As I have for several years, I’m sharing some of my personal favorites in a variety of categories for the year of 2021. As with 2020, this list will look a little different from previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as we have been to only one concert and one conference, and we saw very few films this year.
Except for books, these are all items that were released in 2021. For books, I include my favorite books that I’ve read this year, regardless of when the book was originally published.
Enjoy, and please let me know what you think of my list, as well as what would be on your list.
Movies
Top Pick: No Time to Die. Read my review here.
The remainder of my top 5 films were:
American Underdog
S. Lewis: The Reluctant Convert
West Side Story
In the Heights
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More favorite Music, Books, Blogs, Podcasts, Apps, Television, Conferences and Concerts.
It’s hard to believe that we are at mid-year already. As I have in the past, I wanted to share with you my favorites from the first half of 2018 in a variety of categories. Except for books, these are all items that were released or took place in 2018. For books, I include my favorite books that I’ve read thus far during 2018. Enjoy! Please let me know what you think of my list, and also share some of your favorites.
Movies
Best: Tie ~ Black Panther and Paddington 2
Other movies I’ve enjoyed, in no particular order, were:
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Incredibles 2
Peter Rabbit
Calvinist
The Post
I Can Only Imagine
Avengers: Infinity War
Isle of Dogs
Ready Player One
Ant-Man and The Wasp
Worst: Below are the worst, or at least the most disappointing, films I’ve seen, in no particular order:
Hostiles
Phantom Thread
The 15:17 to Paris
God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness
First Reformed
Music
Best: Resurrection Letters: Prologue/Resurrection Letters Vol. 1 – Andrew Peterson
Other music I’ve enjoyed, in no particular order, were:
You’re Driving Me Crazy – Van Morrison and Joey DeFrancesco
Let the Trap Say Amen – Lecrae and Zaytoven
Surrounded – Michael W. Smith
Into the Night – Social Club Misfits
One More Song – Ashley Cleveland
Top Songs
Best: Is He Worthy? – Andrew Peterson
Other songs I’ve enjoyed, in no particular order, have been:
Take Me to the Water/Cool Down by the Banks of Jordan – Ashley Cleveland
I Can’t Lose – Lecrae and Zaytoven
Everyday I Have the Blues – Van Morrison and Joey DeFrancesco
The Holy Grail – John Fogerty
Bridges Burn by NEEDTOBREATHE
Better Than I Used to Be by Mat Kearney
Don’t Know by Paul McCartney
Books
Best: The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row – Anthony Ray Hinton
Other books I’ve enjoyed, in no particular order, were:
Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 – John Maxwell
Servant Leadership in Action – Edited by Ken Blanchard
The Gospel According to God – John MacArthur
The Gospel Comes with a House Key – Rosaria Butterfield
How to be a Perfect Christian – Babylon Bee
How to Get Unstuck – Matt Perman
Take Heart: Christian Courage in the Age of Unbelief – Matt Chandler
Immanuel Labor: God’s Presence in Our Profession: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work – Russell E. Gehrlein
The Gospel at Work: How the Gospel Gives New Purpose and Meaning to Our Jobs(Updated and Expanded Edition) – Greg Gilbert and Sebastian Traeger
Paul Simon: The Life – Robert Hilburn
Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock – Gregory Alan Thornbury
Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization – John Wooden and Steve Jamison
Blogs
Best: Tim Challies’ Ala Carte. This is required reading for me each Monday through Saturday. Challies includes helpful Kindle deals, links to a good variety of helpful articles and a quote. Check out Tim’s website here.
Podcasts
Best: The Briefing – Albert Mohler. Each weekend morning, Albert Mohler hosts a podcast providing worldview analysis about the leading news headlines and cultural conversations. This is required listening for me. Check out Dr. Mohler’s website here.
Honorable mention goes to the third season of Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent podcast Revisionist History. On each episode, Gladwell goes back and reinterprets something from the past: an event, a person, an idea. Something overlooked. Something misunderstood.
Television
Best: Victoria
The Resident
This is Us
The Profit
The Blacklist
The Crown
Concerts
Best: U2 – Experience and Innocence Tour in St. Louis
Honorable Mention: John Hiatt and the Goners, featuring Sonny Landreth. Slow Turning 30th Anniversary Reunion Tour in Bloomington, Illinois
New Resources
Best: Messages from the 2018 Ligonier National Conference which had the theme “Awakening”.
These are my mid-year favorites in a variety of categories. How about you? What were some of your favorites?
It’s hard to believe that we are at mid-year already. I wanted to share with you some of my favorites from the first half of 2017 in a variety of categories. Except for books, these are all items that were released or took place in 2017. For books, I include my favorite books that I’ve actually read thus far during 2017. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think of my list and share some of your favorites.
