Welcome to your Friday!  Below is your first October edition of the weekend reading – this will be a bit more abbreviated as I have been traveling and dealing with an increasingly busy election season.  That being said, there are a handful of encouraging and informative articles, videos and blogs to check out – enjoy!

Let’s begin with a great little video from author and Christian teacher Jen Wilkin who spoke on the topic of ‘What Women Need Most for Better Bible Study’ at the Desiring God National Conference.

Business Insider has a list of some of the habits of people with mental toughness. A quick and interesting read that can be summed up this way: Perspective is Everything.

The New York Times details the latest MASSIVE cyber security attack.  This one on JP Morgan Chase…

Along the lines of technology, there was an article a little while back worth scanning that deals with the ‘Friendlessness of Millennials’ and speculates (from a Christian perspective) why so many young people aren’t engaging with people in their immediate proximity, nor are do they trust people in general, so it seems.

John Piper taught a really encouraging lesson (this is part of a series) on Romans 8, which he calls ‘the best chapter in scripture’.

Carmine Pirone writes that the iPhone “Bendgate” is exaggerated…

Jon Bloom posted this blog on ‘Where Satan Will Attack You Today‘ that came at just the right time for me this week.

Also, there was a fascinating little article in the Washington Post about the CIA Starbucks – definitely a MUST READ for you coffee lovers and enjoyers of all things intrigue…

Lastly, I’ll leave you with this little piece of humor (or horror depending on your theological sensibilities!).

That’s it!  Enjoy your weekend, and take a moment to wonder at the beauty of the Fall season.

PJW

It’s that time again – to catch up on some reading for the week.  So flag this email and scroll through it as you enjoy some time off from the daily grind.  Here’s what’s shaking now, and what you might have missed this week…

First off, the top three stories of the week were undoubtedly the Congress’ decision to send President Obama money and permission to arm Syrian rebels, the Alibaba IPO, and the decisive “NO” vote on Scottish secession.

And this week’s MUST READ article comes from Al Mohler who writes to Christians about how Biblical Theology (a way of reading the Bible) ought to inform our thinking on sexual morality (among other things I’m sure).

The new rage is now ‘coffee-naps’ for those who have the constitution and schedule availability to nap in the middle of the day…perhaps not me (though I wish it were). What came to my mind was remembrance of great men like Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill who used mid-day naps in order to essentially create two working days from one. There are other bizarre nocturnal resting habits out there as well…

This was a quick and amusing article on how people in America talk – I say “quick” because it’s not worth reading the entire thing, but is worth a quick scroll.

Along similar lines, there’s a neat mapping feature that Pew Research has setup that will allow you to see migratory flow in different countries.  Click on the USA and you’ll notice immediately that as of 2013 over 45million people currently living in America were born in other countries…12million from Mexico etc.

There’s a great (and not too long) article in the American Thinker that quickly dispels the myth that oceans are “eating” the earth’s heat (which is one of the excuses die-hard climate change cultists use to explain away the lack of skyrocketing global warming recently).

The ‘Thinker’ also has a fabulous article called ‘The Mysterious Moderate Muslim’, which I enjoyed immensely, but all the more because expert researcher Fritz Wenzel was quoted!

Speaking of the fringes of intellectual reasonableness, someone is now making art from iPhone smudges…I refuse to attempt an explanation, you’ll just have to read it.

And speaking of phones and technology, Tim Challies has a new app he’s recommending to enrich your prayer life…check it out. As they say, “there’s an app for that…”

Here is a simply fascinating video on ‘How Wolves Change Rivers’ (4min – h/t Fritz Wenzel).

An interesting news piece from Business Insider was posted this week about the growing field of Nurse Anesthetics (h/t proud N.A. Rebecca Petzinger)

Hilarious (if not a bit crass – you’ve been warned) article to get the weekend started with a laugh. The author riffs off the old euphemism “happy as a clam” and asks the vital question: ‘Why are Clams so Damn Happy???’

A little more seriously, Challies reposted the Cripplegate’s little ditty on the Death of Thomas Cranmer, which is a nice little piece of historical encouragement.

And along the lines of standing up to the bullies of ignorance, Bill Maher found himself in the ironical position of standing up for Christians of all people…in so doing he exposed Charlie Rose as a dithering leftist buffoon of the most embarrassing variety.

