We’re finally at the end of the road — the best books I’ve read in 2023. Here I discuss 10 books I read in the back half of the year and mix in the best from the first half. From self-help to Jesus allegories to nuclear apocalypse, you’ll find a little bit of everything here. Enjoy. Books that made the list (*=appeared on one of the Halfway Point lists):Salt: A Global HistoryThe Blood of Heroes* East of Eden, by John SteinbeckThe Pearl, by John SteinbeckQBQ: The Question Behind the Quest...

YEAR END: My Best Books of 2023

I am Hal Hammons, a citizen of heaven. I broadcast regular reports of what it is for a child of God to live in Satan's world. My reports typically break down into four segments:"What I've been preaching" -- a point I have made in a recent sermon."What I've been reading" -- A brief breakdown of a book of the Bible or other reading material that has helped me in my understanding or application of the Bible."What I've been hearing" -- news from the internet or other sources about what is going on, either among brothers and sisters in Christ or out in the world at large."What I've been playing" -- how I've been entertaining myself in my spare time, and some spiritual points I have been able to extract.

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My plan this month was to start my halftime report on the books I’m reading this year, but that’s going to have to wait. The plan now is for a show on my most thought-provoking books, another for surprising books, and then one for my best books. I’ll be sharing those with you in June, Lord willing, instead of the regular monthly report. But I just finished “Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea,” by Charles Seife, and I had too much to say to just leave it to an item on a list. So I’m shari...

MONTHLY REPORT, May 2024: Zero, faith, and Hal's Law.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the numbers this month. I have a confession. I did the previous three episodes as an excuse to do this one. This week we’ll discuss the four winds of the earth and how they carry God’s judgment to the four corners of the earth; an example of four-part harmony that works because it doesn’t work; an album that I’ve been wrong about for 40 years; and a game that brings out a weird violent streak in my normally peaceable daughter.Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd f...

FOUR: Corners and winds. "Indivisible by Four." Toto IV. Council of 4.

If 1 and 2 are the most important spiritual numbers in the Bible, and I think they are, then 3 may be the most interesting. Everywhere it pops up in the Bible, fascinating things are happening. This week we will discuss the “third day” – and the other third day, and the other third day; a friendship that transformed an entire genre of literature; a musical trio too talented for its own good; and the genie in a bottle that will ruin a good game of cards.Hal Hammons serves as preacher and sheph...

THREE: The third day. "The Three Musketeers." The Police. The Bottle Imp.

It’s all numbers this month. If “One” is the right place to start, “Two” seems like an obvious follow-up. Feel free to guess what the next two weeks may bring. Here we’ll discuss the “in or out” attitude of Jesus and what we should do if we disagree with Him; a classic novel about how “the best of times” can possibly also be “the worst of times”; the reasons why singers and preaching combos break up; and the way you can endure a global flood in your game room and live to tell your children ab...

TWO: Your options. "A Tale of Two Cities." Why duos don't last. Two By Two.

All month long you listen to me and me alone on this podcast. But early on I determined to let you listen in once a month as I sit at the feet of others. The results are some of my favorite episodes of all. That certainly includes my conversation with Keith Stonehart and Paul Hammons, which wraps up today. We wrap up by talking about the game of solitaire some of our brethren seem determined to play and why they should pay the price, however painful, to join up and play with the rest of us.&n...

YEAR END: My Best Books of 2023

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