We really appreciate you taking the time to check us out when there are so many options competing for your attention.

We started back in September, 1998 as a two page church newsletter. We recently hit a mini-milestone, crossing the 500 subscriber point. We are thankful for each one of you, and hope that we will offer content from a Christian worldview that will be a blessing to you.

Here’s what you expect from us each week:

Monday – Faith and Work – Connecting Sunday to Monday

Tuesday –This & That and Favorite Quotes of the Week

Wednesday – Book Reviews and News

Thursday – Music Reviews and News

Weekends – Movie Reviews

We’ll also occasionally have articles that I’ll write along with our guest bloggers Tammy and Teri.

We’d love to hear from you and how we can serve you better.

Blessings!

Bill

 CURRENT EVENTS:

• 40 Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags. Kevin DeYoung writes “If you consider yourself a Bible-believing Christian, a follower of Jesus whose chief aim is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, there are important questions I hope you will consider before picking up your flag and cheering on the sexual revolution. These questions aren’t meant to be snarky or merely rhetorical. They are sincere, if pointed, questions that I hope will cause my brothers and sisters with the new rainbow themed avatars to slow down and think about the flag you’re flying.”
• Doug Wilson’s Response to Matthew Vines. Doug Wilson writes “So in response to Kevin DeYoung’s very pertinent questions to rainbow-affirming Christians, Matthew Vines has responded with 40 questions of his own, these directed at Christians who are, as he puts it, “non-affirming.” Being as I am found in that latter category, let me have a shot at it. What I want to do is either answer Matthew’s questions, or explain why I will not take the bait of answering a particular question. Put another way, I will answer the questions, but not the loaded questions.”
• 50 Resources for Equipping the Church on Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage. Joe Carter of the Gospel Coalition shares these 50 resources to share with people in your church in order to better equip them to discuss homosexuality, same-sex attraction, same-sex marriage, or the biblical view of sexuality.
• Chick Fil-A Favorite Restaurant in New Rankings. Chick Fil-A may be the organization that I most admire in the business world. I’ve read a lot about their culture in leadership books over the years. They have stayed true to their Christian values in a culture that is increasingly hostile to them. It appears I’m not the only one that appreciates the Chick. Mary Bowerman of USA Today writes “In its first year on the list, Chick-fil-A took the lead as the most popular fast-food restaurant in the rankings. The chain scored 86 in customer service, the highest the survey has ever recorded for a fast-food restaurant.”

CHRISTIAN LIVING:

• You Will Be Persecuted with Words. Thomas Schreiner writes “No one knows what the future holds for believers in the United States, but Peter exhorts us in his first letter to be ready for fiery trials, to follow the pattern of our Lord and Savior, and to live by a faith that knows with certainty that eternal glory comes after this moment of suffering.”
• Celebrating Distinction. Creator and creation. Male and female. Distinctions are important. In this four-minute excerpt from the teaching series Only Two Religions, Dr. Peter Jones explains why these biblical distinctions are under attack.
• Hope and Help for the Porn Addict. In less than three minutes, Trip Lee offers three truths to any Christian struggling with porn. He reminds viewers of God’s good news, the seriousness of pornography, and the benefit of involving other believers to help us fight it.
• Why God Makes You Wait. I hate to wait – in line, in traffic, for medical test results, etc. Tim Challies writes “If your circumstances continue unabated you may be tempted to think that your prayers have been useless and that you are without hope in the world. You may even go so far as to conclude that God is angry with you and has closed his ears to your prayers. But the God who has saved you will never turn his back on you. Instead of believing such lies, consider these 6 things.”
• How to Distinguish the Holy Spirit from the Serpent. Sinclair Ferguson shares fours ways that John Owen suggests in which the Spirit and the serpent are to be distinguished.
• A Prayer for Rejoicing in Christ’s Righteousness. Here’s a wonderful prayer from our friend Scotty Smith.

WORSHIP, THEOLOGY AND LEARNING:

• Good Motives Gone Bad. R.C. Sproul writes “When we look at the revolution of worship in America today, I see a dangerous road that is built with such intentions.”
• The Poverty of the Prosperity Gospel. Vaneetha Rendall writes, “The prosperity gospel teaches that we live for God’s blessing. Job teaches that we live for God’s glory. At the heart of the prosperity gospel is our value. At the heart of Job, and all of Scripture, is God’s value.”
• Michael Card’s Biblical Imagination Conference on the Gospel of John. If you are in the Midwest, try to get over to Chesterfield, Ohio to attend my good friend Michael Card’s Biblical Imagination Conference/Concert September 18-20.
• 3 Things That Have Become More Central in Piper’s Preaching. Reflecting on Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Approaching the End of God’s Grand Design”, John Piper shares three emphases that have become clearer and more central to his preaching over the years.

