THIS & THAT: A Weekly Roundup of Favorite Articles and Quotes

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR:

• He Gave His Life to Change the World. John Piper writes “Martin Luther King gave his life to change the world. And toward the end, he was increasingly aware that “the Movement” would cost him his life.”
• MLK50: Gospel Reflections from the Mountaintop. Watch the main sessions from the recent MLK50 conference.

CHRISTIAN MEN:

• The Final Call of John Perkins. Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra writes “After being a janitor, welder, equipment designer, Bible teacher, civil-rights activist, community developer, and author, Perkins wants to “devote the rest of my life to biblical reconciliation.”
• Ray Hinton Interview. Ray Hinton opens up on Megyn Kelly Today about his wrongful conviction for murder, his time on death row and his book, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, an account of his time in prison.
• Golfing Legend Bobby Jones Was Baptized Three Days Before His Death in 1971. Jason Romano writes “Three days before he died, he was baptized,” said Dr. Bob. “From that moment on, there was almost a peace that passed all understanding perhaps, that kind of came upon him.”

• Is Civil Disobedience Biblical? Matthew Hall answers this question in Honest Answers.
• Are There Degrees of Sin?  R.C. Sproul writes “It’s clear that we have different degrees of sin when we consider the warnings of Scripture.”
• Should We Give Up on Evangelicalism? Russell Moore writes “Should we stop calling ourselves “evangelicals”? Should we just give up on “evangelicalism”? I am asked these questions all the time, usually by Christians who are concerned that these labels no longer accurately define or describe who they are and what they believe. In this episode of Signposts,I talk about these questions and offer my own perspective on the status and future of evangelical Christianity in the United States.”
• Why Are Christian Women More Religious Than Christian Men? Joe Carter writes “As a study conducted by the Pew Research Center finds, based on a broad range of factors, Christian women in the United States express a higher level of religiosity and religious commitment than Christian men.”

TRENDING TOPICS:

• Walmart to Stop Selling Cosmopolitan Magazine at Check Out Aisle in All 5,000 Stores. MovieGuide reports “The National Center on Sexual Exploitation announced that after months of working behind the scenes with Walmart regarding the explicit magazines that are sold at the checkout aisle, Walmart has decided to no longer sell the controversial and sexually provocative Cosmopolitan magazine in the checkout aisle where it’s prominently featured.”
• China Bans Bibles from Online Sellers Like Amazon. Morgan Lee writes “Last week, Chinese social media users began noticing that they couldn’t find Bibles listed on some of their nation’s most popular e-commerce platforms.”
• Chappaquiddick and the Temptation of Self-Preservation. Brett McCracken reviews the new film Chappaquiddick. He writes “Chappaquiddick is a film that asks us—and we Christians need urgently to hear this—whether we too would choose self-preservation over integrity if our status and power were at stake.”
• Unbroken 2: Path to Redemption. Watch the official trailer for the forthcoming film Unbroken 2: Path to Redemption, based on story of Louis Zamperini.

• Benjamin Watson on Finishing the Drill of Life, to God’s Glory. Randy Alcorn writes “So how do we stay the course to finish the life God has given us? I believe the missing ingredient in the lives of countless Christians today is ”
• Life Has Not Been Easy. Tim Challies writes “There is something satisfying about complaining, isn’t there? Even though we know it’s sinful, we still find a sick satisfaction in it. For some reason, airing our grievances seems to be a form of therapy. It does not take much to reveal the discontentment that lurks just beneath the surface of our lives.”
• 4 Ways Christians Should Share Their Faith that are Actually Effective. Matt Chandler asks “How do we share the Gospel in the age of unbelief?”
• If They Fell, So Can You. Garrett Kell writes “Whether we are a pastor, president, or housewife, we are all in danger of being wooed, outwitted, and overpowered by sin. Yet we often do not feel the danger until it is too late.”
• 5 Christian Cliches That Need to Die. Matt Smetthurst writes “Here are five popular Christian clichés that are not biblical, and therefore need a memorial service.”
• An Appeal From A Different Kind Of Evangelical. Zack Eswine writes “I’m a White Evangelical. Increasingly, and unfortunately, the label, “hypocrite” fits our movement. An emerging generation turned-off by our churches, says as much, and we need to hear their voices. “Too many Christians doing unchristian things.”
• Be a Gospel Neighbor. Aaron Menikoff writes “The cold hard truth is many of us don’t even know who’s living next door.”
• Christian Courage before Cultural Strategy. Matt Chandler writes “When we have a courage grounded in the unchanging nature of God, we’ll have the right intuitions and motivations to navigate the ever-changing nature of this world, whatever comes our way.”
• For Those Struggling with the Blues, “Downcast-ness,” or Sadness. Scotty Smith prays “Heavenly Father, we come to your throne of grace today on behalf of those who under the weight and wait of sadness—from mild melancholia to deep depression.”
• Six Ways to Practice Sabbath. Tim Keller writes “In a culture that forces us to overwork, how can we practice Sabbath? I suggest that you should be sure to get six kinds of Sabbath rest. All of these represent different kinds of breaks from ordinary work that can refresh and enrich.

• God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility. Derek Thomas writes “To say that God is sovereign is to express His almightiness in every area.”
• The Surprising Work of God: Awakening History. I’ve been enjoying the messages from the 2018 Ligonier National Conference. “Since the first century, God has been pleased to send awakenings to His people, and we can learn much from how He has worked in the past as we call out to Him for awakening today. This session from Kevin DeYoung examines the various awakenings that have taken place in history since the Apostolic era, focusing particularly on the Reformation and the First Great Awakening. It considers the awakenings that happened as God blessed the work of the Reformers and later preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.”

TO MAKE YOU SMILE:

• Church Wood Panel Background Salesman. John Crist breaks down the different types of wood panel background suitable for your church.

• You can’t believe in Jesus and not believe in hell. R.C. Sproul
• If you don’t live for Jesus you will live for something else. Jesus is the one Lord you can live for who died for you. Tim Keller
• What the law requires, grace provides. What the law condemns, grace forgive. Steven Lawson
• Consider the good things that you have and that have happened to you. Why has God given those things to you? Praise him for his love toward you. Tim Keller
• But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through. Francis Chan
• Revival occurs when those who think they already know the gospel discover they do not really or fully know it. Tim Keller
• If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. Charles Spurgeon
• The key to humility is not trying to think less of yourself, nor trying to think of yourself less; it is thinking of Christ and others more. Michael Reeves
• There is only two ways to read the Bible: is it basically about me or basically about Jesus. What must I do, or what has he done? Tim Keller