2001
Isaiah 61:1-3 (Preached on May 27, 2001, at Stonecrest Baptist Church, Woodstock, GA)
2008
Isaiah 6:1-8 (Preached on January 6, 2008, at First Baptist Church, Dawson, GA)
2010
Isaiah 63:7-19 (Preached on October 10, 2010, at First Baptist Church, Dawson, GA)
Isaiah 12 (Preached on November 28, 2010, at First Baptist Church, Dawson, GA)
2017
Isaiah 61:1-4 (Preached on December 3, 2017, at Central Baptist Church, North Little Rock, AR)
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (Preached on April 22, 2001, at Stonecrest Baptist Church in Woodstock, GA)
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (Preached on September 13, 2006, at Hermitage Baptist Church, Camden, SC)
Some Lutheran friends who attend our church gave me this wonderful little children’s biography of Martin Luther a couple of weeks ago. It’s little in terms of pages, but it’s actually an oversized coffee-table type book with tremendous illustrations by artist Greg Copeland. After reading it through I gave it the ultimate test by having my 10-year-old daughter read it through and then answer a few questions I posed to her. After hearing her say, “Saint Anne, help me! I will become a monk!”, I was convinced that this book is, in fact, a very effective tool for introducing children to Luther.
There are qualms, of course, as there are bound to be with any brief work that treats such a large topic. For instance, I regret Maier’s observation that the clergy of Luther’s day were corrupt. To be sure, there was widespread corruption, but the implication that all the clergy were wicked is unfortunate and could have been remedied by adding the words “many of the” before the word “clergy.”
That being said, how exactly is one to avoid oversimplification with a book like this?
All in all, a tremendous work and a great way to introduce kids to Reformation history.
2019
Joel 2:25 (Preached at Central Baptist Church, North Little Rock, AR, on January 6, 2019)
How shall I put this without appearing over-the-top? Here it is: quit reading whatever it is you’re reading and order Shusaku Endo’s powerful, disturbing, insightful, unsettling, thought-provoking novel, Silence.
I had heard Philip Yancey mention Endo before, but I only just recently got around to ordering his masterpiece, Silence. My wife and I finished reading it last night and we woke up this morning talking about it. In fact, I have not stopped thinking about it all day, and I do not know if I will ever come to peace over the central tragedies of this amazing book.
The book is about the persecution of Christians in 17th century Japan. Specifically, it is about a Portugese priest, Father Rodrigues, who travels to Japan to try to find out what has happened to another priest, Father Ferreira, who travelled there before him and who, rumor had it, had apostatized and was living with a wife in Nagasaki.
Rodrigues and his companion Garrpe eventually reach Japan and are immediately immersed in the horror story of the slaughter of Christians in that country at that time.
I fear to say too much, and, in truth, there’s not much more I can say; not so much because doing so would give away the story (which it would), but because it would detract from the experience of walking through this story. It is, in fact, an experience, and one that I believe Christians in America should encounter. Along the way, you will be challenged deeply in your thinking about missiology, Christology, and faith.
Shusaku Endo is considered one of the greatest writers ever produced by Japan. He was a Christian who grappled with his faith in his writings. His life is fascinating and tragic, and he is a figure that I hope to become more acquainted with as the days go by.
Get this book.
No, seriously, get this book.