Blogs

Giving and Receiving Commendation
As with every other important part of our lives, Scripture has much to teach us about how to give and receive commendation.

Biblical Womanhood Doesn’t Begin and End in Proverbs 31
“Biblical womanhood does not begin and end in Proverbs 31. It starts in Genesis — it ends in Revelation. It is found in the entire redemptive story.”

Smelling the Gospel Flowers in Proverbs
Erik Raymond slows down enough to find the Gospel in Proverbs.

10 Things Church Members Want from Their Pastor

  • A church wants to know that their pastor loves them.
  • Effective preaching requires adequate time for preparation.
  • Much of a pastor’s ministry is judged as effective or not based upon the preaching ministry.
  • Social media background checks are becoming standard when hiring a pastor.
  • We are leaving a blueprint of our lives when we interact on social media.
  • An organization without a path forward becomes an uneasy organization.
  • A lot of people can have great ideas. Not many people can execute them, too.
  • There is nothing wrong with having fun as a leader.
  • Most leaders are not transparent enough.

The Parable of Anthony Weiner’s iPhone
When it comes to pornography and the hook up culture, digitization is weaponization, and for many of us, winning the war against sexual nihilism in our communities and our own souls might mean refusing to even pick up the weapons.

The Power of Deep Rest
Tim Keller:

Anyone who cannot obey God’s command to observe the Sabbath is a slave, even a self-imposed one. Your own heart, or our materialistic culture, or an exploitative organization, or all of the above, will be abusing you if you don’t have the ability to be disciplined in your practice of Sabbath. Sabbath is therefore a declaration of our freedom. It means you are not a slave—not to your culture’s expectations, your family’s hopes, your medical school’s demands, not even to your own insecurities. It is important that you learn to speak this truth to yourself with a note of triumph—otherwise you will feel guilty for taking time off, or you will be unable to truly unplug.

On the same subject, here’s Ian Hamilton on the sabbath as one of The Foundations of Godliness.

We live in a mad, bad world. Equip yourself to face it and not be overwhelmed by it, by honouring the Sabbath day, and by imitating the example of the Saviour, who ‘often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’ He needed to, and he did. We need to and we must.

Kindle Books

Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God by Dan Ortlund $5.99. I loved this book…and the next one.

Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully: The Power of Poetic Effort in the Work of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis by John Piper $2.99.

The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts by Joe Rigney $3.99.