2009 Bible Reading Plans

For those of you who might want to start reading through your Bible in 2009, Justin Taylor has a great post linking to many different kinds of reading plans. My favorite is the Through the Bible in a Year Plan, which my wife and I are doing (we started November 1st). Before that, I completed a straight through reading plan, but I would recommend a plan with both Old and New Testament everyday. The ESV Bible has a great list of different plans.

Anyway, I would encourage everyone to find the plan that works for you and stick with it this year. The rewards are plentiful, I promise.

Fred Thompson on the Economy

Former presidential candidate Fred Thompson with some good news about the economy. This should help reassure you that the government is handling things exactly how they should be.

My Top 5 Albums of 2008

Let me stress that this is my top albums from this year. I'm not saying they are technically the best (although I tend to think so), or that the majority of people would like them the best. These are just the albums that when I look back at the last year, stand out to me as the best. They're not in any particular order.

1. House of Heroes - The End is Not the End

This is simply one of the best albums from beginning to end I've heard in a long time. Straight up rock, amazing melodies, great musicianship. The diversity on the album is ridiculous. There are 15 songs (and 1 intro), and each sounds distinct. Great stuff.

Favorite tracks: If, In the Valley of the Dying Sun, Journey into Space Pt 1

2. Andrew Peterson - Resurrection Letters, Vol. 2

Andrew Peterson is hands down one of my favorite artists. He is extremely under-appreciated in the Christian music scene. He's been putting out amazing albums for years with very little acceptance by radio, but keeps the great music coming. This album is one of the most honest, beautiful albums to come out in a while. Lush melodies, honest, insightful lyrics always based in Scripture without being cliche.

Favorite tracks: Hossana, Hosea, The Good Confession

3. Lecrae - Rebel

I've become a fairly big fan of Christian Rap, especially Lecrae. This album is easily his best so far. His skill as a rapper is undeniable. But it's his ability to weave complex biblical ideas within tightly constructed songs that sets him apart. He's honest, which makes his songs easy to relate to (even for a suburban white guy like me). But he's also knowledgeable about scripture, so the songs are saturated with it.

Favorite Tracks: Rebel Intro, Don't Waste Your Life, Desperate, Fall Back

4. Na Band - Looked Upon

Discovered this album when we went to the New Attitude Conference this year. They led the worship throughout the conference and were incredible. These songs are basically songs from old dead guys (like Isaac Watts, among others) set to sort of stripped down indie rock tracks. The result is great, varied worship for those of us that want something different than the traditional worship band sound.

Favorite tracks: God Over All, What A Savior, All I Have is Christ

5. Run Kid Run - Love At the Core

If you like your rock music full of great melodies, upbeat harmonies, and generally feel-good music, you'll like Run Kid Run. Their style is somewhat similar to Fall Out Boy, but they definitely have a sound of their own. Think FOB meets Relient K meets Hawk Nelson. Then, you'll be in the neighborhood of their sound. What they do have in common with Relient K is lyrics that will surprise you with their depth. This CD hasn't gotten old for me yet, and always seems to bring my mood back up.

Favorite tracks: Rescue Me, Captives Come Home, Love at the Core, Freedom

Honorable Mention:

Jimmy Needham - Not Without Love

Upbeat, lyrically-based music similar in style to a Jason Mraz mixed with John Mayer if they read the Bible.

Chasen - Shine Through the Stars

Solid rock music laced with beautiful melodies, introspective, yet God-centered lyrics, and great vocals.

Sovereign Grace Music - Psalms

Sovereign Grace Music continues to put out one great album after another. This project takes different Psalms and put these themes to music. Another solid effort from Bob Kauflin and friends.

Beware of the Doghouse

Hopefully you didn't end up here after Christmas...



You can also see a high quality version.

How Many Paths to Heaven?

Al Mohler comments on the new report from Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. From the report:

A majority of all American Christians (52%) think that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life. Indeed, among Christians who believe many religions can lead to eternal life, 80% name at least one non-Christian faith that can do so...

