• Missing Gods and ‘Apparent Magic’ in Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’. Brett McCracken reviews Christopher Nolan’s epic film The Odessey, a film we saw and enjoyed.
  

  ---

• Reflections on the Christian Life with Sinclair Ferguson, Robert Godfrey, and Ben Sasse. Recently, Ben Sasse hosted a conversation with Sinclair Ferguson and Robert Godfrey. In this episode of Renewing Your Mind, they discuss Christian worship, the church’s influence on the culture, and our calling to serve Christ amid suffering and weakness.
• Jen Wilkin Wants to Help You Age Wisely. On this episode of the Gospelbound podcast, Collin Hansen visits with Jen Wilkin about her new book Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World.
• What Does It Really Mean to “Age Gracefully”? In this video, Jen Wilkin shares how a Christian should view aging gracefully.
  

  ---

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• What About Pet Idolatry? Randy Alcorn has a forthcoming book in which he provides a biblical view on animals and pets. Here he answers a question about idolizing pets.

• Is the Devil Real? During a live Clearly Reformed Q&A Event, Kevin DeYoung answered a range of questions presented to him by attendees.
• Obedience Will Never Ruin Your Life. On this episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper responds to the question “What would you say to a young single woman, a Christian, who is secretly considering an abortion because it would make life easier? This is where I find myself right now, and I never imagined it would happen to me, yet here I am, shattered and scared.”
• Who is Jesus? During a live Clearly Reformed Q&A Event, Kevin DeYoung answered a range of questions presented to him by attendees.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• The Life of Telling Your Truth. Rosaria Butterfield writes “Days such as ours call for bold proclamations of the truth in both the church and the public sphere. We must be willing to risk our reputations with our unsaved neighbors for the sake of their souls.”
• 4 Right Responses to Suffering. Randy Alcorn writes “When suffering and evil come our way, they’ll exert a force that either pushes us away from God or pulls us toward Him.”
• Let’s Uncomplicate What Spiritual Formation Looks Like. In this video, Matthew Bingham, author of A Heart Aflame for God, states “I think sometimes we overcomplicate the spiritual formation question. I think some of the literature that’s out there today perhaps does this with good intentions.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• The Root of Anxiety and How to Fight It. John Piper writes “If anxiety could be conquered, a mortal blow would be struck to many other sins.”
• Stop Believing Your Best Years Are Behind You. Daryl Dash writes “As you get older, expect physical decline. Try to hold it off as long as possible, but be realistic: you’ll never be able to keep up with those who are young. But refuse to believe that your best years are behind you.”
  

  ---

• Is Morality Just a Matter of Opinion? Jason Thacker answers in this episode of Honest Answers.
• What Encouragement Would You Give to Suffering Christians? In this video, Derek Thomas provides encouragement to Christians who are enduring suffering.
• What Is the Most Common Misconception that Christians Have About God? In this video, Sinclair Ferguson explains a crucial aspect of who God is that Christians often miss.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• The Difference Between Ben Sasse and So Many Other Saints. Tim Challies writes ‘Sasse encourages me to remember and praise God for all of his people, great and small, known and unknown, who have received their final diagnosis as their final challenge—their final opportunity on this side of the grave to testify to their love for the Lord and the peace they have in him. May you and I be equally faithful.”
• Dying in Public: The Witness of Ben Sasse. Megan Fowler writes “The truth is, “It is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27). The way Sasse has stewarded this physical trial reminds Christians that we have all been entrusted with a brief window in which to live. Though our death may not be as public as his, our faith certainly can be.”

• Practical Ways to Prepare Your Heart for Gathered Worship. In this short video, Paul Tripp offers practical advice for preparing your heart for Sunday.
• Sabbath is More Than Self-Care. Megan Hill writes “It turns out that the fruit of the Sabbath isn’t ultimately about our well-being. It’s about having more of God himself.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