Music ~ I enjoy music in a variety of genres. My favorites thus far are:
Albums ~Top Pick: Crooked – Propaganda
Here are the rest of my favorite albums (in no particular order) thus far:
The Joshua Tree (Super Deluxe) – U2
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Deluxe Edition) – Beatles
Triplicate – Bob Dylan
The Misadventures of Fern & Marty – Social Club Misfits
Cinco – Jim Gaffigan
Flowers in the Dirt (Special Edition) – Paul McCartney
Songs ~ Top pick: Blessings – Lecrae (featuring TY Dollar $ign)
Here are the rest of my favorite songs (in no particular order), thus far:
Revival – Third Day
I’ll Find You – Lecrae featuring Tori Kelly
My Song is Love Unknown – Fernando Ortega
Your Cross Changes Everything – Matt Redman
Your Love Defends Me – Matt Maher
Concerts ~ Top Pick: U2’s The Joshua Tree Tour at Soldier Field in Chicago with the Lumineers opening.
Musicals ~ Top Pick: Hamilton in Chicago
Books ~ In this category, while many of the books were published in 2017, I list the best of the books I actually read in 2017. My favorites thus far are:
Top pick: The Legacy of Luther, edited by R.C. Sproul and Stephen Nichols
Here are the rest of my favorite books (in no particular order), thus far:
The Gospel According to Paul: Embracing the Good News at the Heart of Paul’s Teachings – John MacArthur
Glory in the Ordinary: Why Your Work in the Home Matters to God – Courtney Reisigg
Learning to Love the Psalms – Robert Godfrey
Calling to Christ: Where’s My Place? – Robert Smart
Discipleship with Monday in Mind: How Churches Across the Country Are Helping Their People Connect Faith and Work – Skye Jethani and Luke Bobo
Between Heaven and the Real World: My Story – Steven Curtis Chapman
Leaders Made Here: Building a Leadership Culture – Mark Miller
Workplace Grace – Bill Peel and Walt Larimore
Befriend: Create Belonging in an Age of Judgment, Isolation, and Fear – Scott Sauls
Movies~ I usually see at least one movie a week. Here is the best – and the worst – of what I’ve seen thus far:
Top Pick: Hidden Figures
Here are the rest of my favorite movies (in no particular order), thus far:
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Gifted
The Case for Christ
A United Kingdom
Beauty and the Beast
Get Out
Lion
Baby Driver
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Unfortunately, there have also been a few poor movies I’ve seen as well. Here are the two worst movies I’ve seen thus far:
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
The Zookeeper’s Wife
Television Program
Top Pick: The Profit. Season 4 is finally here. If you are not familiar with this show, read more about it here.
Podcasts
Top Pick: Albert Mohler’s The Briefing. Each weekday morning, Albert Mohler hosts a podcast providing worldview analysis about the leading news headlines and cultural conversations. This is required listening for me. Check out Dr. Mohler’s website.
Also, I was happy to hear recently that Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent podcast Revisionist History returning for season two. Listen to the first episode “A Good Walk Spoiled” here.
Blogs
Top Pick: Tim Challies’ Ala Carte. This is required reading for me each Monday through Saturday. Challies includes helpful Kindle deals, links to a good variety of helpful articles and a quote. Check out Tim’s website.
Another blog that is required reading for me each day is HeadHeartHand from David Murray, author of the excellent new book Reset.
Recommended New Teaching Series
The Lord’s Prayer by Albert Mohler. In this twelve-part series, Dr. Albert Mohler shows that the pattern of prayer Jesus provides is few in words, yet massive in meaning. His prayer reflects true theology and proper doxology—a perfect guide for our own lives. I listened to this series as our book club was studying Tim Keller’s book Prayer.
Recommended Resources
Luther: The Life and Legacy of the German Reformer. See my review of this excellent new documentary.
Dispatches from the Front: The Fourth Man. If you are not familiar with this set of videos from Frontline Missions and Tim Keesee you should be. For more information go here.
Conference
Top Pick: Ligonier Ministries National Conference: The Next 500 Years. Watch or listen to all of the messages here.
These are my favorites in a variety of categories. What about you? Please share your favorites.
My wife Tammy and I love to go to the movies. Since we began dating 40 years ago, we’ve usually watched at least one movie a week. We also like to find television shows that we can “binge watch”. But to be honest, most films – that aren’t animated films targeted to children or faith-based – and even television shows (think of a popular show such as House of Cards or Mr. Robot), have some objectionable content or troubling worldview issues. So how can Christians be discerning about the movies or television shows that they watch?
