IN THE NEWS ~ CURRENT EVENTS:

• The FAQs: Terrorist Attack in Kenya Targets Christians. Joe Carter provides an overview of the tragic terrorist attack in Kenya
• Rolling Stone and the Culture of Lying. Russell Moore writes “Behind this scandal is a larger point. In our society, it’s become acceptable to lie about people and ideas, as long as the crisis created is in line with a perceived social good.”
• President Obama Hints at Disappointment With Christians at Easter Breakfast. The President stated ““On Easter, I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian, I am supposed to love. And I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less than loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned,” President Obama said, before theatrically stopping himself. “But that’s a topic for another day.”
• Interview With a Christian. Ross Douthat, author of Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, writes in the New York Times “After watching the debate about religious freedom unfold over the past week, I decided to subject myself to an interview by an imaginary — but representative — member of the press.”
• Why Obama isn’t on Fortune’s World’s Greatest Leaders list. Fortune Magazine’s list of the World’s Greatest Leaders, for the second year in a row, excludes the current President.
• This is How Religious Liberty Dies — The New Rules of the Secular Left. Albert Mohler writes “The real issue here is not the RFRA in Indiana, or Arkansas, or another state. The real issue is the fact that the secular Left has decided that religious liberty must now be reduced, redefined or relegated to a back seat in the culture.”
• Gospel. Life. Ministry. Free Online Event. On May 11, The Gospel Project will be sponsoring a free online event with more than a dozen pastors, teachers, and church leaders exploring the gospel and its implications in our lives and ministries. Speakers include John Piper, Matt Chandler, David Platt and Trip Lee.
• Why do Reports Conceal Radicalism of the Pro-Choice Side? Denny Burk writes “What The New York Times report and The Washington Post blog fail to understand is that abortion-on-demand is legal in this country through all nine months of pregnancy. That is what Roe v. Wade and its companion decision Doe v. Bolton establish.”
• Shocking Research Claims Wisdom Comes with Age. Eric Metaxas writes “The elderly may not have the quickest minds or understand the latest gadgets, but they do have something young minds sorely need: it’s called wisdom.”
• Hugh Jackman Signed to Portray the Apostle Paul. Jackman has been signed for the leading role in the film Apostle Paul. Jackman will work as a producer on the project too, a position he will share with both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

SEXUAL ETHICS:

To love is to give yourself to another. To lust is to want to take from another. Love gives, lust takes. Burk Parsons‘

Under every behavioral sin is the sin of idolatry. Martin Luther

• What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? Kevin DeYoung’s book with this title will be released this week. Check out this 36-page PDF sample. (And here’s a free corresponding 36-page study guide.)
• The Demythologizing of Sex. Aimee Byrd discusses Kevin DeYoung’s new book What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
•  The Dead End of Sexual Sin. Rosaria Butterfield writes “How should we to think about sin that has become a daily part of our identity? John Owen explained with four responses.”
• A Panel on Homosexuality and the Church. Justin Taylor writes “The highlights of this conversation for me were the last two exchanges: Kevin DeYoung’s answer on gay marriage (41:30-46:12) and Jackie Hill’s answer on what is the gospel (46:14-51:15)”
• NBCI’s 34,000 Black Churches Breaks Fellowship with Presbyterian Church (USA) Urges African American Protestant Denominations to Sever Ties. The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African Americans has broken its fellowship with Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) following its recent vote to approve same-sex marriage.

• Sex, God, and a Generation That Can’t Tell the Difference. Chris Martin writes “The only thing Millennials are black-and-white on when it comes to matters of sexual morality is that you aren’t allowed to be black-and-white on sexual morality.”

• Why is a Wedding Any Different? Kevin DeYoung writes “As painful as it may be for us and for those we love, celebrating and supporting homosexual unions is not something God or his word will allow us to do.”

