The Sweet Dropper » Books

One space or two?

Phillip Palmertree — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:03:20 +0000

It’s time to go public with this, thanks to a recent piece on Slate.com by Farhad Manjoo on why you should never, I repeat, never put two spaces between a period and the beginning of the next sentence. I was taught to do the two-space thing in high-school typing class in the early 1980′s. I learned sometime in the last decade that two spaces were unnecessary because of the way that word processors and printers devote space to small or thin lettering. What Manjoo’s article taught me is that the two-space rule was an aberration in the history of typography. It was the advent of the manual typewriters and its letter-spacing limitations that brought the two-space rule into the picture. Prior to that, standard typography was one-space. I should have known that with all the old books and reprints of old books on my library shelves.

Preview of Crossway ESV Bible Atlas

Phillip Palmertree — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:51:47 +0000

You can take a virtual look at the new Crossway ESV Bible Atlas, by John D. Currid and David P. Barrett. It is due for release on June 30. If you are a map geek (I’m one) and want to know more about biblical history and the geography of the Ancient Near East, this looks like a must purchase. It would also be good for a church library purchase.

Capitalizing on recent advances in satellite imaging and geographic information systems, the Crossway ESV Bible Atlas offers Bible readers a comprehensive, up-to-date resource that blends technical sophistication with readability, visual appeal, and historical and biblical accuracy.

All the key methods of presenting Bible geography and history are here, including more than 175 full-color maps, 70 photographs, 3-D re-creations of biblical objects and sites, indexes, timelines, and 65,000 words of narrative description. The atlas uniquely features regional maps detailing biblically significant areas such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Italy, and Greece. It also includes a CD with searchable indexes and digital maps, and a removable, 16.5 x 22-inch map of Palestine.

Reading list: parenting with a future hope

Phillip Palmertree — Mon, 17 May 2010 13:50:56 +0000

FPC Kosciusko recently hosted Covenant Values Weekend, featuring Dr. John Kwasny, director of Christian education and children’s ministry at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland, Mississippi. You can download the content of his lectures at fpckosciusko.org.

John also provided attendees with a recommended reading list. Titles are available from good Christian book outlets:

General parenting:

Gospel-Powered Parenting by William P. Farley
Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp
Instructing a Child’s Heart by Tedd & Margy Tripp
Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle (pamphlet)
Your Family, God’s Way by Wayne Mack
Teach Them Diligently: How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training by Lou Priolo

Parenting Teens:

Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp
The Space Between by Walt Mueller

Anger Problems:

The Heart of Anger by Lou Priolo

Catechism/Family Devotions

Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade

Biblical history at a glance

Phillip Palmertree — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:58:41 +0000

Justin Taylor has posted two entries worth clicking: one is a chart outline of biblical history and the other is a brief summary of the main divisions of biblical history. Both are taken from Dr. Graeme Goldsworthy’s excellent book According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. (Joe and I taught a class on that book in 2008-09.) Printing these two entries and sticking them inside the Bible you are reading would be a good idea.

Grace like manna

Phillip Palmertree — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:42:48 +0000

Eight or so years ago I went with an elder to visit an elderly widow on a blistering cold day (much like today). She had recently moved closer to one of her grown children and had been coming to our church with her family. On this get-to-know-you-better kind of visit, I knew what to expect. This elder and I had good teamwork in these situations. He is affable, warm, quick-witted. He sets a good, engaging kind of tone to these visits, and I bring the heavy artillery. I usually asked the question or made the comment that moved things from friendly chit-chat to more serious and spiritual directions. But on this day, I was surprised. The widow gave a clear and credible testimony of her faith in Christ. She said that frequently she thought about death. While she was not afraid to die, she said she was often afraid of dying. “I wonder sometimes if I have the strength and courage to face the process,” she said.

Before I could formulate a response, the elder (usually the silent partner at this point in the conversation) spoke up and answered better than I could. “O you don’t have to worry about that. When you need that grace, the Lord will give it to you. You feel like you don’t have it right now, but you don’t need it right now. It’s like manna. It’ll be there.”

Reading Edward T. Welch’s Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest reminded me of that cold afternoon. In one chapter Welch teases out our specific fears of death: fears of eternity, fears of the way you might die, fears of hardship for loved ones, fear of the unknown, and fear of judgment. He addresses the second fear, fear of the way you might die, like my friend and fellow elder did that day. Let me share Welch’s version with you.

