McFlurry's McLinks (27)

It's been a while since we've had some proper blogging here. We'll maybe see about more regular posting, besides the sermons from Sundays. So here's the revival of my McFlurry's McLinks feature, highlighting some of the blogs you might also find interesting.

First up, Supersimbo takes us back to the beginning of blogging, when the word of the year was blog.

Haddon Robinson was most famous for his book on Expository Preaching. Following his recent death Steve Mathewson paid this tribute on the Gospel Coalition website.

David Murray reflects on profitable fails - reminding us that failure is not final.

The Belfast Bigot tackles life in the Matrix, looking at 3 insurmountable problems of atheism.

Summer White at Sheologians considers the recent Peterson scandal and views it from several significant angles.

It was good to be off for a brief holiday, and get some reading done last week. It was even better to then read this (three-year old) article from Rachel Grate, which says that 'Science has great news for people who read actual books.' So what are you waiting for? Put down your phone, switch off your laptop, and get reading an actual book. Just remember to come back and sample another set of McLinks in a week or two!

2011 Top Referrers

Last year I compiled a list of the top ten blog referrers of 2010. As we're in the season for summing up the year and reflecting on what has passed, I thought I would have another look at referrers for this year:

1. After Darkness, Light. A non-mover at the top spot, my brother-in-law Bryan is still over in Dundee as a gospel worker.

2. For the Fainthearted. Ian Poulton has jumped from sixth to second, now working in a parish in County Laois.

3. Minister? Me?. Mrs Gerbil is a new entry, as she begins her studies for ministry in the Church of Scotland.

4. Clerical Whispers. This news and gossip site on all matters Catholic moves from fifth to fourth in this year's analysis.

5. Rambling Rural Rector. Craig's blog has slipped from third to fifth - but it's remarkable he's still there at all, given that his blog is now unavailable. This must have been based on referrals early in the year.

6. Virtual Methodist. David jumps from eight to six. It's nice to see referrals still coming from Dundonald after I've moved on.

7. Bishop Alan. A non-mover at seven, this English bishop continues to blog on matters of faith, culture and society.

8. The Diary of a Reformed Workaholic. Ali may have gone private, but there are still referrers coming in.

9. The Simple Pastor. Phil stays at nine, as he settles into life in Sweden on missions.

10. Opinionated Vicar. A blog break, a name change, and David Keen is back blogging again, and still sending enough referrers to hold on to tenth spot in this totally pointless and arbitrary list!

I'm thankful to these and lots more blogs and sites for sending readers this way, and hope that we continue to blog in the new year.

In other news, there were more referrals from Twitter than Facebook, and Google was the most used search engine to get to this site, with some interesting searches such as "naked prophet", "mr noah built an ark lyrics", "anger of the lord", "annoying paragraph", "ill people cured by mcflurry", and "seeing your reverend naked". Some very strange ones there - let's hope they found what they were looking for...

The big business of my blog seems to be the sermon resources available - of the 7759 search enquiries to land on my blog, 4239 of them had the word 'sermon' in them somewhere. Indeed, the top fifteen pages to be visited this year are all sermons, except for the homepage. Now, how do I monetize these resources?

McFlurry's McLinks (26)

It's been a long time since the last generous portion of linkable treats from the blogs. Here are a few of the best things you should read:

The Simple Pastor considered pay in a megachurch. Still on ministry matters, The Proclaimer suggests a different way of doing funerals. I found this atheist's wedding vows very sad (and with a few rude words).

Unashamed workman (who doesn't seem to be posting as much these days) had some advice for brand new Christians.

We're coming towards Christmas and Failbook shared an angelic message, while Clients From Hell shares a licence to print money. Have a look at granny's chopsticks. Also, it's not just the Queen that has more than one birthday in the year - but would you realise if your friend had several in a month?

Ever tried underwater photography? Read about this camera that washed ashore after a year of being lost at sea. Also in photography, there's a fair chance that my pictures were recently displayed in a gallery - if you can spot them! This Camera Ball looks pretty cool. So does this series of tidying up pictures - pity the poor assistant in the alphabet soup!

Still on a technology theme, it appears there were fewer traffic collisions when Blackberries weren't working recently in Dubai. Opinionated Vicar shared an infographic on that things we don't talk about. If you like old-school technology, check out the ever-expanding rainbow of crayons. Check out this library looking like a library. These guys obviously haven't heard of Health and Safety.