• On the Ethics of Sexual Attraction (Same-Sex and Otherwise). Denny Burk writes “My contention is that the Bible speaks a clear word about our experience of sexual attraction be it heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise. Whenever we desire something that God forbids, we are experiencing an “attraction” that is sinful and that God would have us to repent of.”

• Obama Calls for End to ‘Conversion’ Therapies for Gay and Transgender Youth. Michael D. Shear of the New York Times writes “President Obama is calling for an end to such therapies aimed at “repairing” gay, lesbian and transgender youth. His decision on the issue is the latest example of his continuing embrace of gay rights.”
• Sometimes Flight Is the Best Fight. Jon Bloom writes “Don’t try to reason with your sin-infected appetites. An aroused appetite is almost always unreasonable. When a desire is awakened in you to indulge in some sin, your best defense is often escape.”

Quote: The big issue for Christians is not “conversion therapy” but conversion theology–in which we have an infinite investment. Albert Mohler

SPORTS:

• Jack Nicklaus Makes Hole in One. Watch the 75 year old legend make a hole in one at the Master’s Par 3 Tournament last week.
• New Nike Rory McElroy Ad is a Nice Tribute to Tiger Woods. The ad shows McElroy watching Woods on TV as he grows up.

CHRISTIAN LIVING:

• The Secret to a Happy Life. R.C. Sproul writes that humility is the secret to a happy life.

• Yes, You Can Please Your Father. Kevin DeYoung writes “Sometimes Christians can give the impression that pleasing God is a sub-biblical motivation.” He goes on to state “One of the principal motivations for holiness is the pleasure of God.”

• Resurrection and Justification. R.C. Sproul looks at how the resurrection of Christ linked to the idea of justification in the New Testament.
• The Fall-Out of Failed Marriages. John Mac Arthur writes “The best way to defend and uphold God’s design for marriage and family is not through political or legal action—it’s through the living testimony of a faithful, righteous adherence to God’s design. The watching world needs to see the necessity of God’s design lived out in our daily lives.”
•  7 Ways to Grow in the Art of Communication. Joel Beeke writes “We need to understand that communication is an art that we all must learn better. It does not come naturally. Here are seven principles to help you to grow in this art, that you might teach your children.”
• Your Brain on Multitasking. Our brains on multitasking aren’t nearly as good as we think they are.

PRAYER:

• Prayer for Treasuring the Stewarding Friendships. Here’s a wonderful prayer on friends from our friend Scotty Smith.

• The A-Z of Prayer. David Murray writes “What is prayer? Here’s a unique answer found in the papers of the puritan Philip Henry, father of the Bible Commentator, Matthew Henry.”

• Marriage and the Supreme Court: A Call to Prayer. Russell Moore writes “Let’s pray that the Court gets this right and stays within the limits of its authority—recognizing that the state did not create the family, and cannot recreate it. And at the same time let’s pray with confidence in the knowing that regardless of how the Court decides, on the other side of our culture wars there is a sexual counter-revolution waiting to be born—again.”

COURAGE IN THE FACE OF FEAR:

• Quiet the Fear, Do the Work. Jon Bloom writes “To do “the work” requires courage. And courage is doing what we know needs to be done despite the fact that we are afraid to do it. Courage does not allow fear to fill the post of General-in-Chief in our minds and hearts, in our belief and behavior.”

• Freed from the Fear of Death. Larry Hoop writes “The enslavement is not to death itself, but to the fear. It is the anticipation of death that enslaves.”

CHURCH LIFE:

• Nine Traits of Church Bullies. Thom Rainer writes “Church bullies have always been around. But they seem to be doing their work more furiously today than in recent history. Perhaps this look at nine traits of church bullies can help us recognize them before they do too much damage.”
• Who the Unchurched Really Are. Gene Veith writes “As Robert Putnam reminds us, the demographic that is the most unchurched is the working class, the lower income non-college-educated folks.  A big segment of these blue-collar workers has just stopped going to church.
• Why You Need to Sing Loudly in Church. Keith Getty shares five reasons you have no choice but to sing in church on Sunday.
• What is the Sabbath? Randy Alcorn asks “What is the Sabbath and what does it mean for Christians today?” He offers some helpful resources related to the question.

