featured
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FamilyThe Runner from Ravenshead
Children’s film 81 minutes / 2010 Rating: 7/10 Both the charm and the kitsch of this film come from the producers’ decision to fill all…
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TheologyOn the benefits and limits of creeds and confessions
Most RP readers belong to creedal churches. We hold to creeds and confessions because they have helped the Church preserve the truth of God’s Word…
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MagazineMay/June 2021 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: Douglas Wilson’s new book on Cannabis is something for parents to read with their teens / Infant vs. Believers-only baptism: what’s the main…
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Adult non-fictionReturn of the God Hypothesis
Three Scientific Discoveries that Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe by Stephen C. Meyer 568 pages / 2021 Stephen Meyer’s impetus to write Return of…
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NewsSaturday Selections – June 26, 2021
Motorcyclist who identified as a bicyclist sets cycling record (5 min) If the world insists feelings – and not the Father – defines reality, then…
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Dying WellComfort facing death
Do you ever think about your own death? Poets may come up with flowery words and philosophers may make scholarly statements that ring hollow when…
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EconomicsThe impact of saying, “I’m so busy”
How many times have you asked someone “How are you doing?” and they respond with “Busy!”? In that response, they did not actually answer your caring inquiry and they…
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In a NutshellTidbits – June 2021
Proverbs for social media Solomon was born 3,000 years before tweets and status updates became a thing, yet his wisdom applies all the same. “Sin…
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NewsSaturday Selections – June 19, 2021
Happy Father’s Day Rapper Shai Linne pointing his father to our Father. Yes, you can prove God’s existence… ….but proof doesn’t always persuade. Fatherhood as…
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AssortedA matter of seeing: decay and delights to consider
Some years back we rented a little island cottage north of Kingston, Ontario, sight unseen, for the first week of July. The fact that in…
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Adult non-fictionTwo on worship…and the prevention of worship wars
With the restrictions on church attendance easing, many people are saying: “Can’t wait for Sunday.” Did you know that there is also a book with…
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NewsErin O’Toole votes against the unborn at his first opportunity
On June 2, Canada’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly to reject restrictions on the murder of unborn baby girls. More specifically, they voted, 248 to 82 against…
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Adult non-fictionDevoured by Cannabis
Weed, liberty, and legalization by Douglas Wilson 2020 / 99 pages Why shouldn’t Christians smoke marijuana? The go-to answer to that question used to be:…
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NewsSaturday Selections – June 12, 2021
Ben Shapiro on Genesis 1 (6 minutes) The conservative pundit knows Hebrew but, as Todd Friel notes, he doesn’t know how to understand the creation…
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Adult biographiesTurning it to our good – an excerpt from “Man of the First Hour”
A great reason to read biographies is because they are an antidote to short-term thinking. When you’re caught up in the moment it’s easy to…
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DramaA Bear Named Winnie
Drama 90 min / 2004 Rating: 7/10 This is the (mostly) true story of Winnie, the bear that inspired A.A. Milne’s much loved Winnie the…
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People we should knowIs Jordan Peterson the champion we’ve been looking for?
Christians, it’s time to think a bit more deeply about the Jordan Peterson moment.1 Unless you’ve been asleep and on a different planet for the…
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Book excerpts6 quotes from “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self”
Carl Trueman’s newest book has been celebrated as one of “the most important book of our moment” by Ben Shapiro, while Reformed blogger Tim Challies…
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Book listsJan Brett: picture books’ peak
What sets Jan Brett (1949- ) apart as a picture book illustrator is how much she packs into every page. There’s always lots going on…
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NewsSaturday Selections – June 5, 2021
When parenting gets overwhelming (3 min) In this episode of her “Pep Talks for Moms” series, author Rachel Jankovic shares what she calls “The 20-Minute…
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AssortedThe devil’s foothold
Three demons perched on the edge of a big-city skyscraper. They often met at this particular pinnacle at the close of a day swapping stories…
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Being the ChurchQuotes on the single life
Singles are not second “…the nuclear family should not be the center of church life. Rather, the family of God is the center…. It is the…
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Adult non-fictionThe Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman 2020 / 425 pages Carl Trueman has lost his sense of…
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AnimatedBatman as a cucumber? The best of VeggieTales…
The VeggieTales phenomenon began back in 1993 with the release of their first video, Where’s God When I’m Scared? which, like all that would follow, starred Bob…
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Book ReviewsLarry Bendeco Johannes Von Sloop
by Larry V. and Mark Kummer 2014 / 32 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT In some respects, this is Tikki Tikki Tembo in a modern setting with the…
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NewsGovernment is spending over half of what Canadian families earn
Each year the Fraser Institute, an economic think tank, calculates Canada’s “Tax Freedom Day.” If the average Canadian family’s earnings were to go just towards…
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NewsSaturday Selections – May 29, 2021
How to stop being addicted to your phone (4 min) This is a fun one to share and discuss with your kids, but that might…
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Book excerptsPrayer and comfort in Sachsenhausen
This is the story of my paternal grandfather’s last year on earth. He was a man of unwavering faith despite suffering arrest, incarceration, indignity, illness,…
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AnimatedAdventures in Odyssey: The Knight Travellers
Animated / Children’s 17 x 27 min episodes / 1991-2003 Rating: 7/10 Back in 1987, Focus on the Family started a radio drama series for…
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Daily devotionalMay 24 – Blessed be the God of Israel!
Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Scripture readings: Daniel 3:26-30; Psalm 107:1-9 Writing…
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Book ReviewsGutsy Girls Book Two: Sisters, Corrie & Betsie ten Boom
by Amy L. Sullivan 2016 / 36 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give This is the true story of two Dutch sisters who knew that God could be trusted…
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NewsSaturday Selections – May 22, 2021
When the Pilgrims first landed, how many jobs were there? And how much work? (3 min) The answer is to these two questions are, there…
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DocumentaryIs Genesis History?
Documentary 100 min / 2017 RATING: 8/10 We live and breathe and move in an atmosphere that is full of assumptions. We assume that what…
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ParentingOne way to talk to your kids about God
In Matthew 16, Jesus presents his disciples with a two-part question. It is a masterful question and one that parents can use with great benefit….
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Apologetics 101Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson
Documentary 88 minutes / 2009 Rating: 9/10 The genesis of the film started back in May of 2007 when leading atheist Christopher Hitchens and Reformed…
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Book ReviewsOwly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer (5 books)
by Andy Runton 2004 / 160 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Gift This is two stories in one, and at about 80 pages each, they have room for some…
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Adult biographiesJohn MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock
by Iain H. Murray 240 pages / 2011 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 John MacArthur has been a help and a…
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NewsSaturday Selections – May 15, 2021
I forgot my phone (2 min) Seven years old, and still worth sharing: how our phones get in the way. Looking at the RC Sproul…
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ParentingParents: do you have the courage to be gentle?
A gentle response to an angry or defiant act seems weak and out of place. The Holy Spirit has a different perspective: A gentle answer…
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In a NutshellTidbits – May 2021
Walter Williams on his income inequality with Michael Jordan Does the tenth commandment still apply if our neighbor is Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, or Michael…
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AnimatedTorchlighters: the Eric Liddell Story
Animated / Family 2007 / 31 minutes Rating: 6/10 Eric Liddell is best known for the stand he took to not compete in the 1924…
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Adult non-fictionBroken Beauty – Reflections of a Soul Refined by Cancer
by Helena Bolhuis 252 pages / 2020 It’s kind of exciting when someone you are personally acquainted with publishes a book. It’s a bit of…
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NewsSaturday Selections – May 8, 2021
Moms rock! (6 min) An ode, of sorts, to moms everywhere. <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span> My 3-year-old son…
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EconomicsManure into mattresses – we can “create” resources
Economist Julian Simon’s key insight is that man’s creativity – his brainpower – is a resource that creates other resources. So while some view a…
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FamilyThe Sparky Chronicles: The Map
Family / Children’s 28 min / 2003 Rating: 7/10 When their beloved Sparky is dognapped by the infamous international criminal known only as “The Clip,”…
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People we should knowBetsie, the watchmaker’s daughter
Extraordinary stories of extraordinary men and women make up the fabric of history books: men and women who by some incident in their lives have…
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Adult biographiesR.C. Sproul: A Life
by Stephen J. Nichols 2021 / 400 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Stephen J. Nichols has produced the first biography of Sproul since his death in December…
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NewsSaturday Selections – May 1, 2021
Metamorphosis (5 min) Something new from Tim Nijenhuis based on Col. 3:1-17… Mosquitos are wonderfully and fearfully made? We might not like how they bite,…
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Christian educationReformed teachers are different… right?