On the opposing side of ignorance is Monergism.com who announced this week that they’re offering 125 free eBooks (of the Christian theological variety).

Also, in a fight against not only ignorance, but that attitude which pervades much of our society – Apathy – Paul Maxwell over at Desiring God has a column addressing the topic. 

And, in what was probably the most useful post for me this week, Tim Challies makes another appearance on my list of links with this helpful column on ‘Preaching the Gospel to Yourself.’  I assure you that this one is worth bookmarking.

That’s it for this week – enjoy your coffee and your reading!

PJW

PS – I have an entire stack of articles, videos and blog posts that many of you have sent to me to check out. If you don’t see your article, it may be that I’ve simply not been able to read or listen to it yet – so thank you for the suggestions, and keep them coming!

Welcome to your Weekend Reading – Labor Day edition! As you gear up (or begin to relax) for the holiday weekend I’ve got a few articles, videos and other interesting items for you to check out below.  Have a great weekend!

PJW

Let’s start with a blog post from R.C. Sproul, Jr titled ‘So Much Drama’.  This is a great little piece that hit my inbox at just the right moment this week.

Jim Carattini over at Ravi Zacharias’ ministry RZIM has a nice little devotional called ‘Making a Name’ that I think you’ll enjoy. (h/t Tony Nasvik for having me subscribe to RZIM’s ministry emails)

Tim Challies posted what he considered the ’10 Greatest Hymns of All Time’ 

Speaking of Mr. Challies, he posted a cool little article on how to better utilize Evernote if you’re a Kindle aficionado.  This is pretty cool stuff!

The New Republic has an article that provides an insightful perspective on the ground in Israel. This is a must read for anyone curious about this war between the terrorist group Hamas and Israel. (h/t Uri Goldflam)

John Piper released a short Look at the Book video entitled ‘Precious and Great Promises.  It’s 9 minutes long and is really fantastic.  This is one to have the kids watch as well because they’ll see how he takes a passage from 2 Peter and exposits the truth line-by-line.

Speaking of videos – Dr. Peter Jones has teamed up with Ligonier Ministries to produce a new teaching series entitled ‘Only Two Religions’.  It looks like its going to be pretty interesting…Speaking of which, Dr. Sproul released a new teaching series earlier in the week that looks to be based on his book ‘Not a Chance’ and focuses on science – specifically I’m guessing that it will focus on the incongruity of some of the secular world’s belief in the Big Bang with the laws of physics and other such items…

Neat story over at FP this week called ‘The Political Magic of Roads’. It’s all about how democracy (and even the gospel!) flourishes when there’s good infrastructure in place.  But what comes first, the roads or the democracy?

Gene Veith has an important column about why he’s not taking the Ice Bucket Challenge. 

Al Mohler refocuses our attention on how we need to govern our response to Ferguson. 

Erik Erikson slams the Obama Administration for their non-existent strategy in the middle east.  This comes in light of the President revealing that he doesn’t have a plan yet for how to handle ISIS.

And lastly, moron “pastor” Ed Young receives some attention for a 3-part sermon series on drones…yes drones (he compares God to drones…)

That’s it for this weekend – now go roast some dogs and burgers!

PJW

Well I didn’t think I would have time to send out weekend reading links, but as I travel on the bus from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea this morning I thought I’d just briefly send a few good articles from the week for you to scroll through as you enjoy the pool or the little league game this weekend.  So here’s a few articles I hope you enjoy!

Excellent article on self-esteem and how deceptive it can be.  It’s aimed specifically at teenage girls, but its applicable to everyone. (h/t Katie)

ISIS is doing terrible things…no surprise.  But one of the things we need to keep an eye on is remembering to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters there in Iraq.  They’re going through a horrific persecution.

Speaking of terrorists…here is a short but helpful blog post from Joe Carter on the 9 things you should know about Hamas.

Neat tips on how to approach journaling from DG – also, Piper has a very interesting post on poetry. 

Here’s a great article on how hymns are basically mini sermons “for the soul to sing” from Nick Batzig.

If you have a logical mind, you’ll enjoy this article From R.C. Sproul which explains what happens in the order of events at moment or time of salvation.  He also has one on how suffering is not worthless. 

One of the guys over at Kuyperian Commentary has an interesting little post on tattoos. 

