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The Blogroll is a collection of blogs that are often of interest and help to SI readers. SharperIron does not create the content of these blogs and the views expressed in them are those of their respective writers.
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A brief video report and request from Dr. Phelan, President of IBL. Support us at https://www.iblministry.org/donate/
God has given my wife Lori and me four amazing daughters. Raising them has been the most important thing I’ve done or will do. I love being a pastor. I look back fondly on my years as a church planter. And I’ll always be an aspiring writer. But there’s nothing like being a father—except, of […]
The post Parenting with Authority, Affection, and Affirmation appeared first on Church Works Media.
I love nativity scenes. My family has several, from a porcelain “Avon” series to a colorful “Cracker Barrel” collection, to an unbreakable “Little People” set made for little hands. None of it is fine art, but it wouldn’t feel quite like Christmas without it. At our house, we usually put the wise men across the […]
The post Wise Men: Gentiles Who Sought the Savior appeared first on Church Works Media.
You could argue that everybody but Jesus is an “extra” in the Christmas story. The narrative of the incarnation has but one Hero. But that’s not to say that those with supporting roles were chosen at random. No, every detail of Christ’s coming was significant, from the lowly shepherds (“Nobody and Everybody,” as we considered […]
The post Angels: God’s Faithful and Former Messengers appeared first on Church Works Media.
We give a lot of thought to “staging” in the modern world. Weddings are choreographed to look “just so.” Events like graduations are designed and rehearsed to be both beautiful and meaningful. Every “State of the Union” address features some individual with a symbolic story seated next to the President’s family. It’s expected, and nevertheless, […]
The post The Shepherds: Nobody and Everybody appeared first on Church Works Media.
We just introduced Gospel Meditations for Young Adults (available now to preorder). Here is a preview of Day 4 from Chris Anderson. Read Psalm 90. “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) I have vivid memories of high school and college. Talks, events, and even […]
The post Time Flies appeared first on Church Works Media.
I love old architecture. There was a pride in craftsmanship years and centuries ago that has been sacrificed in a desire to have economical structures, built fast.
Something I have often marveled at is the attention to detail in such things as hinges. The filigree on this painstaking 18th century work of art will only be seen when the door is ajar…and that may not be often. Why spend such time on a seemingly inconsequential piece of hardware? Perhaps it was only that it was commissioned. I remember in my reading over the years, coming across an account of a carpenter who said it didn’t matter if any other human being saw the meticulous work he had secreted off in obscure corners…because God saw.
The secluded beauty of this hinge reminds me of this:
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 1 Peter 3:3-4
Indeed, the work of select ancient craftsmen could be identified by such signature...
I wanted to put this review on the blog (since we homeschool, it is part of our life journey…so periodically I’ll post reviews and other items) before my role on the Advisory Board for Power Homeschool becomes official. I didn’t want it at all to seem as if I had been paid to say what I want to share. We’ve been using the program for about a semester…I just realized I’d never written a review!
First, be aware that Acellus Academy and Power Homeschool are both secular in nature. So you will encounter some things like evolution in the courses. You will also, surprisingly enough, see biblical events and quotations alluded to from time to time; but it’s not part of any sort of religious slant. We plug in our own biblical world view in the form of Bible class, devotional reading, scripture copywork, and discussion.
I will say that I can’t offer much in the way of first-hand insight regarding Acellus Academy, since we’ve never used that option. It is an accredited program with certified teacher guidance, conducted online. It is much the same as K12 Virtual Academy, although I’m not sure all the same...
The subtitle for this blog used to be “Bible, Tech, Bible Tech.” I haven’t blogged about tech much in a long time. But I still love it. And it’s time for a break from heavy stuff.
One particular piece of tech I love is my new-to-me 12.9-inch iPad Pro. I got it a few months ago, and I got it basically brand new at almost half off the full price—the best tech deal I think I’ve ever scored. (Guy on OfferUp just didn’t find it did what he needed it to do, whatever that was. It was such a good deal that it made me wonder if he was legit, but he was.)
My iPad Pro hasn’t replaced my laptop or my desktop; I still need at least a desktop both for graphic design and for serious work at the office and at home. But it the iPad Pro has bridged the laptop and tablet worlds and created something new: a powerful device that can do almost everything I need, but that does those things differently enough that I find myself working differently. It’s always fast. It’s always available; the battery lasts all day. It’s really great for reading Logos and other books: the stylus is a big help. It’s light and barely noticeable and therefore can (and does) go with me anywhere. The...
Chuck Surrett has recently released a short white paper of sorts, arguing in some detail but in admirable brevity that the Bible teaches perfect preservation of the Hebrew and Greek texts of Scripture. It teaches, he says, “the certainty of the words” (Prov 22:20–21). I have been asked by nearby pastor Jonathan Beazley to evaluate Surrett’s arguments. I beg the reader’s indulgence in starting with a somewhat lengthy introduction; these matters are complicated, and I need a little time and space. Let’s begin.
There are two major issues involved in debates over English Bibles: 1) text and 2) translation.
The debate divides into many smaller issues, but it is at its heart—and, actually, a lot like a heart—irreducibly binary. Defenders of exclusive use of the King James Version (by English speakers) such as Charles “Chuck” Surrett, longtime Academic Dean at Ambassador Baptist College, have to “win” debates on both 1) text and 2) translation if they hope to establish their KJV-Only viewpoint.
If someone like Surrett argues successfully that 1) the KJV is based on the best Hebrew and Greek texts, he must then argue that...
I love my brothers and sisters in Christ who insist on the exclusive use of the King James Version, because we have a “like precious faith” in the biblical gospel—and because certain of those brothers and sisters showed great love to me in high school. They continue to do so.
I wrote Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible to appeal to the great majority of people who use the KJV and no other Bible translation—people who, in God’s good providence, have no facility with Greek or Hebrew and little or no direct knowledge of textual criticism, Bible translation philosophy, or other difficult topics caught up in debates over English Bible versions.
But some Christians who insist that the KJV is the only truly trustworthy English Bible have studied the original languages; they’ve also done some reading on translation philosophy and textual criticism. They put forth some serious points and have cited Scripture in favor of the Textus Receptus underlying the KJV, and against contemporary translations which are based on other editions of the Greek New Testament. They deserve to be answered.
...We visited grandparents and great grandparents and a rarely-seen uncle in Ohio over Christmas and New Years. Our Saturday-afternoon flight from Cleveland to Denver (departure scheduled for 4:37 pm) was delayed for four hours by a mechanical fault. We had to deplane with all our stuff (and with three children after a two-week trip in Ohio that included Christmas presents, that’s a lot of stuff), only to get back on the plane with all that same stuff and sit in exactly the same seats. We therefore missed our connection in Denver, and United put us up in a nice hotel. We got there very late, but we got there. The next flight out to Everett, WA, was the next morning (Sunday), but it was booked solid. We were put on an evening flight (Sunday).
So we spent the day Sunday in Denver. I wanted to go to church, and I looked up options—I always like to see what other churches are like whenever I happen to be traveling on a Sunday. But the family was too exhausted. We had a nice, restful morning at the Gaylord Resort, a beautiful place with a view of the Rockies, and we rented a car for the afternoon to go do a wildlife drive and see downtown Denver. (Don’t tell the Colorado...
I was asked by a friend to write this. 30 minutes later, here it was:
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