Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

THIS & THAT: A Roundup of Favorite Articles and Quotes

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Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

  • More interesting article links
  • Favorite Quotes of the Week

  • In What Ways Does The Devil Attack Christians? God’s people have an enemy. In what ways does the devil attack Christians? From one of the live Ask Ligonier events, Derek Thomas prepares us to be on guard against the common assaults of the evil one.
  • What Should We Think of Flashy Pastors? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to a question that reads in part Recently, social media accounts have surfaced and gained quite a bit of attention which show numerous well-known pastors wearing extremely expensive and flashy clothes, shoes, watches, etc. These accounts have raised controversy about whether these leaders are justified in doing this. Many think their lavish lifestyles discredit Christ. First Peter 3:3seems to allude to this issue. But I’m curious, what other texts of Scripture speak to this? And where do you stand on it all?”
  • Did Jesus Take on Our Sin Nature? In addition to taking on our human nature, did Jesus need to assume our sinful nature for Him to “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb. 4:15)? From the 2022 Ligonier National Conference, Michael Reeves expresses the encouragement we receive from the compassion of our sinless Savior.
  • How Much Jewelry is Too Much? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “My wife and I are trying to figure out if it’s good to allow our daughter to wear nail polish. She’s 2 and loves to play dress-up. I don’t want this to become a necessity, but I suppose it’s fine as an expression of her childlike creativity. It’s ultimately a question for my wife as well. She doesn’t wear makeup or jewelry often and I’m happy with that. She does, however, enjoy having her toes painted. Considering 1 Peter 3:3–4, I don’t know many people who argue that all feminine adornments are bad. But clearly some are wrong. Where do we draw that line today?”
  • Who’s More Sinful: Men or Women? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “I have been hearing from Christians around me that women are more sinful than men. I know from my daily ungodly thoughts and actions how sinful I am. But as a mother of boys and girls, does the Bible teach that I should teach my girls they are more sinful than boys? I know the Bible says we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But Eve, Delilah, Samson’s wives, Solomon’s wives, Potiphar’s wife — these have been listed to me as proof that women are more evil than men are. Is this true?”
  • My Husband Left Me – How Do I Respond? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “My husband, once a professing believer in Christ, left our three young girls and me for another woman. He divorced me a little over a year ago. Throughout this journey, I have struggled with an appropriate, God-honoring response to his ongoing sinful and hurtful behaviors toward our daughters and me. I am torn between a righteous anger and ‘tough love,’ as Jesus showed by turning tables in the temple, and an unconditional grace, as in turning the other cheek, loving my enemies, and 1 Peter 2:23. What is the biblical approach to responding to such betrayal and unrepentant sin?”
  • Does Jesus Need to be Our Lord as well as Our Savior if We are to be Saved? Must Jesus be both our Savior and our Lord if we are to be saved? From one of Ligonier’s live events, Derek Thomas and Robert Godfrey speak to these two elements of our relationship with Christ.
  • Questions & Answers with Parsons, Reeder, and Thomas. Here is a questions and answers session with Burk Parsons, Harry Reeder and Derek Thomas from a Ligonier Conference.


  • You can’t love Jesus and divorce yourself from his bride. If you truly love Jesus, you’ll love his church and love to worship with the church. Burk Parsons
  • Grace guarantees that God will love you even on your worst, most rebellious, self-oriented day. His love was purchased for you, not earned by you. Paul Tripp
  • All places are places of worship to a Christian. Wherever he is, he ought to be in a worshiping frame of mind. Charles Spurgeon
  • If we believe in God only when he is doing great things for us, we are not really serving him; we are only using him. Tim Keller
  • We should be careful about the words of the music we sing and ensure that those words communicate truth. C. Sproul
  • Christianity isn’t true because it’s relevant. It’s relevant because it’s true. Tim Keller
  • Often when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we wallow in the mire of shame and sadness remembering ourselves and our sins rather than rejoicing with joy remembering Jesus who took our sins and nailed them to the cross. Burk Parsons
  • In justification we become righteous in the sight of God by means of the cloak of Christ’s righteousness. R.C. Sproul
  • We don’t repent to get God to love us, we repent because God loves us. Burk Parsons

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

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