It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s slate of videos is mainly humorous, with a dash of overrepresentation from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding it to the “Honorable Mention” category at the bottom. If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous years: 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008
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Let every heart prepare him room!
How could there possibly be anything more mysterious and wonderful than the incarnation of Jesus Christ? God became a man. God took on mortal human flesh and became subject to all the things that every other mortal is subject to. He sneezed. He coughed. He got headaches and an upset stomach. Every morning he got up, shook the dust out of His hair, and put his hand to the plow in his Father’s field. Jesus Christ was not only subject to sickness, but also to death. The eternal Son of God was die-able. In fact, he did die. And three days later, what was mortal became swallowed up by immortality…
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Pastor Tommy Nelson interviewed about bomb threat
By now, you have likely seen Pastor Tommy Nelson’s letter to his congregation in the wake of a bomb threat the church received against its Christmas Eve service. It is gritty, Christian stuff. Last night, Tommy was interviewed by NBC News’s local affiliate. Watch it above. Read the letter below. It’s vintage Tommy. Y’all, Take a knee. You’ve probably heard by this time if you watch the news that we have had our first gen-u-ine bomb threat. It came in the mail Monday afternoon from a gen-u-ine super villian. Wouldn’t you know, it came 24 hours after I had boasted of our fair city’s apathy versus Dallas’s tirades. Anyway, though…
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Seven reflections on “The Force Awakens”
I think just about all the angles on The Force Awakens have been covered. From penetrating think-pieces explaining our obsession to frowny-face predictions to satisfied first-viewings. So I’m going to leave the proper movie-reviewing to others. There really isn’t much else to say. Rather than analyze the aesthetic qualities of the The Force Awakens, let me simply say that I loved it. Yes, it was an homage to the earlier movies, but that’s okay with me. As a life-long fan, that was the itch that needed scratching, and this movie delivered. So that’s the long and short of my review. With that out of the way, please allow me to…
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The Remarkable Woman behind ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’
Karen Swallow Prior has a fascinating piece at TGC about the author of “In the Bleak Mid-Winter.” Her name is Christina Rossetti (1830–1894), and Prior writes that she was a woman of “deep Christian conviction.” Prior concludes: The paradox of Rossetti’s life is that her “spirit of self-postponement” produced some of the finest Christian poetry written—the gift of herself, given to her Savior and received by the world. I commend to you the rest of Prior’s essay, which you can read here. I also recommend two versions of the song that are staples around my house during this time of year. My favorite version is Shawn Colvin’s, and a close…
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Are liberals ready to live with the transgender revolution they’ve unleashed?
Carl Trueman writes about a 52-year old transgender man who is now identifying as transaged as well. Not only is Stefonknee Wolscht no longer identifying as a male of the species. He is also claiming to be a 6-year old. This is not a joke. This 52-year old man really claims that he is now a 6-year old little girl. Thus he is both transgender and transaged. The man’s picture looks like a gag from The Onion, but it’s not. It’s for real. Many transgender advocates have been complaining that this particular transgender person is trivializing the quest for transgender rights. And it is this complaint that Carl Trueman responds…
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The man who gave us “strategery” returns
The man who entered “strategery” into the American lexicon returned Saturday night to reprise his impression of President George W. Bush. Will Ferrell really lampoons the Republican field in this one. Hilarious.
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Ryan Anderson at The Atlantic’s inaugural LGBT forum
Last week, I watched Ryan Anderson’s interview at The Atlantic’s inaugural LGBT summit. It is fair to say that Ryan was in hostile territory in this appearance. He was the lone speaker to oppose gay marriage at a conference filled with gay marriage supporters. I think it was remarkable that they even included him on the program. Going forward, I expect conferences like this not to tolerate any arguments that contradict the new orthodoxy. Indeed, for the most part, that’s how things already are. This conference seems to be an outlier on this point. The interview was respectful, and I think Ryan was compelling. I doubt anyone in that audience…
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Christmas in Kentucky… Everywhere It’s Christmas
On his most recent Christmas album, Steven Curtis Chapman sings a song about returning to his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky for Christmas. One might expect a song like this one to be sappy nostalgia along the lines of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” or “Tennessee Christmas,” but it’s not. This is not the song of a child, but the song of a grown man who’s walked long enough with God to know that Christ came not just for folks like him but for the whole world. It’s the best news in the world. I love this song. In the video above, you can hear the song in its entirety as…
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All the Star Wars Trailers and Clips in One Video
This is the week. “The Force Awakens” is only days away. I’ve already got my ticket for the 8:10pm sneak preview on Thursday night, and I can’t wait to don my Greedo costume for the occasion (I hope Han doesn’t shoot me first, but I digress). Seriously though, if you’re like me and you’re about to come out of your skin waiting for the release, here’s a mashup of all the trailers and clips that have been released for “The Force Awakens.” It’s a thirteen minute fix, and it’s just what the doctor ordered for the home stretch. Nerd-out concluded.