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Crossway’s put a number of titles for women on sale:

Also on sale:

What is Your “Go-To” Pitch?

Erik Raymond (now blogging at TGC, incidentally):

As Christians we have something of a spiritual go-to pitch. When we are in a jam or need answers we shake off other pitches in favor of what we think will get the job done. Whether at work or in the home, physical or emotional, in the church or in your neighborhood—we get into jams. What do we do?

10 tips for making a great cup of tea

This is for all the tea lovers out there.

The Two Guys to Blame for the Myth of Constant Warfare between Religion and Science

Justin Taylor:

No one deserves more blame for this stubborn myth than these two men:

  • Andrew Dickson White (1832-1918), the founding president of Cornell University, and
  • John William Draper (1811-1882), professor of chemistry at the University of New York.

“What Season Was Adam Created in?” And Other Questions That Make Us Giggle

Derek Rishmawy:

How many of you would think to ask the question and argue at length over the question of “What season was the world created?” I mean, really, was it spring, fall, winter, or summer when Adam popped up in the Garden of Eden? Were the leaves just turning red, gold, and brown, or were they newly in flower? Was it harvest time, or were the flowers just blooming? Would Adam have to knit a sweater soon, or were things nice and balmy? Or maybe Eden was just perpetually living in summer–kind of like Orange County?

A Pattern Among Fallen Pastors

Garrett Kell:

Prof’s study was of 246 men in full-time ministry who experienced moral failure within a two-year period of time. As far as he could discern, these full-time clergy were men who were born again followers of Jesus. Though they shared a common salvation, these men also shared a common feat of devastation; they had all, within 24 months of each other, been involved in an extra marital affair.

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Today’s the last day to take advantage of these Kindle deals from Crossway:

Also on sale are:

Warming Up Your Car

This was a helpful (and surprisingly interesting) read.

The Question I Hope Every 2016 Candidate Is Asked

Daniel Darling nails it.

Trolls, Slacktivism, and Having a Conversation

Brandon Smith:

Social media is real life. It’s not a separate existence and doesn’t remove you from the consequences of your actions. Repercussions to exist, whether felt in the moment or not. People are damaged. Sin is often committed.

Snark, misrepresentation, and attack on another’s character should disappear when we ponder our redeemed lives, the reality of Satan, and the implications of Christ living in us (Gal. 2:20). The cross levels the playing field and demands grace as the immediate response.

Leonard Nimoy’s funniest Spock moments

Yesterday, Leonard Nimoy (best known as Spock from Star Trek), died. Here’s a look at a few of his best lines from the original series:

Facebook Obsession and the Anguish of Boredom

Tony Reinke:

Unhealthy Facebook addiction flourishes because we fail to see the cost on our lives. So what are the consequences of boredom-induced compulsive behaviors? Here are three to consider.

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Here are a couple of deals that are ending today:

ISIS burns 8000 rare books and manuscripts in Mosul

This is very sad:

While the world was watching the Academy Awards ceremony, the people of Mosul were watching a different show. They were horrified to see ISIS members burn the Mosul public library. Among the many thousands of books it housed, more than 8,000 rare old books and manuscripts were burned.

How to Memorize (Almost) Anything

Joe Carter continues his series on memorization.

Ligonier 2015 National Conference

If you weren’t able to be at the event, the audio and video from this year’s Ligonier National Conference is now online.

Are You Willing To Admit That You Have Blind Spots?

Russ Ramsey:

I am not the artist I think I am. Neither are you. Not completely anyway. All of us live with blind spots—realities in our lives and art and thinking we cannot see. We have them even in the endeavors we are most passionate about.

Such is the nature of a blind spot — I can’t see it. There are so many bits of information, maturity, perspective, and wisdom I have yet to obtain. They simply aren’t yet mine.

I’m Sorry, I Don’t Care for that Sorry.

Erik Raymond:

Our sin is horizontal (it effects other people) but it is primarily vertical–it is against God. Further, sin is not simply a misstatement or a slip up; the Bible calls sin (like lying) evil. The wages of which are death (Rom. 6:23). This is helpful for us in thinking about how we apologize for, confess, or repent of sin. We as Christians should be sure that we are not in the business of recasting, relabeling or otherwise airbrushing sin to be more acceptable. Sin is sin. It has biblical names. Let’s use them.

