The Friday Five (11.28.25)
A Few Things for My Friends
Hey!
Every week, I share five things to encourage and equip in life with God.
This week:
1. The Biggest Story Advent Book
2. Christ is Lower Still
3. Love Has You
4. J.B. Phillips and Isaiah
5. Rethinking the “Me” Story w/ Hunter Beaumont
Enjoy!
MK
⬇️ Have you read my book on life with God? ⬇️
Read the forward and introduction | Grab a copy here | Here’s a Discussion Guide
1. The Biggest Story Advent Book
Kevin DeYoung and the folks at Crossway have released a new Advent board book, The Biggest Story Advent: 25 Lift-the-Flap Devotions for Families. It contains 25 daily readings that begin in Genesis and build toward Matthew’s Gospel. We’ll be reading them this year as a family!
I’ve loved DeYoung’s tracing of biblical theology through each lesson in The Biggest Story, and Don Clark’s illustrations are fascinating. I’ve used it for many years in our Training Program to illustrate parts of the Biblical narrative and give attention to details often missed. The book industry runs on a tight cycle, so if you didn’t have small kids a decade ago, you might be unfamiliar with it. It’s worth adding to your family library!
2. Christ is Lower Still
I recently came across this song, Christ is Lower Still. Take a minute to listen to an introduction to the song in the video below.
The chorus reads:
Let the king descend, living word made flesh
Lift this heavy heart to your throne o god
In his wounds I find room for all of mine
When from grace I fell, Christ was lower still
3. Love Has You
On this episode of the Things Above Podcast entitled, Love Has You, James Bryan Smith shares about the impact five authors have had on his spiritual life. These five authors are: Ian Morgan Cron, Michael Cusick, Aundi Kolber, Alison Cook, and Curt Thompson, M.D.
I’ve come across each of these authors and their works over the years, several of them having significant impact on me. I enjoyed listening to Smith share his experience with them, and you might as well.
4. J.B. Phillips and Isaiah
I’m reading Isaiah during Advent this year, partly using J.B. Phillips’ translation from Four Prophets.
Phillips was a mid-twentieth century Anglican priest in South London that translated the New Testament into Modern English. In 1942, he wrote to C.S. Lewis and included a copy of his translation of Colossians. Lewis responded, which you can read here, and said, “I thought I knew Colossians pretty well but your paraphrase made it far more significant - it was like seeing a familiar picture after it’s been cleaned.”
I have enjoyed working his translations in the rotation of reading, and think you might too. Good news is you can read it online, or get a decent hardback off Amazon at a great price. Here’s the print version of the New Testament, and here’s the online version for free.
5. Rethinking the “Me” Story
Hunter Beaumont has begun a series on the story we live in, addressing false narratives we embrace while looking to find meaning and purpose.
Here’s Hunter:
Christianity tells a different and better story. It’s a Beyond Me story about what God was doing before I got here and will keep doing after I’m gone. But it’s not a story that discounts individual lives. In fact, it calls for individual rebirth. Each individual life does mean something eternally if it’s tied into His story.
Read the whole piece and subscribe for the rest.
Thanks for Reading.
If someone forwarded this to you, I write two kinds of emails: one on select Tuesdays about life with God and the other every Friday, where I share things I’ve found during the week. If you want to subscribe but can’t afford it, email me, and I’ll take care of it—no questions asked.
I pastor, teach, and lead at The Village Church, serving as an Elder and the Executive Director of Discipleship. In my spare time (ha!), I’m working on a Ph.D. in Church History, studying Jonathan Edwards and character formation. Also, I’ve written A Short Guide to Spiritual Disciplines: How to Become a Healthy Christian.
Thank you for reading and supporting my work as I seek to shepherd with compassion and wisdom, equipping people to embody God’s truth for all of life.
Talk soon,
Mason
Thank you! I just ordered the Advent book for my two little nieces! 🥰