Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

THIS & THAT: A Weekly Roundup of Favorite Articles, Cartoons & Quotes

Leave a comment

SOCIAL JUSTICE:

  • The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel. John MacArthur and Doug Wilson are among the signers of this new statement on social justice and the Gospel.
  • The Injustice of Social Justice. John MacArthur writes “The message of social justice diverts attention from Christ and the cross. It turns our hearts and minds from things above to things on this earth. It obscures the promise of forgiveness for hopeless sinners by telling people they are hapless victims of other people’s misdeeds.”
  • The Gospel and Social Justice, Part 1. Russell Moore writes “I have had many people ask me recently about the issue of social justice. As Christians, we are called to live as a gospel people, and in light of recent cultural conversations on this topic some have wondered about the connection between the gospel and justice. In this episode of Signposts, I discuss this issue and consider the Bible’s instruction for Christians seeking to live faithfully in the world and in obedience to the gospel.” Here is Part 2.
  • Albert Mohler Answers Questions about Social Justice. Denny Burk writes “Albert Mohler had an open Q&A session with students as Southern Seminary and Boyce College today in which he answered a question about social justice. Later in the day, Dr. Mohler answered more questions along these lines on his podcast “Ask Anything Live.”
  • Is Social Justice a Gospel Issue? Kevin DeYoung writes “Is social justice a gospel issue? That depends on what we mean by “social justice” and what we mean by “gospel issue.”

EVANGELISM:

  • Core Christianity. Here is the first episode of the “Core Christianity” podcast from Michael Horton. The topic is “How Should I Share My Faith With My Atheist Friends?”
  • How to Evangelize Your LGBT Neighbors. Rosaria Butterfield writes “The way to evangelize your LGBT neighbors is the same way the Smiths evangelized me: by reminding them that only the love of Christ is seamless. Not so for our spouses or partners. Only Christ loves us best. He took on all our sin, died in our place bearing God’s wrath, and rose victorious from the dead.”

COURTESY OF WORLD MAGAZINE

AMERICAN CULTURE:

  • Life, Liberty, &the Culture War. Robert Godfrey writes ““Life” and “Liberty” are terms that have powerful and positive connotative value to us. We are “pro-life” and “pro-liberty.” Such emotionally-laden terms can be definitionally evasive, however, since they stir our passions as well as our reason.
  • 9 Things You Should Know About the STD Crisis. Sexually transmitted diseases have hit crisis levels and are on the rise in America, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data show that total chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases hit an all-time high in 2017 with nearly 2.3 million cases reported to CDC, surpassing the total reported to CDC for 2016 by more than 200,000 cases.”
  • America Soured on My Multiracial Family. David French writes “We love our daughter more than we love our own lives. But the idealism of 2010 is gone. Then, we thought our family reflected the future. Now we know that was naive. Now we know that while the promise of Galatians—the promise that we are “all one”—is true in the Kingdom of Heaven, in America it does not yet apply.”
  • Albert Mohler on How Politics Are ‘Downstream’ from Culture. In this short video, Albert Mohler discusses the interconnected relationship between culture and politics.

CHRISTIAN LIVING:

  • The Role of the Imagination in Discipleship. In this short video, Andrew Peterson, artist and president of The Rabbit Room, speaks about the importance of imagination in Christian discipleship.
  • Intellectual Discipleship? Albert Mohler writes “Christian faithfulness requires the conscious development of a worldview that begins and ends with God at its center.”
  • The Blessing of a Messy House. Rosaria Butterfield writes “God commands all Christians to practice hospitality, and there’s no question that some people just enjoy it more than others. But we’re not just called to work from our gifts. Biblically speaking, working from your weakness is often more blessed by God than working from your strengths, which you can often do in the flesh, stealing glory from God.”

GREAT RESOURCES:

  • Real Sermons Are Not Lectures or Moral Stories. On this episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast, Burk Parsons expands on his tweet “Pastors who deliver merely intellectually stimulating lectures and not gospel-saturated, intellectually stimulating, worship-driven sermons will always produce auditors and spectators rather than participants and passionate worshipers.”
  • 2019 Gospel Coalition National Conference. The 2019 Gospel Coalition National Conference will be held in Indianapolis April 1-3. The theme is “Conversations with Jesus”.
  • The 7 Most Famous Things Luther Never Actually Said. Justin Taylor writes “Some of the best Luther quotes are things he didn’t actually say or didn’t say in quite that way. Some of them capture his basic thought, while others represent things he would have disagreed with.”
  • 4 Reasons to Remember Your Creator in Your Youth. David Murray writes “But as it’s especially in our youth that we are most inclined (determined?) to forget our Creator, it’s especially in these years that we must work to remember our Creator (Ecc.12:1). Remember that He made you, that He provides for you, that He cares for you, that He watches you, that He controls you; and remember that He can save you ”

Doug Michael’s Cartoon of the Week

  • If the Church is not transforming the culture around her, then the culture around her is transforming the Church. There is no static equilibrium point. Douglas Wilson
  • The chief feature of the New Jerusalem will be the immediate presence of God. God will be in the midst of His people. R.C. Sproul
  • In the end, all that matters is did we live for the glory of God. Steven Lawson
  • The cross is meaningless without the incarnation and incomplete without the resurrection. R.C. Sproul
  • The gospel overturns everything sin does. D.A. Carson
  • Until now there has never been a culture in the history of world that put so much emphasis and hope into sex for happiness and fulfilment. Tim Keller
  • As you go through your day, rest in this—that in Christ we have a Great High Priest mediating for us and pouring His grace out on us day by day. Alistair Begg
  • The gospel cannot be truly preached without offense and tumult. Martin Luther
  • The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches but my need. Charles Spurgeon

Author: Bill Pence

I’m Bill Pence – married to my best friend Tammy, a graduate of Covenant Seminary, St. Louis Cardinals fan, formerly a manager at a Fortune 50 organization, and in leadership at my local church. I am a life-long learner and have a passion to help people develop, and to use their strengths to their fullest potential. I am an INTJ on Myers-Briggs, 3 on the Enneagram, my top five Strengthsfinder themes are: Belief, Responsibility, Learner, Harmony, and Achiever, and my two StandOut strength roles are Creator and Equalizer. My favorite book is the Bible, with Romans my favorite book of the Bible, and Colossians 3:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 being my favorite verses. Some of my other favorite books are The Holiness of God and Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul, and Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. I enjoy music in a variety of genres, including modern hymns, Christian hip-hop and classic rock. My book Called to Lead: Living and Leading for Jesus in the Workplace and Tammy’s book Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold are available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon. amazon.com/author/billpence amazon.com/author/tammypence

Leave a Reply