For this edition's video, even though I don't understand baseball, this training clip is amazing:

McFlurry's McLinks (25)

Here's another batch of links for your enjoyment:


Undercover genius from Alexander Rose. What if the world was 100 people (visual). Plus, have you heard this story before? Have you got mail?

After the cremation, I hope they didn't pop this can...

Challies shares some secrets of productivity. The Proclaimer was thinking about rest and technology. Speaking of technology, here's an infographic on twitter usage.

On ministry, the Vicar's Wife discusses making records and skittle prayers, while De Young looked at church websites.

Wils shared a recipe for elderflower cordial. Shelterrific had a note from the past - I remember a time capsule being discovered in the roof of Dromore Cathedral when repairs were being carried out.

As well as having a new book out, here are some videos of Helen Roseveare speaking at Ballymoney Baptist.

My (soon to be former) colleague, Johny Beare, has started a new blog: Beare Goggles. In one of his first articles, he thought about phone hacking.

Quaerentia reflected on Steve Jobs thinking about mortality. Slugger had that horrific crash from the Tour de France.

Alan in Belfast covered the Twelfth of July in East Belfast and Dublin.

Denny Burk writes about the oxymoron of Christian terrorism following the tragic events of last week in Norway.

This edition's video is Shallow Small Group:

Audio Omnibus

Here's a collection of recent sermon mp3s from the past few Sundays, finally uploaded to our sermons website and also available here: 19 June - The Trinity in Action; I Believe... in Jesus crucified; 26 June - I Believe... in Jesus risen, ascended and coming again; 3 July - How to be Happy.

McFlurry's McLinks (24)

It's been over a month since the last batch of internet goodies, so here we are - tuck in!

In theology, Kevin DeYoung writes of the double danger. Ordinary Pastor reminds us that Jesus read his Bible. And some reasons not to join a church. The confessing student worker risks being controversial on the KJV.

For some devotional writing, David Campton had a week of reflections and liturgies based on the "I am" sayings - here's the shepherd saying. Dave Bish looks at the Messiah and his Technicolour Dreamcoat. As my boss begins his sabbatical, he's also begun a blog, with this sampler from Isaiah 1:1.

In books, The Simple Pastor was asking about the top 100 books to go travelling with him next year. Claire's book is now available in preview format and she wants some feedback.

On the subject of technology, as well as learning lots about politics this month, Iced Coffee thought about iPhone tracking. Check out this Clients From Hell dialogue on is email internet. Challies considers Matthew 18 in a shrinking world.

Easter has come and gone, but you can be prepared for next year with these Resurrection Eggs from The Vicar's Wife. Similarly, it might look like an underground map, but check out the Holy Week visualisation from the Bible Gateway Blog. Daniel also had an image for Good Friday.

Linked to the royal wedding, étrangère wrote about wedding season, and looking forward to the even bigger wedding day ahead; Josh Harris links to a proposal hidden in a crossword puzzle. Lastplaceyoulook considers the princess preference.

For the video this month, I've recently been seeing lots of the Two Ronnies on YouTube, discovering some very funny clips I've never heard of, being broadcast when I was very wee or not even born. This one was very good:

McFlurry's McLinks (23)

Having failed to share any links last month, here's a fresh batch of links from the web for your reading and viewing pleasure.

Ordinary Pastor considers the parenting response to seeing two dudes kissing. He also points us to where we see the glory of Christ. The Proclaimer thinks about Dame Vera Lynn, Melchizedek, and the mathematical extinction of religion. Have you ever had a hangover like this one?

I had lots of links about the Rob Bell book, but I'll not bother with them - instead, as a kind of summary, Challies thought about the new evangelical virtues.

The Confessing Student Worker considers no news and good news after recent events. Norwin's eyewitness accounts and updates from Japan and now home were interesting reading.

Very late for Paddy's Day, but étrangère shared why she was celebrating, as well as looking at the preaching of pop songs.

Ali walks off a packet of crisps (almost!). Ever wanted to paint the town red? Or what about wordsearch wrapping paper? 22 Words shared the 101 most common English words. You wouldn't want to eat at this comma deficient house!

The Church of Ireland wed award nominations are open... while the Simple Pastor deals with Facebook, and Failbook highlights the dangers of status updates in school. Imprints of Light shares the very first version of the iPad.

The video this time round is a compilation of Bible Wordles, showing the most dominant words in each book of the Bible (H/T Trevin Wax):

McFlurry's McLinks (22)

Here's another selection of links, carefully chosen. Enjoy.

