• How to have Ministry Heroes Without Plagiarizing Them. Jeff Robinson writes “Scripture certainly gives warrant to have heroes, to study and emulate men and women of the faith whose lives are so marked by humble, courageous Christ-honoring character and grace-enabled skill in living the Christian life.”
• Where is God When Your Dog Dies? Robert Yarbrough, who I enjoyed a class on Jeremiah with at Covenant Seminary a few years ago, writes “Yes, God cares when your dog (or cat, or horse, or other dear pet) reaches life’s end. And he cares for you as you grieve.”
• 4 Things to Remember When Meeting with Jesus. In this short video, David Murray states “I would encourage young people (6-12 years old) to meet with Jesus through reading the Gospels, because that is where Jesus is primarily revealed.”
• Sisters, You Have Permission to Lead an Ordinary Life. Melissa Kruger writes “When I’m overwhelmed by all the messages coming at me each day, I remind myself of 1 Thessalonians 4:11: “Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands.” The quiet, godly life described here is within our reach. And I’ve seen it lived out firsthand.”
• When ‘You Are Enough’ Simply Isn’t Enough. Nancy Guthrie writes “I’m convinced that when we survey the Scriptures, we discover we don’t have to be afraid of, ashamed of, or lose hope because of the emptinessin our lives. Instead, we can face the emptiness with confidence that God can and will work in our inadequacy as only he can—filling it with his own divine fullness.”
• Parenting is Gospel Ministry. In this workshop, Paul Tripp, author of Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family, speaks on how to let the gospel shape what you say and do with the children who have been entrusted to your care.
• When God Says No to Your Earnest Prayers. Garrett Kell shares four gracious truths that can guard us from despairing when the Lord says no to our earnest prayers.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

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

The Reformation

• The Great Contribution of the Reformation. Michael Reeves writes “The glory of God and enjoyment of him were guiding lights for the Reformation and were its great legacy.”
• Luther: In Real Time. Ligonier Ministries recently introduced Luther: In Real Time, a new podcast. Each episode is released 500 years to the day after the events described, allowing you to walk in Martin Luther’s footsteps from his heresy charges to his famous stand for God’s Word.
• Stream the Luther Documentary for Free. For a limited time, you can stream Luther: The Life and Legacy of the German Reformer for free on Ligonier’s YouTube channel. Celebrate Reformation Week by remembering the events God used in Luther’s life that led him to rediscover the gospel of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Current Events

• Justice in the Bible. This is the fourth and final article in the series on justice and race by Tim Keller that includes: “The Bible and Race” (March 2020), “The Sin of Racism” (June 2020), and “A Biblical Critique of Secular Justice and Critical Theory” (August 2020).
• Capitol Hill Baptist Shows How to Fight for Religious Freedom in a Pandemic. Joe Carter writes “In showing how their religious freedom has been clearly violated, in a way that proves an existential threat to their existence as a local church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church provides an example for other churches to follow.”
• David Platt’s Plea Before You Vote. David Platt joins Collin Hansen on the Gospelbound podcast to discuss voting, abortion, and President Trump’s visit to McLean Bible Church.
• 9 Things You Should Know About Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Joe Carter shares nine things you should know about Judge Barrett.
• Christians Were Built for This Moment. Daniel Darling writes “Christians, you see, are made for this moment. We have a story, from Genesis to Revelation, that tells us God is on the move and active in the world, drawing history toward himself. Jesus, in 2020, still saves. And we have a theology that prepares us for suffering and uncertainty, chaos and confusion.

• What is Covenant Theology? In this video, Derek Thomas provides a brief description of covenant theology.
• How Can I Discern the Will of God? How can we discover God’s will for our lives? From one of the Ask Ligonier events, Derek Thomas provides the answer that has helped Christians through the centuries.
• Since Jesus Took Our Punishment, Why Didn’t He Need to Go to Hell Forever? The smallest sin deserves eternal judgment from a holy God. Why didn’t Jesus need to spend eternity in hell in order to satisfy the Father’s justice on our behalf? From one of Ligonier’s Ask R.C. .events, R.C. Sproul expresses the infinite value of Christ’s atoning work.
• Nancy Guthrie Answers Listener Questions. On this final episode of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast, Nancy Guthrie’s husband interviews her about the podcast, and she answers questions from listeners.
• Is It Acceptable to Interpret Adam as an Allegory, Not a historical Person? What do we lose if we don’t believe that Adam was a real, historical person? From one of Ligonier’s live events, R.C.Sproul and John MacArthur express the dangers of rejecting the Creator’s account of humanity’s origins.
• If We Do Not Witness and Share the Gospel Will Some People Not Go to Heaven? Our evangelism should be motivated not by a fear that some of God’s people may be lost, but by an absolute confidence that all whom He has chosen will come to Christ. From one of Ligonier’s Ask R.C. events, R.C. Sproul speaks on God’s sovereignty and our witness.
• Does it Matter How We Spend Our Free Time? Randy Alcorn writes “Scripture tells us to redeem the time and make the most of the time we’ve been given by living in light of eternity.”
• When We Pray, Should We Only Pray to the Father? Is it ever appropriate to pray directly to Jesus or the Holy Spirit, or should we only pray to the Father? From one of the Ask Ligonier events, Derek Thomas gives biblical direction for our prayers to the triune God.

