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There was some controversy last week about Fox Sports rejecting a Christian group’s Super Bowl commercial for being too religious, but the 30-second ad aired right before the fourth quarter after all. Here is the slightly longer director’s cut, which I like better, but you can view both ads at the group’s website: http://lookup316.com/

John 3:16 Super Bowl Commercial – LookUp 316 (Video length: 0:45)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Related post: A John 3:16 Valentine Message

The short version:

Gimli Destroys the Ring (Video length: 0:56)

That was easy.

Click here for more Tolkien related posts.

Here are some links to help you with your Bible reading in the New Year. The first link points you to a variety of Bible reading plans. The second link will direct you to some good book resources. And the third link provides recommendations for children’s story Bibles (for families that would like to read the Bible with their children this year). May God bless you richly as you spend time with Him in his Word this year!

Reading the Bible Through in a Year Series:

      1. Free Bible Reading Plans for the New Year
      2. Books to Help You Read through the Bible
      3. Recommended Children’s Story Bibles

Related post: 5 Reasons to Read God’s Word This Year

Link: Texas Megachurch Offers Christmas Services in 3-D

We have church services in 3-D every Sunday – and you don’t even have to wear special glasses. Most of my life takes place in three dimensions. How about you?

What the birth of Jesus might have looked like if Joseph and Mary had Facebook and the Internet:

The Digital Story of Nativity (Video length: 2:58)

Click here for more Christmas posts.

Are you getting into the Christmas spirit yet? Here is a great quote from J. I. Packer on the true spirit of Christmas.

“The Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor–spending and being spent– to enrich their fellow men, giving time, trouble, care, and concern, to do good to others–and not just their own friends–in whatever way there seems need. There are not as many who show this spirit as there should be.” (J. I. Packer, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus, p. 72.)

Click here for more Christmas posts.

Recommended Gifts and Resources for Christmas:
     

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Here are seven free Kindle books available from Amazon today – two books on Christian living, four Christmas books, and one ESV Bible. Plus a great deal on the NIV Archaeological Study Bible (only $3.99). Enjoy!

• Can I Know God’s Will? by R.C. Sproul (Update: Free offer withdrawn already!)
• Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts, by Gerald Bridges and Jerry Bridges
• The Christmas Story from the Family Reading Bible, by Jeannette Taylor
• Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, by Ace Collins
• 25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever, by Ace Collins
• The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger, by Lee Strobel
• The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV)
• NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture, only $3.99 (Print List $49.99)

Note: Amazon’s free book offers are temporary and often end quickly. Check back often or subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future offers.

Related posts:
    • The Bible Memory Version for the Kindle
    • Top 10 Kindle Features
    • Amazon Kindle’s Most Popular Bible Highlights

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

The Hidden Life of Prayer, by David M. MacIntyre, is now available for the Amazon Kindle. This is fast becoming my new favorite book on prayer. The book is a treasure trove of spiritual insights and practical instructions. MacIntyre draws from Scripture, Christian literature and Christian experience to encourage and instruct the believer in the rich subject of prayer. There are also many fine quotations about prayer from across the centuries sprinkled throughout the book’s pages.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here are John Piper’s and Wayne Grudem’s recommendations:

“God brings books at their appointed times. The Hidden Life of Prayer arrived late but well-timed. This little jewel-strewn tapestry has done for me at 64 what Bounds’ Power Through Prayer did at 34. I could be ashamed that I need inspiration for the highest privilege. But I choose to be thankful.”
-John Piper, Senior Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

“I have read The Hidden Life of Prayer again and again since Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia first gave it to me when I visited there as a prospective student forty years ago. Every time I read this book, the Lord uses it to deepen my prayer life and encourage my faith. I strongly recommend it!”
-Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

You can purchase the book from Amazon or you can get it right here at my website in ePub or Kindle/Mobipocket format. It is also available at Barnes & Noble for the Nook. And remember, you don’t need a Kindle to read Kindle books. Click here for a free e-reader.