The New Year Resolutions may be a distant memory, but Ordinary Pastor gives some gospel encouragement. This will also encourage you, as the Kimyal people receive the Bible for the first time.

On culture, Scrabo Power asks if celebrities are the new fall guys. Trevin Wax shares a video from ER on a dying patient wanting a real chaplain and real forgiveness. Failbook explains why we need to be off Facebook. They also reveal the truth about Facebook photos. The Confessing Student Worker thinks about the new store in Belfast promising happiness in every stitch. Fred Sanders looks at the self-religion of Lady Gaga.

I can't drink the stuff, but Abraham Piper has a diagram of what's in your coffee.

The Road to Elder Ado shared some embarrassing moments. Still with ministry, The Proclaimer asks about the preacher's sideswipes. Unashamed Workman finds joy in the difficult sermon passage.

This amusing video shows us just how far we've come since 1994 (HT), when they were asking what's the internet?

McFlurry's McLinks (21)

Here's another batch of links for you to chew on:

In the realm of books, are we just consuming Christian junk food? As we mark the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version, is there upward desecration? The Bible Gateway Blog asks a great question - what's missing from the Googling gospel?

Mark Meynell confesses to being a junkie, while Kevin DeYoung thinks about evil in Tucson.

The Coastal Pastor considers Steve Jobs and death. The Confessing Student Worker asks what the most important thing is.

Trevin Wax expands the Lord's Prayer - great for devotions or public prayer.

The video is of a High School production of Super Mario Brothers (H/T Kevin DeYoung)

Free John Piper ebooks

Over at the Desiring God website, a number of John Piper's books as well as other resources, have been made available as free ebook pdf downloads.


I'm not sure how long they'll be available, so why not have a look and download them today? (H/T The Proclaimer)

McFlurry's McLinks (20)

I'm hoping that my links to other blogs and websites will be slightly more frequent this year, and therefore more up to date rather than links to blogs written more than a month ago! So here we go with the first of the new year:

Electric Telegraph wonders if we're amusing ourselves to death, as well as thinking about words and pictures.

The Simple Pastor considers the most repugnant idea ever, according to Dawkins, as well as seeking to simplify his digital life.

Cranmer shares worrying news of Coptic Christians under attack in Europe, a theme which Church Mouse looks at too. Cranmer also discusses the marriage of two ordained lesbians in Massachusetts.

Met Eireann had a stunning satellite image of the frozen British Isles. Meanwhile Daily Dose of Imagery had a stunning series of pictures of the total eclipse (those words just remind me of the Jaffa Cakes ad!)

Confessions of a Student Worker pours out his heart over the water crisis in Northern Ireland.

Looking at new year goals, Trevin Wax asks should you read 100 books this year,

The Proclaimer had news of Liam Goligher moving to Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia, but the most interesting bit was the pastoral search report. I wonder if the Boards of Nomination in the Church of Ireland are as thorough (or open)?

The Ugley Vicar reviews The Archer and The Arrow.

The video is of the recent extreme weather in Northern Ireland:

Top Ten Referrers for 2010

The Simple Pastor recently compiled a list of the top ten blog referrers to his site (in which I was 6th), using the tools of Google Analytics. I've been signed up to GA for ages and never really did anything with it, so here's the top ten blog referrers of this year:

1. After Darkness, Light. The blog of my brother-in-law, Bryan, labouring for the gospel in Scotland.

2. The Diary of a Reformed Workaholic. I've never met Ali, despite her living in Belfast and frequenting Ulster Rugby games. Always plenty of laughs going on her blog.

3. Rambling Rural Rector. The Venerable Craig who is across the border in the diocese of Kilmore and into his techie stuff - much more than me!

4. Mindkee. The blog of my sister-in-law, Louise, who writes some poetry, reflecting on Bible readings as well as devotional hymns.

5. Clerical Whispers. Perhaps the most random of the referrers, a kind of gossip site on all things clerical, although mostly Roman Catholic.

6. For The Fainthearted. Another minister, blogging from rural Ireland, sharing sermons and reflections from his life's experiences.

7. Bishop Alan. One of the English bishops who blogs fairly frequently on matters of faith, culture and society.

8. Virtual Methodist. The blog of another minister here in Dundonald - I can almost see his church from our house!

9. The Simple Pastor. I've never met Phil, but we've connected through blogging about advertising and issues relating to consumption and poverty.

