“As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” Ezekiel 34
Happy Friday,
The story of the Bible is not one of an angry god who mellows as he ages. It’s about a God whose fierce and unwavering love leads him to suffer for the rescue and restoration of all that is his, including his image bearers—you and me.
The Shame Storm
One of the takeaways from Dr. Kinghorn’s Lakelight talks was that shame often fuels our mental health challenges.
Let's try to remember that many of those we’ll interact with today feel as though they are "not enough." Let's also try to make it plain to them that we're never "not enough" to be loved by Christ.
Faith is a Given
As Immanuel Kant wrote in Critique of Pure Reason, every worldview—including scientific naturalism—rests on assumptions that must be accepted by faith. We’re free to believe that “what we see is all there is,” but we cannot prove as much using the scientific method.
To put a sharper point on this, we’re free to affirm Sagan’s claim that “the Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be,” but we must see it for what it is, a naturalist’s statement of faith.
Without Comment
1) According to the WSJ, AI is now the biggest economic bet in US history.
2) A record high 43% of Americans now view socialism positively.
3) 35% of US academics have modified their written work to avoid controversy.
4) Yet another study finds that churchgoing husbands and wives report more frequent—and more satisfying—sex than their nonreligious peers.
5) Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam estimated that “about half of all social capital in America is religious.”
6) Per this ’26 report, the NIV is the most popular Bible translation in the U.S., followed by The ESV, KJV, NLT and the NKJV.
Happy?
Having good health and a high income correlate with happiness, but only slightly. The only objective and significant predictor of happiness was having “abundant vs. negligible social support” – i.e., friends.
Those who have them tend to be happy. Those who “feel lonely” are generally unhappy.
Next Year
While mapping sermons for 27/28, I found myself wondering what the mood of the body politic will be given:
1) AI;
2) an almost certain baseball strike;
3) a long, acrimonious and apocalyptic Presidential campaign;
4) rising debt levels;
and 5) whatever fresh crisis arrives to make this list look quaint.
(By the way, I’m not going to claim that the 28 Presidential election will be THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN OUR LIFE AND THE LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE COUNTRY!!!, but I’ve already heard as much, and I expect to hear it another 2,398,877 times between now and Nov. 7, 2028.)
MAID
So far, the arguments I’ve heard for euthanasia – i.e. “death with dignity,” Medical Aid In Dying, etc. — leverage compassion.
We need to allow people to end their suffering.
I expect to soon hear that there are some—e.g., the sick, old, and mentally ill, etc.—that we cannot afford to keep alive.
Going Bananas
The Savannah Bananas — the team in the baseball league where bunting is forbidden, a fan who catches a foul ball records an out, extra innings are played with only four men in the field — have more social media followers than every other MLB team put together.
(They are the likely winners of the 27/28 baseball strike.)
FWIW
1) Last year I suggested that NIL $ and the transfer portal were resulting in less interest in D1 Football. It feels worse this year, but to date, college football remains the second most-watched sport in the US, behind only the NFL.
2) “That’s so AI” is Z-speak for fake, copied, robotic or sketchy.
3) I agree with those who say we do not need “elites.” We just need good ones.
WOTW-adjacent
Merriam-Webster added 1,400 new words to its lexicon this year, including California sober (using marijuana but abstaining from alcohol) and trash panda (i.e., raccoons).
Consider this announcement your reminder to submit your nominee for WOTY by 11/23.
Admiration
You have to admire Amazon’s chutzpah.
Prime Day has become a secular holiday (I’m asking for it off next year), stretched into four days, and spawned an October sequel: “Prime Big Deal Days,” starting next Tuesday.
Apparently, even invented holidays deserve invented holidays. I was going to join in by announcing my 65-and-11/12ths birthday, but I’ll settle for this reminder:
every day is a good day to celebrate the resurrection.
Resources
Click here to hear my sermon on Exodus 3 which explores one of God’s most important disclosures about himself; and click here to listen to an interview I did with Dr. Peter Williams, the Principal/CEO of the Tyndale House in Cambridge, about why we can trust the gospels.
Closing Prayer
"Lord, Help me to glorify you. I am poor, help me to glorify you by contentment. I am sick, help me to give you honor by patience. I have talents, help me to extol you by spending them for you. I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve you. I have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no love but yours, and glow with no flame but affection for you. I have a head to think, Lord, help me to think of you and for you. You have put me in this world for something, Lord; show me what that is, and help me to work out my life purpose. Amen.” (Charles Spurgeon - 1834-1892)
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