Books

  • Books,  Theology

    Do you know who you’re talking to?

    Reading in Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes The Church, by John Onwuchekwa, I came across the following that reminds me of Matthew 11:25-26. I preached (we need to make praught a thing) from Matthew 11:25-30 last week. The connection between adoring God the Father for both his revealing and hiding has a lot in common with praising him for his love and his just-ness that comes out clearly in this excerpt: Delving into God’s attributes means we must pay attention to the attributes of God we sometimes feel tempted to apologize for. It shows us we should adore them. Think of God’s anger and wrath. When we praise him for…

  • Biblical Studies,  Books,  News,  Theology

    In the Mail, Fall 2020 SBTS Edition

    So, here is what I will be reading (above and beyond the stuff I am already reading) for my first semester (fall, the first two of six class blocks during a year of online instruction): F1: Biblical Hermeneutics Required. These, in no particular order, are the required books for my first session: From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology, T. Desmond Alexander Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible, Daniel M. Doriani 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible, Robert Plummer How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets: How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets, Peter J. Gentry Optional. I ordered…

  • Biblical Studies,  Books,  Cognition,  Language,  Social Sciences

    The Special Case of Conversation

    I found myself laughing quite loudly, and re-reading this passage to my wife to help her share in my enjoyment. I’m not sure I succeeded, but I will share with you all nonetheless. The subject is conversation, and in the specific passage, the authors are beginning to illuminate the “presupposition pool”. Even more specifically, the idea that speakers naturally exclude or include content based on these shared concepts. …Any speaker will necessarily make certain assumptions about his listeners and will fashion what he has to say accordingly. For example, he will not unnecessarily explain such technical terms as he may use unless he is fairly sure that explanation is required;…

  • Books,  Social Sciences

    Ethnic America

    So, for about a week I have been working through Ethnic America, by Thomas Sowell. The book covers the numerous waves of immigrants and how their culture, context, and interrelationships affected each group’s trajectory to establish themselves as Americans. I’m about halfway through, which means I’ve covered European and Asian immigration. European immigration covered first the Irish, then the Germans, Jews and finally the Italians. Asian immigration covered the Chinese and Japanese. This leaves some notable ethnic groups in our current context outside of observation. Immigration from the Middle East, Korea and India all stand out in my mind. This is largely due to the fact that the book was…

  • Books,  Just For Fun,  Language,  News

    One Afternoon In May

    As I finished my last call of the workday, the power went in and out a couple times in quick succession. Then, it stayed out (it is back on now, surprisingly). It has been very windy, so I went outside to see if something had caused any damage to the house. First, I found a package from Michael Aubrey on my doorstep: All arrived in good condition! Michael and his wife, Rachel, are in the process of some big changes, so he was looking at whittling down some of his book weight. I jumped at the chance to “help”. From his blog: For ourselves (Michael and Rachel Aubrey), we are currently…

  • Books,  News

    In The Mail: T4G

    I picked up a short list of books from T4G’s online store a week or so back. I may not have been able to attend, but I think I am well supplied for the moment! I already have the other volume from Murray & Murray, “Reset”, which I haven’t gotten to. I was a little choose-y on the 9Marks series. I chose ones I thought would be more helpful as an elder and helping the body work towards meaningful membership in the near future; and also some I thought would help stretch me in areas I need stretching.

  • Biblical Studies,  Books,  News

    Missing The Mount

    We are missing our church body this morning. The family is on the road, on our way to enjoy both Christmas and the New Year with my parents, and one of my sibling’s families. I spent some time in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, as my daughter took a turn driving. Thought I’d take a moment in the Christmas story, as I pray for safety in our travels: And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great…

  • Beverages,  Books,  Food

    The Day Before Thanksgiving

    So, to begin, it’s my mom’s birthday. So, Happy Birthday! Look forward to being there in December for Christmas! I’m holidaying now in beautiful Banner Elk, NC. And, since it was open, it was the perfect opportunity to visit the book exchange in the historic school. I came prepared, with books that Mr. K’s in Greenville, SC has passed on, books I was glad to part with (or at the very least, was not overly sad to part with). So, a couple nice looking cook books, some witty poetry, a couple of interesting looking Dan Brown novels (he may not be historically, or otherwise, accurate, but they can be a…