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Showing posts from December, 2009

May I recommend some literature? (not my own)

I have said it before, I will say it again: I think Lifeway's Masterworks series is the best of the best. And, next quarter, it is the best of the best of the best. All literature published by any publisher struggles with the same problem: how do you find someone who can write something brilliant about the topic or text? Turns out, this is a very difficult task to do consistently. Masterworks has solved this problem in the following way. They don't try to find someone to write something brilliant. They find something that has already been written that is brilliant. The Masterworks lesson supplement I wrote today was on Beth Moore's book on Daniel. One could argue that Beth Moore is a brilliant writer. I'd agree. If she is writing the curriculum, how bad could it be? Masterworks gets this class of writers to write the literature every quarter. They take best selling Christian trade books and turn them into literature. It costs a little more, but it is great stuff! (OK, I...

Sticky lessons part 6

I wrote a lesson on Psalm 73 recently: Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. Psalms 73:1-2 (NIV) Here is my paraphrase: I know God is good. . . in theory. But, my life pretty much stinks right now. Why doesn't God do something for me. . . NOW! I used this story from Warren Wiersbe's commentary: It was brought home to me when our first child was born. In the hospital God took that child. I only heard the cry of that little one. All she ever did in her life was cry. I shall never forget the day she died. Across the hall from where my wife was, there was a very wealthy couple who had a baby boy, and their rich friends came to celebrate with them. As I drove into the parking lot in my old beat-up Chevrolet, they all drove up in Cadillacs. They went into the hospital with their champagne and celebrated the birth of the little boy. He was ...