How Well Do You Know Your Bible?

The latest issue of Credo Magazine is now available online.

A Crash Course on Friedrich Nietzsche

Justin Taylor offers a sketch of one of the most important thinkers in recent history.

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My 13 year old secret

I am very grateful for Helen’s willingness to share her story. Go read it.

Judas Iscariot and the prosperity gospel

Yep.

Conservatives, this is why Millennials quit you

Chris Martin, after getting trolled for two tweets:

I am a Conservative, and so are many of my friends. Too many of our Conservative friends troll social media like the examples above, thinking they’re the next coming of Rush Limbaugh.

Young people don’t like Conservatives, and that’s often because we make ourselves unlikeable.

What’s Their Problem? Sharing Our Pews with Sexual Abuse Victims and Survivors

Maureen Farrel Garcia:

In more than a decade of research, almost every article I’ve come across addressing sex offenders in church communities reveals pastors and leaders focusing exclusively on the sex offenders—the theological grounds for their presence, the church’s obligation to care for them, how to support them, how to monitor them, how to protect ministries from potential lawsuits due to their presence, and so on—at the expense of the victims/survivors and those who love them.

The Necessity of Expository Preaching

Derek Thomas:

According to the legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus, the best thing he ever did was to discover the “fundamentalist” teacher Jack Grout, who taught him the basics that he has followed ever since. Great preachers, like great golfers, follow basic rules. The more they practice these rules, the better they become.

One such rule, put succinctly in English prose that now sounds dated, but which is as needful now as when it was first penned, comes from the Directory for the Publick Worship of God, written in 1645 by the Westminster Assembly of Divines. When raising a point from the text, the directory says, preachers are to ensure that “it be a truth contained in or grounded on that text, that the hearers may discern how God teacheth it from thence.” In other words, preaching must enable those who hear it to understand their Bibles.

Congratulating Wesleyan

In which Carl Trueman does what Carl Trueman does best:

Several friends contacted me over the weekend with news that Wesleyan University has taken the ever-expanding list of initials used to refer to sexual identities to new heights of absurdity or sensitivity, depending on one’s perspective. We are now apparently up to fifteen letters: LGBTTQQFAGPBDSM.

It is easy to laugh at such gibberish on the grounds that it is as absurd as it is self-regarding. Yet that would be a mistake.

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The sun: five years in three minutes

This is amazing:

Does Islam Inevitably Lead to Violence?

Caleb Greggsen:

The question at hand presupposes the possibility of determining the true Muslim faith, which is something not even settled within Islam itself. In fact, the recent upsurge in violence perpetrated by Muslim groups is related to the fact that multiple groups are contending for the undisputed title of the “true successors.” Much as Protestants and Catholics argue over the true successors of the apostles, Islam faces the question as to the identity of the true successors to Mohammed. But unlike the Bible, the Qur’an does not really provide enough footing on its own to resolve the question.

How should we think about the book of Enoch being quoted in Jude?

One of the podcasts I love is Albert Mohler’s The Briefing, and his Ask Anything weekend editions are always a favorite. This edition is well worth checking out, particularly for the answer to this question.

How Can Local Churches Help Disciple Women?

Lore Ferguson is interviewed about this topic at Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

To Shill a Mockingbird

This is a good piece over at the Washington Post looking at the background behind the upcoming Harper Lee novel.

Facebook, Moms, and the Last Day

Nikki Daniel:

I admit it. Facebook is often my lifeline to the outside world. I am a homemaker with three small children, including a nursing baby. I spend most of my time within the four walls of my home raising my children, keeping the house in order, and making sure everyone is fed and healthy. It’s a dream job in many ways, but it also requires daily dying to self. Homemakers don’t get to eat when or what they want, shower when they want, or get a moment of silence when they want it. Relationships with other women are a challenge due to nursing schedules and regular demands. Therefore, many women turn to social media as a means to preserve friendships and stay connected.

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Today is also the last day to take advantage of Crossway’s weekly deals:

Google’s Denominational Stereotypes

This is interesting.

