helped inspire the song title years ago during a car trip out of Manhattan. Taylor states “One day, driving out of the city, he held up traffic at the Triborough Bridge toll booth, looking for quarters. Behind him, a cabby rolled down his window and yelled at him, ‘Today, TODAY!’ Grolnick would say that whenever he grew impatient: ‘TODAY!’”
You and I Again – is a beautiful tender piano ballad about his wife Kim that features some wonderful accompanying strings.
Angels of Fenway – is a tribute to his Boston Red Sox and his grandmother who was a big Red Sox fan as well. After 86 years of frustration, the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004. Unfortunately, it was against my St. Louis Cardinals, and I was at the clinching game in St. Louis as the Red Sox swept the Cardinals. It features harmony vocals from wife Kim and son Henry. Even though I’m not a Red Sox fan, I’m a baseball fan and I love this song, which is one of my favorites on the album.
Stretch of the Highway – this song features light horns, some effective backing vocals and has a bluesy feel to it. It is a road song. The song references Chicago, the President and GMC. Taylor describes the song as “a theme I keep coming back to, the pull of home and the pull of the highway, a big part of my life, the ‘Dad Loves His Work’ theme, the tug of war between your family and going out to work. It’s a split life in a way, something every touring musician, merchant seaman, soldier, traveling salesman and oil-rig worker experiences.”
Montana – is a beautiful song of contentment as Taylor sings of the slower life of being in his cabin high upon a mountain in Montana.
Who can imagine the scale of the forces That pushed this old mountain range up in the sky? Tectonic creation, erosion, mutation; Somethin’ to pleasure God’s eye.
Watchin’ Over Me – is an upbeat tune which features a fiddle. JT sings of his thankfulness for those who have watched over him on his path to recovery from depression and addiction. He is grateful for a second chance. He realizes the damage he has done and the debt he owes. He has learned his lesson again and that there is only way one to surrender. Although dealing with difficult subject matter, this is a celebration and one of my favorite of the new songs.
SnowTime – has a tropic feel to it. Taylor describes the song as being about people who are economic exiles to Canada in the midst of a freezing Canadian winter who are trying to re-ignite this flame. A frozen Yankee comes across this and is transformed. Taylor states that ultimately the song is about the power of music. The guitars on the chorus reminded me of his classic “Mexico”.
Before This World/Jolly Springtime – Taylor describes this as a spiritual agnostic song. It features beautiful cello work from Yo-Yo Ma.
Before this world was as we know it now
Before the land and sea were formed at all
Before the stars were made to burn and shine
Little love of mine, darling one
Who can pretend to understand at all
No one can both inside and outside be
Who can suppose he knows the way this goes
Little lamb, never mind
Sadly, he sings that the world is old, will never last and that our share of joy is in this moment past.
Jolly Springtime – contrasting the music and pessimistic lyrics of “Before This World” is this upbeat and happy song, celebrating spring in the merry month of May with effective backing vocals.
Far Afghanistan – Taylor describes this song as an “out-of-my-experience fiction piece,” dealing with a soldier leaving for the war. This is the one song that doesn’t fit with the rest of the album, and is my least favorite of the collection.
Wild Mountain Thyme – a beautiful cover of a classic Scottish folk song. Wife Kim and son Henry contribute harmony vocals.
Although Taylor may not profess to be a Christian, he offers an album full of Christian themes as God and Jesus are mentioned and themes of love of family, thankfulness for those who have helped him, appreciation for creation, etc. resonate from these songs. I can’t tell you how good it is to finally have some excellent new music from JT. Welcome back JT. Can’t wait to hear some of these new songs in concert.
Live at Red Rocks – Amos Lee with the Colorado Symphony ****
I had never heard of Amos Lee until he appeared locally in 2007, opening for Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello. Between Costello’s and Dylan’s sets we ran into Lee in the foyer, where we visited briefly and he signed an autograph for us. A friend lent me Lee’s first two albums and I was hooked. I picked up Last Days at the Lodge when it came out in 2008, and I’ve picked up everything he’s released since that time.
Last August 1, Lee appeared with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in a sold out concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, about 15 miles from Denver. At that time, he had been on tour for almost a year in support of his fifth studio album Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song. In the concert, he performed some of his most popular songs from his five studio albums, along with one new song, in a 14 song career spanning set, with five songs from his former #1 album Mission Bell and four from his debut Amos Lee. The album’s track list, and the original album they were included on is listed below:
Windows are Rolled Down – from his 2011 Mission Bell.
Jesus – Mission Bell
Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight – from his 2005 debut Amos Lee
El Camino – Mission Bell
Violin – Mission Bell
Colors – Amos Lee
Trickster, Hucksters, Scamps – from his 2013 Mountains of Sorrow, Rives of Song
Flower – Mission Bell
Won’t Let Me Go – from his 2008 Last Days at the Lodge
Sweet Pea – from his 2007 Supply and Demand
Street Corner Preacher – Last Days at the Lodge
Game of Thrones Theme – Not previously available on an Amos Lee album
Encores:
Black River – Amos Lee
Arms of a Woman – Amos Lee
While the addition of the Colorado Symphony makes this recording special, it’s Lee’s incredible and versatile voice that is the real highlight here (check out his vocals on “Sweet Pea” as an example). If you are not familiar with Amos Lee, this is an excellent introduction to his music. If you are familiar with him, sit back and enjoy these incredible versions of some of his best songs. I hope this recording propels Lee to the level of popularity that he deserves.
