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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 by R.C. Sproul (Update: Free offer withdrawn already!)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.)

                   
 
Click here for the latest Amazon Black Friday deals all day long. And if you click over to Amazon at the right time, you can even pick up a Kindle 2 for $89. That’s right – $89! This is for a Kindle 2 with built in 3G access for life and no monthly contracts. (I bought this same model back in January for $289.) If you have been thinking of getting a Kindle for yourself or someone else, this is the absolute lowest price Amazon has ever offered.

When do you click? Some reports say the deal starts at 9:00 a.m. PST (12 noon EST) while others say 9:00 a.m. EST. The officical Amazon page currently says 9:00 p.m. PST (12 midnight EST), but the p.m. might be a typo for a.m. Supplies are limited on this offer so you may want to check over there several times throughout the day.

    • Click here to go directly to the Kindle 2 page.
    • Click here to read about the Top Ten Kindle Features.
    • Click here for the latest Amazon Black Friday deals all day long.

• Thanksgiving Responsive Reading – Psalm 107
• Matthew Henry’s Thanksgiving Testimony
• John Milton – A Thanksgiving Prayer
• Garfield’s Thanksgiving Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5)

 
Click here for the latest Amazon Black Friday deals all week long.

Do you need wireless service? If you have or need a cell phone, check out my new Verizon Wireless/Cellular Sales page. I would be privileged to help you and your family or business with all of your wireless needs. And I would be most grateful if you could pass this link along to other people you know who could benefit from my services. Thank you!