...The new survey asks those who say many religions can lead to eternal life whether or not they think a series of specific religions (including Judaism, Islam and Hinduism) can lead to eternal life, as well as whether they think atheists or people who have no religious faith can achieve eternal life. The findings confirm that most people who say many religions can lead to eternal life take the view that even non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal salvation. Indeed, among Christians who say that many religions can lead to eternal life (65% of all Christians), the vast majority (80%) cite an example of at least one non-Christian religion that can lead to salvation, and fully six-in-ten (61%) name two or more non-Christian religions. Even among white evangelical Protestants, nearly three-quarters (72%) of those who say many religions can lead to eternal life name at least one non-Christian religion that can lead to salvation.

The poll also finds that roughly one-third of Americans (30%) believe that whether one achieves eternal life is determined by what a person believes, with nearly as many (29%) saying eternal life depends on one’s actions. One-in-ten Americans say the key to obtaining eternal life lies in a combination of belief and actions. The remaining one-third of the public says that something else is the key to eternal life, they don’t know what leads to eternal life or they don’t believe in eternal life.

Mohler:

As I told USA Today, this report reveals that a good number of those who attend evangelical churches either misunderstand or repudiate the Gospel. The New Testament reveals not only that Jesus claimed to be the only way to the Father [see John 14:6] but also that the Gospel of Christ is the only message that saves [see Romans 10]. This claim has been central to evangelical conviction -- at least until now.

I am confident that much of this confusion can be traced to the superficiality that marks far too many evangelical pulpits. The disappearance of doctrinal understanding and evangelical demonstration can be traced directly to the decline in expository preaching and doctrinal instruction. A loss of evangelistic and missionary commitment can be fully expected as a direct result of this confusion or repudiation of the Gospel.

This new survey should be received with great concern. Will it awaken today's generation of evangelicals to the catastrophe before our eyes?

Disney Dedicates Park to Seth

Apparently word of Seth's birth made it all the way to Disney World, where they decided it was so important that they are making some changes around the park to celebrate...



Thanks JT for the link to create this.

Slideshow of Seth's Birth

If you haven't been over-exposed to Seth yet, check out this slideshow done by Laura Leppert Knabe of Leppert Photography in Loveland, OH. Amazing...

Thank you so much, Laura!

Click to view the slideshow on the Leppert Photo Blog.

Seth's First Week

A short little video of Seth's first week.

Song is "Away in a Manger (Instrumental)" by Decemberadio.

You can also watch it on YouTube.

Music Video of the Week

Andrew Peterson - "Family Man"

The Birth of My Son

Photos in the video by Laura Leppert Knabe of Leppert Photography.

Song is "Beautiful" by Shawn McDonald.

At the Hospital

Leah and I are at the hospital now. We came in at 6:00 AM this morning for Leah to be induced. Just waiting on the doctor now to give his orders on how he wants the induction to proceed. Fun stuff...it should happen today (or early tomorrow)!

The Spat Between the T4G Guys

You may have noticed that the Together for the Gospel blog hasn't been updated since April.

From the "About Us" page: "Together for the Gospel (T4G) began as a friendship between four pastors. These friends differed on a number of theological issues, like baptism and the charismatic gifts. But they were committed to standing together for the main thing—the gospel of Jesus Christ...The four long-time friends, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, and Albert Mohler, also asked their friends Thabiti Anyabwile, John MacArthur, John Piper, and R. C. Sproul to join them for these conferences, since each of these men has been contributing so valuably to the church today.

Apparently, however, there was a falling out among these "friends." As Tim Challies points out, things got a little testy after the last T4G Conference when everyone went back to Al Mohler's place. A little D&D game gone bad and you end up with this...

So pretty well the guys avoid each other now. The T4G blog has gone silent, as has their World of Warcraft clan and the fantasy football league. I’m hoping they can work things out. T4G 2010 just won’t be the same if they won’t talk to one another.

If you know the personalities of any of these guys, you really have to read the whole article. It's hysterical.

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Update: Interestingly, this just showed up on the Ligonier Ministries blog this afternoon...videos from the entire T4G Conference this year. Great resource here. Check it.