• Ligon Duncan on 2 Samuel 7. In this video, Ligon Duncan shares how this Old Testament passage sets us up to better understand the work of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
• God or Satan? On David’s Sin in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. Sinclair Ferguson writes “God’s grace is 100 percent operative in bringing us to Christ; we are 100 percent operative in coming to  God’s activity does not minimize our responsibility. But what we do contributes nothing to our salvation, since faith is entirely receptive.”
• Is Grace Fair? John MacArthur writes “How easily is our joy and contentment derailed by the revelation that someone else is getting an even better deal?”
• Confessions in Practice. Michael Reeves writes “In sum, confessions draw us, body and soul, into obedience to God’s Word.”
• Four Types of Questions NOT to Ask in Your Small Group Bible Study. Melissa Kruger writes “Here are a few types of questions to be on your guard against. They’re pretty much guaranteed to stifle discussion.”

• Stream for Free: Ligonier’s Dallas–Fort Worth Conference. All of the messages from More Than Conquerors, Ligonier’s 2020 Dallas–Fort Worth Conference, are now available for free on Ligonier.org,  the Ligonier app, and YouTube. Speakers at the conference were H.B. Charles Jr., Steven Lawson and Derek Thomas.
• Union with Christ. Sinclair Ferguson’s new 12-part teaching series Union with Christ is now available from Ligonier. Watch the first message from the series free.
• Boasting Only in the Cross 20 Years Later: A Documentary. Decades have passed since John Piper preached “Boasting Only in the Cross” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XajXp…) at Passion OneDay in 2000. This documentary—featuring testimony of those who were there—shows how God, in his kindness, chose to use that message in life-changing ways.
• The Necessity of Reforming the Church: A New Teaching Series from Robert Godfrey. In this new teaching series, Dr. Robert Godfrey gathers insights from John Calvin’s treatise to ask penetrating questions for Christians and congregations today. Far from being over, the work of reforming the church is still needed—and it cannot wait. Watch the first message from the series free.
• Christians and Pagans in the City: A Conversation with Legal Scholar Steven D. Smith. On this episode of the Thinking in Public podcast, Albert Mohler visits with Steven D. Smith, whose recent book Pagans & Christians in the City: Culture Wars from the Tiber to the Potomacmakes an important argument about the clash of worldviews playing out in the public square.
• Lecrae on the Sports Spectrum Podcast. On this episode of the Sports Spectrum podcast, Jason Romano visits with Lecrae who shares about his love of the NBA, meeting Michael Jordan, what it means to be restored, how he came to faith in Christ, and why he feels it is important to bring awareness to social justice issues.
• A Conversation on Faithful Christian Ministry. Recently, Ligonier’s president and CEO, Chris Larson, hosted a panel discussion with three Ligonier Teaching Fellows: Sinclair Ferguson, Steven Lawson, and Derek Thomas. Watch this dialogue about our need as Christians to bear witness to the gospel with clarity and conviction in an age when confusion abounds.
  

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10 Favorite Quotes of the Week from Sing! Global

• Suffering is never neutral. You don’t just suffer from the thing you are suffering from. You always bring your view of God into your suffering that shapes your experience. Paul Tripp
• Christianity, I believe, becomes more and more relevant as we see the world fragmenting at so many levels. John Lennox
• The essence of worship is to display the worth of God. We instinctively think of God as there to meet our needs rather than thinking the reverse–ourselves as created and sustained to meet His desires. J.I. Packer
• There is a direct correlation between the abiding impact of the truth of God’s word and the overflow of the praise of God’s people. Alistair Begg
• Our attempt to pile up credit in order to eventually earn God’s acceptance by trying to follow a prescribed path of moral teaching is the way of most religions, but it is not Christianity. John Lennox
• If the Word of God is central in your heart, it will be central in your home. Paige Benton Brown
• The second most common command in scripture is to sing. Keith Getty
• I cannot wait for the glory of seeing Jesus Christ…to jump up out of this wheelchair, have such fun jumping and dancing, it will be so exciting to have hands that work! But that’s not the focus, I’ll have a new heart, a heart without sin. Joni Eareckson Tada
• The Bible isn’t about us; it is about what God’s done because he loves us. Sally Lloyd Jones