Scott Nehring is a fellow Christian, the author of You Are What You See, and the blogger behind Good News Film Reviews. He is also my favorite movie reviewer. Scott does a great job dissecting the message behind the film and running it through a Christian lens.

He also has a sharp wit which always leaves me laughing. For example, here is part of his review today for Sylvester Stallone’s 2010 movie, The Expendables:

Should I see it?
I think it is safe to assume that if you’re really interested in this movie you probably can’t read, so this whole review is an exercise in futility. To answer the question – no, even for what it is – no.

For more great movie reviews, visit Scott’s site at Good News Film Reviews.

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Welcome to December and four free Christmas Kindle books from Amazon! Grab them quick before they go back to full price!

• The Christmas Story from the Family Reading Bible, by Jeannette Taylor
• Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, by Ace Collins
• 25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever, by Ace Collins
• The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger, by Lee Strobel

Note: Amazon’s free book offers are temporary and usually end quickly. Check back often or subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future offers.

Related posts:
    • The Bible Memory Version for the Kindle
    • Top 10 Kindle Features
    • Amazon Kindle’s Most Popular Bible Highlights

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

Would you like to pray more effectively for your children? Try Bob Hostetler’s “Prayer Calendar” approach.

Each day of the month, in addition to my prayers for their safety and for the concerns of that day, I also pray for a specific character trait, virtue, or fruit of the Spirit to be planted and nurtured in my children … At the end of each month, I begin praying through the list again, combining traits when the month is shorter than thirty-one days.

Here are the first seven items on Bob’s list.

1. Salvation: “Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10).
2. Growth in grace: “I pray that they may ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’” (2 Peter 3:18).
3. Love: “Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to ‘live a life of love,’ through the Spirit who dwells in them” (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22).
4. Honesty and integrity: “May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection” (Psalm 25:21, NLT).
5. Self-control: “Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be ‘alert and self-controlled’ in all they do” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)
6. A love for God’s Word: “May my children grow to find your Word ‘more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb’” (Psalm 19:10).
7. Justice: “God, help my children to love justice as you do and to ‘act justly’ in all they do” (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).

Be sure to visit Bob’s website for all 31 prayer items complete with Scripture references. (Link: 31 Ways to Pray for Your Children)

Related Posts:
    • Recommended Children’s Story Bibles
    • To Spank or Not to Spank
    • 8 Great Family Rules to Help Any Home

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Here are two great offers for free Kindle books from Amazon today – a commentary on the Gospel of John by R.C. Sproul, and Crossway is still offering the complete ESV Bible for free.

John (St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary), by R.C. Sproul (Print List: $27.00)

In 1997, God placed Dr. Sproul in the position of preaching weekly at St. Andrew’s in Sanford, Florida. There, he adopted the ancient Christian practice of lectio continua, or continuous expositions, the method of preaching verse-by-verse through books of the Bible (rather than choosing a new topic each week). Since taking up this task at St. Andrew’s, Dr. Sproul has preached through several books of the Bible, including the Gospel of John.

John includes fifty-seven chapters, each of which began as a St. Andrew’s sermon. Dr. Sproul deals with major themes as he moves through the book passage by passage. Though the book is an “expositional commentary” that is, it does not deal with each and every verse, it unpacks major themes in Dr. Sproul’s easily understandable style. Readers will find invaluable insights into the goals John had in writing his Gospel, the background for Jesus’ time, and the meanings of some of John’s most difficult passages.

John is an easily readable introduction to this unique record of Jesus’ life, packed with insights and exhortations that will draw the reader closer to the Savior and encourage him or her to a greater depth of love and devotion to Him.

The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV), (Print List $19.99)

The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and depth of meaning.

Note: Amazon’s free book offers are temporary and often end quickly. Check back often or subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future offers.

Related posts:
    • The Bible Memory Version for the Kindle
    • Top 10 Kindle Features
    • Amazon Kindle’s Most Popular Bible Highlights

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)