Blogs

Spiritual Fitness
I didn’t enjoy being reminded of my Dad’s aging body. Thankfully his mind is still sharp and active as this article demonstrates.

What Pastors Need to Know About Mental Health, Ministry, and Liability
Extremely important and super-helpful article:

As churches become increasingly aware of the widespread and serious nature of mental illness, church leaders may wonder how they should engage mental health ministry in the church—and what legal risks they may face in doing so.

The Doctor is In
In connection with the above, this podcast interview is well worth listEning to.

This week we bring the doctor in! Dr. Mike Emlet recently wrote Descriptions and Prescriptions – A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnosis and Medications. He’s trained as a medical doctor, as a pastor, an active counselor, and he teaches counseling. Dr. Emlet seriously cares for people’s body and soul, taking both a biblical and scientific approach to that care.

The 100 Most Influential Evangelicals in America
Tim Challies doing what he does best:

Newsmax recently released their picks for the 100 Most Influential Evangelicals in America. I’m sure it was no small project to sift through the thousands of possibilities among the millions of Evangelicals to arrive at a mere 100. Their top-ten are Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Joel Osteen, Mike Huckabee, Pat Robertson, Rick Warren, Jerry Falwell Jr., Joyce Meyer, Mike Pence, and the combination of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. It’s quite a list and has generated no small amount of response. I spent some time pondering it over the holidays and thought I’d share a few thoughts on it.”

The Staggering Consequences of Neglecting Your Bible
Think you know Psalm 1 back-to-front? Think again.

To see the full force of the plight of those who ignore the Scriptures, consider it from the perspective of the opposite of the description of the righteous.

My Favorite Social Media Warning Book
“The book is about the importance of down time, spacing out, day dreaming, and mind wandering to create, to think afresh, to make deeper connections. This is an important book, my favorite when it comes to social media stuff. Especially when it comes to the constant warnings about social media.”

Here’s To a Judgment-Free Year?
Trevin Wax takes on one of our culture’s shibboleths:

A New Year’s declaration cannot free us from judgment. What we need is the declaration of God that we are righteous because of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has shown us favor – not by overlooking our sinfulness and selfishness, but by issuing the right judgment against all that is wrong with us when Jesus was crucified.

Kindle Books

For your non-Kindle book buying needs please consider using Reformation Heritage Books in the USA and Reformed Book Services in Canada. Good value prices and shipping.

Reduced prices on a number of commentaries in the Christ-centered Exposition series.

From Weakness to Strength: 8 Vulnerabilities That Can Bring Out the Best in Your Leadership by Scott Sauls $2.99.

Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith by Larry Osborne $2.99.

Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God by Marty Machowski $2.99.

New Book

Departing in Peace: Biblical Decision-Making at the End of Life by Bill Davis ($15 at RHB).