Good morning! The God of peace be with you today.
Today’s Kindle deals include some special deals from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: Whatever Is Not Christ)
Were the New Testament Authors Aware of Their Own Authority?
“Sometimes, even in the academic world, things get said so many times that people assume they are true. And when that happens, no one bothers to look at the historical evidence in a fresh way.” A good example is the notion that the NT authors were unaware of their own authority.
How to Preach with Biblical Fullness
Ray Ortlund says it well: “My brother pastor, to preach with biblical fullness, rising above ourselves and our biases, our best course is to preach through the Bible, passage by passage, letting each passage make its unique contribution, confident that over time the fullness of it all will serve people well with a clear vision of the Triune God. But let us never force a passage to say what we think it ought to have said and thus complicate the work of God.”
How Pfizer Makes Its Covid-19 Vaccine
The New York Times has a neat and multimedia article that shows how a vaccine is made. This is complicated stuff!
Four Reasons Church Discipline Matters
It’s for reasons like these that in some traditions a church can only be considered a true church if it practices some form of church discipline. “There is nothing loving about affirming people in damaging behaviour. Few of us think affirming addicts in their addictions is a good thing, no matter how much a part of their identity they claim the addiction to be. Not many of us think it sensible to affirm people in neglecting their doctor’s advice.”
Vintage Supplies that Kept Libraries Running
I thoroughly enjoyed this look at vintage supplies that kept libraries running once upon a time. (Also, it reminded me how long it has been since I spent any significant time in a library.)
Aging Doesn’t Make You Faithful
This is a good reminder from Glenna Marshall. “It is folly to expect to wake up more faithful to Christ twenty years from now if we’re not feeding our faithfulness today with the means of grace God has ordained for our growth. God has invited us into the process of spiritual growth.”
Gospel Hope for North Africa
This is a good overview of the history and current reality of Christianity in North Africa. “Today, nearly 100% of North Africans are born and raised to believe a lie. Day after day, five times over, they lay themselves low to pray to a god who does not have ears to hear. Week after week, they give alms to the poor, hoping their generosity will raise their chances to enter a paradise that’s more or less designed to satisfy the desires of lustful men.”
Flashback: If the Bible Is Wrong, I’m So, So Wrong
When it comes to the Bible, we’ve all got a choice to make. We can take the Bible on our terms, or on its terms. We can choose to follow it some of the way, or we can choose to follow it all the way. We can dabble in it, or we can dive deep into it. At some point we have to choose.
I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship.
—Nancy Wolgemuth