Don’t Let Spontaneity Kill Your Creativity

Chris Vacher:

We have a brain that God has wired to be creative. We have a God who is the Creator. We have his spirit living inside of us and we have the invitation to be creative in the way that He also is creative. We have all the time that we need to do the work God has called us to do. We have every resource available to us to lead people in worship the way God has invited us.

So how has the power of spontaneity been allowed to have its way among so many churches, pushing away the strength of planning, critique and editing?

The Gospel in the Dominican Republic

Ivan Mesa interviews Miguel Núñez, senior pastor of the International Baptist Church in Santo Domingo and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition, about what God is doing in the Dominican Republic.

A briefer history of time

HT: Tim

A Crash Course on Influencers of Unbelief

Justin Taylor is starting a new (occasional) series on influencers who’ve shaped the thinking of our culture. First up is Sigmund Freud.

7 Helps for When One You’ve Been Discipling Turns Away

Mike Leake:

The Lord spoke of those who would fall on bad soil. When you experience that first hand it is painful. It’s painful to see the one who shoots up quickly, giving hope to many people, and then just as quickly drifts away. When you’ve baptized this person, started discipling them, and even started dreaming about how the Lord might use them—it is such a blow when they drift away from Christ and the gospel.

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Kindle deals for Christian readers

Today is also $5 Friday at Ligonier Ministries where you’ll find a number of great resources on sale, including:

  • Names of God teaching series by R.C. Sproul (audio download)
  • Foundations of Grace by Steven Lawson (ePub + MOBI)
  • Kingdom Feast teaching series by R.C. Sproul (audio & video download)
  • Jesus the Evangelist by Richard Phillips (ePub)
  • The Westminster Confession of Faith teaching series by John Gerstner (audio & video download)

$5 Friday ends at 11:59:59 tonight.

Finally, can get Keep Your Greek free simply by signing up for their mailing list (if you’re already a subscriber, just input your email; you won’t double-up).

A Biblical Theology of the Trees of the Garden

Nick Batzig:

At the outset of the biblical record, two trees stood at the center of the God’s covenantal dealing with man–the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. Far from being mythological concepts, these trees were–in a very real sense–just like any other trees in the Garden. God did not invest these trees with magical power to confer something out of their own resources, ex opere operato,  to our first father; rather He set them apart to represent a reality beyond themselves and to stand in the place of that for which they had become symbols. Like baptism and the Lord’s Supper the two trees were sacramental. They pointed to a reality beyond themselves. Though they had no power within themselves to confer anything, nevertheless, God had so invested them with spiritual meaning so that the covenantal arrangement into which He entered with Adam was signified and sealed with these trees. Their significance cannot be underestimated. They can only now be explained in light of a third tree–the cross on which our Lord Jesus died. The cross is both the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. Jesus restores what Adam lost both with regard to moral uprightness and with regard to life. Consider the following biblical-theological aspects of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.

7 Millennial Traits That Baby Boomers Need to Learn

Baby boomers took over the workforce when they came of age, and made a huge impact. It comes of no surprise that they raised their children, the next generation of the workforce, to do the same. Now millennials are flooding into corporate America, and many baby boomer managers, entrepreneurs and leaders are re-evaluating what it means to be a millennial–what their needs and passions are.

Below are seven traits that most millennials have that baby boomer employers should keep in mind.

Hatred & Heresy: Why Words Matter

Aaron Earls:

But if I have spent years yelling “Wolf!” and pointing at every sheep that has a spot of dirt on it, no one will listen if I call out an actual theological wolf attempts to devour the flock. I’ve bargained away the trust others have in me for a temporary advantage in online debates.

So how can we fix it? What can be done to change the tone of discussion across social media and blogs?

Church Splits

Tom Ascol:

When an atom is split, its overall mass is reduced and a tremendous amount of energy is released. The results, graphically demonstrated by the two atomic bombs that ended World War II, can be massively destructive, with effects that linger for generations.

The reactions that result from atom splits have their counterparts in the spiritual realm with church splits. When a congregation experiences division, the consequences are often devastating, widespread, and long lasting.

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The Real Faces Behind the Gay Issue

Jasmine Holmes shares a moving story.

