Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

THIS & THAT: A Roundup of Favorite Articles and Quotes

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  • Disney’s Strange World Embodies Strange New World. Brett McCracken writes “Two 2022 releases: Disney’s Strange World and Carl Trueman’s book Strange New World (see my review of Trueman’s book here). Any youth unfortunate enough to have seen the former should be required to read the latter. Disney’s film represents the cultural sickness Trueman’s book analyzes.”
  • What Should Christians Think About Same-Sex Marriage? Kevin DeYoung writes “We must not be naive. The legitimization of same-sex marriage will mean the de-legitimization of those who dare to disagree. The sexual revolution has been no great respecter of civil and religious liberties. Sadly, we may discover that there is nothing quite so intolerant as tolerance.”
  • A Massive Victory for the Moral Revolutionaries. Albert Mohler writes “Yesterday was not just another day in the life of the United States Senate. It was not just another badday in Senate history. What happened yesterday represents an abject failure to uphold the most basic institution of human civilization. The Senate voted to redefine marriage. Sixty-one senators voted for what they dared to call the Respect for Marriage Act, as if subverting marriage is an act of respect.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
~More interesting article links
~ Favorite Quotes of the Week


  • When Did the Roman Catholic Church Begin? From one of Ligonier’s live events, Robert Godfrey and Derek Thomas consider the origins and development of this institution as it exists today.
  • How Does Baptism Save Us? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the questions “Why do we say baptism does not save, when 1 Peter 3:21clearly says it does?”, and “ I sometimes meet people from church backgrounds that say water baptism is necessary for salvation, and they cite 1 Peter 3:21 to prove it. I know that we are saved by grace through faith, and not by any work of ours, including baptism. But could you help frame a response to those of us who engage with people from church traditions that believe in baptismal regeneration?”
  • Does the Holy Spirit Tell People Things in Their Thoughts? From one of the live Ligonier events, Derek Thomas, Robert Godfrey, and Burk Parsons discuss the work of the Spirit in the lives of God’s people.
  • Should We Seek to Suffer? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to a question that reads in part Later on I found your exegesis of 1 Peter 4:15very helpful to understand the role of suffering in the Christian life. One of your four conclusions was this: ‘Don’t prioritize the value of suffering above the value of doing good.’ I think that’s a relevant word in this age, when getting hated or deleted online is a badge of accomplishment. You draw out a powerful application from this text as for why. But I’m failing to connect this point of application to the text  Can you elaborate on what you mean by this conclusion and how Peter is conveying this message to his readers? Also, how might we apply this in our daily walk as we battle unjust suffering?”
  • Will We Recognize Our Friends and Family in Heaven? Derek Thomas responds to this question “ And we will recognize not just family and friends, but Jesus, and He will recognize us.”
  • Is it the Role of the Church to Evangelize? Is evangelism a responsibility of the church? From one of the live Ask Ligonier events, Robert Godfrey considers the essential task of making the gospel known.
  • How Can Satan Harm Christians? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper addresses the following questions My question for you is about 1 Peter 5:8–9. Is Peter saying that the devil seeks to devour us in and through our suffering? Or is he saying the constant attacks of Satan are our suffering?” And, “First Peter 5:8says Satan is our enemy, and I believe it! But enemies are opposed to us in very specific ways, and I’m not clear about this with Satan. My question is how — how is Satan our enemy?”
  • Is Tithing for Today? In the Old Testament, the ancient Israelites were commanded to give a tenth of their increase to the Lord. Is this a requirement for modern Christians? From the Ligonier 2022 National Conference, Derek Thomas addresses the question of tithing in the church.
  • How Can I Cast My Cares on God? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “I was recently rereading your book Battling Unbelief. In the first chapter, you mention 1 Peter 5:7and that we should be ‘casting our cares on God.’ I have often wondered about this command and how you do it. How do you cast your cares? Do you simply tell God you’re giving up your worries? Additionally, once you do cast them, are we expected to forget those worries? Or can we expect them to come back to us?”
  • How Can the Doctrines of Grace Enrich Our Relationship with God? Is it possible to embrace the doctrines of grace without being amazed by God’s grace? From one of Ligonier’s live events, Michael Reeves and Stephen Nichols explain how these gospel truths should deepen our affection for our sovereign Savior.
  • Good and Bad People-Pleasing. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “How do I quit seeking to please every person in my life and focus on pleasing God? I want to apply Galatians 1:10to my life. Can you walk me through what this means? I’m unable to discover God’s plan for me because I’m constantly making decisions based on how it pleases or displeases everyone around me.”

  • Life and Apologetics with R. C. Sproul. Ever wonder how theologians are formed? On this episode of the 9Marks Leadership Interviews, Mark Dever interviews R.C. Sproul about the shaping of his life, theology, and ministry.
  • Alistair Begg Preaches on Romans 1: 26-27. Listen to Alistair Begg’s sermon “God Gave Them Up” — Part Two”.
  • Things Unseen with Sinclair Ferguson. Things Unseen is a new podcast from Ligonier Ministries featuring Sinclair Ferguson. Monday through Friday, this devotional podcast features thoughtful reflections on the Christian life and our relationship with God. Sinclair Ferguson follows a theme each week to guide you day by day in the pursuit of spiritual renewal.
  • One Hope for Our Mass Derangement. Alistair Begg writes “We’re not at liberty to rewrite the Bible to accommodate godless perspectives on abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, transgenderism, and the like. We’re not free to tamper with God’s Word.”


  • The church is not a museum for pristine saints, but a hospital ward for broken sinners. Tim Keller
  • Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can. John Wesley
  • My job is faithfulness. God’s job is fruitfulness. John Piper
  • Every hour of every day, God is richly blessing us; both when we sleep and when we wake His mercy waits upon us. Charles Spurgeon
  • Heaven will be full of thankful people asking, “Why me, Lord?” Hell will be full of people demanding fairness. Burk Parsons
  • Do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can. D.L. Moody
  • God treated Christ on the cross as if He had lived my life, so He could treat me as if I had lived His life. That’s the beautiful glory of the gospel. John MacArthur  
  • When we focus on self, we see nothing. When we focus on others, we see the specks in their eyes. When we focus on Christ, we see the logs in our own eyes. Burk Parsons
  • The truth is that more spiritual progress is made through failure and tears than success and laughter. Alistair Begg

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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