Blogs

Death to Clickbait! | Tim Challies
“I hate clickbait. I absolutely despise it. Clickbait is lazy. It’s manipulative. It’s distracting and disappointing. It’s an abomination. Death to clickbait!”

3 Mistakes Churches Make When They Talk Money | Todd Harper, The Exchange
“It may be one of the most dreaded and uncomfortable sermon topics—both to preach and to hear. Money and giving can stir all kinds of emotions and reactions in even the most faithful Christ followers.”

Preparing Sermons with John Owen | Jeremy Walker, Reformation21 Blog
“This, I would suggest, is pastoral preaching of the highest order – ministry of God’s truth that flows from the heart of a true shepherd of souls, a man who has drunk deeply of the sweet waters of the gospel, and is persuaded from the depths of his being that others need to taste and see that the Lord is good, and to obtain the blessing designed for those who trust in him.”

Hillary Needs To Meet More Women Who Have Had Late-Term Abortions | Theresa Bonapartis, The Federalist
“The Guttmacher Institute, a former arm of Planned Parenthood, admits at least 10 percent of women who have an abortion are adversely impacted. With 60 million abortions in our country since Roe vs. Wade, even by their standards, millions of women have suffered adversely as a result of abortion. Think about it — we all know someone who is suffering: a relative, a friend, a co‑worker. We are quite literally surrounded by the walking wounded.”

Instead Of A Late-Term Abortion For My Disabled Child, I Chose Life | Cassy Fiano, The Federalist
“Carrying my son in my body did not give me the right to take his life because he didn’t fit into the preconceived notions I had about what I wanted out of a child.”

New Book

Martin Luther: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr

Kindle Deals

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.

Calvin on the Christian Life: Glorifying and Enjoying God Forever by Michael Horton ($5.99)

They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the Middle East by Mindy Belz ($3.99)

Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life by John Chapman ($2.99)

Video

This Sweet Couple’s Engagement Video Will Melt Your Heart | Bre Payton, The Federalist
Chloe and Jason both have special needs, but the young couple doesn’t want that reality to stop either of them from living life to the fullest. “I love her heart,” Jason said. “She loves people, like me, she loves to help people, loves to serve them, but most of all she loves Jesus. Chloe is a prime example of a godly Christian lady, and I’m so excited to be getting to marry her.”

Blogs

Divine Remedies for Anxiety, Part 1 | Paul Tautges, Counseling One Another
“Anxiety may at times be connected to disease or other physiological conditions. There is much we do not know. However, from the viewpoint of Scripture anxiety involves the heart and mind.”

Should Christians Feel Guilty All the Time? | Kevin DeYoung, TGC
“Faithful preaching does not require that sincere Christians feel miserable all the time. In fact, the best preaching ought to make sincere Christians see more of Christ and experience more of his grace.”

Masculinity and the Priority of Love | Jeremy Walker, Reformation21 Blog
“The distinctive feature of masculinity in this relation to femininity is love. Leadership or headship may be implied, but the focus of the apostle is on the motive and nature of the husband’s relation to his wife. This love is neither physical lust nor romantic delight, and neither one can or will supply a lack of intelligent and principled love.”

Why Study Church History? | Jon Payne, Ligonier Ministries
“If church history does not get your blood pumping, you had better check your spiritual pulse. ”

Pastors and Writing with Jared C. Wilson | Thom S. Rainer
Jared Wilson talks about how writing informs blogging and vice versa as well as what it’s like to go from pastoring in one of the most-churched states in America to one of the least-churched.

5 Business Books for Pastors | Eric Geiger
Apart from the first, I’m not familiar with these books, but I trust Eric’s recommendations.

Some books | Paul Levy, ealinglevy
I’d encourage all seminary students to follow Paul Levy’s blog which basically gives a running commentary on the daily life of a pastor. Here are some of the books he’s reading.

7 Reminders for Pastors and Ministry Leaders who use Social Media | Ron Edmondson
The impact and influence of social media should guide our use of it.

Homeschoolers Invent The Most Daring Ways To Educate Kids | Jenni White, The Federalist
“As homeschooling has grown, parents have used their freedoms to come up with models of schooling that explode the conventional, ‘factory model’ of schooling.”

New Book

A Puritan Theology Study Guide by Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones. To accompany A Puritan Theology.

Kindle Deals

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.

The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken ($2.99)

A Basic Guide to Eschatology: Making Sense of the Millennium by Millard J. Erickson ($3.99)

Can We Talk About Islam? by Tony Payne ($0.99)

Video

World’s Master Carver, Ernest “Mooney” Warther
The astonishing bit begins at 1:20. If such is the creativity of man made in the image of God, what is the original Creator like!

Blogs

Older, Restful, and Reforming
Jared Wilson reflects on 10 years of “New Calvinism.”