You can’t trust in technology, because technology is one of the problems. You can’t trust in pain management, because medications don’t always cut through the pain. There are no other options. Your God has fenced you in so that your only option is to trust that he will give you grace.

What has this grace looked like in others?

Grace to believe that God is good.

Grace to have joy even while the body is wasting away.

Grace to cry out and be certain that God hears.

Grace to know that you are not alone.

Grace to trust rather than fear.

Grace to know that death is not the end.

Welch also points to the manna principle (Exodus 16:16-19): God will give us what need for today and just for today. Fears and worries thrive in the future and imagine that future without Christ present. To thwart our tendency toward self-reliance, God has determined to give us only what we need when we need it. He wants us to trust him in the future rather than our self-protective plans.

At times I will feel as though I am forsaken or surrounded with no way out. But God is not distant or silent at these moments. He is teaching me to call out to him and trust him. Remember something I preached recently: If dependence is the objective, then weakness is the advantage.

Here’s a short video from Ed Welch about Running Scared:

Which or that?

Phillip Palmertree — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:24:07 +0000

Do you ever have trouble knowing when to use “which” or “that” in your writing? Tips that help you write more clearly are available from the Grammar Girl. Good grammar advice, which is not easy to find, is available in podcast or transcript form.

Two sharp barbs re: prayer

Phillip Palmertree — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:22:37 +0000

The next sermon in the Jesus Unplugged series is on Luke 11:1-13, in which Jesus’ disciples want him to teach them how to pray. Below are two sharp barbs about prayer–the first from Paul E. Miller’s recent release, A Praying Life,

“The quest for a contemplative life can actually be self-absorbed, focused on my quiet and me. If we love people and have the power to help, then we are going to be busy. Learning to pray doesn’t offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart. In the midst of outer busyness we can develop an inner quiet. Because we are less hectic on the inside, we have a greater capacity to love…and thus to be busy, which in turn drives us even more into a life of prayer. By spending time with our Father in prayer, we integrate our lives with his, with what he is doing in us. Our lives become more coherent. They feel calmer, more ordered, even in the midst of confusion and pressure.”

The second is a humorous-but-deadly-serious observation from Jonathan Acuff’s site Stuff Christians Like. Acuff addresses a frequent prayer meeting and intercessory prayer technique: Praying that God will fix a situation as long as you are not part of the solution. (I dare you to click it and read.) More and more often I find myself coming back to that as I pray and as I lead others in praying, “Father, use us–our words and actions–as part of your gracious answer to these prayers….”

Cream of blog: 29 September 2009

Phillip Palmertree — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:27:22 +0000

Explore the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, a vast library of print and audio media files from Colson and many others.
From Gene Edward Veith’s blog, a glimpse at where the debate about gay marriage is heading for some–the abolition of marriage itself.
Also from Veith, thoughts concerning the Christian origins of health care as we know it in the West. (Atheists are fond of claiming that Christianity is a toxic presence in the history of civilization.)
Actions steps for anxiety from Tullian Tchividjian.
A review of Paul Miller’s A Praying Life from Coram Deo, Omaha, Nebraska.

Matthew Henry’s A Method for Prayer available online

Phillip Palmertree — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:19:35 +0000

In 1994 Christian Focus Publications released a newly edited version of Matthew Henry’s A Method for Prayer (original edition appeared in 1712). Former professor and constant friend Ligon Duncan served as editor. A Method for Prayer has assisted and encouraged in me over the last fifteen years in both private and public prayer. It has helped me pray with greater Scriptural proportion and brought my prayers into greater conformity to the priorities and the very language of God’s Word.

Now Henry’s A Method for Prayer is available online, together a number of resources. Take and read…and above all, PRAY!

Depression: a stubborn darkness

Phillip Palmertree — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:27:08 +0000

Dr Ed Welch, of CCEF (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation), shares the story of his father’s depression and some thoughts on how to think biblically about depression. Dr. Welch’s new book Depression: A Stubborn Darkness–Light for the Path is available at Westminster Bookstore. You can also read the first few pages of chapter one.