10. St Aidan to Abbey Manor. Sadly David decided to stop blogging this year, because he was always worth reading.

I'm grateful to these blogs (and many others) for sending readers in my direction, and also for the things I learn from these people. Here's to hopefully lots more blogging and building relationships in 2011!

McFlurry's McLinks - Christmas Special (19)

Here's a special seasonal supplement of McLinks, all with a Christmas theme. You can always read these if you've already smugly finished the shopping and wrapping and have nothing to do; or you can keep them for when the family are asleep having consumed too much turkey and brussel sprouts tomorrow.



Quaerentia has a video of the conquest of a materialist temple with a resounding message, and a credal Hallelujah.

Tcsoko asks if you're feeling Christmassy.

Stuff Christians Like reflects on Code Adam.

Last Place You Look imagines Joseph being registered at the census.

Trevin Wax compares Caesar's Palace and Christ's Manger.

If you're still searching for a Christmas Family morning bible talk / sermon, David Keen has a Chocolate Christmas message.

Dave Bish points to who Christmas is for.

Kevin DeYoung considers Santa and Jesus (in two parts)

The Church Mouse asks what is your favourite Christmas carol?

Virtual Methodist asks what he have done with Christmas.

The Vicar's Wife asked about seasonal refreshments at Carol services.

Erik Raymond sees swaddling righteousness in the manger.


PaddyAnglican linked to this brilliant Christmas song by Frank Kelly - what if the Twelve Days of Christmas really happened?


And while most people have probably seen this by now, here's a digital Christmas...

McFlurry's McLinks (18)

It's been long overdue, so here's another batch of McFlurry's McLinks - some of the items from my Google Reader which have caught my eye and are for sharing. Nearer the big day there'll be another Christmas edition, so watch out for that!

Quaerentia had an interesting article on the conversion of Lauren Booth to Islam. Will and Testament wondered about seminary essays being ghostwritten. Above Every Name points to a church planter who thinks church should be more like a gay bar.

On blogging, Irish Calvinist Ordinary Pastor beat his blog coma (and changed his name!), and urges everyone, but especially pastors to be reading. Provost Kelvin explains how to read blogs. As the year reviews and lists on blogs begin, I managed to get into the top ten referrers to The Simple Pastor's blog.

The Simple Pastor (who is moving to Sweden!) thought about why secularists hate Christian youth festivals. In a similar vein, Dave Bish considers the historicity of Isaiah and the reality of the God of Israel, as well as the dynamic of preaching and who we're listening to. Tcsoko asks if you're consumed or consumer.

Kevin DeYoung opens 2 Peter to show why we must pursue holiness, and gives us Bible doctrine. The Ugley Vicar ponders prayer for the dead using that old 'Rest In Peace' formula. Here's a sad exercise in liberalism where the preacher seeks to 'rescue something positive from a gospel that is scary, frightening and downright creepy.'

Be safe on the roads in the bad weather - Belfast Taxi Driver reminds us how easy it can be to slip and slide.

I've been looking forward to the new Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawntreader, but I'm not so sure any more, having seen what étrangère, Trevin Wax and Dave Bish have written.

On with the funnies, and the Vicar's Wife wonders if you ever tartle. Hand of History had a political guide to Ireland for tourists. Mulled Vine writes great little tales, and the guest is hilarious!

Some videos too:

This one is very clever - how many movies do you recognise from these 270 films of 2010? (H/T Abraham Piper)


This one is immensely inspiring:

NIMA Audio Available

I've just seen on Peter Whyte's website that the 2010 NIMA audio from Bryan Chapell and Vaughan Roberts is available now. Well worth downloading and listening.

Grace for Godliness

It's always strange when Wednesday is your Monday - the week is shorter, but there's still the same work to be done. My week began today because the past two days were spent at the Northern Ireland Ministry Assembly (NIMA), in Lisburn.

An excellent couple of days of Bible teaching and practical training for preachers and teachers, with Bryan Chapell and Vaughan Roberts. Vaughan Roberts taught four sessions from Paul's letter to Titus, looking at The Preacher in God's Plan; The Preacher and the Gospel; The Preacher and Godliness; The Preacher and False Teaching, with the letter being thoroughly expounded and applied to the situation of preachers and teachers in the church in the twenty-first century.