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

Continue reading →

• What is Spiritual Formation? Matthew Bingham states “The term spiritual formationis not explicitly used in the Bible per se, but the concepts behind it are very much biblical.”
• Because of Jesus, Our Best Years Are Always Ahead of Us. Randy Alcorn writes “The words “finish well“ mean more to me than they ever did, and I am more determined than ever to complete my race to the glory of God. Especially because I know that after the finish line, what awaits us is eternal goodness, glory, beauty, a restored earth, and a depth of relationship with God and each other beyond what we can imagine.”
• Is Sunday a Sabbath, a Secular Day or Something Else? Paul Sadler writes “Scripture may not bind every Christian to a Sabbatarian framework, but it does call us to recognize that this day uniquely belongs to the risen Lord. How do you honor the Lord on the Lord’s Day? In what sense do you see it uniquely belonging to Him?”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• Retirement: What are you retiring from? What are you retiring to? Keith Knight writes “Most of us can expect to live 20 to 30 years after we reach retirement age. That’s an entire career! Prayerfully take a sabbatical to determine where God wants you to serve next and who you should be mentoring. Then approach this new chapter in your life with the same zeal that you had in your former career.“
• Daily Grace. Each weekday morning, I watch Bryan Chapell’s Daily Grace video devotional as he takes us through the Bible.
• Why Our Age Celebrates Desecration. Carl Trueman writes “This world isn’t characterized simply by disenchantment. It’s also characterized by a delight in the destruction of things once considered sacred.”
• We Can Simultaneously Make Room in Our Hearts for God, People, and Animals. Randy Alcorn writes “One of the strangest assumptions people sometimes make is that if we love animals, we can’t sufficiently love God and But love is not a zero-sum game.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• Spiritual Formation and the Reformation: Comer, Willard, Calvin. Is spiritual formation that moves beyond the practices of the Reformation what we need to help with our disillusionment with evangelicalism? Michael Horton discusses the contemporary spiritual formation movement most notably associated with John Mark Comer and heavily influenced by the late Dallas Willard, and compares its emphases to the hallmarks of Reformation piety.
• How to Let Scripture Interpret Scripture. Benjamin Gladd and Nancy Guthrie outline principles for making sound biblical connections, tracing themes in the text, and avoiding common pitfalls of biblical interpretation.
• FOREVERGREEN. Enjoy the Academy Award nominated animated short film with a gospel message. The thirteen-minute film was directed by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears. Read Brett McCracken’s interview with Engelhardt and Spears about the making of Forevergreen, how Christian artists tell stories, and what they think of AI’s disruption in the arts.

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• How We Can Pursue Joy in the Midst of Suffering? In this video, John Piper shares how we can pursue joy in the midst of suffering.
• Sabbath. After completing His work of creating the world, God rested—but not because He got tired and needed a break. On this episode of Simply Put, Barry Cooper explains how the Sabbath reminds us to regularly rest in God and enjoy the ultimate rest that He has given His people in Christ.
• Hospitality: What it is, and What it’s Not. Rosaria Butterfield addresses this question in this short video.
• How to Study the Bible. In this message, R.C. Sproul will introduce some of the more important tools and concepts that are necessary in order to properly study and understand the Bible.
• What Did You Give Up When You Became a Christian? Tim Challies writes “You have exchanged what is fleeting for what is lasting and what brings death for what brings life.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →

• Christians Must Resist Assisted Suicide. Local pastor Andy Huette writes “Yet in the fog of sorrow and difficult decisions, Christians should resist the cultural tide of euthanasia that undermines the value of human life. Instead, we should value God’s gift of life even amid suffering.”

• If God Is Sovereign, Why Bother to Share Your Faith? Timothy Witmer writes “God has ordained not only the end but the means to that end. He has ordained not only whowill be saved but how they will be saved.”
• Find Sabbath Rest as a Family. Steve Eatmon writes “So how can families create space for rest? From one busy parent to another, here are four tips to create margin for rest in this wild season of life.”
• I Don’t Have an LGBTQ Neighbor – And Neither Do You. Rosaria Butterfield writes “If we think we have gay neighbors, we are making the kind of category mistake that weakens our prayers, discourages our hope, and tacitly condemns our loved ones to slavery to sin.  Without intending such harm, we replace the power of God’s justifying work in the lives of His people and our participation in God’s sanctifying power with the man-made category of personhood called “Sexual Orientation.” It’s one or the other.”
• Comfort for Those Grieving a Pet or Preparing to Say Goodbye to One. Randy Alcorn writes “Sometimes the best stewardship is relieving our pets’ suffering. It helps me knowing they have a Master in Heaven who loves them. When an animal is clearly suffering with no hope, we need to do the hard but necessary thing. Our pets trust us to act in their best interest. We should trust God the same way.”

Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:

• More interesting article links
• Favorite Quotes of the Week

Continue reading →