Thank God it’s Friday
This is excerpted from my TGIF column at SOLA Network.
Articles From Around The Web
1. Samuel James: Modernity Makes Us Spiritually Sick: Or Why You Should Read Byung-Chul Han
We don’t have a task we must daily finish as much as an achieving identity that must be actualized and approved each day.
2. Thabiti Anyabwile: 4 Ways Healthy Church Members Cultivate True Growth
A healthy Christian relies more and more on the grace of God as it is communicated through the word and the ordinances.
3. Matt Bennett: Mobilize the Globalized: Creative Pathways to the Unreached
“Missionaries serving among the reached can still have a profound impact on the unreached.”
Books, Podcasts, Music, And More
1. TGC Podcast: How Music Helps Us Understand the Meaning of Advent and Christmas
In this episode of TGC Podcast, Brett McCracken talks with musicians Caroline Cobb, Cody Curtis, and Eric Owyoung about the unique power of Advent and Christmas music. They explore how music captures the longing, joy, and tension of the season—reflecting the celebration of Christ’s first coming and the anticipation of his return. The artists share insights on creating music for these themes, highlighting how Advent and Christmas music can deepen our worship and reflection.
2. Jared Kennedy: A Bible for the People
What better way to teach God’s word than to give the German people a Bible that they could read in their own language? There had been German Bible translations before Martin, but these older versions were difficult for regular people to read. What was the point in using fancy and complicated words that couldn’t be understood? Martin told his friend George Spalatin, “Give us simple words and not those of the court or castle, for this book should be famous for its simplicity.”
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Book reviews: The Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary (Volume 1, Introduction: Christ and the Psalms) by Christopher Ash, Repeat the Sounding Joy by Christopher Ash, You Are Secure by Aimee Joseph, Gospel Mom by Emily A. Jensen and Lauren Wifler. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
Featured This Week On SOLA Network
1. Lloyd Kim: AALC Transcript: The Asian American Church and the Call to Global Missions
Why has God established the Asian American Church? Certainly to be his witnesses here in North America, but is that where our witness ends? What role do we have in participating in God’s redemptive plan for the nations?
2. Charlene Hao: Deriving the Infinite Wonder of Christ Through Math
As God continually shows me the infinite wonder of Himself through the vast understanding of mathematics, I am further drawn closer to the beauty of the gospel of Christ, who is full of constant, everlasting love.
3. Aaron Lee: Well Done: A Book Review of Great to Good
Does God want us to be great or good? In Great to Good, Jae Hoon Lee compellingly shows how following Jesus reshapes our ambitions.
4. Daniel Jung: Mighty God: The Divine Accommodation
The divine accommodation of the Incarnation helps us recognize that our story is not an outlier; it is embedded within the Christmas narrative. This Advent season, may we believe that God meets us, as Asian Americans, in ways unique to our experience so that we too may proclaim our own psalmic confession that truly his love endures forever.
5. TGIF: Roundup for December 6, 2024
What One Chinese Pastor Can Teach You About Suffering Faithfully / Like & Subscribe for Eternal Life / Thanksgiving: Always and for All Things / The Heart of Pastoring Podcast: Reading / Let All Peoples Praise the Lord: Missions Conversation with John Piper
6. SOLA Network: TGIF Subscription
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