Jared Oliphint and Jonathan Brack dropped by the studio to discuss books on apologetics. We came up with a rudimentary list of books along with a reading order for those who may be interested in Van Tilian apologetics but don’t know where to start. The full discussion will air on a future episode of the Reformed Media Review, but for now, here is our list. Read the rest of this entry »
It is too easy to waste precious time. Often we sit and click around the web, check our emails or watch too much television. We are a distracted people. And since many of our readers are pastors and students, it is that much more important that we redeem the time. I have been interested in productivity for several years – being more of an aspirant than a practitioner. Regardless, over the next few weeks I plan to share a few tips for the productivity-challenged.
The first step in redeeming the time and becoming more productive is to understand exactly how you currently spend your time. Back in September, Lifehacker, a great site that shares all sorts of tips and tricks, shared a list of the top time tracking applications. Scan the list and consider if you can use one of these tools to get a handle on where your time actually goes.
My two favorite hymns happen to be hymns about Christ’s birth and therefore tend only to be sung during the Christmas season. It’s quite unfortunate, especially since they are extremely beautiful compositions with wonderful lyrics, but this time of year is a special musical treat for me. The first hymn I’d like to share is Es Ist Ein’ Ros’ Entsprungen, often known as Lo’ How a Rose E’re Blooming in English. This is perhaps my favorite hymn, musically speaking. Read the rest of this entry »
Wired recently posted a story on Daniel Reetz, a grad student who has hacked together a working book scanner for about $300 worth of parts. I can’t imagine my wife allowing me to have this contraption in our small apartment, but the prospect of digitizing my library is incredibly attractive. Reetz constructed his book scanner from plywood, acrylic, two Canon Powershot A590 cameras, two lights, and an assortment of software. He’s even written a how-to guide (PDF) for anyone who might want to replicate the project. It’s quite an amazing gadget, and given the burgeoning e-reader market, could start to catch on with DIYers.
Watch the video demonstration. Read the rest of this entry »
For those who have an iPhone or iPod Touch, Nuance Communications has just released Dragon Dictate, a mobile dictation software that uses the same technology behind the popular Dragon NaturallySpeaking. In my brief testing, I found it to be remarkably capable. You can use it for note-taking, drafting emails or even for sending Facebook and Twitter updates. This type of software has come a long way and a mobile version is just that much more helpful. I’d recommend getting the application while it’s still free.
Please tell me you didn’t type out your last bibliography by hand. If you’re in the business of writing academic papers, handling your sources manually is the equivalent of using a manual typewriter. Please spare yourself a few weeks and consider Zotero. Zotero is an extension for Firefox that provides a wonderful database for all of your sources. It can automatically capture citations of books, journals and websites. It can organize all of your sources by tagging or placing them into collections. It can even automatically create footnotes and bibliographies. Visit the site and watch the video to get a visual demonstation of just what Zotero can do. Read the rest of this entry »
Public prayer is a difficult thing, especially for one who is leading worship. It takes a lot of work to do it well. And perhaps the biggest struggle for many is that it also takes a vibrant prayer life at home. I just bought a copy of The Pastor in Prayer which is a collection of pastoral prayers Charles Spurgeon gave during worship services. It’s quite humbling to hear how this man devoted to prayer was able to lead his flock in worship. I purchased the book on a recommendation of Carl Trueman’s and I’d like to pass the recommendation on myself. Get a copy and while you’re at it, get the The Valley of Vision to read at home if you don’t have one already.
For those interested in reformed biblical theology, these resources will be quite helpful.
Have you ever read a passage in the prophets and said “I wonder what the significance of ______ is?” The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery may very well help you with those kinds of questions. The large tome has numerous articles on various images that appear throughout Scripture such as “mountains” or even “treading under feet.” This volume is helpful for anyone wanting to enrich their bible reading and come to a better understanding of God’s revelation.
This is another helpful resource for Bible study and sermon preparation. This book contains several helpful entries on various topics in biblical theology. I’ve used this several times in preparing sermons and writing papers. Read the rest of this entry »