Bryan Chapell was taking the more practical sessions, helping us to think carefully about application when preaching. It's probably the area of preaching that I struggle most with, so the sessions were really helpful in urging us to give more thought to the what, where, why and how of application. So as we apply the truth of Scripture, the message of the passage, the 'what' comes directly from our exegesis, but to ground it and make it connect more clearly with our congregation, we need to apply it in the where as well - in the particular situation a truth may be particularly precious; as well as helping people to connect our application with the grace of God.

This was the thing that came out very clearly from both Bryan and Vaughan's sessions - the grace is the fuel for godliness. There's no doubt that we want our congregations to be growing in godliness and abounding in doing good, but how do we call them to do this?

Moral urging either leads to pride (if we think we're achieving it all by ourself) or despair (as we realise we can't actually live to please God); it is only grace that leads to godliness - as a grateful response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, so that the gospel rescues us and helps us to live godly lives of hope. Neither do we narrow grace to either licence (insisting that God will forgive us anyway), or legalism, but true, full, whole, wonderful, amazing grace which empowers us and assures us of God's verdict towards us.

Great teaching, but the conference also gives the opportunity to meet up with a range of 'ecumenical' colleagues in gospel ministry from Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, RP and other backgrounds; with the encouragement that comes from seeing that you're not alone in the Lord's work. It was good to meet up with friends I hadn't seen in a while and hear how they're getting on in new ministry situations, as well as meet new friends. As always, the bookstall was provided by John Grier from The Evangelical Bookshop in College Square, which was well worth a visit!

Next on the NIMA calendar is the preaching conference in January, but in due course the audio from the sessions will be available over at the NIMA website, so if you didn't make it, listen in and benefit from the good teaching!

Sermon Website: How To

I'd been asked by a colleague how to set up and run a sermon website blog, and had written up some helpful pointers. Here they are, with the links embedded as they might be useful for a wider audience.

Setting Up The Website

Recommended to use Blogger for a free blog, which is easy to set up and maintain. It can be set up with a Google email address. You will be asked to pick your web address - for example, www.[YOURCHURCH].blogspot.com

We use Fileden for free online storage, although there are probably other sites doing a similar sort of thing. A free account will give you 1GB of storage, which is probably about 100 sermons (depending on length!). Easy sign up (and ignore the ads as you sign in).

In Blogger, the standard way we publish is (using the ‘Edit HTML’ section rather than the ‘Compose’ system):

TITLE: “Sermon Audio: PASSAGE x:x-x”

BODY: ‘Sunday Xth X 2010
Preacher: X X

TITLE

-In blogger, the main body as it appears can be saved automatically as above so that you just have to slot in the information each time rather than remembering the link html details! You can do this in ‘Settings > Formatting > Post Template’ - copy the above in, and it will automatically appear each time you begin a new post. The Capitalised information just needs to be altered (see below)


Getting The Audio

Getting the sermon from CD to mp3 is fairly straightforward. On the Mac, Garageband is the program to use; for Windows, Microsoft Movie Maker will produce .wma files, which can be easily converted to mp3 format using a free converter downloaded from the internet (Google wma to mp3); or the free program from Audacity with the mp3 converter LAME also available from their site

A couple of minutes will edit the audio track from the cd, removing the rest of the service and leaving the Bible reading and sermon, or sermon only. Export to mp3 format and save on your computer


Uploading the mp3

Upload the mp3 file from your computer to FileDen. When it has uploaded, go to the Files pages on FileDen; right click on the sermon you want and then click on ‘Properties’; click on ‘Linking Codes: URL’ and copy this.

In your blog composer, click on new blog post and paste the URL code for the sermon (from FileDen) where it says MP3_URL (leaving the quotation marks in the html code - without these, it won’t work!).

Format the TITLE and DATE and PREACHER sections.

In Blogger, it’s also possible to add tags (at the bottom of the composer), which will make your website easier to search - we normally use standard tags such as Bible, Exposition, Expository preaching, Preaching, Sermon, Sermon Audio, as well as the Bible book and the preacher’s name - that way if someone is looking for more sermons from John, they can easily get them all etc.


Monitoring the Website

As an additional extra, you may wish to check how many people are visiting the website - Blogger provide stats information; another one that we use is Statcounter. They provide a small section of html code which you copy and paste into the blog (they give instructions on it), and then they collate the visitor information reliably.


To see a sermon website which is currently working by using the above, check out St Elizabeth's Sermons.

I'm aware this guide might be stating the obvious for some computer folks, but if you're new to the game and wanting to begin, I hope it's helpful. Get in touch if you need some more help, or leave a link for your new site in the comments box below!

