Desiring God audiobook for free this month!

I'm sorry I didn't discover this earlier in the month, but here you go:

ChristianAudio.com has John Piper's book, Desiring God, for FREE this month. I haven't read this book before, but I've read some other Piper work, and I know he's a man who follows Jesus. And anytime someone talks about desiring God, I think we ought to listen.

So there you go.

And if you are interested, there are many other deals right now at ChristianAudio.com. They are having their twice-yearly sale, which marks most audio books down to $7.49! The sale started yesterday and runs through Dec. 4. Get over there and nab some cheap downloads while you can, audio fans!

One sweet deal I noticed is this: you can get the ESV audio Bible for only $7.49. That's marked down from $39.98, friends. This is your chance for an audio version of my favorite translation.

Willard - Knowing Christ Today

Today, I'm just writing to quick update to say that I recently finished listening to the audiobook of Dallas Willard's newest book, Knowing Christ Today.

Like all of his other books, this one was rich. He is writing about a topic I have heard him speak about at length elsewhere: the Christian worldview as knowledge rather than mere belief.

I am going to have to go through the whole book again before I have really solid feedback on it. It is philosophical in nature, but very accessible to anyone who knows a bit of the "language."

What I'm interested in is what other readers think about Willard's "Christian Pluralism," which he discusses for a while in the book. I'm assuming it must be making warning bells go off for many evangelicals. I myself am not sure what to make of the idea. (One review on Amazon addresses the issue negatively.)

If you've read the book and have insights or opinions on the topic either way, please post your thoughts in the comments section. Don't just rant, please. I'm after fair-minded, thoughtful ideas.

I know this book contains a lot of ideas Willard has wanted to write about for some time. I'm looking forward to listening again. I'd love to hear your opinions as well.

Audiobook sale at ChristianAudio

Until July 3rd, ChristianAudio is having a sale. Almost everything is $7.49. This is an excellent deal. Usually their prices are very good anyway, and now they're giving an even better deal. Now is the time to get those Christian audio books you've been eyeing!

If you want recommendations, let me point you to my recommended reading list on the right.

May updates

I'm updating you today with a number of various topics. Thanks for reading.

Free Willard talks

As I continue on the journey as one of Christ's apprentices, I continue to find Dallas Willard's teaching to be the most helpful and thorough when it comes to training as a disciple of Jesus. I hope you'll head over to ChristianAudio.com and download all of the free Dallas Willard talks they have available there. As a matter of fact, I'll make it easy for you by linking to each one individually:

• The Cross and Discipleship (3 parts)
• Church Staff Retreat 2004 (3 parts)
• The With-God Life (parts 2 and 4 are Willard)
• What Does It Mean to Be Human?
• Interview on Renovation of the Heart
• Interview on Hearing God
• Interview on Knowing Christ Today

These audio files will give you a good idea as to what he writes about in his books. If you like what you hear, please read his books, beginning with Renovation of the Heart and The Divine Conspiracy. There's no better teaching on the topic of becoming an apprentice of Jesus and understanding the true gospel.

Willard's new book

It's been a few years since Renovation of the Heart, and now, Dallas Willard has finally authored another book, Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge. I am eager to acquire and read this book. Willard's website says: This book deals with the disastrous effects of divorcing the teachings of Jesus Christ and his people from the domain of human knowledge. Its aim is to reposition the substantial teachings of Christianity ("Mere" Christianity) as a body of knowledge in the contemporary world.This is a topic that J.P. Moreland wrote about in the first section of Kingdom Triangle, and I am looking forward to diving in deeper with Willard's long-awaited new book.

Designed for analogy

Have you noticed how useful analogy is for communication and understanding? We use analogy all the time to compare things and make our ideas more accessible to listeners. I have come to believe that God designed the world in such a way that analogy would be incredibly easy. He has created a cosmos in which parallels exist all over the place. And, just as analogy is useful in every topic of discussion, I think that God specifically intended that many things we experience and see on Earth would help us to better understand him. One obvious and common such analogy is that of a parent with his or her child. The things we can learn about God through our own parenting experience are many, and they are the kinds of things you won't learn by reading, but only through the experience of that analogous relationship. By training and observing our own children, and our responses to them, we can gain insight into God's role as our father. Analogy can also be useful in defending your Christian worldview. Just listen to someone like William Lane Craig or Greg Koukl teach and you'll see what I mean. As you observe the world around you, take note of how God created everything in such a way that analogy is easy, and it is everywhere.

Prewrath radio online

For those of you who appreciate the prewrath view of the rapture, you might like listening to Prewrath Radio Online. You can subscribe to the podcast here.

I've only just discovered this podcast and started listening, but it looks to be a podcast in defense of the prewrath position. I thought you might like to know about it.