How to Think about Persecution When You’re Not Very Persecuted

Erik Raymond:

The first step in this is define what we mean by persecution. At its core we are talking about active opposition to the people of God because of their commitment to Christ. This obviously has varying levels. There is the boldest and most extreme, which involves the torture and murder of someone for their faith. The watching world was horrified to see this take place this weekend with the beheading of 21 Christians in Egypt by Islamic terrorists. There is also the far less intense persecution that comes simply from claiming Christ as Lord. This may include shunning from family, lose of promotion, mocking, ridicule, or other forms of opposition.

Brandon Smith’s new blog

My friend Brandon Smith’s now blogging over at Patheos. Go check it out.

Secondary Sources and Sermon Preparation

Joey Cochran:

From time to time Redeemer Fellowship receives honest questions from pastors curious about how we do things. Sometimes I have the pleasure of responding to those questions, especially when the topic falls within the wheelhouse of my skill set. Recently, a young pastor e-mailed Redeemer and asked about how Joe and the other pastors at the church use commentaries for sermon preparation. After fielding this question for this pastor, I thought that the response might also be beneficial for others to think through how they might use secondary sources and what priority they should have in sermon preparation.

Why the British are better at satire

This is interesting.

When Eternal Life Doesn’t Woo

Lore Ferguson:

The Christian life, I am finding, does not grow easier with time. I somehow thought it would. I envisioned the sage men and women we would become and find only that my flesh is just as prone to wandering today as it was four years ago or four months ago or four minutes ago.

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Kindle deals for Christian readers

This week, Crossway’s put four terrific books on the gospel on sale:

Tyndale’s made Because We Are Called to Counter Culture, a booklet based on David Platt’s latest book free for the next couple days. Also consider The Allegory of Love by CS Lewis ($2.99), the Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life by John Calvin (99¢) and Different by Design by Carrie Sandom ($3.99).

Romance is not stupid

Ray Ortlund nails it (which is no surprise).

Stop hate-watching the Church

Richard Clark:

I just want to be completely clear about this: If you are harmed by Christian culture to the point that you have given up on Christianity altogether, I get that. If you find Christian truth claims to be negative and harmful, that’s fair enough. I wouldn’t want to make any claims about how you deal with your struggles. You may do whatever you want.

But groups like these have engendered a culture that identifies as Christian, yet despises the Church. They have led fellow Christians to hate and despise their brothers and sisters for the sake of “venting.” But Christians are held to a different standard, one that results in edification and unity for the sake of the Church. To struggle with that standard is understandable, but to reject it altogether is giving up, on the Church, on the teachings of Christ, and on your own spiritual sanctification.

Mapping countries by population

This is very interesting. Notice that Canada completely disappears.

The ChristianExaminer deceives readers about Russell Moore

Alan Noble:

On Friday, the ChristianExaminer published an article with the following headline:

“Southern Baptist ethicist says Alabama judges must uphold gay marriage law or resign.”

The Christian ethicist referred to here is Dr. Russell Moore. Despite this deliciously clickbait headline, this implies a position that Dr. Moore does not hold.

Christians Without a Tribe

Tim Brister:

It is my conviction that a gospel-centered Christian cannot function without their own tribe, clan, and family. It is not enough that you belong to the Christian “nation” (the body of Christ universal). Christians grounded in the gospel will have their roots nourished in the life-giving community God intends for them to flourish in grace. If you were to be identified today, could it be said that your existence as a Christian is defined by who you belong to? Who’s your family? Who’s your clan? Who’s your tribe?

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Wading Into The Wild World Of Cosmo

This might be the most entertaining thing you’ll read all day.

New Dustin Kensrue music: “Back to Back”

I’m a big fan of Dustin Kensrue and Thrice. Kensrue’s upcoming solo album, Carry the Fire, will be released in April, and the first single is now streaming at Billboard. (You can also purchase the single at Amazon.)

An Open Letter to George Perdikis

Daniel Emery Price writes to the co-founder of the Newsboys who recently wrote about being an atheist.

Dear Angry Preacher Dude

Mike Leake:

At one point in his frothing at the mouth he said to his congregation, “You’re not going to like this. But you haven’t liked the sermon up until now, so why would I try to please you now. You are going to be mad no matter what I do….”

