Here is the list of every series I’ve written on InFocus since 2005.

Grace to you.

Insecurity | Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Podcast series

Epistemology | Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Self image | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

KJV 400th anniversary | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Conspiracy theories | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

F. W. Boreham | Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Great theological themes of the gospel | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Church programmes | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Deliberate living | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Revival in Australia | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Printed music vs. projection | Part 1 | Part 2

A call to serious reading | Part 1 | Part 2

The segment starts Monday week.

Top ten posts

Here are the posts that got the most direct hits in 2011.

1. Religion in Australia: Statistics
2. The Mesmerising Lionel Messi
3. The Norway Massacre and Christian Fundamentalism
4. The Ministry of the Penguin
5. Abortion in Australia
6. A Brief Review of BeDuhn’s “Truth in Translation”
7. Hands up if you don’t read your Bible…
8. Two Ways to Live
9. The perfect church
10. KJV: No honour in error

Interestingly, only three of these posts were actually published in 2011. Four were published in 2010 and the remaining three were published in 2009.

Grace to you.

First, you can also go see the JetPack stats (I’m not sure how accurate they are, but there are some interesting tidbits there).

Second, the Wordle for this year. Once again, click to embiggen all graphics.

Third, some stats for those who are interested. The first compares 2011 visits (blue) with 2010 visits (orange). It’s encouraging to see substantial growth in these numbers.

The second gives various other stats for 2011.

I want to express my sincere thanks to so many who have been part of InFocus in the last year. The owner, writers, commenters, and readers come together to make this site what it is. Thank you!

Pray with me that InFocus would be useful in the lives of God’s people in 2012.

Grace to you.

If you entered it before, you are free to enter again to double your chances of winning. Entries close tomorrow (20 December) at noon.

Grace to you.

I have on my desk three copies of McGrath’s In The Beginning to give away in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version.

I read this book several years ago and found it well-written, informative, and enjoyable to read. The following is taken from the back cover of the book:

In the sixteenth century, to attempt to translate the Bible into a common tongue wasn’t just difficult, it was dangerous. A Bible in English threatened the power of the monarch and the Church. Early translators such as Tyndale, whose work greatly influenced the King James, were hunted down and executed, but the demand for English Bibles continued to grow. Indeed it was the popularity of the Geneva Bible, with its anti-royalist content, that eventually forced James I to sanction his own, pro-monarchy, translation. Errors in early editions—one declared that “thou shalt commit adultery”—and Puritan preferences for the Geneva Bible initially hampered acceptance of the King James, but it went on to become the definitive English-language Bible. This absorbing history of a literary and religious masterpiece explores the forces that led to the decision to create an authorized translation, the method of translation and printing, and the central role this version of the Bible played in the development of modern English.

Here are the giveaway rules: You must be able to provide an Australian shipping address if you win. Three winners will be chosen randomly. Winners will be notified by email.

[NOTE: If you are reading by email or RSS, you may need to click through to the site to see the entry form for the draw.]

I regularly hear testimonies of how God has used some discussion on InFocus to help someone in some way. It is a stunning act of God that we believers are chosen to be God’s vehicles of grace and truth. I know that this is the spirit that motivates the blogging team and I pray that it is the spirit of our readers and commenters.

I can’t tell you what is coming from the other writers, but I can tell you that I’m excited about a short series I’ll be doing addressing the gospel. I say I can’t tell you what the others will be writing because—and people ask me about this periodically—I don’t censor posts. I read the other team members’ posts when you do. That’s part of what makes InFocus what it is. Perhaps we can talk about that in more depth at some point.

Until then, thank you for reading and commenting. Whether or not I end up agreeing with you or you with me, I deeply value the process of “iron sharpening iron.”

Grace to you.

I’ve got about thirteen posts in the works and would love to get a chance to put down some of my thoughts from the recent John Piper conference as well, but alas, my academic schedule, among other things, hinders me.

So I’ll leave you with that. If you’re looking for some good reading, have a look at some of the great posts the team has been putting up lately. I’m really encouraged by them. And several of the posts still have discussions that are active or semi-active so you might want to put in your two bits. Not for the fun of it, but because there are some good discussions that are worth having.

Grace to you.

I read this book several years ago and found it well-written, informative, and enjoyable to read. The following is taken from the back cover of the book:

In the sixteenth century, to attempt to translate the Bible into a common tongue wasn’t just difficult, it was dangerous. A Bible in English threatened the power of the monarch and the Church. Early translators such as Tyndale, whose work greatly influenced the King James, were hunted down and executed, but the demand for English Bibles continued to grow. Indeed it was the popularity of the Geneva Bible, with its anti-royalist content, that eventually forced James I to sanction his own, pro-monarchy, translation. Errors in early editions—one declared that “thou shalt commit adultery”—and Puritan preferences for the Geneva Bible initially hampered acceptance of the King James, but it went on to become the definitive English-language Bible. This absorbing history of a literary and religious masterpiece explores the forces that led to the decision to create an authorized translation, the method of translation and printing, and the central role this version of the Bible played in the development of modern English.

Here are the giveaway rules: You must be able to provide an Australian shipping address if you win. You may only enter the draw once. Three winners will be chosen randomly. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Monday, 1 August.

[NOTE: If you are reading by email or RSS, you may need to click through to the site to see the entry form for the draw.]

This allows you to stay involved in conversations without checking back on the site repeatedly and also alerts you of new comments to older posts.

Thanks again to Farid for sorting this out and I trust it will be beneficial to our readers.

Grace to you.

I’ve struggled a little bit recently with motivation and also trying to get some technical things fixed on the site. I’m hoping to have the last one (the comments feed) fixed before the next writing segment starts so that readers have an easier way to follow discussions on the blog. Farid has been helping with this which I appreciate.

Please pray with me as I seek to assemble the next writing team. These writers volunteer their time and energy so I’m thankful for those who have written and pray that God will bring together the next team for his glory.

Grace to you.