• Calvin University Votes to Allow Faculty to Embrace Heretical Views on Sexuality. Joe Carter writes “The board of trustees at Calvin University recently voted to allow a group of faculty members to dissent from a clause in a confession of faith that regards sex outside of heterosexual marriage as sinful.”
• 3 Steps Christian Institutions Take from Orthodoxy to Sexual Immorality. Joe Carter writes “It might be presumptuous to imply the path from orthodoxy to heterodoxy is the same for all institutions. Yet there does seem to be a recurring pattern that includes three steps.”

• Can Cancer Be God’s Servant? What I Saw in My Wife’s Last Years. Randy Alcorn writes “God isat work behind the scenes, and one day we will understand our suffering’s hidden purposes.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

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

• How Do People Shipwreck Their Faith? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “The apostle Paul talks about ‘some’ who ‘have made shipwreck of their faith’ (1 Timothy 1:19). In the next verse, Paul singles out Hymenaeus and Alexander, both of whom appear to have been professing Christians at some point earlier. According to 1 Timothy 1:20, what did they do? And how do people shipwreck their faith today?”
• What Would You Say to Someone Who Claims They’re Too Busy For Church? From one of the live Ask Ligonier events, Robert Godfrey encourages us to prioritize matters of eternal significance.
• What Makes My Life Christian? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to questions that read in part “What does serving by the strength of God mean? How do I do it? And how am I to work in such a way that it is God’s strength in me?”
• What If I Don’t Have a Spiritual Gift? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “I have been a believer for about a dozen years now, but I don’t seem to have any spiritual gifts. I really feel like a talent-less and sinful mess! Does this mean that the Spirit does not actually dwell in me? How can I discover my purpose in him and fulfill 1 Peter 4:10?”
• What Was the Purpose of Jesus’ 40-day Fast in the Wilderness?  From one of the live Ask Ligonier events, Sinclair Ferguson highlights the significant parallels between this period in Christ’s life and other events in Scripture.
• Do Unbelievers Get a Second Chance After Death? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the questions “Can you explain 1 Peter 3:19–20and 1 Peter 4:6, this idea that the gospel was preached to the dead? Could you please explain 1 Peter 3:19 to me? I’ve heard so many explanations for what Jesus was doing and why he was there. Some go so far as to imply a second-chance salvation. Is there one?”  
• What is a Benediction? Why Does it Appear in So Many Christian Worship Services? From one of the live Ask Ligonier events, Derek Thomas explains these declarations of God’s blessings for His people.

• How Has Your Study of the Holy Spirit Influenced Your Ministry? In this short video, Sinclair Ferguson explains how his study has affected his own life and ministry.

• Epilogue: Return to Seattle. More than two years since producer Mike Cosper began recording interviews for the show, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill returns with its most poignant episode yet—a road trip to Seattle to stand in the spaces where Mars Hill Church began.
• I Once Was: Adam Wainwright. Check out this video to hear St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright tell his “I Once Was” story, and listen to the Sports Spectrum podcast to hear Adam expand on the moment that changed his life.
• The Centrality of Virtue and Intellectualism in Statesmanship: A Conversation with Daniel Mahoney. On this episode of the Thinking in Public podcast, Albert Mohler visits with Daniel Mahoney, Professor Emeritus at Assumption University, where he serves as the Augustinian Chair professor of political science. Mahoney is the author or editor of twelve books, and his most recent book, The Statesman as Thinker, surveys the greatness, courage, and moderation of many of the most influential statesmen in history.

---

• Forgiveness is a form of voluntary suffering. In forgiving, rather than retaliating, you make a choice to bear the cost. Tim Keller
• Those who make laws around God’s laws may seem really conservative but are in fact liberal, going beyond Scripture, binding consciences, making their traditions as if they are the Word of God. Legalists always seem conservative, but they’re actually liberal. Burk Parsons
• Jesus cannot simply be liked–you either must reject him utterly, or crown Him King of your life. Tim Keller
• Money, itself, may not be your idol. But what you put your money towards most readily and most eagerly can show you what your true idols are. Tim Keller
• Real spiritual friendship is eagerly helping one another know, serve, love, and resemble God in deeper and deeper ways. Tim Keller
• We don’t produce good works in order to acquire God’s love but because we have his love. We obey, not in order to obtain God’s salvation, but because God has saved us. Dan Doriani
• The sovereignty of God is the one impregnable rock to which the suffering human heart must cling. Jerry Bridges
• If you don’t believe in God’s wrath, you can never really understand God’s love. Burk Parsons
• In the first commandment we discover that the essence of sin is– not just that we want bad things but that we make good things into ultimate things. Tim Keller