Bobby Knight had a rather unique teaching philosophy: he’d do whatever it took to get through to his young charges, up to and including yelling…
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TheologyHERETIC? Let’s not throw bombastic terms around glibly
I was once labeled a heretic. In fact, I’m sure it’s happened more than once. And no, it wasn’t Roman Catholics or Muslims saying this…
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DocumentaryA Return to Grace: Luther’s life and legacy
Docudrama 2017 / 106 minutes Rating: 8/10 What makes this a must-see is its unique mix of drama and documentary. Other great Luther documentaries exist,…
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Book ReviewsGod’s Big Book of Animals
Edited by Shirley Rash 248 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Did you know that baby elephants drink three gallons of milk each day? Or that…
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NewsSaturday Selections – April 24, 2021
Man describes criminal in 2021 (2 min) “In this first episode of Better Cops, a man who has just been robbed tries to describe his…
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AssortedWhen promises hold up as well as pie-crusts…
“Promises and pie-crust are made to be broken,” wrote the British satirist Jonathan Swift. Swift’s bit of cynicism seems to be aimed squarely at politicians….
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MagazineMar/Apr 2021 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: Why you should keep reading to your kids / Love your emotions by making them obey Jesus / Books for all ages on the origins…
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Adult non-fictionReplacing Darwin Made Simple
by Nathaniel T. Jeanson 85 pages / 2019 How’s this for an intriguing thesis for a creationist book: Darwin got it right. So what exactly…
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NewsSaturday Selections – April 17, 2021
In Canada, abortion is legal for all 9 months (1 min) This is a fantastic one to copy and paste to your own social media…
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TheologyInfant baptism vs. believers-only baptism: What’s the main difference?
The fundamental difference between the two positions is revealed in how one answers this question: Is baptism primarily God’s action or is it a human…
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In a NutshellTidbits – April 2021
Richer than you knew Today’s complaints about “income inequality” mask the fact that, in the West, anyone who can afford a smartphone is richer than…
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Parenting21 things I learned living with teenagers
We’re almost running out of teenagers in our family. Our eldest of six is well past the mid-twenty mark, and our youngest is less than…
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Adult non-fictionForesight: How the chemistry of life reveals planning and purpose
by Marcos Eberlin 2019 / 147 pages Back in 1996 “Irreducible complexity” was Michael Behe‘s contribution to the origins debate: he argued that some biological…
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NewsSaturday Selections – April 10, 2021
Education as Warfare (1 min) While this is from a Reformed homeschooling curriculum company, the overall message applies to Christian schools of any sort. Help…
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Adult fictionA better brand of Christian historical fiction
As a history buff, historical fiction has long been one of my favorite genres. Unfortunately, I rarely read fiction anymore, as much of modern historical…
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FamilyHans Brinker, or the Silver Skates
Family 90 min / 1962 Rating: 8/10 When Hans’ father is hurt repairing a dike, young Hans drops out of school to take care of…
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AssortedLove your emotions by making them obey Jesus
Emotional control is a wonderful thing, but it is also much misunderstood. Whenever I say something like the quote included here above, women rush to…
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Articles – BooksWhy you should keep reading to your kids
Parents read to their pre-school kids on a pretty regular basis – it’s a great way to snuggle up for some one-on-one time with mom…
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AssortedWoven Together
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the…
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NewsSaturday Selections – April 3, 2021
Bach, in the forest, on a really, really long xylophone (3 min) The phone this advertizes is long gone, but its commercial is standing the…
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InternetYou believe you are the center of the universe
David Foster Wallace was an American thinker and writer, best known for his novel Infinite Jest. He passed away in 2008, which is a loss to…
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FamilyJack and the Beanstalk
Children’s 1952 / 83 minutes Rating: 7/10 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star in their own version of this classic tale. The story begins with…
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ParentingParenting: many different approaches – only one set of guiding principles
Empty threats – that’s what they are called – and some are more ridiculous than others. I once overheard an employee at Target, a young…
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Adult non-fictionEchoes of Ararat: a collection of over 300 Flood legends from North and South America
by Nick Liguori 2021 / 300 pages Why are there Flood myths all over the world? Christians can explain it by pointing back to Noah:…
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NewsChristian college to replace plaque that calls murderers “savage”
Wheaton College, a US evangelical liberal arts college, has taken down a plaque “dedicated to the glory of God” and “in loving memory of” two…
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NewsSaturday Selections – March 27, 2021
Greg Bahnsen on presuppositional apologetics and circular reasoning (4 minutes) Lots to chew on in this short 4-minute video. While it isn’t for everyone, if…
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NewsWar on gender leaves BC father in jail
Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She had a mommy and a daddy who unfortunately divorced. She lived with her mom, but…
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DramaThe Adventures of Robin Hood
Drama/Action 101 min / 1938 Rating: 8/10 Aside from a little medieval Roman Catholicism in the character of Friar Tuck (for instance, asking a woman…
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EvangelismWhy we don’t evangelize and why we must
If there is a time to be silent, there is also a time to speak (Eccl. 3:7). If the gospel is the Good News entrusted…
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Adult non-fictionA husband reads “Lies Women Believe”
Have you ever read a book specifically written for the opposite gender? I’ve just finished Lies Women Believe: and the Truth That Sets Them Free…
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NewsDoes Canada’s Bill C-7 ignore a dark lesson from history?
