Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.
1) CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible
Some people use the same Bible until the cover is in tatters and the marginalia nearly matches the printed text in sheer mass. I am not one of those people. Once I have read through a Bible and made my notes and underlines, it goes on the shelf and is replaced by a new, clean Bible. This allows me to start fresh and see things afresh. It also allows me to move between translations and editions to benefit from the relative strengths of each. Currently I am reading the CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible, and I love it. I have appreciated the clarity of the CSB text for several years, but it is the quality of the supplemental material in this that is so significant in this edition. The skilled collection of editors have compiled hundreds of notes on the text from early church fathers, bishops, and scholars. Scattered throughout the text are brief articles explaining various creeds or heresies. There are biographical sketches of prominent (bot oft overlooked) early church theologians. And the net effect is to bring the Biblical text to light in fresh ways as the reader can see it through the lens and interpretation of those who were some of it’s original teachers, preachers, and commentators. On top of all this, the formatting is beautiful, and that matters in a Bible.
2) Fresh Clean Threads
I have never been a fashion guy. Neither do I enjoy looking dumpy or shabby. I do not enjoy shopping. Let me rephrase that: I do not believe in purgatory, but if I did, it would be shopping. So when I find that rarity of a clothing item that saves me from shopping, rises above the threshold of dumpy, and avoids being trendy I am a loyalist. Fresh Clean Threads, particularly the t-shirts, fit the bill. They fit well for a tall, not-skinny guy like me. They are high quality. They come in a wonderful array of muted colors that make no statement whatsoever. I have been buying shorts from them for the last 7+ years and don’t plan to change any time soon.
3) Help My Unbelief by Will Duvall
Will Duvall has been a close friend of mine for several years and formerly served as a worship leader at Immanuel Church, where I pastor. He is a brilliant song writer and musician and now serves as the worship leader at Naperville Presbyterian Church in Illinois. This song is near and dear to my heart, especially because of its reference to Mark 9:24 and the synchronicity between its message and a book I wrote by the same title. It is a prayer of need and profession of faith.
