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

• Ravi Zacharias on The Ben Shapiro Show. Ravi Zacharias went home to be with the Lord on May 19. Last July, he joined Ben Shapiro for this conversation.
• Ravi Zacharias (1946–2020) and His Legacy. Alister McGrath writes “Ravi Zacharias will be remembered for his landmark contributions to Christian apologetics, especially his concern to connect the gospel with the life of the mind.”
• Ravi Zacharias on The Eric Metaxas Show. Enjoy this June, 2019 episode of The Eric Metaxas Show featuring an interview with Ravi Zacharias.
• 3 Lessons I Learned from Working with Ravi Zacharias. Sam Allberry, who worked as an itinerant speaker with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, shares three things he learned from working with Ravi.
• Ravi Zacharias at Passion 2020. Enjoy this message from Ravi Zacharias, delivered at Passion 2020 in January, as he helps us to see how each of us has a special purpose in this life that has been designed by God.
• Kayleigh McEnany’s Emotional Tribute to Ravi Zacharias. Watch White House Press Secretary speak about what Ravi Zacharias meant to her.
• Ravi Zacharias (1946–2020). Ligonier Ministries writes “We are grateful for the friendship that R.C. Sproul and Ravi Zacharias shared and for the many times Ravi taught at Ligonier conferences. His compelling and winsome defense of the faith will continue to serve people around the world for years to come.”
• Memorial Service. You can watch the May 29 memorial service for Ravi Zacharias here. Speakers included Vice President Mike Pence, Lecrae and Tim Tebow.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Cartoon of the Week
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

• Does God Miss Our Worship? Robert Godfrey writes “Now is a time we should examine our hearts. Have we become cold or indifferent in our worship? Have we at times only gone through the motions? We do need always the mercy and grace of God to help us to be faithful worshipers.”
• You Cannot Keep Your Life: Courageous Stories for Coronavirus Days. Tim Keesee writes “For the Christian, the guardrails for our fear in any situation are God’s presence and his promises, which will never fail his people. Because of that, we are stronger than we think we are because Jesus, who is in us, with us, and for us, is stronger even than death.”
• Talking to Yourself, Not Listening to Yourself – Psalm 42. Here is a meditation by Tim Keller from his series “Trusting God in Difficult Times”. This series is meant to encourage you to trust God more deeply and to meditate on his word and what it promises, to give you strength and hope in difficult times. After the meditation, Keller is joined by his wife Kathy for a short Question and Answer time.
• What’s the Comfort if the Coronavirus is Judgement? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to a US Army chaplain coming under fire for commending Piper’s new book Coronavirus and Christ.  
• Panel Discussion: Comfort in Times of Crisis. Recently, Ligonier Ministries President, Chris Larson, hosted a panel discussion with the Ligonier Teaching Fellows called Comfort in Times of Crisis, about the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis and the hope we have in Christ during times of trial.
• Can the Pandemic Be an Answered Prayer? Rosaria Butterfield writes “The idols that God is destroying are both national and personal. God is pointing his finger at all of our hearts. If taking away our prosperity is how God will shake us up from our national and personal sins, are we all in?”

• What Do You Say to Evangelicals Who Affirm So-Called ‘Same-Sex Marriage’?   I enjoyed a live taping of the Ask Pastor John podcast at the 2019 Sing! Conference in Nashville last August. Here, John Piper responds to a question that I had submitted.
• We Disagree, Therefore I Need You. Scott Sauls shares a few thoughts about how he believes Jesus wants his people to relate to one another on matters that are important, but that are also non-essential.
• What is Discernment? Sinclair Ferguson writes the “Discernment is learning to think God’s thoughts after Him, practically and spiritually.”
• Why We Can Believe in Jesus. This is the final message in the Questioning Christianity series led by Tim Keller for those processing the Christian faith. Each session is dedicated to a different topic to help explore and discuss questions about Christianity. A “Question and Answer” time follows the lecture.
• Is Suicide the Unpardonable Sin? On this episode of Ask Ligonier, Sinclair Ferguson addresses the sensitive subject of suicide.
• The Battle Over Yoga: History, Theology, and Popular Culture in a Conversation with Historian Alistair Shearer. Check out this episode of the Thinking in Public podcast with Albert Mohler.
• Should I Watch This? 5 Questions for the Discerning Viewer. Brett McCracken writes “There is a risk of overthinking our entertainment choices. But the greater risk—to the state of our souls and our witness in the world—is under-thinking it.”
• Finding God in the Darkness. Derek Thomas writes “No matter how dark the path gets, there is a reason for it. I may not know it; but that is not important. What is important is this: He knows!”

