IN THE NEWS:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Dials Back The Sex. Suzanne Kapner of the Wall Street Journal writes “The changes—many of which were championed by the new heads of the Abercrombie and Hollister brands—amount to a broad repudiation of the highly sexual tone set by former Chief Executive Mike Jeffries. He created a cult following with teens, who clamored for Abercrombie’s logo-emblazoned T-shirts and sweatshirts, and willingly paid full price for tattered jeans.”
• Rick Santorum expresses support for Bruce Jenner. If true, this is certainly disappointing.  “If he says he’s a woman, then he’s a woman,” Santorum, the former GOP senator from Pennsylvania, said about Jenner in South Carolina, according to BuzzFeed.
• “It is Going to Be an Issue” — Supreme Court Argument on Same-Sex Marriage Puts Religious Liberty in the Crosshairs. Albert Mohler writes “We will soon find out just how tolerant those who preached tolerance for same-sex marriage will turn out to be, now that they are ascendant in the culture. Meanwhile, even as we were repeatedly told that warnings about threats to religious liberty were overblown, the truth came out before the Supreme Court yesterday. Take the Solicitor General at his word. “It’s going to be an issue.”
• Why Southern Baptists canceled an appearance by Ben Carson. Trevin Wax writes “Last week, Ben Carson, the renowned neurosurgeon and likely presidential candidate, withdrew from speaking at the pastors’ conference that precedes the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. After several weeks of criticism, primarily from younger pastors, the organizers of the conference asked him to step aside and he agreed.”
• Update on R.C. Sproul’s Health. Nathan Bingham of Ligonier Ministries provides this update on Dr. Sproul’s health.

RESOURCES:

• Gospel Coalition National Conference Messages Available Free. Now all TGC15 media—9 main plenary sessions and more than 50 workshops—are available online. All of the content is free.
• Past, Present, Future. Here is part two of the Banner of Truth three part mini-documentary.
• Resources on Same-Sex Attraction. J.D. Greear shares some resources that will help you think through how to share Jesus’ heart toward those in the LGBT community.
• The World Map of Christian Apps: 48 Tools Every Christian Should Know About. Jeffrey Kranz shares a “World Map of Christian Apps”: a visual guide to the landscape of digital tools created for the Church.
• Eric Metaxas Show on iTunes. You can now subscribe to the podcast for The Eric Metaxas Show on iTunes.
• Ligonier on YouTube. Ligonier Ministries has just added a lot of content on YouTube.

CHRISTIAN LIVING:

• Die Well. Jonathan Parnell shares three basic truths about death that form a foundation for how to think about it going forward.
• Is Christian Ministry Rehab or Rescue? John Piper writes “It is never either-or. It can’t be. Because the rescue is not just rescue from the water, but from wrong-doing. The best way to strike the biblical balance is probably to beware of seemingly necessary inferences on one side or the other, and to stick with the pictures of life in this age that we have in the New Testament.”
•  Following Your Dreams for the Glory of God. Our friend Kevin Halloran shares important lessons he has learned from reflecting on his dreams (or long-term goals and desires).

JUST FOR FUN:

• “Say Anything” with Blake Lively. Did you see Blake Lively and Jimmy Fallon play “Say Anything” recently on The Tonight Show?

• Ever read a book that changed your life? Me neither. Jim Gaffigan
• Wait am I the only one that uses mayonnaise as hand cream? Jim Gaffigan

 Favorite Quotes of the Week 5.3.2015

Lukewarm people call ‘radical’ what Jesus expected of all His followers. Francis Chan

We have a generation of people who think they can stand before the judgment seat of God despite their sins. R.C. Sproul

• It is Jesus’ own righteousness, His performance and not my performance that is the grounds of my justification. R.C. Sproul

• Ultimate truth matters ultimately. R.C. Sproul

• The Bible, “is holy because its ultimate Author is holy, its message is holy, and its content is designed to make us holy.” R.C. Sproul

• God has given us our mouths as vehicles to praise Him, but instead we use our mouths to lie and to blaspheme. R.C. Sproul

• If we have come from random insignificance and when we die there is nothing but insignificance, then there is no significance in between. Tim Keller

• To say doctrine doesn’t matter, only how you live, is itself a doctrine; the doctrine of salvation by works. Tim Keller

• Sin has caused our affections to stray, propelling us to worship relationships, achievement, and work—everything but God. Tim Keller

• Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy. John Calvin

• But when I remember that I am not my own, I offer up my heart, presented as a sacrifice to the Lord. John Calvin

• Be wary of those who offer communion with God apart from union with Christ. Kevin DeYoung

• I take it as no particular sign that after joining the PCA an earthquake hits Michigan. Kevin DeYoung

• The motto of every Christian leader must be that of John the Baptist. “He must increase, I must decrease”. Kevin DeYoung

• Relinquishing control to God is very freeing. Tullian Tchividjian

• He is big enough. He is wide enough. And he gives and gives and gives to imprisoned people because imprisoned people are all that there are. Tullian Tchividjian

• Take away the cross of Christ, and the Bible is a dark book. J.C. Ryle

• It is a most important thing to understand the times in which we live & to recognize what they require. J.C. Ryle
• The Word of God is clear; it is not that we have accepted God; rather, He has accepted us into His family. Burk Parsons
•  Father, you promise sufficient grace, not the satisfaction of my agenda: Christlikeness, not a hammock and a cool breeze. Scotty Smith
• Sanctification: Doing the natural thing spiritually and the spiritual thing naturally. Sinclair Ferguson
• It just takes one person to step on the scene & change course of history. You can be the center point of arrow God uses to transform culture. Ravi Zacharias
• Let your longing be to glorify God by your life down here as long as He pleases. Charles Spurgeon
• God is a merciful God and is committed to us learning to do the right thing. Alistair Begg
• There is more power in one drop of the blood of Christ to save than there is in all the good works of all men combined. Steven Lawson
• As a nation we seem intent on learning what a cruel master unfettered sexual desire will be. Mark Dever