Few pastors would be this forthright. But I wonder how many of us aren’t dragging around his same assumption; namely, that our congregants hate hearing truth.

But they don’t hate God’s Word…if they love Jesus.

Why do you hate me so much?

David Murray addresses an important question as we continue to see the culture around us become increasingly hostile to Christianity and Christians.

The President at the Prayer Breakfast

Albert Mohler:

Intellectual honesty also demands that we recognize that going back centuries to the era of the Crusades is not really helpful when looking at the fact that the current threat is a resurgent Islam, which understands full well that the modern secular West lacks a worldview that can lead to an adequate response. Secularism and Islam are not evenly matched.

What Mr “Know it All” Doesn’t Know

Erik Raymond:

In the church we have a lot of impediments to growth in godliness. We live in a sinful world, have imperfect preachers, have trials and tribulations, and a relentless enemy who endeavors to be the stick in our spokes at every turn. But there is one great impediment to growth, this is the impediment of thinking that we already know everything. Let’s call this person “Mr Know-it-All”.

Mr Know-it-All does not really think that they have to learn anything. They are already there. They are, in effect, unteachable.

I Believe in Magazines: Proverbs for Publishing

James K. A. Smith:

Magazines of this sort are tangible expressions of Hunter’s thesis about cultural change: such magazines have a disproportionate influence on culture because instead of working bottom-up in a populist fashion, they work top-down by targeting and reaching those who wield cultural power and influence in society.  Some are inherently uncomfortable with this because they imagine that in a perfect world there are no hierarchies, or because they basically resent their own cultural privilege, and thus want to reach “the masses,” some generic audience that never really exists.

 

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Kindle deals for Christian readers

Lots of new deals for you today:

Finally, Zondervan’s put a whole bunch of Lee Strobel’s books on sale for between $1.99 and $2.99, including:

God, Protect My Girls

Tim Challies:

As a dad, I pray for each of my kids just about every day, and I take it as both a joy and responsibility to bring them before the Lord. Praying for the kids is a helpful way of training myself to remember that they are his before they are mine, and that any good they experience will ultimately find its source in God himself. And I believe that prayer works—that God hears a father’s prayers for his children, and that he delights to answer those prayers. One of my most common prayers for my girls is a pray for their protection. Here is how I pray for God to protect them.

Vaccination and the Christian worldview

Scott James:

The discussion of whether or not parents should vaccinate their children has been going on in some circles for years, but recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States have brought the conversation to a fever pitch. As Ross Douthat has recognized, vaccine skepticism occurs on a spectrum and has a wide range of motivating factors. When faced with the various questions that arise from so many different perspectives, the vaccine conversation sometimes sounds more like a cacophony. In the midst of the confusion, Christians should lead the way as those who wisely weigh the evidence and act accordingly for the good of those around them.

Yeah, Well, But What About the Crusades?

Kevin DeYoung:

We are coming up on a thousand years, and Christians still haven’t made up for the Crusades. No matter how many times Billy Graham makes the most admired list, we’ll still have the Crusades to deal with.  When President Obama encouraged humility in denouncing ISIS today in light of the Crusades from close to a millennium ago, he may have been making a clumsy moral equivalence argument, but he was only voicing what many Americans (and many Christians) have articulated before. Remember the faux confessional booths from way back in the 2000’s when Christians would apologize to non-Christians for the Crusades? If there is one thing in our collective history that we cannot apologize for enough it is the history conjured up by pictures like the one in this post.

Yet, for all the times we’ve lamented the Crusades, how many of us know more than two sentences about them? Isn’t it wise to know at least a little something about the Crusades before we borrow them to get an advanced degree in self-recrimination?

If All The Bible Translations Had A Dinner Party

If you don’t at least chuckle at this, well…

Getting the Gospel Right

This is a really good interview with R.C. Sproul.

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Crossway’s weekly deals center around devotionals:

Also check out:

10 things about Canada that shock first time visitors

This is a helpful (and mostly true) list for y’all.