Jon Bloom says that you don’t have to know everything in life, just one really important thing…

Tim Challies has a great little post on ‘How to Keep the Spark Alive’ in your marriage. He also has a terrific post this week on ‘7 things Christ is’

Along similar lines – and probably the best article I read this week – Marshall Segal has a wonderful article on the worth and value of marriage. 

Lastly, there are two simply amazing articles from DG that you need to check out! The first is from Tim Keesee called ‘Stumbling into the Future‘ and one from Tony Reinke on Van Gogh and the superiority of the Word of God. 

There are several interesting articles and videos that grabbed my attention, and sparked my curiosity this week.  Also, since I received some good feedback on posting the books I’m reading or have read this week, I’ve done that again at the bottom of the links.  I hope you enjoy the links, and have a wonderful weekend! Please note: I’ll not be publishing an edition of Weekend Reading next week as I’ll be out of the country.

PJW

It’s political season, which means RedState has some interesting stuff this week. That includes an article on how the US Senate has changed (for the worse) under Harry Reid’s leadership.  But they also have a pretty amusing poke at Atheist Richard Dawkins.  Also, by way of Ohio politics, there’s a breaking story that could be bad for Democrat Gubernatorial candidate Ed Fitzgerald…

Voddie Baucham addresses the (incorrect) theory that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. (h/t Parris Payden)

Fascinating article about how a new form of propulsion is being successfully tested by NASA and other scientists.  This would involve microwave energy powered by the sun and would eliminate the need for fuel-based propulsion systems in space, thus saving untold millions of dollars in the satellite (and other) industries…this seems really confusing, but scroll to the last graph for a good summary.

Ligonier Ministries pushed out a post yesterday advertising their ‘Crucial Questions’ series by R.C. Sproul for kindle/e-reader…FREE.  The one on prayer is fantastic!

Speaking of fantastic, here is the best sermon on tithing I’ve ever heard. 

Great article here on Nintendo, and how past tech companies like Motorola have had big hits which cause them to miss long term strategy, and eventually go out of business. In a similar vein, here’s a story on how wall street experts see trouble ahead for Target and Walmart. 

Evernote for Academics – if you’re into Evernote, and do a lot of reading online, check this out. PS – Evernote is awesome!

Is Washington DC experiencing a post-government shutdown baby boom(let)? 

The Bible Project is out with their second video on Genesis 12-50. These are really really cool videos! The introduce the Bible to those who are unfamiliar or just learning the basics of Scripture.  Just really good.  Masterfully illustrated, solid theology thus far… + they’re from Portland Oregon (where I grew up!)

This…might frustrate you a bit…apparently the US has spent more money “rebuilding” Afghanistan than the total cost for all of the European rebuilding combined post WWII under the Marshall Plan.

Here’s a beautiful post on DG from Samantha Poteat on God’s grace after not reading your Bible for a while.

The World Cup is coming to Qatar (in case you haven’t heard), and already there are issues of human labor exploitation and terrible working conditions.

In rather interesting, yet slightly off the wall type news, here’s a video that celebrates the service of an 86 year old marksman who served in WWII.  It’s neat to watch him still display his skills, and be honored by the Service.  (h/t Katie Wenzel)

Speaking of off the wall videos, the GOP candidate for Governor of California spent a week trying to make it on the streets with only $40.  Several nights are spent on park benches, and he finds that its really hard to get a job.

On a serious note, Wolf Blitzer took a first hand look at the tunnels that Hamas has been digging into Israel.

Speaking of terrorists, here’s a scary (and long) piece from the NY Times on how Al Qaeda is being bankrolled by their hostage taking businesses…and the European governments willing to pay millions to free the men and women they abduct.

Also, and this is funny, here’s a post on FP.com title ‘9 things to avoid when creating your own caliphate’. 

Two sort of humorous articles from Quartz this week.  The first is how – no matter what anyone says – its never acceptable to wear sweatpants in the place of, well, anything in public. And another on how snap-chat IS really worth as much (or more) than the $3billion Facebook was going to offer them.

