• 5 Lies Our Culture is Telling Us. Rosaria Butterfield shares this article adapted from her new book Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age.
• Sexual Confusion, Cultural Lies, and Our Christian Witness: Rosaria Butterfield. On this episode of the Crossway podcast, Rosaria Butterfield responds to many of the most common claims and arguments that we often hear related to gender and sexuality today. She also answers tough questions that many of us will encounter at some point in our lives, like whether or not to attend your child’s same sex wedding, or how to respond to a request to use someone’s preferred pronouns.
• Five Misconceptions About Dechurching in America. Jim Davis and Michael Graham share five misconceptions about dechurching that church leaders need to hear.

• The Sermon on the Mount Is Not an Impossible Standard to Make Us Feel Bad. Kevin DeYoung writes “If we approach the Sermon on the Mount only or mainly as a means by which we see our sinfulness, we’ve not taken the sermon on its own terms.”
• Immature Defenses of ‘Mature’ Sexual Content in Movies. Cap Stewart writes about some of the immature ways we can respond to sexual content in our entertainment.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

• A Time for Courageous Love. Rosaria Butterfield writes “I believe there are three reasons for our divided churches. And these three reasons have unleashed five lies that many evangelical churches have embraced.”
• God is Working Even When We Can’t See It. Russ Gehrlein writes “The people that God loves through us are divine appointments. There is always purpose in every single encounter we have. We may or may not see it right away. We may not see the impact of our faithful work for 30 years or more. We may never see or hear about it. But do not forget that God’s work is never wasted, and neither is your work done for His glory.”
• The Tolerance Jesus Will Not Tolerate. Kevin DeYoung writes “Christians cannot be tolerant of all things because God is not tolerant of all things. We can respect differing opinions and try to understand them, but we cannot give our unqualified, unconditional affirmation to every belief and behavior. Because God doesn’t. We must love what God loves.”

• Does Science Contradict the Biblical Doctrine of Creation? From one of the live Ask Ligonier events, Stephen Nichols considers the role of science in understanding the world that God made.
• I Don’t Feel God’s Love – What Can I Do? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “Is there anything I can do to help God help my dad? We’re not in the best living situation, and though we’ve prayed, we haven’t found a new place to live. I am actively pursuing the Lord in my mornings, and I am trying to lead my dad here, yet he still struggles with his faith. Just last night he said he doesn’t feel God’s love for him as his son. Life is hard for him right now, and God feels distant. What can I say and how can I pray for a dad who does not feel God’s love?”
• How Can Christians Apply Matthew 7:6? How should Christians apply Jesus’ command in Matthew 7:6 not to “give dogs what is holy” or “throw your pearls before pigs”? From one of Ligonier’s live events, Robert Godfrey provides an example from the ministry of Christ.
• Why Should We Learn About What God is Doing in Other Regions of the World? Jesus Christ is building His church around the world. From the 2023 Ligonier National Conference, Voddie Baucham speaks on the importance of having a global perspective about the Lord’s work in advancing His kingdom.
• Is Something Wrong with Me if I Don’t Feel God’s Presence in My Suffering? Is there something wrong with us if we seem to feel God’s absence, rather than His presence, in our suffering? From Ligonier’s 2023 National Conference, Sinclair Ferguson offers counsel to help us in our darkest hours.
• What Does it Look Like to Glorify God? How can we know whether our lives and our behavior are glorifying to God? From one of the live Ask Ligonier events, Steven Lawson explains that the truth goes deeper than our actions.
• Even if Our Faith is False, Aren’t Christians Happier People? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “Christian Hedonism seems to say that our deepest longings in this life can only be satisfied by God, and it’s only in him that we can be truly happy. If God makes us happier than people who simply pursue the world, why does Paul say we are to be pitied most of all men if there is no resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:19)? Even if Christ was not resurrected, isn’t our life, now, more satisfying than the life of the non-Christian?”
• What Does Piper Mean by “Satisfied”? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “You have spoken about being satisfied in God thousands and thousands of times in your life. But I cannot find any reference in your works to where you have defined that term. To you, what does it mean to be satisfied?”   

• The Unexpected Story of Miguel Nunez. I really enjoyed this article about Miguel Nunez by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra.
• 9 Things You Should Know About the Prosperity Gospel. Joe Carter shares nine helpful things you should know about the prosperity gospel.
• What Does It Mean for Christians to Fear the Lord? In this short video, Michael Reeves offers a biblical definition of the fear of the Lord.

• ‘The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism’ — A Conversation with Daniel Hummel About Dispensationalism in America and in the Evangelical Mind. On this episode of the Thinking in Public podcast, Albert Mohler visits with Daniel Hummel, the Director for University Engagement at Upper House, a Christian ministry and study center located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about his most recent book, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism.   

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• The gospel teaches us we are unworthy. We are saved by grace, not by worth.  Sinclair Ferguson   
• Holiness is nothing but the implanting, writing and realizing of the gospel in our souls. John Owen
• We do not become righteous by doing righteous deeds but, having been made righteous, we do righteous deeds. Martin Luther
• Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself. Open the door, and let the lion out! I believe that would be the best way of defending him, for he would take care of himself; and the best ‘apology’ for the gospel is to let the gospel out. Charles Spurgeon
• We too often worry about tomorrow because our focus is on tomorrow and not on our God who is sovereign over tomorrow. Burk Parsons
• Everything is necessary that God sends our way; nothing can be necessary that he withholds. John Newton
• We’re most Pharisaical when we create laws around God’s laws and try to make our own preferences, suggestions, and habits the obligatory standards for all. Burk Parsons
• Our good works are a result of our acceptance by God, not a means to acceptance. They are our response to His love, not a means of securing it. Alistair Begg
• We have permission to approach His throne at all times – in midnight’s darkest hour or in noontide’s most burning heat. Exercise your right, believer, and enjoy this privilege. It does not matter what your need is, for there is abundant supply in Christ. Charles Spurgeon