Seven Tips to Address Mental Health Issues in the Church
“One in five people in your church will suffer from mental illness in their lifetime. You will have few people who have not been directly or indirectly impacted by mental health issues. With so many individuals impacted, church leaders need basic knowledge to handle these issues effectively. Church leaders do not need to be experts in psychological functioning, but they do need some basic knowledge in order to offer support to individuals struggling in the church. Here are seven basic pointers that every church leader should consider when dealing with mental health issues:”

The Attraction of Idolatry
Kevin DeYoung uses the golden calf narrative to explain our fatal attraction.

Is Seminary Really Necessary?
“Is seminary really necessary? Might it be better to get straight into ministry instead of expending so much time and effort in preparing for ministry?”

10 Free Online Preaching Resources
“A roundup of some of the web’s best free preaching resources. Includes seminary lectures, podcasts, audio mp3s, and a few video series.”

Why I’m Glad We Marched and Wish We Hadn’t
An African American pastor walks us through his spiritual and pastoral struggle with the Black Lives Matter marches.

TV historian: “I was wrong about Christianity”
“Tom Holland, the TV and radio historian and author of the prize-winning Rubicon, says he had the completely wrong idea about Christianity. Holland realised that his false ideas about God had been cultivated in him by the works of Edward Gibbon and other writers of the Enlightenment. He now sees Christianity as a revolutionary idea which has changed the world, and calls it the “principal reason” behind many of our most deeply-held values.

Kindle Books

The World-Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips $0.00! “Free” is a crime for such a great book. Here’s what I wrote before about it:

One of the best “popular” presentations of the Bible’s message and theology I’ve come across. By “popular” I mean accessible and enjoyable. Dan has not written just to pass on facts, but to stir our feelings, and prod us into vigorous response. The language is fresh, pacey, gripping, sometimes combative, and often startling.

Experiencing the Trinity: The Grace of God for the People of God by Joe Thorn $3.99. My previous endorsement:

“Here’s gospel gold emerging from the furnace of affliction. Truth that’s been lived becomes life giving as Joe comforts others with the comfort with which he has been comforted by God. I hope and pray that these beautiful meditations will do you as much good as they did me.”

Our Triune God: Living in the Love of the Three-in-One by Phil Ryken $4.99.

Blogs

Teaching as Joyful Rebellion | Carl R. Trueman, First Things
“Teaching—true teaching, not the mere imparting of techniques or earning potential—is perhaps the most delightful calling and privilege in the world. It has its challenges, but it brings incomparable joys. ”

Andy Stanley’s Statements about the Bible are not Cutting Edge, They’re Old Liberalism | Prince on Preaching
“Stanley argues that our faith is based on the resurrection and not the Bible. Severing the Scriptures from the resurrection is the very thing that Jesus said could not be done”

Is It Okay Deliberately Not To Have Children? | Tim Challies
You probably know the answer instinctively. But how would you argue for it?

Marriage Tweets | Jared Olivetti, Gentle Reformation
Some nourishing morsels to chew on here.

Holiness and the deepest levels of evangelical scholarship | Matthew Barrett, Credo Magazine
“What type of scholarship will God honor? It is a scholarship that’s first concern is holiness. Holy scholarship—that is what God cares about most. And that is what should be driving the evangelical vision for scholarship today.”

Five Bad Apologies by Leaders | Thom Rainer
“Leadership credibility will only be restored if leaders are willing to apologize. But too many leaders offer non-apology apologies. Here are five of the really bad ones:”

A Primer on Mortification of Sin | TGC
“Over the years I have written and talked a lot about mortification of sin. In that time I have received occasional questions about the topic. However, in recent months it seems that I have been asked about the subject with a bit more frequency. In fact, I’ve promised a few people that I would write a brief introduction to mortification. Since we are dealing with two older words, let’s call it a primer.”

New Book

Holy Communion in the Piety of the Reformed Church by Hughes Oliphant Old.

Kindle Deals

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.

Forgotten Songs by Ray Van Neste and C. Richard Wells ($2.99)

Holman Commentaries, on sale for $2.99

Here I Stand – A Life Of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton ($5.99)

Video

Don’t Believe the Hype: Keeping it 100 About Abstinence
I never thought I’d like to an Oprah interview, especially not for positive reasons, but it was refreshing to hear this couple’s counter-cultural story (I must admit I have no idea who they are).

Blogs

Why Do You Want to Be Happy?
Randy Alcorn asks why we’re so suspicious of the desire to be happy.

Based on books I’ve read, sermons I’ve heard, and conversations I’ve had, it’s clear many Christians believe that humanity’s desire for happiness was birthed in the fall and is part of the curse. Hence, the desire to be happy is often assumed to be the desire to sin. But what if our desire for happiness was a gift designed by God before sin entered the world? If we believed this, how would it affect our lives, our parenting, our ministry, our entertainment, and our relationships? How would it affect our approach to sharing the gospel?

