SPIRITUAL LIFE
Gain is godliness or godliness is gain? (Justin Huffman) What do you need right now? What would make you genuinely, blissfully, permanently happy if you just had it right now? Ultimately, the answers to that question fall into one of just two categories: either “gain is godliness” or “godliness is gain.”
How to have the mind of Christ (Sinclair Ferguson at Crossway) To “be worthy” involves sharing “the mind [or as we might say, mindset] of Christ Jesus.” Paul proceeds to explain that mindset in Philippians 2:5–11. True, these verses describe Christ’s actions. But those actions are the expressions of his mindset—and sharing it is fundamental to living in a way that is “worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Paul has the same goal in view when he later writes that those who are “mature” will think the same way he does (Phil. 3:15). What then does it mean to have the mind of Christ?
Union with Christ: An unbreakable fellowship (Kyle Worley at For the Church) The doctrine of union with Christ is an invitation to make our home with God in Christ Jesus. It is an unbreakable fellowship. Not because we strive to keep the faith, but because God the Father keeps His people in His forever love in the Son of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
MINISTRY
The forgotten habit: Fellowship as a means of God’s grace (David Mathis) Christian fellowship — our holy commonality of sharing in one Savior, through one Spirit, as one body — goes far deeper than games and a potluck. In the New Testament, fellowship is less the Christian Super Bowl party, and more like the players themselves huddled on the field, calling the next play.
Love the place you want to leave (Scott Hubbard) For whatever circumstances brought us here — a job offer, an urgent family need, our own birth, even our own misguided judgment — a hand beyond our own has been at work. We live where we live, ultimately, because God has sent us here, at least for today. And the providential hand of God never moves without purpose.
CHURCH
Is the church stable or in crisis? Yes (Trevin Wax at The Gospel Coalition) Wisdom requires us to recognize both that the gospel will always be opposed and that the gospel will overcome opposition. “In the world we will have trouble,” Jesus told us, but take heart, because he has overcome the world. Focus only on the trouble, and you’ll succumb to fruitless anxiety about a battle whose outcome is secure. Focus only on Jesus’s ultimate victory, and you’ll fail to engage the world in ways that require vigilance in this present moment.
Young people-church membership isn’t optional (Jared Wilson at For the Church) Whether you’re in college or out, reject the idea that committing to a local church is something only to be done when you’re older, more “established,” or in the life stage of having a family. There are a few reasons for this, but the primary reason is because discipleship isn’t designed to be done on your own.
PREACHING
Five practical points of preaching (Nicolas Batzig at Feeding on Christ) Some practical reminders of seasoned as well as inexperienced preachers.
Brothers, we can do better (Erik Raymond at The Gospel Coalition) Recently, the priority and practice of expository preaching have been recovered. I praise God for this development. At the same time, I’m concerned that our expositional reformation hasn’t gone far enough. We tend to focus a lot on what we are saying and relatively little about how we are saying it. Preachers can focus so much on their content that they fail to consider their communication. As others have said, we worry so much about getting the text right but think comparatively little about getting it across.
WORSHIP
Open your church service with a gospel welcome (Sam Allberry at The Gospel Coalition) The start of our gathered worship is possibly the most precious moment in the whole service. We have only a minute to make it a gospel moment. With God’s help, we want to rearrange people’s spiritual reality right from the get-go.
What’s the big deal about worship? (Peter Mead at Biblical Preaching) In Revelation chapters 4-5, we get to glimpse the ultimate worship gathering, and it reminds us what gathered worship does. Here are five things that gathered worship does:
BIBLE INSIGHT
FAQ – Will we ever see God the Father? (Adriel Sanchez at Core Christianity) When we see God in heaven in a vision that brings joy fullness, we’re not going to see God’s essence with our eyeballs. Instead, it’s a spiritual experience. By the grace of the Holy Spirit we’re going to experience the vision that the Scriptures talk about. But we will see Jesus Christ with our eyeballs. He has a resurrected body even now in the new creation, and we’re going to be with him. We’ll see him and worship Him.
Polygamy: Considering whether the Bible supports having multiple wives (Mitch Chase) Polygamy strays from the pattern of Eden, it is practiced in biblical stories where it is associated with distrust and grief, it compromises the royal example of Israel’s king, and it distorts the epic purpose of marriage.
Why does Jesus speak in parables? (Mike Leake) Parables are windows into the kingdom of God. They open up for us what God is like. They tell us about reality. They paint a picture of what life is like both now and in the future for those who dwell with God. But they are also windows into our own hearts. A parable is a bit like that line forming outside the exhibit. It will expose whether or not I think its a monkey or a capybara exhibit. Parables reveal to us whether or not we want to know the kingdom of God. Do we have the kind of heart that peers into the window.
The Song that sustains Creation (Joel Strand at Ad Fontes Journal) This confluence between different parts of my life is one of the reasons that I have never felt the conflict that people often seem to assume exists between science and faith. Far from diminishing my faith, studying physics has amplified my appreciation of God’s creation. The more I understand about how vast and complex the universe is, the more I am in awe of God. In a similar way
CULTURE
How cancel culture points to the gospel (Marie Burrus at The Gospel Coalition) On one hand, social media has given a voice to those who once lacked it. On the other hand, our posts can blaze a never-ending warpath for those seeking vigilante justice. But what if a more deep-rooted, human need lies beneath the surface of cancel culture? What if cancel culture isn’t only a social issue but also a gospel opportunity?
A new Christian authoritarianism? (Jonathan Leeman at 9Marks) This is a long and detailed discussion but helpful in light of our current and future politics, government policies, and differences from the church in responding to the challenges. Leeman writes, “…use whatever political stewardship you have (whether voting, lobbying, paying taxes, or acting as a cupbearer to the king) to work for a government that administers the justice requisite for protecting human life, secures the conditions necessary for fulfilling the dominion mandate, and provides a platform for God’s people to declare God’s perfect judgment and salvation. Hopefully, that’s an answer that works for Christians in the eighteenth and twenty-first century United States, in Sweden and India, in Argentina and Saudi Arabia. A biblical answer should work in all those places.”