Darryl Dash's Blog, page 32
June 27, 2023
Develop a Plan to Read the Old Stuff
I’m a sucker for new books. I get emails from some publishers highlighting their new releases, and no matter how much I know I don’t need more books, I’m tempted to buy them. Sometimes I do.
But what I need more are old books.
Nothing against new books. I’m working on writing another one myself. But I know the joy of finding a classic that’s stood the test of time and that speaks with greater depth and profundity than almost any new book written today.
The Joy of Old ReleasesRob Eagar is an expert ...
June 25, 2023
Hope in a Time of Crisis (2 Kings 6:8-23)
Big Idea: God’s people are often in trouble, but God is kind and has all the resources they need.
I don’t think I have to tell you that we live in interesting times.
There was a time a few years ago that I thought things were getting better. The economy was humming. Interest rates were low. There weren’t any major wars. You could buy almost anything and get it shipped for free next day. I know things weren’t perfect, but it was easy to feel optimistic about the direction of the world.
No more. We l...
June 24, 2023
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
I’d wager most of the book owners you know are like those I know, and probably like you or me: They own books for practical reasons any serious reader would recognize. I count at least five off the top of my head.
Thou Shalt Not Flatter (At Conferences)
In my experience, flattery is the acceptable sin on the popular conference circuit and in social media circles where people are angling for approval from their superiors.
June 20, 2023
Don't Fall Into Ditches When It Comes to Preaching
I hear it often, although not as much as before: preaching is overrated. I sometimes see people quote Dallas Willard: “We have counted on preaching and teaching to form the life of the Christian. But this strategy has not turned out well. The result is that we have multitudes of Christians who can hardly get along with themselves, much less others.”
Preachers love preaching, because they’re the ones that get to do it, they say, but it’s not producing the kind of spiritual maturity that it should,...
June 18, 2023
Lessons From the Worst King (1 Kings 18)
Big Idea: Pay attention to your pain and the impotence of your false gods, and worship God instead.
Have you ever seen a friend after a short period of time has passed? One of the questions that you will probably ask is, “What’s new?” I find that one of two things usually happens:
You say, “Nothing.” There are huge periods of time in our lives in which nothing really happens. You wake up. You go through another day. Rinse and repeat.Or, you say, “Everything!” Sometimes you don’t see someone for a ...June 17, 2023
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
Apologetics in an Age of Despair
Exploring the nature of modern despair can open up fresh and exciting ways to make the hope of the gospel visible to those around us who so desperately need it.
Francis Schaeffer’s 4 Prescriptions for the Renewal of the Church
What will it take for the church to be renewed and the world to experience a profound move of God?
How Missionaries Persevere in Hard Places
We can’t manufacture conversions, and we shouldn’t try — because ...
June 13, 2023
When Things Look Like They Can’t Possibly Get Worse
I had a bad dream last week. When I told my son about it, he said, “Let me guess. Did you dream about a dam blowing up in Ukraine? Or about smoke from forest fires filling the sky?”
Who needs bad dreams with all the bad things that are actually happening?
My grandmother — one of the saintliest people I’ve ever known — used to say, “I can’t imagine things getting much worse. Jesus must be coming back soon.” I chuckle when I think of her words because things indeed seem to have gotten much worse. Id...
June 10, 2023
Saturday Links
Curated links for your weekend reading:
What to Know Before Serving as a Missionary in Canada
Canada is beautiful, but Canada is in desperate need of Jesus. We need people from inside and outside the country to take their role as missionaries seriously.
My Joy Depends on My Circumstances
While unbelievers hope for happiness from the world, believers hope for happiness in the world as they enjoy God’s good gifts with grateful hearts.
We’re Commanded to Love Our Neighbors, Not to Make Them Feel Loved
Ch...
June 6, 2023
The Inefficient Church
Seth Godin has an agenda. He wants you to do work that “can’t be automated, mechanized, or outsourced.” In other words, he wants to push you toward work that matters created by people who care.
“Tools can create efficiency,” he writes in his new book The Song of Significance, “but value can only come from … humanity, and the rare form of connection that comes from significance.”
It’s messy work, inefficient work, sometimes slow work, but also important and glorious work: work that slows down enoug...
June 4, 2023
Echo of Love (Song of Solomon)
Big Idea: Praise God for the gift of passion that’s an echo of an even greater love.
One of the most uncomfortable moments I’ve ever had is at a conference a few years ago in Florida. A married couple was leading music. The male music leader turned to the female music leader, his wife, and read a passage of Scripture.
She blushed. We all felt uncomfortable. What part of the Bible could make thousands of people cringe? The male music leader read from a particularly erotic section of the Old Testame...
