INTRODUCTION: So we have considered desire, envy, and competition, and we now come to ambition. To address the subject rightly, we have to recall what we learned thus far. There is a certain kind of desire that every human being has to deal with, and this is a desire that tends to veer toward envy. …
A More Excellent Way
INTRODUCTION: We are continuing to consider the problems posed by desire, envy, competition, and ambition. We have now come to competition, something dear to the heart of most Americans. But because of this we must guard our step. You have heard many times that we must repent of our virtues, and this subject is a …
Heavier Than Wet Sand
INTRODUCTION: In this series, we are considering the temptations presented to us by desire, envy, competition, and ambition. Last week we looked at desire—the quarry from which many sins are hewn—and is a word which, thankfully for the writers of rock ballads, rhymes with fire. We now turn to the thing that our spirits’ desires …
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16. Sam the Sudden/Wodehouse/just good 17. Players/Fields/quite thorough 18. Is Shakespeare Dead?/Twain/fun 19. Martin Marprelate Tracts/Marprelate/really good 20. Lessons on Living from Shakespeare/Macrone/okay 21. Envy/Epstein/fantastic
Desire Runs Deep
INTRODUCTION: One of our central duties—as Christians seeking to live obediently in this fallen world—is to learn the true nature of the temptations before us. The oldest trap in the world for us is to “objectify” sin in a simplistic way, placing certain items on a list of prohibitions, as though it would be so …
The New Ordinary
INTRODUCTION: The first Easter occurred at the time of Passoover, which is when the first fruits of the barley crop were presented to the Lord. Pentecost, soon to follow, is when the first fruits of the wheat harvest were presented. As weconsider the importance of the resurrection, we need to think of it in the …
Going to Psalm Sing
“Dad, do we have to go to the psalm sing tonight?” “Well, it depends on what you mean by ‘have to.’ If you mean, ‘does the church require all members to attend?’ the answer is no. We can sit right here and watch the game if we like—which I suspect is the real reason for …
Penitential Seasons
INTRODUCTION: We are nearing the conclusion of the historic season of Lent, the preparation season for the celebration of Easter. This is Palm Sunday, the day in which we mark and celebrate the Lord’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. As we are trying to orient ourselves by and with a Christian year, instead of the secularized …
Wishing for a Doritos Commerical
Once a father and son were watching the news together, and since it was political season—a primary was looming in their state—not only was the news crammed full of information about the candidates, so also half the commercials were paid political ads, crammed full of lack of information about the candidates. Staring glumly at the …
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8. The Three Hostages/Buchan/good stuff 9. The Supper of the Lamb/Capon/great 10. Liberal Fascism/Goldberg/fantastic 11. Bestsellers/Sutherland/good 12. The Problem of Pain/C.S. Lewis/really good 13. Irenicum/Burroughs/really good 14. Filthy Shakespeare/Kiernan/okay 15. Big Money/Wodehouse/plain old fun