How to Write a Sermon: A Template
Preachers will always learn something from this kind of post.

How do I get from text to sermon? This is the question in sermon preparation. After preaching for 15 years, I’ve developed a basic pattern that might serve as a helpful resource to others. Call it “Thunome’s Template for Sermon Prep.”

5 Words of Advice for Young Seminarians | TGC
“For those starting college or seminary education, I know it can sometimes be intimidating or overwhelming. And for those who don’t feel a little intimidated or overwhelmed, you may need to prepare yourselves, lest you get caught off-guard by the challenges of your studies and the seminary culture. Maybe the following few words can serve in this regard.”

6 Ways to Smash the Approval Idol
“What’s a chronic people pleaser to do? Here are six ways I’m still learning to fight the idol of approval.”

Why So Many Families Who Want To Adopt Can’t
“Since the dawn of time there have been pregnant women who could not parent the child in their wombs, and there have been infertile couples longing for a family. Never has it been harder to bring those two parties together—birth mother and adoptive parents. The basic problem is the growing scarcity of babies due to culture of abortion.”

New Book

And So I Began to Read…Books that Have Influenced Me by Faith Cook (author of over twenty books) $8.99.

Kindle Books

The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau by Alex Kershaw $1.99. This is an incredible book, but you’ll need to steel yourself for the horrors of war.

Video

An Update From Our Church Planters In Barlanark, Glasgow
I was born and grew up in the city of Glasgow. These church planters are working in one of the neediest areas of that city.

Blogs

Wisely Handling the Book of Proverbs | R. C. Sproul, Ligonier
“So, the book of Proverbs is concerned to give us practical guidelines for daily experience. It is a neglected treasure of the Old Testament, with untold riches lying in wait in its pages to guide our lives. It holds real, concrete advice that comes from the mind of God Himself.”

Also see my Top Resources for Proverbs.

Evangelistic Preaching | Barry York, Gentle Reformation
“Below are thirteen characteristics, briefly explained, which help distinguish an evangelistic sermon from what we might call an edification sermon. These qualities should not be understood as mutually exclusive, but rather as weighted tendencies or features.”

Here’s my series on evangelistic preaching:

What is Evangelistic Preaching?
4 Kinds of Evangelistic Preaching
Why Is Evangelistic Preaching So Rare Today?
4 Characteristics of Evangelistic Preaching
4 More Characteristics of Evangelistic Preaching

The Darkness of Porn and the Hope of the Gospel | Denny Burk
“TIME magazine has published one of the saddest, most horrifying cover stories I have ever read. It is not horrifying in the sense of the carnage of war. It’s horrifying in the sense that it documents the carnage of a culture that is committing slow-motion suicide. It is a civilization-wide calamity on a scale that we have not seen before.”

5 Reasons Emotional Intelligence Is so Important for Leaders | Art Rainer
“Emotional intelligence is the extent to which someone is able to understand, filter through, and leverage his or her emotions in order to accomplish a task.It is an interpersonal, intangible set of abilities. And whereas your IQ is a constant, EQ can be developed and increased. ”

Of Burner Phones and Busy Lives: Making the Best Use of Time | Nathan Eshelman, Gentle Reformation
“A couple of weeks ago I walked into a cell phone store and said, ‘I would like to trade in my iPhone 6 for a dumb phone.’ Puzzled, the clerk asked why I would do such a thing. I told him I longed for the simplicity of the 2000s. The look of puzzlement continued as I described why I only wanted talk and text: I am tired of the media access on my phone. It’s a time vacuum.”

12 Things to Know About the Anti-Christ | Matthew Holst, The Christward Collective
“Friends, the days are spiritually perilous with the spirit of anti-Christ alive and well (1 John 2:18). They are a foretaste of what is to come with the Man of Lawlessness.  Yet these are the days where we ought prepare ourselves for what is to come. ”

New Book

The God We Worship: Adoring the One Who Pursues, Redeems, and Changes His People edited by Jonathan L. Master

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.

The Grace of Repentance by Sinclair B. Ferguson ($2.99)

The Beauty of Intolerance: Setting a Generation Free to Know Truth and Love by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell ($2.99)

The Truth About Man by Paul Washer ($2.99)

British English from A to Zed: A Definitive Guide to the Queen’s English by Norman W. Schur ($1.99). Ah, yes, the good old days.

Parents Who Think Too Much: Why We Do It, How to Stop It by Ann Cassidy ($0.99)

Video

American Gospel Trailer
Follow this project about the prosperity Gospel on Facebook: facebook.com/americangospelfilm/