This 'n' That

It rarely happens that I am outside at 12 noon during the week. But, if it so happens that I find myself traipsing from meeting to meeting between office buildings at this midday hour, I cannot help but smile. That’s because my workplace is wonderfully positioned near an old church that faithfully rings its church bells every hour, on the hour. It gets better, though. At noon, they not only ring the church bells, but the bells actually play through several hymns—hymns that, for those who know the lyrics—proclaim the deity, goodness and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know absolutely nothing about this church’s teaching, but I am thankful at least for their appreciation of these old, lyrical treasures. As you regular readers well know, I adore the older, biblically true hymns of the faith. I am less of a fan, of course, of today’s contemporary so-called “praise and worship” tunes. This is, for the most part, a matter of personal preference, and I’m thankful that the church bells across the street share my affection for these hymns.

I can't really explain why I love church bells so much. Perhaps they exude a reverence that is sadly lacking in so many contemporary church contexts. Regardless, surely by the time this article is posted it will be almost noon, so if you need me, you know where to find me. While you strain your ears to hear if, perhaps, a church near you is also ringing its bells, take some time to also enjoy your week in review (kind of):

• If you share my affinity for church bells, you may appreciate this video. 

• Hillsong made the New York Times. You have to appreciate Al Mohler's quote in the article: “What has made Hillsong distinctive is a minimization of the actual content of the Gospel, and a far more diffuse presentation of spirituality.”

• Here's your weekly dose of adorable.

• The American dream and the Christian's hope.

• Download a free copy of B.B. Warfield's Counterfeit Miracles.

• Is it okay to join hands with those who hate Christ and are enemies of the gospel for the sake of a temporal, social cause?

• More free stuff: read a chapter of R.L. Dabney's Systematic Theology.

• Is it just me, or did Mars Hill forget to include someone in the layoffs?

• Christians have always been regarded as intolerant 'haters'.

• Michael Beasley asks 'what's the difference' between Victoria Osteen's recent comments and John Piper's idea of 'Christian hedonism'?

• This looks delicious.

• Um, not to be politically incorrect or immature, but 'icky' comes to mind..

• Andy Stanley still hasn't filled or fixed the cracks in his foundation.

• Okay. I don't have children, so the whole Common Core thing is really just noise to me. But when I read this article and watched the videos, I was dumbstruck. Are they serious? Are they trying to make our kids dumber, or just more confused? Or, as one Twitter follower put it, 'confuseder'?

• Pastor Mike Abendroth will be teaching an online course in Christology. My unsolicited two cents? This will definitely be worth your time.

• Choosing hymns.

• I really appreciated and enjoyed Phil Johnson's recent message about The Two Adams.

• You must read this latest blog post by Pastor Jerry Wragg. He says, "People today speak of spiritual transformation as if it were grounded in emotional sensations rather than “God’s word, which performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thess 2:13). It’s an extremely dangerous trend when people define and evaluate spiritual realities by sense and emotion instead of Scripture."

• Making your own heart clean?