One of my favorite new songs is “Abide with Me”, co-written by Matt Maher and Matt Redman. It is included on Maher’s Saints and Sinners album and Redman’s Unbroken Praise album. Here’s a video of Maher performing the song, a prayer really, in a recent concert. Follow along with the lyrics below.
I have a home, eternal home
But for now I walk this broken world
You walked it first, You know our pain
But You show hope can rise again up from the grave
Abide with me, abide with me Don’t let me fall, and don’t let go Walk with me and never leave Ever close, God abide with me
There in the night, Gethsemane Before the cross, before the nails Overwhelmed, alone You prayed You met us in our suffering and bore our shame
Abide with me, abide with me Don’t let me fall, and don’t let go Walk with me and never leave Ever close, God abide with me
Oh love that will not ever let me go Love that will not ever let me go You never let me go Love that will not ever let me go Oh You never let us go
And up ahead, eternity We’ll weep no more, we’ll sing for joy, abide with me
Music News
You can now pre-order Toby Mac’s This is Not a Test album on iTunes and receive the download for the song “Backseat Driver”.
“Abide with Me”. Matt Redman’s new Unbroken Praise album releases this week. Last week, those who pre-ordered the album received the download of Redman’s version of Matt Maher’s excellent “Abide with Me”, which was included on his Saints and Sinners album, my top release of the year, thus far. Watch the lyric video here.
Matt Maher Covering Crowder’s “Come as You Are”. Watch the video here.
For the past several years I’ve gone to a Milwaukee Brewers game with my brother and a few of his friends. It’s always a nice time. This past week on our annual trip we saw the Brewers beat up on the Washington Nationals. Of course, since the Brewers are in first place ahead of my Cardinals, I had to cheer for the Nationals (but to no avail). Here’s a picture I took from just behind the foul pole before the game, which gives you a good idea of what Miller Park looks like:
Have you ever been to Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL? What a wonderful venue for a music concert! We recently went to hear James Taylor, and you can see some photos and read more about it at http://coramdeotheblog.com/albumandconcert-reviews/.
Singer/songwriter John Hiatt will release Terms of Surrender on July 15. The title song can be purchased now at iTunes.
Michael Card has a song included on the new album Uncle Donald’s Niagra Brand Tonic Elixer. The song is “Lo! and Behold!” Here’s a link to the album on Amazon.com.
I recently saw that Trip Lee, Reach Records rapper is serving as a Pastoral Assistant at Capitol Hill Baptist Church where Mark Dever is Senior Pastor. Trip is in the process of recording his follow-up to 2012’s The Good Life.
IN THE NEWS:
I recently saw the first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s (Inception, Momento, Batman trilogy, The Prestige) new film Interstellar. The film is due to be released November 7 and will star Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain and more. Here’s some information about the film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_1
The MLJ Trust announces a daily sermon podcast of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. You can sign up for the Podcast by either clicking on the following link MLJ Podcast, or going to the lower right section of the sermons page on the website: MLJ Sermons. They will be starting with Romans, and one of the best MLJ sermons on the Apostle Paul, called, simply, “A Man Called Paul”.
Dr. Don Kistler recently returned from northern California where he preached five messages on the doctrine of the church. The messages are: 1. Why Is the Church Important? 2. Christ’s Faithfulness to His Church 3. Mutual Ministry 4. Protecting the Flock 5. Church Growth, God’s Way The messages are available at the website of Christ the Redeemer Presbyterian Church of Eureka, California at: http://www.christtheredeemerrpc.com/sermons.htm
TOLLE LEGE ~ TAKE UP AND READ!
During the busy summer month of July, Crossway wants to help you get in the Word and stay in the Word! Join them for Women of the Word Month, a 31-day campaign to encourage and equip you for Bible study aimed at both your head and your heart. Read more here: http://www.crossway.org/group/women-of-the-word
Here’s the latest in a series of articles on the doctrine of predestination from Ligonier Ministries. This one is titled: Predestination: How Does it Reveal the Glory of God”. Read it here.
Do you live life looking in the rear view mirror, or always looking towards the finish line? Thabiti Anyabwile recently posted this four minute video clip from Propaganda entitled “Be Present”. He wrote that “this piece has ministered to me and challenged me more than any other spoken word piece I’ve ever heard”. Watch it here.
Are we praying for revival in our own spiritual lives? Are we praying for the salvation of the nations? Are our churches setting aside a specific time for focused — even extraordinary — prayer for a global awakening through the advance of the gospel? Do we long for the Lord to move among us as he moved among those who came before us?” This article from Desiring God titled “History Could Happen Again” states: “Knowing how God has worked in the past can help us ask some key questions of ourselves in the present. Read the entire article here: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/when-revival-doesn-t-tarry
Quotable There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than the fact that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this–that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do, that you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will abound all the more to the glory of grace. That is a very good test of gospel preaching. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel. -D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (listen to 1,600 sermons from Lloyd-Jones at http://www.mljtrust.org/)
Quotable -Tweeted by Dr. Albert Mohler “Mr. Whitefield, don’t flatter them, I fear that half of them are going to hell with their eyes open.”–said by a pastor to George Whitefield
Quotable
God doesn’t invite people to be saved. He commands them. -RC Sproul
Quotable The reason God knows the future is because he plans the future and accomplishes it. -John Piper