Owl Post: 2-3-2012

More great links from this week. Hope you enjoy!


Searching for Paradise in the Descendants:

"Ever since the events of Genesis 3, we've hungered to return home. It's the impulse that sent explorers out to the ends of the earth. It's what Ponce de Leon looked for in Florida, what Cortez searched for amongst the Aztecs, and what sent Cheng Ho out from China into the Indian Ocean. It was promised to Israel as a land of milk and honey, and promised again to the church as the city of God." Link

The Elephant Room:

"There was a lot of controversy and fall out from this years Elephant Room; (if you don't know what I'm talking about you can check it out here. This has added to the number of links for this section. So here are some the best that I read this last week." Tim Raymond, Justin Taylor, Kevin DeYoung, Thabiti Anyabwile, and Don Carson and Tim Keller 

Respecting the (Enemy) Dead:

"Much has been made lately of the video circulated the Web that purportedly shows U.S. Marines urinating on dead men, presumably Taliban fighters killed by the Marines." Link 

West Toward Home:

"IN HER NOVELS AND in her nonfiction essays, Marilynne Robinson's questions are always roughly the same: Who are we, and where did we come from? The first is a matter of metaphysics, the second of history. At least since the publication of her first collection of essays, The Death of Adam (1998), Robinson has been making it her business to remind us that these questions are not yet settled." Link

Citing Attacks, Christians Fear Losing Freedoms:

"CAIRO – From her home in a labyrinth of stonewalled alleyways, Samia Ramsis holds a key chain bearing the face of the Virgin Mary as she sits in her yellow pajamas on the morning of Orthodox Christmas." Link

Watch Your Conjunctions in Parenting:

"I love you, but you need to obey." 

Every English-speaking parent has said that phrase at some point or another. It's our attempt as parents to express commitment to our children even as we require them to obey: "I love you despite anything you do, but you also need to obey what I tell you." Link

The Coming Tech Boom...Or Babel:

"There’s a technological transformation coming that will revolutionize this century the way the telephone, electricity and automobiles altered the one before." Link

Gender Liberation:

"Numerous stories have emerged recently about parents who have chosen to raise their children as "gender neutral." The parents have received widespread criticism with many questioning whether they have a political motive and are just using their children to enforce their own agendas." Link

The Media’s Abortion Blinders:

IN the most recent Gallup poll on abortion, as many Americans described themselves as pro-life as called themselves pro-choice. A combined 58 percent of Americans stated that abortion should either be “illegal in all circumstances” or “legal in only a few circumstances.” These results do not vary appreciably by gender: in the first Gallup poll to show a slight pro-life majority, conducted in May 2009, half of American women described themselves as pro-life. Link

The Digital Frontier

The digital frontier brings to our fingertips many resources and I want to highlight one of my favorites: podcasts. I now have access to many good preachers and teachers from across the U.S. and even the world. I wanted to share with you some of my favorites and encourage you to make them a part of your spiritual growth each week. Each of these podcasts are ones that I listen to and that God has been using to further my relationship with him. 

The first podcast I recommend is from The Village Church here in Dallas. Matt Chandler is a gifted speaker. He has a great ability to say things straight and really drive home the point that we live for God's glory. I really like Matt's preaching and the practicality that he brings to every sermon. Each one gives me something to think about for a long time or leaves me feeling like I know my Savior better. 

The second podcast is from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Timothy Keller has been called a modern day C.S. Lewis. His ability to take difficult subjects and walk you through them reminds me of my best seminary professors and yet it never feels like you are in class. His breadth of knowledge in theology and literature pepper his sermons and give you much to think about and a lot that you want to read when he is done. His recent sermon "The Wounded Spirit" has been very influential in my walk with God; it has helped me understand the transformative work of the Gospel even more. I highly recommend this podcast as a good starting place.




  This podcast is done by Pastor James Harleman of Mars Hill in Seattle. Each of the podcasts is from their Film and Theology series. The church gathers to watch a popular movie and then James discusses it from a spiritual standpoint and in context of the larger meta-narrative of the world. It is enriching to listen through any of these after watching a film and see where it connects with Scriptural principles and the greatest story of all. A great one to start with is the podcast on "Star Trek" from 2009.

J.D. Greear is the newest pastor that I have started listening to, but he has already had a huge impact on my life. He has been going through a series this summer called "Home Wreckers" about the things that ruin our relationships. These messages have all taught me so much. They have also left me needing to get on my knees and confess before the Lord. I pray you listen to them. They really are worth your time. 


The last one I'll mention is Mark Driscoll. He makes things simple and easy to understand without dumbing the message down. He is passionate about the Lord and cares deeply, wanting all to know the glory and grace of the Gospel. Listening to him every week has taught me a lot and has challenged me to take seriously the call to study Scripture thoroughly (he has been on a series in Luke for two years at his church...talk about thorough).

I hope that these will be as helpful to you as they have been to me. In this digital age we have access to so much to help us grow in the Lord and then pass it on to others. May he richly bless you as you grow in him and spread his Gospel to the world.