Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • The Church and Israel: The Issue. World events have led many to wonder what is the role for Israel. Cornelis Venema writes “In order to orient the discussion of this critical issue, we need to begin with a clear understanding of the major views on this question that are represented today within the church. These views illustrate not only the importance of the question, but the wide diversity of positions.”
  • Listener Questions (Live at TGC25) [The Everyday Pastor. In this special episode of The Everyday Pastor podcast, Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan answer listener-submitted questions, recorded live at The Gospel Coalition’s 2025 National Conference.

God’s Good Design for Marriage: 5 Doctrinal Dimensions. Robert Yarbrough offers a doxological tribute to marriage, a celebration and commendation of God’s good and glorious design.

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • How to Care for Sufferers. On this episode of the The Everyday Pastor podcast, Joni Eareckson Tada joins Matt Smethurst and Ligon Duncan to share lessons she’s learned about enduring hardship and give practical advice for pastors who wish to care for sufferers well.
  • How Can Isaiah Comfort Christians Today? In this video, Derek Thomas describes the comfort Christians can find in the book of Isaiah.
  • Is There a Right Way to Pray? Joseph Harrod answers this question in this episode of Honest Answers.

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

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My Decades Long Love for Illinois State University Basketball

Horton Field House

Sports has always played a big part in my life. Basketball, baseball and golf would be my favorite sports to either play or watch. But likely no sport has played a bigger part than that of Illinois State University (ISU) Men’s Basketball.
I like to walk 5-6 miles a day. I started walking during the pandemic in 2020, when we were “locked down”. A part of that walk included a call to my Dad, who was 84 years old, and we were not able to see each other in person during that period.

CEFCU Arena

These days, a typical walk will take me past Illinois State’s Gregory Street Tennis Courts and Weibring Golf Club, named after the school’s greatest golfer D.A. Weibring. Occasionally, I will walk down Adelaide Street where the ISU men’s baseball field, named Duffy Bass Field is located.After that, there is the women’s soccer field, Adelaide Street Field and the women’s softball Marian Kneer Softball Stadium. Continue reading


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Will Heaven Ever Grow Boring? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper answers a question that reads in part “I have been struggling with the concept of eternity lately. At first, I had difficulty imagining what heaven could be like, even for a short time. But after reading, I began to understand joy for thousands, millions, or even billions of years. However, even a hundred trillion years still seems nothing in light of eternity. I struggle to process something with no end. How will we not get bored?”

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • How Can Christians Overcome Fear in Evangelism? In this video, Michael Reeves explains that Christian evangelism doesn’t depend on personal eloquence but on Scripture’s inherent power, encouraging believers to trust God’s Word rather than their own abilities when sharing the gospel.

  • When Should a Pastor Preach Through Romans? The Banner of Truth poses this question to Sinclair Ferguson.
  • What Are Some Warning Signs of Legalism? In this video, Sinclair Ferguson explores how legalism manifests in our hearts through our tendency to try to earn God’s favor and judge others by standards that distort the gospel.
  • Jesus’ Teaching on Marriage and Gender. Many people are rejecting the teaching in Genesis about the boundaries of marriage and gender. But Jesus didn’t reject it. On this episode of the Things Unseen podcast, Sinclair Ferguson shows that Christ’s way is the only way for God’s image-bearers to flourish.

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • 5 Ways to Be Kind to Someone with Whom You Disagree. Gavin Ortlund writes “Kindness in dialogue is powerful, especially when we’re speaking with someone we disagree with.”
  • When Suffering Knocks. Paul Tripp writes “Somehow, someway, at some point, suffering will come knocking on your door. It may start as a quiet, even gentle, knock that gets louder over time, and you know that you will eventually have to open the door. Other times, it may kick the door down suddenly and violently.”
  • The Sin of Empathy. Joe Rigney serves as Fellow of Theology at New Saint Andrews College. He received a Master of Arts from Bethlehem College and Seminary and a Ph.D in Theology from the University of Chester. On this episode of the Thinking in Public podcast, Albert Mohler visits with Rigney about his new book: The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits.

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes


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  • Is There Good Magic and Edifying Sorcery? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to a question asking if there’s good magic and edifying sorcery. The question is a popular one about Lord of the Ringsand Harry Potter and fantasy literature in general.
  • Why is Witchcraft Handled So Differently Across Scripture? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “In our Bible readings coming up in the Old Testament, we read that sorcerers and those who practice witchcraft are to be killed. That’s very clear to me according to Exodus 22:18and Leviticus 20:27. But when Jewish Bible scholar the apostle Paul enters Ephesus, a city full of magic, he calls for no one to be executed — simply for all the books to be piled up in the city center and to be burned. That I see in Acts 19:19. Certainly, Paul would have known full well the contrast from what he saw in Scripture from what he was calling for. Why is the Old Testament more violent here? And why is the same sin handled so differently in the New Testament?”
  • Who Do Christians Pray To? In this video, Michael Reeves unpacks the profound relationship between prayer and the Trinity.
  • Living with Gospel-Sized Ambition. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “I graduate from seminary this spring, and as I prepare for full-time ministry, I want to better understand Paul’s claims in Acts 20:24when he says, ‘I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.’ For your life as a pastor, what do you take from this text? What did this Pauline conviction for the gospel over life look like — and feel like — for you?”
  • Why Does the Bible Say Baptism Saves Us? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “Are we saved after water baptism, before water baptism, or in water baptism?”
  • What Makes Someone Spiritually Dirty? On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “In Leviticus 5:2 and Leviticus 7:19–21, we read that touching unclean things makes one unclean. But Jesus completely changes this. He later says it is what comes out of us that makes us unclean. He says this in Matthew 15:18–20. What caused such a major turnaround here, in what seems to me to be a fundamental redefinition of evil?”

  • A life well lived is a life lived for the glory and the kingdom of God. Will that be your legacy? Paul Tripp
  • Are you under the care of godly leaders? Then know that as they serve the Lord faithfully, they need your prayers, encouragement, and support! Be sure to pray for them regularly and seek to build them up frequently. Alistair Begg
  • Unlike every other religion, Christianity does not provide step-by-step instructions for what we must do to avoid hell; it provides a Savior who endured hell in our place, if we will simply have the humility to admit it should have been us. The Bible does not give us steps to take or a list of duties to fulfill as if avoiding hell were like building a bunk bed. The Bible gives us a Rescuer. Dane Ortlund
  • Do not become self-sufficient . Self-sufficiency is Satan’s net where he catches men, like poor silly fish, and destroys them. Be not self-sufficient . The way to grow strong in Christ is to become weak in yourself. God pours no power into man’s heart till man’s power is all poured out. Live, then, daily, a life of dependence on the grace of God. Charles Spurgeon
  • God often uses the hardest things in life to produce the best things in us. Paul Tripp
  • It is enormously restful to say, no matter what’s happening in your life, “Thy will be done.” Tim Keller
  • We are not defined by our circumstances but by how we respond to them. Scott Sauls
  • When our eyes aren’t fixed on Christ, it’s usually because they’re fixed on comparing ourselves with other Christians. Burk Parsons
  • It is a good thing that our lives are controlled not by failed human shepherds, but by the good shepherd, who will never fail. Paul Tripp


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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

  • Woodrow Wilson Reconsidered — A Conversation with Christopher Cox. On this episode of the Thinking in Public podcast, Albert Mohler visits with former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Senior Scholar in Residence at the University of California, Irvine, Christopher Cox. They discuss his latest book Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn.

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THIS & THAT: A Gathering of Favorite Articles and Quotes

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