List-o-mania: best books, journalists, movies, sermons, and cancelled tv shows

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From I Die Daily (IDD)

This person did a yeoman's job, but a pleasant and edifying one, listening to over 650 MacArthur sermons in order to make his determination.

TOP 13 JOHN MACARTHUR SERMONS OF ALL TIME

A friend asked me to tell him the best MacArthur sermons of all time, and since it took me a while to put it together, I figure I’ll share with everyone! I have listened to over 650 different MacArthur sermons, and these are “the best” imho.
“The best” depends on what you want to know. For instance, for doctrine there are essential sermons on regeneration, absolute inability, Scripture, premillennialism, perseverance of the saints, saving faith, atonement, salvation assurance, inspiration, repentance, election, effectual call, deliverance, … you name it. Those are CORE and all very, very nice. 

But if you’re looking for the rare-jewels, the KABOOM sermons that you gotta dig out and find through long hours of listening…if you wanna know the sermons that I particularly hold dear… well, I can only hope they also trigger something within you as well! Here they are...

IDD made his list in 2013 but I'd add several recent ones to it, plus my own older favorites.

The first two sermons were a response to cultural goings-on during the US Election cycle in 2012. These sermons made a deep impression on me. It was by then obvious that God was rendering wrath on this nation in terms of lifting His hand and allowing sin to flood in unrestrained.

Abortion and the Campaign for Immorality

Homosexuality and the Campaign for Immorality

These next two are similar tot he above. They were delivered this summer 2015 and the first was a going-away address MacArthur preached in advance of his long summer vacation. He provided his flock with a biblical template for dealing with whatever events occur while he was away. The events that did unfold were shocking and upsetting in the extreme, giving his going-away address an almost prescient or prophetic aura. The Supreme Court decided that homosexuals in all the land have a right to marry, there were shootings on military bases, churches, and movie theaters, and the Planned Parenthood videos were released.

Hope for a Doomed Nation

As a result, when MacArthur returned from vacation, he preached this sermon, which has become a battlecry:

We Will Not Bow

My personal favorite sermons are from a series preached in 1999, a Creation Series from Genesis 1. These sermons astounded and thrilled me. They also made me love the Creator all the more. This first sermon in the series has a code of 90-208 and the series continues with sermon code 90-209 through to 221.

Creation: Believe it or Not Part 1

Tony Reinke lists the The 50 Best Books of 2015 (So Far)

2015 is 60% over, and that means all the books for the year have either been released or announced. In the summer months I begin to compile a rough list of about 50 of the potentially best Christian (non-fiction) books of the year into a list that I will use to pick my top choices in November.

On his list are the solid authors from whom we have come to expect good scholarship, Mark Dever, Iain Murray, Os Guinness, Donald Whitney, Douglas Moo, etc. Check it out.

Of my own favorite books, I strongly recommend:

John MacArthur's ESV Study Bible,
Pilgrim's Progress,
Valley Of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers.

Every Christian should have those on their shelves.

I also recommend John MacArthur's Because the Time is Near, (exposition of Revelation) and Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis, a fictional and devastating portrayal of hypocrisy and opportunism among the Evangelical clergy of the early 20th Century.

Journalists

Oy, what can we say about the state of the media. In America where I live, it is deplorable, no other word can describe what passes for alerting and educating the American public tot he news and events of the day. It's biased, sloppy, inaccurate, and on broadcasts, loud. All sturm and no drang. With the opening of the US election cycle for voting in November 2016, it's more important than ever to find media one can trust. Twitter helps here.

I trust Steve Herman, @W7VOA Voice Of America correspondent in Asia, where he has lived for 25 years.

I enjoy Jake Tapper, @jaketapper, CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent.

Uh, that's it.

List of most under-appreciated/underrated 'Christian' movies. It's from Relevant Magazine and I have not seen any of these except End of the Spear, which I already recommended in another blog essay movie review. Take note that oftentimes when a magazine recommends a Christian movie it also includes Catholic movies as part of faith, and this list is no exception. There is one immediately identifiable Catholic film, a documentary about monks in the French Alps. Anyway, several of these look intriguing, especially Believe Me, which reminds me of the book Elmer Gantry.

I'll list them here but the link contains synopses plus trailers.

8 Underrated 'Christian Movies

Believe Me
Amazing Grace
Blue Like Jazz
Into Great Silence
The Mission
Linsanity
End of the Spear
Book of Eli

List of best shows ever (in my opinion) that were cancelled after one season. This list burns my bacon every time I look at it.

Terriers
Firefly
Hope Island
Enlisted
The Finder
The Cafe (two seasons, but being British, the seasons were short)

OK this is all I can manage today. I threw out my back somehow and it hurts to sit for to long. Till next time!