Lebensunwertes leben is German for “life unworthy of life.” As a justification for killing, this idea led to the Holocaust. Alarmingly, there is growing acceptance in…
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NewsSaturday Selections – March 20, 2021
Gospel patrons: equipping others to spread God’s name (7 minutes) Is being a minister or missionary the only way to do God’s work? We know…
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FamilyBabes in Toyland
Family /Musical 1961 / 105 minutes Rating: 7/10 Babes in Toyland stars all your children’s nursery rhyme favorites. There’s Little Jack Horner, Simple Simon and the pieman,…
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EconomicsThe $15 minimum wage – good intentions are not enough
In the US, the latest COVID-19 relief package has re-awoken the debate on minimum wage increases, and that policy conversation is spilling over into Canada,…
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In a NutshellTidbits – March 2021
On mundane faithfulness… “Everybody wants to save the earth; nobody wants to help mum do the dishes.” – P. J. O’Rourke Francis Schaeffer on being a…
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Science – GeneralThe wacky wombat
Back when I was a missionary in British Columbia, we had a friend visit from Australia. I asked him, “Have you ever seen a bear…
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Book ReviewsThe old house
by Pamela Duncan Edwards 2009 / 32 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give This is a sweet picture book about a self-absorbed house who learns to think about…
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NewsSaturday Selections – March 13, 2021
Our weird and wonderful brain (4 min) This is what Paul means when he says in Romans 1:20, that God’s power and divinity are clearly…
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FamilyThe Sign of Zorro
Family / Drama 1958 / 90 minutes Rating: 8/10 Is Zorro a Spanish version of Robin Hood? The Spanish California of the 1800s stands in…
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Church historyThe necessity of creeds and confessions
Many years ago, ten Christian men got together and decided to start a church. For several weeks they met together every evening to discuss what…
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Book ReviewsThe Bug Zapper: The Ant Arrives! (2 books)
by Tom Eaton 2018 / 108 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Gift Bug Zapper is a superhero that fights a bevy of bug-themed villains like Mean Mosquito, Butterfly Bob,…
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Pro-life – AbortionInvestigating the Birth Control Pill
I was married in the summer of 2015, and a few months prior to this my fiancé and I began researching Christian methods of birth control….
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NewsSaturday Selections – March 6, 2021
Tim Challies on 10 books every Christian should read Challies is a Reformed baptist so it isn’t surprising that Reformed baptists Charles Spurgeon, John MacArthur,…
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PoliticsHaggai and the call to rebuild the temple: a case study in Church/State relations
Canadians find themselves beginning 2021 under varying levels of lockdown. Across our country churches are wrestling with how to respond. The Bible seems to contain…
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Recent ArticlesRepent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out
New Year’s resolutions – we all make them and then we all break them. Perhaps praying the first part of the Proverbs 30:8 prayer is…
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AnimatedThe Wright Brothers (Animated Hero Classics)
Animated 27 minutes / 1996 Rating: 7/10 As an educational tool, this is amazing, and it’s a pretty solid family movie too. In just the…
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Politics2K is not OK
**** A tour a few years back by ARPA Canada prominently featured a famous statement by Abraham Kuyper: “There is not a square inch in…
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Book ReviewsDown to the sea with Mr. Magee
by Chris Van Dusen 2006 / 36 PAGES Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Mr. Magee and his little dog Dee love camping, skiing, and sailing the sea They…
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NewsSaturday Selections – February 27, 2021
Actors react to facts about the “wage gap” (3 min) These actors were asked to give a “cold read” – they hadn’t previously had a…
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Book ReviewsThe Hobbit: an illustrated edition of the fantasy classic
by J.R.R. Tolkien adapted by Charles Dixon illustrated by David Wenzel 1990 / 133 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT There’s a hierarchy so unfailingly true it could…
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Gender rolesWho’s Afraid of Proverbs 31?
I can still see the cartoon in my memory – she was robed in white, her nose in the air, gracing a marble pedestal under…
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NewsUK hospital to get more “gender inclusive”
Pop quiz: if you heard that a hospital was offering “gender inclusion” mid-wifery, what would you expect that to involve? The problem here has to…