20 Books to Read in Your 20's

Justin Buzzard has a great list of recommended books to read in your 20's. Some great reads here. Looking through, I believe I've read 7 of the 20, so that only leaves me 13 more in the next 4 years. Anyway, check it out. You can also download a PDF of the file.

Christmas Decorations

Leah posted over on her blog with some pictures of our Christmas decorations. We went to get our tree on Saturday with my family and got the house all decorated (on the inside, at least) that night. Leah was all about documenting the process this year, so you can head over there to check out some of the pictures.

Who is Santa Christ?

Sinclair Ferguson on the ways in which we allow Christ to look like Santa Claus:

For another thing, we may denigrate our Lord with a Santa Claus Christology. How sadly common it is for the church to manufacture a Jesus who is a mirror refection of Santa Claus. He becomes Santa Christ.

Santa Christ is sometimes a Pelagian Jesus. Like Santa, he simply asks us whether we have been good. More exactly, since the assumption is that we are all naturally good, Santa Christ asks us whether we have been "good enough." So just as Christmas dinner is simply the better dinner we really deserve, Jesus becomes a kind of added bonus who makes a good life even better. He is not seen as the Savior of helpless sinners.

Or Santa Christ may be a Semi-Pelagian Jesus -- a slightly more sophisticated Jesus who, Santa-like, gives gifts to those who have already done the best they could! Thus, Jesus' hand, like Santa's sack, opens only when we can give an upper-percentile answer to the none-too-weighty probe, "Have you done your best this year?" The only difference from medieval theology here is that we do not use its Latin phraseology: facere quod in se est (to do what one is capable of doing on one's own, or, in common parlance, "Heaven helps those who help themselves").

Then again, Santa Christ may be a mystical Jesus, who, like Santa Claus, is important because of the good experiences we have when we think about him, irrespective of his historical reality. It doesn't really matter whether the story is true or not; the important thing is the spirit of Santa Christ. For that matter, while it would spoil things to tell the children this, everyone can make up his or her own Santa Christ. As long as we have the right spirit of Santa Christ, all is well.

But Jesus is not to be identified with Santa Claus; worldly thinking -- however much it employs Jesus-language--is not to be confused with biblical truth.

Read the whole article. Good reminder as we start the holiday season.

Michelle Obama and the Feminists

The Feminist movement has been very interesting to watch during the latest political season. They seem to want women to succeed, but only if that "success" exactly matches their definition. They weren't happy at all, for instance, when Sarah Palin, a pro-life supporter, rose to prominence. She didn't fit with what they want women to look like, so they lampooned her, despite the glaring fact that she is a successful woman.

Feminists are doing something similar now to Michelle Obama. She has made it clear that she will focus in large part on her role as a mother when her family enters the White House. This is commendable, and probably necessary for their two young girls.

Feminists, however, see things differently. As Al Mohler writes on his blog today, they are accusing her of "letting down the team" by wasting her very high level of education by choosing to put her children above her career. Fascinating.

Mohler writes:

Michelle Obama is, to say the least, well educated. To many feminists, all the gains for women represented by Michelle Obama's Princeton and Harvard education are wiped out by her intention to be, in effect, a stay-at-home mom. In their eyes, she has already let down her team...

...As the paper explains, "To the chagrin of Democratic feminists who had hoped she would become the first presidential spouse to manage an independent career at the White House, Michelle has declared herself “mom-in-chief” and apparently turned her back on the $300,000 salary she earned as a hospital administrator"...

...The entire controversy is illuminating. The eruption of the "mommy wars" is virtually inevitable whenever a woman in the public's eye makes a similar choice. Whether the words are used or not, the accusation is that such a woman is "letting down the team."

In that light, Michelle Obama's choice -- and her candor -- are truly encouraging. She has almost instantly served as a witness to the importance of motherhood and the honor of rearing children. In so doing, she served the nation -- as well as her children -- well...

...Many of us have had, now have, and will almost surely in the future have significant disagreements with Michelle Obama over issues of public policy and our basic vision for the nation. Nevertheless, with respect to her elevation of motherhood and the priority of children as an honored choice, she deserves our appreciation and support -- and our prayers.

Music Video of the Week

Jeremy Camp - "My Desire (Live Acoustic)"