The following is the bulletin note for a sermon on July 4, 2021, and is a summary of thoughts from Eric Metaxas’s book If You Can Keep It: Os Guinness views America through what he calls the “Golden Triangle of Freedom”: Freedom requires virtue. Virtue requires faith. Faith requires freedom. The founders understood that if this American experiment were to work, we would have to be built on virtue. We were the only nation founded on a creed, not on blood or on a despot (or group of anarchists) overthrowing another despot. To become truly great, the founders knew we needed
Read more →My bookshelves are sometimes just for show, as most of my reading nowadays is either digital or audio. But I still give books away since that’s usually easier than sending someone a download code. These are some of the books I try to keep stocked on my shelves for various occasions: YOUTH MINISTRY Passionate Parenting. By Cary Schmidt. I have given this to almost all my teens’ parents. I particularly like that Bro. Schmidt wrote this book having parented teenagers, and I can always recommend it as a lighthearted but important read for families. I particularly emphasize the section in
Read more →These are some books that I found, well, boring. Or, at least not as helpful as I had hoped. Some of them I finished. Some, I didn’t. I feel like there are too many other good books out there that are waiting for me to read them, so I try not to waste my time on books I do not enjoy. What are your thoughts on that? Would you rather stick it out and finish what you started? And, what are you thoughts on each of these books? Which ones have you read, and which ones did I miss the
Read more →When people hear that I have a few books, almost everyone says, “You know, I’ve always wanted to write. I just can’t find the time.” I am frequently (at least once per decade) asked, “Do you recommend any resources to get me started?” Honestly, I’ve sifted through a lot of junk. Most authors, it seems, are introverted, and sit on years of pent-up anxieties and frustrations. Most are profane, having too much alone time to contemplate their anti-God lives. Most authors are secular in tone and content, and although their books might inspire me to write or give me good
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Abdel felt the shudder of the not so distant battle as he prayed for the gas to pump faster. It barely trickled out, like a garden hose turned halfway on. When fighting intensified in Lebanon in the 1980’s, the locals hoarded gasoline, never knowing how long the next battle would last. Come on, come on, Abdel thought as the fuel dribbled into his dust-covered four seater car’s gas tank. Behind him, a man honked his horn. Anxious. No, scared. Abdel (fictional name—Edgar Feghaly’s assistant) fumbled with his wallet, paid the cashier and jumped in the car, glancing in the mirror as
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