Grab bag

  • Click here for more "Grab bag" entries“When Your World Caves In” (Paul Levy) — a sober reminder of the cost of sin in general and the cost (and protection against) sexual sin in particular:  “Recently I’ve spent some time with two friends who were in ministry but have fallen morally and so now find themselves out of a job that they loved, separated from their families and, in all honesty, struggling. I’ve showed what I’ve written to them and I wouldn’t say they were overjoyed at what I had to say but both agreed I could put this on here.…”
  • Two articles on pornography:  “Hijacking Your Brain From Porn” (John Piper) and “I Hate Porn” (Eric Simmons).
  • “Effective personal evangelism: summary” (Jeremy Walker) — “If we as individual Christians and members of gospel churches are to be effective personal evangelists, these are qualities that I think we must prayerfully pursue if we are to declare the gospel profitably and fruitfully.”
  • “Satan’s Permission to Sift You like Wheat” (Paul Tautges) — “Just as Satan would succeed—temporarily—in scattering the disciples by striking down the Chief Shepherd, so he would succeed, but only temporarily, in striking down Peter.”
  • “15 Questions to Help Christians Follow Jesus on Social Media” (Kevin Halloran) — “…is constantly using social media good for us? More importantly, how can we obey the Great Commandment to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength while using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+?  The following questions should help discern your heart and make sure that your social media use is pleasing to God.”
  • “18 Obstacles to Personal Devotions in the Digital Age” (David Murray) — “The Center for Bible Engagement discovered that ‘the number one thing you can do for yourself spiritually is read the Bible four times a week or more. Read it this frequently, and your life looks completely different to those who don’t read the Bible, or read it less than that.’…And yet these basics of personal spirituality, Bible reading and prayer, are so difficult to maintain in the digital age. Consider some of the obstacles we face in trying to make prayer and Bible reading a regular part of our lives:
  • “Theological Primer: The Simplicity of God” (Kevin DeYoung) — “The oldest of the doctrinal standards of the Reformed churches, the Belgic Confession (1561), begins with the declaration “that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God” (Article 1). This may seem a strange way to open a confession. There is only one single being called God; that makes sense. But God is simple—what’s that all about?”
  • “A List of Important Sermons and Articles That Are Worth Reading” (Justin Taylor) — “I thought it might be helpful to ask some pastors and theologians what they would recommend as sermons or essays that have had a special impact on them, or that they would seriously urge students and pastors to consider reading.”

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