• PCA Report Names Sin While Not Being Named by It. Denny Burk writes “I couldn’t be more grateful to see these twelve affirmations from the PCA (Presbyterian Church in American), study committee. I look forward to seeing the General Assembly take it up next summer. I hope and pray that they will approve it. If they do, it will perhaps be the most comprehensive statement on biblical sexuality adopted by a Protestant denomination. This is the kind of work that every church and denomination ought to be doing if they haven’t already.” In his article “12 Statements on Human Sexuality”, Justin Taylor lists the Twelve Statements from the report.
• The Insidious Attraction of Cults. Unless we approach Scripture with great care and precision, it is easy to be led astray from the truth by subtle lies and exciting personalities. In this brief clip from his series on church history, Robert Godfrey explains the powerful influence that cults have had in the United States.
• What is Grace? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper answers a question from a listener who struggles to understand one of the most commonly used words in the church today. That word is ‘grace.’  
• What is Hyper-Calvinism? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper addresses the question “What is hyper-Calvinism, and how do we avoid it?”  
• Beware the “Damnable Plus”. When it comes to our justification, we must be wary of anyone who replaces “Christ alone” with “Christ plus…” In this brief clip from his excellent new teaching series No Other Gospel: Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, Derek Thomas considers the subtle danger of relying on our works or preferences to obtain a righteous standing before God.
• God’s Word is Our Standard. If someone claims to represent the Lord and yet seeks to lead others away from God’s written Word, that person must be rejected. In this brief clip from his excellent teaching series Discovering Deuteronomy, Robert Godfrey teaches that Scripture is our ultimate standard of truth, just as it was in the days of Moses.

• Can I Lose My Salvation? In this six-minute video, Jonathan Leeman and John Onwuchekwa discuss whether or not believers can lose their salvation.
• Should Our Worship Services Be Designed for Christians or Non-Christians? Today, it’s popular for churches to make elements of the worship service appealing to non-Christian visitors and guests. From one of Ligonier’s Ask C.events, R.C. Sproul reminds us of the purpose of our worship as Christians.

• Discovering Deuteronomy. As I take my daily walk in the afternoon, I have been listening to teaching series from Ligonier Ministries. I recently listened to Discovering Deuteronomy by Robert Godfrey. Godfrey tells us that a major theme in the book of Deuteronomy is leadership. This teaching series – and all of them from Ligonier – are free to stream until at least June 10.
• Tim Keller on Carey Nieuwhof Podcast. Carey Nieuwhof visits with Tim Keller about a number of subjects. The conversation starts at the 6:48 point.

 

• Say this to yourself today, “Whatever it is, God’s grace is sufficient.” Paul Tripp
• Jesus didn’t come to tell us the answers to the questions of life, he came to be the answer. Tim Keller
• Because Jesus has covered all of our offenses, we can be among the least offensive and least offended people in the world. This is the way of the gentle answer. Scott Sauls
• God knows your pain firsthand. He has been through it himself. Nothing you are experiencing; he hasn’t experienced first. Tim Keller
• We don’t repent to get God to love us, we repent because God loves us. Burk Parsons
• Even when there’s no signs of hope, keep hoping. God didn’t bring you this far for nothing. Lecrae
• Just remember, nothing in your life escapes the power of God’s amazing grace. Paul Tripp
• The soft pillow upon which we can lay our heads during hard times is the sovereignty of God. Steven Lawson
• The same sovereignty that could stop the coronavirus, yet doesn’t, is the very sovereignty that sustains the soul in it. John Piper