6 Thoughts on Sacred Space

Nick Batzig:

When God created Adam, he set apart sacred space in which he would enter into fellowship with his newly created image bearer. Just as He had created time and space (Gen. 1:1-2), setting apart a portion of that time to be sacred unto Him, so the Lord set apart a portion of sacred space in which man would worship Him. While the story arc of Scripture is that of man’s fall from fellowship with God and of his great rebellion against the God who had created him for fellowship with Himself, the climax is the restoration of man to fellowship with Himself in the New Heavens and the New Earth–the renewed Garden paradise from which Adam was exiled. Consider the six following thoughts on the importance of sacred space in the Scriptures.

You Cannot Serve Both God and Theology

Marshall Segal:

But is money more spiritually dangerous than theology? The answer may be trickier than we think, especially within the numbing comfort of a proudly affluent and educated American Church. Money is a tangible, countable, often visible god. Theology, on the other hand — if it is cut off from truly knowing and enjoying God himself — can be a soothing, subtle, superficially spiritual god. Both are deadly, but one lulls us into a proud, intellectual, and purely cosmetic confidence and rest before God. Theology will kill you if it does not kindle a deep and abiding love for the God of the Bible, and if it does not inspire a desire for his glory, and not ultimately our own.

Do You Literally Interpret the Bible Literally?

Justin Taylor:

I am not a fan of linguistic legalism and I recognize the need for terminological shortcuts, but I am an advocate for clarity, and the use of an ambiguous term like literal can create confusion. It’s a single term with multiple meanings and connotations—which is true of many words—but the problem is that many assume it means only one thing.

Why Bible Typography Matters

This is 47 minutes long, but it’s very interesting.

10 banned names

I had no idea Tom was banned in Portugal…

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This week has actually been a nice, albeit unintended, break from producing new content. A busy conference schedule and travel will do that. Next week, look for lots of new material. In the meantime, here are a few new Kindle deals (and a few reminders) to get you started:

The Dangerous Explosion of Celebrity Pastoring

Mike Leake:

If you’ve spent any time reading books on Christian ministry then you’ve likely read of your share of horror stories. Ministry is tough. The most difficult part of opposition is not the wounds that come from gospel enemies. The most cutting is when our wounds come from those who should be gospel friends.

I’ve read many books on how to get through the snares of gospel ministry. I’ve only read a couple which speak of the dangers which attend popularity. There are many books for pastors which tell you how to grow a church, how to be a successful small group leader, how to preach compellingly, and much more. Yet, there are only a handful of books which warn you of the dangers of being a popular preacher.

2 Factors to Consider Before You Move

Deepak Reju:

A church member or friend comes to me and says, “I’ve got a job offer in another town,” or “I’m ready to do more education and have applied to a few different schools around the country,” or “We’re shopping for a home.” That’s not surprising for a mobile society. In the 21st century, people often move for jobs, or education, or buying a new home. Long gone are the days when a person stays in the same town and maybe even takes over the family business. The average American is said to move as many as 11 or 12 times in his lifetime, most of which come before his mid-40s.

So for this mobile society I’d like to suggest two principles to consider before moving.

Should I Date a Godly Girl I Don’t Find Attractive?

Matt Chandler answers here. What are your thoughts on this?

Anti-vaxxers and epistemological narcissism

Jesse Johnson makes some strong points here (does this post qualify for a trigger warning?).

Why Joshua Harris Kissed His Megachurch Goodbye

Morgan Lee:

Harris, who was homeschooled, has enrolled at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the fall of 2015. His last day as CLC senior pastor will be in April. He leaves with his church’s blessing.

Harris began his “crazy, backwards life” in high school when he began publishing his own magazine geared toward fellow homeschoolers. He broke onto the national scene in 1997, at the age of 21, when he published I Kissed Dating Goodbye. The book became a runaway hit. Shortly thereafter, Harris connected with C. J. Mahaney, the founder of CLC and Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM).

Why Singing Is Essential

Michael Kelley:

There are certain habits that are synonymous with spiritual growth. We call these things spiritual disciplines, and they’re things like reading the Bible, praying, fasting, and others. But one habit that doesn’t make the list very often is singing. That’s a bit surprising given how many times in Scripture we aren’t just asked to sing, but commanded to do so. Indeed, it seems that in the Bible, singing is not an option; it’s a command. And maybe even more than being commanded, singing is essential for the life of the disciple. Let me give you a few brief reasons why I believe this to be true.