Sexual Purity: Resources

Following on from last night's sermon on adultery (of the body and of the heart), I thought it might be useful to compile some links to good resources on the issue if you're particularly struggling in this area. As well as highlighting some good free stuff available on the internet, it also means that if you want to buy a book, you can do so over the internet rather than being embarrassed buying it from your church bookstall or local Christian bookshop.

Internet Resources

Tim Challies, the well-known Christian blogger, compiled a series of blog articles on getting out of porn, now also available as an E-Book called Sexual Detox.

Mark Driscoll has an E-Book called Porn Again Christian.

There's also the great website xxxchurch exposing and preventing porn, as well as providing accountability software and support for those trying to quit.

Books

Tim Chester's book is excellent on the issue of porn: Captured by a Better Vision. (Reviewed here).

Arterburn and Stoeker have a number of books out, including Every Man's Battle and for single guys Every Young Man's Battle.

If you know of other good resources, mention them in the comments and we'll include them in updates of this page.

McFlurry's McLinks (17)

Time for another batch of links to the best of what I've been reading on the internet over this past wee while. Lots of links - I'll try not to leave it so long before the next batch!

On the ministry front, Kevin DeYoung had two batches of advice for theological students and young pastors. Proc Trust have started a blog with some useful articles, including preventing boring sermon illustrations. Irish Calvinist asks why pastors are fat. Ugley Vicar preached on the New Perspective, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector!

Some amazing pictures for you to look at: Abraham Piper linked to a nuts and bolts chess set, as well as a hilarious literalist rendering of Solomon's wife (Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like her?!), the ultimate preaching trick, and the comparative size of Africa. Belfast Taxi Driver highlighted the screme egg, while Quaerentia linked to amazing photos of the Northern Lights.

DeYoung ponders tormented souls and reasons reason, while Scrabo Power is worried about the next big thing. It's slightly out of date now as he's long gone, but étrangère had an open letter to Benedict when he visited the UK Great Britain. Irish Calvinist thinks about the Gospel and the Koran. The Simple Pastor studied the word call in the Bible. Good stuff. The Vicar's Wife is ready to meditate.

Jonny's Romantic Instructions charts his course from couch to competitor. Benyong gives some advice for new medical students and wonders if the Bible is like a software licence. Trevin Wax had some English expressions and where they came from. Normal Life Adventure shared an alarming story.

Archbishop Cranmer wants to put Cliff Richard at Christmas Number One. Meanwhile, on a Hallowe'en theme (too late for this year but useful for next!) Captive Thoughts looked at resisting the devil while the Vicar's Wife had some Christian pumpkins.

In politics, could we eventually see a united Ireland, united under the Union Jack again?

For the video this time, the Vicar's Wife linked to this Bible in a minute:



This second video had to be shared - the trailer for the new Narnia film!

McFlurry's McLinks (16)

It's been a while since the last serving of fresh and interesting McLinks from the blogosphere and my feedreader, so here goes:

Ray Ortlund writes about the new NFL season (although it could be profitably applied to football/rugby/Formula 1 or whatever your sporting idol is).

In ministry items, Irish Calvinist pointed to a video of John Piper's sermon prep. Kevin DeYoung thought about the practicalities of applying the sermon. He also writes about why he loves his church (and not just when he's on holidays!). James Cary (who has sadly ceased blogging having reached 500 posts) thought about virtual preaching. Also on a technology note, Peter Whyte thinks about e-readers.

A recent survey suggested that newspaper article starting lines are predictable, according to Abraham Piper. It made me think about sermon openers too. Peter Whyte reports on some extensive reading.

Irish Calvinist wonders if younger evangelicals (in the American context) are more concerned with being cool than orthodox. At the same time, Stafford Carson reports on the tendency of young people to be moralistic therapeutic deists.

Meanwhile, the IRS in the USA is spot on in its ecclesiology. Thinking about taxes, Deyoung also notes that there's something worse than taxes, or death. Still on government and all that, Clare in Brussels reflects on the West Wing (this is a new link from this blog).

If you're feeling lost or low, take a few moments to reflect on Psalm 121 using Daniel Owen's wonderful photos. Still on the photos theme, check out these macros on 22 words.

If you want a laugh, check out the honesty of Ali's kids in the middle of this update.

In previous episodes of McFlurry's McLinks we've featured a parody video based on Bohemian Rhapsody; here's one via 22 words which presents the three Star Wars prequels in six minutes: