THIS & THAT and Favorite Quotes of the Week

IN THE NEWS  

• For Those of Us Nervous about the 2016 USA Presidential Election. Here’s our prayer of the week from Scotty Smith.
• Remember Who Sits Over the White House. R.C. Sproul writes “In a proximate sense, it’s very important who sits in the White House. But ultimately, the most important matter is not who sits in the White House but who sits over the White House. The one who sits over the White House is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and our Savior.”
• Alistair Begg on Trump. Looking at the upcoming presidential election, Alistair Begg writes “If ever there was a time to pray for the overruling hand of providence to save us from ourselves, it is surely now.”
• Jerry Bridges Goes to Glory. A wonderful author, Jerry Bridges died on Sunday at age 86. I was blessed to see him speak at a Ligonier National Conference several years ago.
• NBA Coach Eulogizes Wife. Watch Monty Williams, Oklahoma Thunder Assistant Coach, speak at the memorial service held for his wife Ingrid on February 18.
• Andy Did It Again. Todd Pruitt comments on recent unfortunate statements made by Andy Stanley.
• Ligonier Ministries App Wins Award. Ligonier Ministries recently received the Best Mobile Experience (Responsive or app) award for 2016.
• NRB Presents 2016 Awards, Inducts Two into Hall of Fame. R.C. Sproul was recently inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

CHRISTIAN LIVING

• The Character of the Christian: Gentle. Tim Challies continues his series on the character of the Christian.
• Seven Reasons Men Have a Right to Speak Out Against Abortion. Daniel Hoffman writes “If abortion qualifies as murder (and it does), then men and women alike have a responsibility to oppose it. To refrain from having an opinion on the matter is not an option.”
• Ten Suggestions to Help You Relax Through Sleep. Randy Alcorn writes “Sleep does indeed have a profound effect on every aspect of our being—physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual.”
• Top 30 Christian Pick-Up Lines. Enjoy these cheesy pick-up lines.
• The Character of the Christian: Generous. Tim Challies continues his helpful series on the character of the Christian
• My Grandmother’s Seeds. Lecrae shares his grandmother’s influence on his faith in his upcoming autobiography Unashamed, which he dedicates to her.
• God is Strong Enough to Carry our Heaviest Burdens. Our friend Kevin Halloran writes “Jesus chose the burdened life so He could carry our heaviest burden—our own sin—and give us hope for a better day when all will be right. And so we wait for that glorious day.” Please be in prayer for Kevin’s
  

  Doug Michael’s Cartoon of the Week

  mother who has been battling cancer for three years.

PROBING QUESTIONS

• Should Christians Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils? Russell Moore writes “When Christians face two clearly immoral options, we cannot rationalize a vote for immorality or injustice just because we deem the alternative to be worse. The Bible tells us we will be held accountable not only for the evil deeds we do but also when we “give approval to those who practice them” (Rom. 1:32).
• John MacArthur asks “What does God mean when He designates someone as great?” John the Baptist: The Last Prophet
• What are You Unwilling to Let Go? Dave Kraft writes “What are you holding on tight to? Or, said another way, what’s holding onto you?”
• Is Your Jesus Too Small? R.C. Sproul writes “There seems to be something wrong with our understanding of Jesus.”
• Do You Believe in a “Higher Power”? In this brief video excerpt from his teaching series Moses and the Burning Bush, R.C. Sproul explains the upside and downside of believing in a “higher power.”

GOING DEEPER

• Jesus, Left-Wing and Right-Wing Disciples. Scott Sauls writes “The question we should be asking, then, is not whether Jesus is on our side, but whether we are on his. This is the appropriate question not only for politics and government, but also every other concern.”
• Everything That is Solid Melts into Air – The New Secular Worldview. This is Albert Mohler’s third article in his four-part series on Secularization and the Sexual Revolution.
• Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me. Kate Bowler, author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, writes of her recent diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer.
• Martin Luther’s Death and Legacy. I enjoyed this article from Stephen Nichols about Luther’s final days and his legacy.
• An Analysis of Celebrate Recovery Addictions Program. In a two-part analysis of the Celebrate Recovery program, Eric Davis writes that Celebrate Recovery “contains two major problems: (1) Though claiming to be biblically based, its teachings are often constructed from a misuse of Scripture and an erroneous hermeneutic. (2) Though claiming to be Christian based, its theology often clashes with sound Christian theology.”

CHURCH LIFE

• The Most Used but Least Understood Phrase in the Church. David Murray writes “Jesus said, “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). That cannot mean that if we attach “in Jesus name” to any prayer request we are guaranteed to get it — it’s not a magic spell. Neither can it mean that if we neglect to say “in Jesus name” our prayers will not be answered — no prayer in the Bible contains these specific words. So what does it mean?”
• How the Church Can Lead in Racial Reconciliation. Check out Relevant Magazine’s interview with Propaganda about Black History Month and racial reconciliation in the church.

MOVIES AND TELEVISION

• Joseph Fiennes Interview. Eric Metaxas interviews Joseph Fiennes about his new film Risen. Fiennes next film will be The Last Race, in which he portrays runner/missionary Eric Liddell (introduced to us in the film Chariots of Fire).
• Sex on the Silver Screen. Tim Challies gives us some good advice here, as he writes “If the Bible forbids what they are doing, it also forbids your voyeuristic participation in it. If they act sinfully by doing it, you act sinfully by watching it.”
• The Dowager Countess’ Finest Burns on Downton Abbey. Check out some of Maggie Smith’s finest moments from Downton Abbey in this six-minute video.

Enjoying Derek Thomas’ “Bookstore Tour” at the Ligonier National Conference

• Missions exists because worship doesn’t. John Piper

• There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’ Abraham Kuyper

• Everything and everyone is being put to work for the glory of God. Whether you know it or not. Kevin DeYoung

• The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. Matt Chandler

• Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. John Wooden

• Nature abhors a vacuum. If you evict truth, you will bring in one lie after another. Ravi Zacharias

• Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength. Corrie ten Boom

• The first step in dealing with any sin is to acknowledge it and repent in one’s attitude toward it. Jerry Bridges

• If you seek righteousness first, you get happiness. If you seek happiness first, you get neither. Tim Keller