And finally, John Piper posted an short article on J.I. Packer and his philosophy of living “flat out” until you die.  Packer is now 88 years old, and still as valuable to the church as ever.  Piper also posted an article that Parris sent me titled ‘The Majesty of the Teacher in the Sermon on the Mount’ 

Here are the books I’ve finished or am I’m reading this week: Loving Your Wife as Christ Loves the Church, Winston Churchill: The Last Lion (Volume I), Bilbo’s Last Song, Start Up Nation, The World of the Old Testament, The Atlas of Middle Earth, and The Empire Striketh Back. Also, in case you missed it, Amazon Prime Members should note that ‘Band of Brothers’ is now FREE for streaming.  Katie and I finished it two nights ago, and we really enjoyed it – it made me remember how grateful I am to be living in a free country, and for the sacrifices of previous generations.

Here’s what I read this week and what’s going on in the world around us.  Hope you have an enjoyable weekend!

PJW

Here’s an excellent post by conservative blogger Erik Eriksen on the recent immigration issues on the southern border. Speaking of “border” issues – make sure you read a little bit (there’s also video) about how Russia is launching rockets across its’ border into the Ukraine…it’s getting real over there!

This week Desiring God and John Piper revealed their first look at Piper’s new Ministry called “Look at the Book”.  They do a demo of what Piper will be doing for different passages of scripture.

Tim Challies has a hilarious article on why its so painful to buy cars.

The Gospel Coalition looks at Tony Dungy’s comments about some dude who is going to be the NFL’s first openly gay football player.  I saw some of this controversy during the week, but didn’t pay much attention to it as its just become par for the course. (h/t Parris Payden) By the way – FL. Sen. Marco Rubio spoke this week about how ridiculous this kind of thing is getting. 

Free Audiobooks? I was on the road today and listed to some of the classics.  You can get apps for this, or you can check out this site to listen to some of your favorite classics!

The guys at Cripplegate look at the often misused passage in Philippians 4 (h/t Parris Payden)

With all the hubbub over the FAA suspending travel to Israel for 24 hours earlier in the week, I thought this was a pretty interesting map.  It shows where the US DOES NOT fly…ALSO, political communications expert Rich Galen has an overview of GAZA (keep in mind all of his columns are tinged with just a bit of dry humor).

Peter Jones has a very interesting blog post this week on the value of a set liturgy.  If you’re not from a more formal religious tradition, then this will actually probably impact you MORE.  He makes some great points.  (I’ve actually forwarded this to several people and have yet to get feedback – frankly I think most people have never considered the perspective Peter is offering).

In case you’re wondering, the IRS doesn’t know how to take care of their computer equipment…or something along those lines…

This morning the Drudge Report had an interesting article on how Facebook’s Founder will soon be the richest man in the world…well…he’s got a little ways to go yet, but he’s making progress.

DG had an interesting series of posts this week that are worth checking out.  The first is on sanctification, and likens it to the “autocorrect” function on most smart phones.  The piece has some great insights but it poorly written.   They also have a longer piece on how your smart phone is changing you.  I only skimmed this one, but some of the main points are definitely on track.

There’s a great post here on how to and how NOT to minister to someone with cancer.  Frankly this one is helpful for anyone ministering to someone with any illness. (h/t Tim Challies)

Speaking of posts from Tim Challies…he wrote a blog this week called ‘7 Different Ways to Read a Book’, and I thought it was great.  I love reading, and love finding ways to absorb as many books as possible.  I read or finished half a dozen books this week, all in different formats using different apps (kindle, hardcopy, audiobook, flash reader, and PDF) and found that mixing it up was the key to successfully plowing through the material. But Challies takes a different approach in this article, and tries to show that there’s more than one way to approach a book…

Dating Advice? I guess it can be helpful – Even though my kids are still a few years away from dating or courting anyone, I found this post on the Gospel Coalition edifying. Also – Parris Payden was kind enough to point my attention to this post by a guest columnist subbing in for Kevin DeYoung at Gospel Coalition.  The post directs us to the matter of whether we’re idolizing our families or not…good one to check out ahead of a busy weekend!

Well that’s it for now!  Hope you enjoy a lovely weekend wherever it may find you!

PJW

PS – I’ll inevitably get asked this, so here’s a list of the books I read this week and where to find them: New Testament Theology by Tom Schreiner, New Testament Theology (Catholic Perspective) by Frank Matera, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher, The Final Days of Jesus by Kosternberger and Taylor, The Loveliness of Christ by Samuel Rutherford, Everyman by Unknown, The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler, and To Live if Christ to Die is Gain by Matt Chandler.