CURRENT EVENTS:

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Prosperity Gospel Is War on the Poor. Basketball great Abdul Jabbar writes “I’m also in awe of most practitioners of religions because their goal is to do the right thing for their god and their community. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be successful and wealthy. But there is something wrong when some people exploit the poor, the fearful and the desperate to enrich themselves through donations and tax-exemptions by pretending to be spiritual leaders. Like the professional pardoners of the Middle Ages who pedaled indulgences to the highest bidders, they pervert teachings for profit. These are the people that the word shame was invented to describe.”
• Voddie Baucham’s Big Move to Africa. Warren Cole Smith interviews the pastor about his work at home and his move to Zambia with his wife and seven of their children.
• Gay Marriage is Not about Gay Marriage. David Murray writes “Gay marriage is not primarily about gay marriage; it’s mainly about silencing gay consciences.”
• Three Observations About Tony Campolo’s Acceptance of Committed Gay Relationships. Denny Burk writes “Tony Campolo has released a statement today calling for “full acceptance of Christian gay couples into the Church.” Campolo has long been a stalwart of the theological left, so this announcement is no surprise. Still, it is significant as another prominent leader moves away from the faith once for all delivered to the saints. He is not the first to have done this, and he will not be the last. American Christianity will be in a period of winnowing for the foreseeable future, and there will be more to come.”
• Which Way, Evangelicals? There is Nowhere to Hide. Albert Mohler writes “The present moment is very demanding. The issues before us are compelling and urgent. The Bible is clear. Are you ready to give an answer?”
• Albert Mohler on How to Survive a Moral Revolution. Watch the full nine-minute video to hear Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, explain how in the span of a generation an entire moral understanding was reversed, what Christian faithfulness looks like in our day, and more.

THEOLOGY AND CHURCH LIFE:

• “Life, Life, Eternal Life!” Richard Phillips writes “If our witness is to lead others to eternal life, we must be able to direct them to Jesus Christ and His cross through a true and saving faith. And if we do, those who believe will not perish but will have eternal life.”
• The Mystery of Election. In this “Look at the Book” session, John Piper looks at the doctrine of election in Romans’ 9: 9-13.
• The Reformed Doctrine of God. R.C. Sproul writes “Reformed theology’s doctrine of God and its emphasis on all of His attributes at every point in the unfolding of salvation sets it apart from other Christian understandings of the Lord.”
• 10 Reasons I’m Thankful for the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). As an elder in the PCA, I appreciated this article from Kevin DeYoung, whose church is moving to the PCA.
• Calvinism Is Not New to Baptists. Thomas S. Tidd writes “Calvinists once dominated Baptist church life in America.”

CHRISTIAN LIVING:

• R.C. and Vesta Sproul. Listen to this edition of the Jesus Changes Everything podcast with R.C. Sproul Jr., on the 55^th anniversary of his parents.
• Staring at Dementia, Fighting for Joy. Jeff Robinson writes “Dementia, a disease similar to (but not exactly the same as) Alzheimer’s, is a cruel malady. Medical professionals call it the slow killer for a reason. Watching my mother die this way has been excruciating for our entire family.”
• 8 Lessons Learned from a Long Battle with Spiritual Depression. Derek Brown writes “Often during this season I asked the Lord for immediate restoration, but that was not his plan. Instead, it became increasingly clear that God was teaching me a few vital lessons for the sake of my stability in the faith. If you find yourself in a similar season, please receive these gentle yet earnest exhortations.”
• Young, Restless, Foolish. Darren Carlson writes “Everyone needs to grow up and go through the pain of adolescence. However, if you’re an angry, young Christian, or you might know someone who is, here are some ways to help encourage maturity.” How to Know Satan is Tempting You. Tim Challies writes “Where you would sin if you could sin—that very well may be the place you will sin when you are tempted to sin.”
• Should We Equate Homosexual and Heterosexual Sin? Richard Phillips writes “I would urge that we should avoid stating that “homosexual sin is fundamentally no different from heterosexual sin,” since it is fundamentally different in at least some important respects.”
• Every Test and Every Temptation. Tim Challies writes “The tricky thing is that the very same circumstances that bring us great blessing also tend to bring us sore temptation. Is this a test or a temptation? It may be both.”
• Bringing Our Weaknesses and Fears to Jesus. Praying through Psalm 27: 1-4. I was blessed to have two courses at Covenant Seminary with Scotty Smith and enjoy his wonderful prayers (such as these), each day.

SPORTS:

• Organized Sports on Sundays? Mark Jones writes “Christian parents are faced with many dilemmas as they seek to raise their children for the Lord. If they have sporty or athletic children who play on a sports team, the question of playing on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) becomes a real issue.”

JUST FOR FUN:

• First Trailer for Mockingjay, Part 2. Watch it here.
• When I’m bored I try to imagine the lies my children will tell their therapists in 20 years. Jim Gaffigan
• My whole life is just me suddenly remembering things I was supposed to do two weeks ago. Jim Gaffigan
• Fun fact: I didn’t even like coffee when I wrote “Smellin’ Coffee.” Now I get iced coffee EVERY morning!!! Chris Rice

Favorite Quotes of the Week 6.14.2015

DEAD GUYS:

It is a good thing God chose me before I was born, because he surely would not have afterwards. Charles Spurgeon

• Let us not sigh, but sing. All is well, however hard the wind blows. Charles Spurgeon
• Sickness has frequently been of more use to the saints of God than health has. Charles Spurgeon
• We know of no cure for the love of evil in a Christian like daily communion with the Lord Jesus. Charles Spurgeon
• Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge to Satan. John Bunyan 
• Sin is bad in the eye, worse in the tongue, worse still in the heart, but worst of all in the life. Thomas Brooks
• The ultimate cause of spiritual depression is unbelief. For if it were not for unbelief, even the devil could do nothing. It is because we listen to the devil instead of listening to God that we go down before him and fall before his attacks. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
•  You must go on to remind yourself of God – who God is, and what God is, and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

STILL ALIVE AND KICKIN’:

• To allow God to be God we must follow Him for who He is and what He intends, and not for what we want or what we prefer. Ravi Zacharias
• The whole concept of providence is that God knows everything about what we do. R.C. Sproul
• Our greatest hope isn’t having it all together. Our greatest hope is Jesus whether we have it all together or not. Zack Eswine
• When we are slow to tend that which is most central to our calling, and speedy to tend that which is not, our busyness is actually laziness. Zack Eswin
• The day you stop learning is the day you stop living. Steven Lawson
• Prayer does not change the will of God to fit my will, but changes my will to His will. Steven Lawso
• Holy Spirit, give us power today for boasting in our weakness, boasting in Jesus, and boasting about other’s successes. Scotty Smith
• Human beings don’t just learn things from stories. We learn things by being in the midst of a story. Of The Story. Matt Perman
• God loves and defends those with the least economic and social power, and so should we. Tim Keller
• Salvation is all about the grace of God. There is absolutely nothing that you can do to save yourself or earn God’s favor. Francis Chan
• Too many men want to change the world but aren’t willing to change diapers, but that’s precisely where changing the world begins, at home. Burk Parsons
• John Flavel’s final words were, ‘I know that it will be well with me.’ Mark Dever
• We don’t go to Scripture for permission to do what we think is best, but for direction to do what He says is best. David Platt