 Favorite Quotes of the Week ~ 4.12.2015

R.C. Sproul and R.C. Sproul, Jr.:

Now that Hillary Clinton is officially running for President I am officially not going to vote for her. It’s official. R.C. Sproul Jr.

No matter what obeisance the state may demand, we who serve the King are free indeed. R.C. Sproul Jr.

• If you don’t know you’re in a state of grace, then you’re vulnerable to the paralysis of the accusations of the enemy. R.C. Sproul

• Why do those who keep insisting Jesus hung out with sinners also keep insisting there’s no such thing as sin? R.C. Sproul

• The resurrection was God the Father’s way of authenticating all of the truths that were declared by Jesus. R.C. Sproul

• We have to find in Christ, not a mask that conceals our face, but an entire wardrobe of clothing, which is His righteousness. R.C. Sproul

Kevin DeYoung:

• Blue Devils may have won today. Devil gonna lose tomorrow. Kevin DeYoung (after Duke won on the night before Easter)

• We do not truly know what love is unless we know Christ. Kevin DeYoung

• When “everything is awesome” we may miss what (and Who) is truly deserving of awe. Kevin DeYoung

• God is still here, God is still real, and God has not gone anywhere, even if you have. Kevin DeYoung

• Sanctification will be drudgery unless we believe that holiness is possible and that it is pleasing to God. Kevin DeYoung

Tim Keller:

• Do you realize that it is only in the gospel of Jesus Christ that you get the verdict before the performance? Tim Keller
•  Jesus as only an example will crush you; you will never be able to live up to it. But Jesus as the Lamb will save you. Tim Keller
• The gospel frees us from the relentless pressure of having to prove ourselves and secure our identity through work. Tim Keller

Tullian Tchividjian:

• When Martin Luther was asked what we contribute to our salvation, he said, “Sin and resistance.” Tullian Tchividjian

• What kind of person should you be to someone who has fallen? The kind of person you will run to when you fall. Tullian Tchividjian

Scotty Smith:

• If we do nothing “more,” with the rest of our lives, than love Jesus and point people to him, it will have been a life well lived. Scotty Smith

• Listen a little deeper and linger a little longer. Overlook as much as possible and encourage as often as you can. Scotty Smith

Spurgy:

• Let gratitude be awakened; let humility be deepened; let love be quickened. Charles Spurgeon

• I am certain that the safest way to defend your character is never to say a word about it. Charles Spurgeon

Others:

• When people praise you, don’t let it go to your head. When they criticize you, don’t let it go to your heart. C.J. Rhodes

• We can tell if we’re growing in theology if we’re growing more childlike in our faith, not more arrogant and self-righteous. Burk Parsons

• There is a vast difference between merely knowing about Christ and actually knowing Him–the difference between heaven and hell. Steven Lawson

• Faith is a refusal to panic, come what may. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

• That sorrow for sin that keeps the soul from looking towards the mercy seat is a sinful sorrow. Thomas Brooks

• To know the will of God we need an open Bible and an open map. William Carey

• The reason the universe is vastly disproportionate to man’s size is that it is telling the glory of God, not the glory of man. John Piper

• We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. C.S. Lewis

• Your life as a Christian should make nonbelievers question their disbelief in God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

• The Bible comes both to warn and to encourage and always to turn us again to the Lord Jesus Christ. Alistair Begg

• Only what God has commanded in his word should be regarded as binding; in all else there may be liberty of actions. John Owen

• Life is about Jesus. We are not here to tell our story, but His. We are here to live His story, not ours. Francis Chan

• The gospel tells a story about a good God who created and rules over all, bringing salvation out of the misery we have brought on ourselves. Michael Horton

• The hardest part of the day is all the stuff after I open my eyes in the morning. Jim Gaffigan