CHRISTIAN LIVING:
- Navigating Family Tensions at the Holidays. Russell Moore writes “Here are a few quick thoughts on what followers of Jesus ought to remember, especially if you’ve got a difficult extended family situation.”
- A Conversation with Rosaria Butterfield. In this episode of his Signposts podcast, Russell Moore sits down with professor and author Rosaria Butterfield to talk about her conversion to Christ, her previous life in the LGBT community, and what Christians need to remember when reaching out to the world around them.
- Talking Tough Topics with Scott Sauls. Collin Hansen interviews on the Gospel Coalition podcast as they talk about angry emails, challenging friends, tough topics, the spirituality of the church, and more.
- Glennon Doyle Melton’s Gospel of Self-Fulfillment. Jen Pollock Michel writes “To be sure, in this life we painfully persist in contradiction, doing what we hate and failing what we love. Our hearts aren’t fully given to God. But our “integrity” and “freedom” do not lie, as Melton suggests, in abandoning the discomfort of God’s revealed truth for self-soothing versions that placate the conscience and tickle our fancy.”
- Why Christian Kids Leave the Faith. Tim Challies shares four prominent reasons that Tom Bisset has identified that people raised in Christian homes eventually leave Christianity behind.
- Parents: It’s Time to Wake Up About Pornography, Sexting, and Your Children. Randy Alcorn writes “This is a battle for our children, with their lives and futures at stake. May Christian parents answer the Lord’s call to protect their children, and train them in the joys of purity.”
- Covenant Student Athletes Take A Knee During National Anthem. I was disappointed to read that on November 15, 2016, some members of the Covenant College men’s and women’s basketball teams chose to take a knee during the singing of the national anthem before the start of their home basketball games.
- The Difference Between Being Judgmental and Exercising Discernment. Watch this brief video from the 2014 Ligonier National Conference in which C. Sproul reminds us that Christians are called to make judgments regarding what is righteous and what is unrighteous.
- The Blessing and Freedom of Being at Jesus’ Feet. Scotty Smith prays “I truly want to forgive others as you have forgiven me. I want to love you much because you love me more than I can possibly imagine—as much as the Father loves you. May the tears of gratitude I offer at your feet become the water of mercy with which I wash the feet of fellow sinners. Grant me big grace, Jesus, especially for the people who have caused me the biggest hurt, shame, and pain”
CURRENT EVENTS:
- 9 Things You Should Know About Fidel Castro (1926–2016). Joe Carter writes “Fidel Castro, the former dictator of Cuba, has died at the age of 90. Here are nine things you should know about the long-ruling Marxist leader.”
- Starbucks Unveils New Satanic Holiday Cups. The Babylon Bee –Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire- reports “Starbucks Corporation has unveiled its annual holiday design for the 2016 Christmas season, and it features a prominent inverted Satanic pentacle.”
- The Worldview of the new Disney movie ‘Moana’. Dan DeWitt writes “Pantheism stands in stark contrast to a Christian view of the world as created by an all-powerful and personal God. It is a deification, a making into god, of the universe. In fact, that is what the Apostle Paul warns his readers will happen if they reject God, they will worship the creation instead of the Creator ( Romans 1:25).”
- How Trump Won the Troops.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, which I’m reading now, writes “In a speech announcing that he had ended his long-shot bid for the nomination, Mr. Webb wondered aloud whether his views were consistent with the “power structure and the nominating base of the Democratic Party.” Hundreds of thousands — possibly millions — of working-class whites switched their votes from Barack Obama to Donald Trump. I suspect many of them thought the same thing when they went to the polls.”
- 9 Things You Should Know About C. S. Lewis. On the fifty-third anniversary of the death of Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis, one of the most well-known, widely read, and frequently quoted Christian authors of modern times Joe Carter shared these nine things you should know about the author and apologist who has been called “The Apostle to the Skeptics.”
- Hollywood’s Outrageous Embrace of Euthanasia. Timothy Willard writes “Creators of movies and television shows that promote euthanasia are more than happy to continue spreading their message to the world. It’s time for those who hold a different view of the good life—one that emphasizes life, not death—to start doing the same.”
Doug Michael’s Cartoon of the Week
- We actually are saved by works, that is, by the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. Steven Lawson
- God’s best gifts are the ones most apt to be twisted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Kevin DeYoung
- Judge yourself on what Christ is rather than on what you are. Charles Spurgeon
- “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.“ Yes God demands perfection. Hence the need for Christ! John Piper
- We want the approval of God—but the applause of men can be deafening. C. Sproul
- The only election that unites enemies, destroys hostilities, & secures the perfect government is God’s electing love lavished on us in Jesus. Scotty Smith
- Want to be like Jesus? Focus less on trying to be like Jesus and more on being with him. Scott Sauls
- Indwelling sin always abides while we are in this world; therefore it is always to be mortified. John Owen
- Oh, may God grant us to see sin for what it really is. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