MISCELLANEOUS:

• God’s Not Dead Sequel. God’s Not Dead was a surprise hit, one of the highest grossing independent films of 2014. Pure Flix Entertainment announced last fall a second installment would be soon to follow. Now Sadie Robertson from Duck Dynasty has disclosed that she will be joining this sequel.
• Congratulations to Bubba Watson on winning the Traveler’s Championship! Watson won on the second playoff hole
• Airplane Turbulence. I enjoy the convenience of flying, but certainly don’t like turbulence, or “rough air” as one airline refers to it. I found this article about turbulence interesting and comforting.

JUST FOR FUN:

• Wheel of Musical Impressions. Did you see Jamie Foxx play this game with Jimmy Fallon recently on The Tonight Show?

Favorite Quotes of the Week 7.5.2015

CURRENT THEOLOGIANS:

Pray this for our President. “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.” 2 Kings 22:11.  John Piper

We talk so much about rights, but we talk so little about what is actually right. Ravi Zacharias

• Public faith means going public with what’s in your heart, with humility and respect for others, as we speak of the truth of the gospel. Tim Keller
• Jesus says, “I want you to follow me so fully, so intensely, so enduringly that all other attachments in your life look weak by comparison.” Tim Keller
•  Everyone says they want community and deep friendship. However, because it takes accountability and commitment we run the other way. Tim Keller
• Confession should be a daily activity for the Christian, whose entire pilgrimage is characterized by the spirit of repentance. R.C. Sproul

• The one place where the Christian can be naked without fear is in the presence of Christ. R.C. Sproul

• God’s grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it. R.C. Sproul

• Regeneration is the cause of faith, not faith the cause of regeneration. R.C. Sproul Jr.

• Remember, when you’re sinned against its tempting to respond sinfully. Don’t give in, talk to your heart and seek the grace of Jesus. Paul David Tripp

• Pressure’s off. You are not called to be awesome. Only humble and faithful. Scott Sauls

• Jesus, forgive us for valuing our freedoms and comforts more than we value your presence and promises. Scott Sauls

• As Christians living in changing times, we must keep three things open: our heads, our hearts, and our Bibles. Kevin DeYoung

• We preach the gospel to others not knowing if they’re the elect bride of Christ but knowing they’re all sinners in need of Christ. Burk Parsons

• If you can trust God to save you for eternity, you can trust him to lead you for a lifetime. David Platt

• Why is it that we believe God’s promises of blessing but not his promises of punishment? Francis Chan

• There will be people who will teach for the sake of greed or for the sake of ego. So watch their lives. Do they look and act like Jesus? Francis Chan
• Until we acknowledge our sin and guilt, we will never come to discover that it can be forgiven. Sinclair Ferguson
•  People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought – which they seldom use. Dan Doriani
• Mark it down—your progress in holiness will never exceed your relationship with the holy Word of God. Nancy Leigh DeMoss

THEOLOGIANS FROM THE PAST:

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

• There are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done. Hudson Taylor 

• Let us…once and forever put an end to that lie which says that Calvinism and an interest in evangelism are not comparable. George Whitefield

• To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Jonathan Edwards

• The gospel is not something partial or piecemeal: it takes in the whole life, the whole of history, the whole world. It tells us about creation and the final judgment and everything in between. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

• People are often unhappy in the Christian life because they have thought of Christianity, and the whole message of the gospel, in inadequate terms. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

• The gospel is meant to control and govern everything in our lives. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

• Don’t let your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after Him. He will never fail you. Charles Spurgeon

• To receive the Word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into your very soul is quite another. Charles Spurgeon

• If you don’t listen to theology, that won’t mean you have no ideas about God, it will mean you have a lot of wrong ones. CS Lewis

• Every week I preach justification by faith to my people, because every week they forget it. Martin Luther

• If you see yourself as a “little sinner” you will inevitably see Jesus as a “little savior”. Martin Luther