TO MAKE YOU SMILE:

• New Service Replaces ‘Game Of Thrones’ Sex Scenes With Glaring Kevin DeYoung.The Babylon Bee reports “Just as believers are settling in to enjoy the show’s intricate plot and wide range of morally gray characters, the Reformed reverend will suddenly pop up on the screen and shake his head in disappointment at the viewer at all of the numerous points where the show would usually feature a graphic sexual act.”
• Dying Eagles Fan Uses His Final Wishes to Rip the Team. Jeffrey Clayton Riegel, a New Jersey man died recently. He took the opportunity of his obituary to take one final shot at the Philadelphia Eagles. “God gave Jeffrey the miracle of time to prepare which allowed him to verbalize his last wishes. He requested to have 8 Philadelphia Eagles as pall bearers so the Eagles can let him down one last time.”

Doug Michael’s Cartoon of the Week

IN THE NEWS:

• St. Louis’s Unholy War on Religious Liberty. Nathanial Blake writes about an ordinance passed in St. Louis, Missouri which prohibits discrimination in housing or employment on the basis of “reproductive health decisions.” Promoted as an anti-discrimination measure, the law’s actual purpose is to destroy the self-government of religious and pro-life organizations.
• Why North Koreans are rejecting Kim Jong-un and turning to Christ. Andrew Hamilton-Thomas writes of a report in the Telegraphthat claims a growing number of North Koreans are rejecting Kim Jong-un as their god and are now more open to alternative belief systems, including Christianity.”
• Throwing Stones at the Glass Castle.  Lore Ferguson Wilbert writes about the new film The Glass Castle “The beauty of The Glass Castle is not that it ends too neatly, but that it ends messily and complicated, just as life is. We want clear delineations and boundaries and decisive clarity on whether folks are in or out, but life is not like that.”
• Google on Abortion: 3 Fresh Ways to Make the Case for Life. Trevin Wax writes “Always be on the lookout for new ways to make the case for life. Stephanie Gray’s talk at Google is a great example of how to ask questions, probe deeper into people’s assumptions, and lead people to understand why you uphold the dignity and worth of every human life.”
• James Kennedy Ministries Sues SPLC over Hate Map. Kate Shellnutt writes “We do not hate anyone,” Wright wrote. “We have been falsely branded by the SPLC for nothing more than subscribing to the teachings of the historic Christian faith. We are a nonprofit ministry whose deeply held Christian convictions energize our mission to faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Courtesy of World Magazine

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Doug Michael’s Cartoon of the Week

• 8 Ways to Help Depressed Christians. David Murray writes “Many of us struggle with what to do when someone we know is depressed. We want to help but fear, confusion, or misunderstanding holds us back. So, let me suggest eight guidelines for helping depressed people.”
• Should Christians Cremate Their Loved Ones? John Piper writes “My proposal in this article is that Christian churches be willing to help families financially with simple, Christ-exalting funerals and burials, so that no Christian is drawn to cremation because it’s cheaper.”
• Please Stop Saying “Christianity Isn’t a Religion, It’s a Relationship. Kevin Halloran writes “The next time you’re tempted to say, “Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship”—hold your tongue. You’re not only wrong, you may sound dumb³, and will miss a chance to share what you wanted to communicate all along.”
• Accept Your Leadership.Tim Challies writes “Your family needs to be led. Your wife and children need you to be the leader God calls you to be. He calls you to lead in love, to study the life and character of Jesus Christ, and to imitate him. Do that and God will be pleased. Do that and your family will be blessed. Run to win by accepting and embracing your leadership.”
• The Knee-Buckling Weight of God’s Grace. Scotty Smith prays “Since you gave Jesus to usand for us, of course we can trust you for everything else we actually need. Forgive for thinking otherwise. Forgive our discontent, envy and unbelief.”
• How Do We Fail in Bible Reading? Watch this four-minute video from John Piper.
• The 11 Beliefs You Should Know about Jehovah’s Witnesses When They Knock at the Door. Justin Taylor writes “The following is a brief overview of what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe, along with what the Bible really teaches, printed among the many articles and resources in the back of the ESV Study Bible.
• The Death Knell on Legalism. Watch this less than two-minute video clip from the 2017 Ligonier National Conference in which John MacArthur explains that Jesus’ teaching of the new birth in John 3 is the death knell on legalism.
• How Do You Do Family Worship? In this episode of “Honest Answers, Don Whitney states that “Three syllables is all you have to remember, read, pray, sing.” Watch the six-minute video.
• Don’t Check Your Baggage. Marshall Segal writes “Someone you know — someone struggling with the same sins you once committed against God — needs to hear what God has done for you.”
• Don’t Waste Your Commute. Having just visited my team in Atlanta, I was reminded that some folks have significant commutes to and from work each day. Nick Batzig writes “Here are four very tangible things that we can work toward as we attempt to redeem the time on our commutes.”
• A Surprising Ingredient in Christian Contentment. Erik Raymond writes “Initially unsettling and frankly a bit off-putting, a robust doctrine of sin is an essential ingredient for our contentment.”
• A Pilot Explains What It Really Means When There’s Turbulence During a Flight. I enjoy the benefits of air travel, but I’m certainly not a fan of turbulence. I found this article from Patrick Smith, a commercial airline pilot who currently flies Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft, to be both interesting and comforting.

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