Cheap Kindle Books 10.29.13

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A nice long list of books that are cheap on Kindle right now. I read and/or reference Kindle books on my Kindle, on my computer app, iPad app, and phone. No reason not to have some of your library through such good ebook deals!

I'm Terrified

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One of the greatest first person perspective videos of a sport I've ever seen. With a background in mountain biking, it's even more terrifying because I know what it feels like to be on the edge of something. But NOT on both sides!

Cheap Kindle Books 10.23.13

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Several cheap Kindle books you might want to grab...

Al Mohler & 20 Years at SBTS

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This story about Albert Mohler's history with The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary explains the main reasons I left Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998 and transferred to Southern. I remember email conversations with Mohler, Tom Nettles, Tom Schreiner and others at the time. I sought out their advice as the Scriptures were leading me into reformed theology. I only knew Mohler was at SBTS and not the others. After God made those connections for me, I was sold on Southern and transferred there to finish my MDiv. It was the best decision I've ever made about my education, and I'm grateful to Dr. Mohler and Southern Seminary for enduring the pain and determination required to re-create a place where the truths of Scripture would be taught to young men like me.

The Lightning and the Thunder

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You can have good preaching even with a poor sermon; it is a real possibility. ... There is the sermon, a sermon which he has prepared; and then there is the 'act' of delivering this sermon. Another way of stating it is this. A man came -- I think it was actually in Philadelphia -- on one occasion to the great George Whitefield and asked if he might print his sermons. Whitefield gave this reply; he said, 'Well, I have no inherent objection, if you like, but you will never be able to put on the printed page the lightning and the thunder.' That is the distinction -- the sermon, and the 'lightning and the thunder'. To Whitefield this was of very great importance, and it should be of very great importance to all preachers... You can put the sermon into print, but not the lightning and the thunder. That comes into the act of preaching and cannot be conveyed by cold print. Indeed it almost baffles the descriptive powers of the best reporters.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, pf 58.

Sufjan's Open Letter to Miley Cyrus

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This is why Sufjan is great. Miley Cyrus has been in a back-n-forth with Sinead O'Conner because of Sinead's open letters to her. Suf takes Miley to task for her use of grammar. So awesome. And it's not about grammar. 

Dear Miley. I can’t stop listening to #GetItRight (great song, great message, great body), but maybe you need a quick grammar lesson. One particular line causes concern: “I been laying in this bed all night long.” Miley, technically speaking, you’ve been LYING, not LAYING, an irregular verb form that should only be used when there’s an object, i.e. “I been laying my tired booty on this bed all night long.” Whatever. I’m not the best lyricist, but you know what I mean. #Get It Right The Next Time. But don’t worry, even Faulkner messed it up. We all make mistakes, and surely this isn’t your worst misdemeanor. But also, Miley, did you know the tense here is also totally wrong. Surely you’ve heard of Present Perfect Continuous Tense (I HAVE BEEN LYING in this bed all night long [hopefully getting some beauty sleep?]). It’s a weird, equivocal, almost purgatorial tense, not quite present, not quite past, not quite here, not quite there. Somewhere in between. I feel that way all the time. It kind of sucks. But I have a feeling your “present perfect continuous” involves a lot more excitement than mine. Anyway, doesn’t that also sum up your career right now? Present. Perfect. Continuous. And Tense. Intense? Girl, you work it like Mike Tyson. Miley, I love you because you’re the Queen, grammatically and anatomically speaking. And you’re the hottest cake in the pan. Don’t ever grow old. Live brightly before your fire fades into total darkness. XXOO Sufjan

Joni Eareckson Tada on Keller's New Book

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If I were to write a book on suffering, I would wonder what Joni Eareckson Tada thought of it. Well, she writes a glowing review of Tim Keller's new book on suffering, Walking With God Through Pain & Suffering. Here's a blurb...

Yes, suffering is a mystery, but it is not a mystery without at least some explanation. Besides, life may be hard, but God is good—much more so than we can possibly imagine. And he stands ready to give, well, perhaps not the answers the world would like, but to give the One who holds all the answers in his hand.

Tim Keller does a righteous job of showcasing to us, and to the world, that Jesus is worth trusting. Period. End of argument. After all, when they hang you on a cross like meat on a hook, you have the final word on suffering.

Go read the rest of the review. And pick up Walking With God Through Pain & Suffering for 41% off (or Amazon | Kindle)

Lots-o-Links 10.1.13

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New books to Note: 

Cheap Kindle Books: 

Jen Thorn, Joe Thorn's wife, has a new website. Bookmark it, Feedly it, read it. She's a gem.

John Wesley on the Discipline of Reading by Brian Hedges

Reading requires discipline. But the investment of time yields great dividends for our personal life and ministry. The depth and breadth that reading will add to our thinking and preaching are surely worth the effort. Fellow pastors, do not neglect reading!

10 Ways to Become a Better Preacher by Justin Buzzard

In my opinion good preaching is something that flows through the heart of a man who is excited about Jesus because he’s personally enjoying the love of Jesus. I think the single most important thing a pastor can do is wake up each day and focus his energy on enjoying Jesus and having as much fun as possible. This is the only thing I know of that will protect you from the burnout most pastors experience from  the relentless strain of preaching and leading a church. I don’t think there’s much power in preaching grace if you yourself are not reveling in grace.

Is a Deacon Just a Servant? by Russell Moore

The question is not whether deacons serve or lead. Leadership, scripturally defined, is servanthood. The question is in what way do deacons lead. Deacons maintain the unity of the Body by giving leadership to the serving of temporal needs. They’re not a corporate board, nor are they a spiritual council of directors. They serve the Body by removing potential obstacles to unity by meeting human needs.

20 Great American Cities for Writers --> Go Chicago!

If you can’t live somewhere that isn’t a big, bustling city and you don’t want to pay New York City or California rent, you can’t beat the Windy City, which boasts great bookstores like Myopic in Wicker Park, Powell’s in Hyde Park, and the best place to get your weird zine/chapbook/comic fix: Quimby’s. There’s plenty of art and architecture to admire, wonderful coffee from local roasters like Metropolis, nice-sized and somewhat affordable places to live, plenty of great bars, schools like the University of Chicago, writers and poets like Adam Levin and Lindsay Hunter calling the place home, the Printers Row Lit Fest … All of which is to say, Chicago plays second literary city to nobody.

Wear Out Or Rust Out

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George Whitefield, on this day, September 30, 1770, woke at 2am with an the beginning of breathing problems that he suffered from for some time and thought was asthma. He decided to take 2-3 days off of preaching to recover. Then soon after decided it would be better to preach that day. "A good pulpit sweat today may give me relief. I shall be better after preaching."

Richard Smith, his assistant, responded, "I wish you would not preach so often, sir."

Whitefield: "I would rather wear out than rust out."

He sat up in bed, praying. When finished, he went back to sleep for an hour and then awoke at 4am barely able to breathe. That morning George Whitefield died, fighting for each breath, until he met his Savior face to face.