Here are five resources you can use to help you be discerning in this area:
When checking out the movies that are opening each week or a television show that we’ve heard about, I always start with the Rotten Tomatoes website. This is a very helpful site that will quickly tell you what the critics and viewers like you (referred to as “audience”), think of the quality of the film or television show. They do so by giving the film or show a numeric rating, which indicates what percentage of the critics or viewers gave the film or show a positive review. A rating of 60 or more on their “Tomatometer” is a “Fresh” review, while a rating of less than 60 is a “Rotten” review. Among other things, the site will tell you what the film or show is rated and why. You can also read reviews that are posted by critics and viewers. For example, a good film like Sully received a critic’s rating of 82, while viewers gave the film a score of 89. On the other hand, The Disappointments Room received a critic’s score of 0 and a viewer’s score of 22. That’s enough right there to tell me I probably need to save my money and take a pass on that film.
The next site I’m going to check is Focus on the Family’s site Plugged In. This site provides a brief overview of the film and then includes helpful analysis about such things as the positive elements, spiritual content, sexual content and violent content of the film, as well as an overall conclusion. This can help you be discerning about a film you may have an interest in seeing. The site also includes analysis of television shows, music, games and books.
I will often check Ted Baehr’s Movieguide site for content and especially worldview issues of a film. Dr. Baehr’s life’s purpose is to be used of God to redeem the values of the media while educating audiences on how to use discernment in selecting their entertainment.
If a film is rated PG-13 or R and I have questions about whether or not I want to see it, I’ll often check the Kids in Mind site. This site will give you very specific information in categories such as sex/nudity, violence, profanity and helpful discussion topics from the film.
To get another perspective on a film I’ll often check out Christianity Today’s Movies and TV site. I have found their reviewers to be less discerning about some films than I would prefer, but they do offer a brief but helpful “Caveat Spectator” section after their analysis of the film.
These are resources that I use to help me be discerning in the movies and television shows I watch. What do you use to guard your eyes and heart?
As we have the mid-year point, I want to share with you some of my favorites from 2016 in a variety of categories. Except for books, these are all items that were released or took place in 2016. For books, I include my favorite books that I’ve actually read during 2016. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think by clicking on the ‘Comment’ link above.
MUSIC: I enjoy music in a variety of genres. My favorites were:
Albums
Top Pick: Church Clothes 3 – Lecrae
Other albums that I’ve enjoyed have been:
Wow to the Deadness (EP) – Steve Taylor and the Danielson Foil
Fallen Angels – Bob Dylan
Stranger to Stranger – Paul Simon
Hymns II – Michael W. Smith
Salvation’s Tide is Rising – Passion
Love Riot – Newsboys
Worship and Believe – Steven Curtis Chapman
This Time Around (EP) – Tedashjii
Facing a Task Unfinished – Keith and Kristyn Getty
I’m really looking forward to two July releases – Where the Light Shines Through by Switchfoot and Hard Love by NEEDTOBREATHE .
Songs
Top pick: Jumped Out the Whip – Tedashii
Other songs I’ve enjoyed have been:
Float – Switchfoot
My Worth Is Not In Not In What I Own – Keith and Kristyn Getty with Fernando Ortega
Vaporized – Amos Lee
That Old Black Magic – Bob Dylan
It Is What It Is – Lecrae
God and God Alone – Chris Tomlin
I Trust in Christ – Matt Redman
Wow to the Deadness – Steve Taylor and the Perfect Foil
Cool Papa Bell – Paul Simon
Down to the River to Pray – Michael W. Smith
I Don’t Know Why (Jesus Loves Me) – Michael W. Smith
Movies 
It’s hard to believe that we are at mid-year already. As I have in the past, I wanted to share with you my favorites from the first half of 2018 in a variety of categories. Except for books, these are all items that were released or took place in 2018. For books, I include my favorite books that I’ve read thus far during 2018. Enjoy! Please let me know what you think of my list, and also share some of your favorites.
Books 
Blogs 
Television
Concerts
New Resources 
The Zookeeper’s Wife
Podcasts
Recommended New Teaching Series
My wife Tammy and I love to go to the movies. Since we began dating 40 years ago, we’ve usually watched at least one movie a week. We also like to find television shows that we can “binge watch”. But to be honest, most films – that aren’t animated films targeted to children or faith-based – and even television shows (think of a popular show such as House of Cards or Mr. Robot), have some objectionable content or troubling worldview issues. So how can Christians be discerning about the movies or television shows that they watch?
As we have the mid-year point, I want to share with you some of my favorites from 2016 in a variety of categories. Except for books, these are all items that were released or took place in 2016. For books, I include my favorite books that I’ve actually read during 2016. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think by clicking on the ‘Comment’ link above.
