Rebecca Stark is the author of The Good Portion: God, the second title in The Good Portion series.
The Good Portion: God explores what Scripture teaches about God in hopes that readers will see his perfection, worth, magnificence, and beauty as they study his triune nature, infinite attributes, and wondrous works.
Monday, June 13, 2011 at 8:00PM 
Part II: Questions about The Ten Commandments
38. Q. What is the sum of the ten commandments?
A. To love God with all my heart, and my neighbor as myself.
Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 9:12AM We (and by that I mean my church choir) sang this at a memorial service yesterday.
In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.
“In Christ Alone”
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music
Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:
Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.
Friday, June 10, 2011 at 12:08PM 
One of the fun parts of being church librarian is that I get to order new books for the library. Along with requests and suggestions I receive from others in my church, I use blog book suggestions and reviews when deciding which books to order. So I’m always collecting book posts for future reference and I’ve decided to share some recent ones with you in a Round the Sphere post. Most of these I won’t end up ordering because I don’t have a big budget, but they’re all ones I am or have considered.
Children and Families
While my children and I were making our way through this book I regularly recommended it to other families, and I still do. It’s well worth the investment even if it wears out by the time you finish it.
Give Them Grace (John Bird at While We Sojourn)
These two experienced mothers don’t pretend that they are perfect, that their children are perfect, or that they have the secret key to perfection. They don’t give readers a formula for parenting; there are no “three steps,” or even specified rod dimensions (though they do say that an open hand is okay, regardless of what other parenting books have said). Instead, they remind us that it is God, and not parents, who determines a child’s destiny in this life and the next, and that we need His grace as much as our children do.
John has a couple of reservations about this book, so you might want to check that out.
It’s a creative presentation of the biblical storyline, as a grandpa uses objects in an old box to retell the stories. I think parents will be surprised at the nuanced biblical theology at play here. I am being instructed as I read.
Young Adults
Imagine you’re a college student, and you had a big brother who was watching you (not stalking you, just paying attention) who had been through college and turned out pretty good. And imaging that, because he loved you, he gave you a relatively short list of “to do’s” for your 4 years at college.
If he wrote down all the advice he would give you, it would be this book.
Women
Biography
In Hudson Taylor: Gospel Pioneer to China, Vance Christie has given us a short but powerful account of the life of a man who was truly great in the Kingdom of God. If it has been too long since you have read the biography of a missionary, don’t miss out on the opportunity to be blessed by this one.
Theology
As a pastor we have used Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology as a text to introduce men to the theological truth. Now, I am thankful, that Gregg Allison has published a Historical Theology that functions as a companion to Grudem’s very helpful work.