Today’s Kindle deals include the entire “Theologians on the Christian Life” series from Crossway. That’s great value for an excellent series.
(Yesterday on the blog: Headlines & Happenings (Billy Graham, Black Panther))
The Important Link Between Pastoral Care and Church Discipline
“Pastoral care is about helping the church to grow together and into Christ. It isn’t about paying one church member to visit the sick and the elderly. It is about equipping every member to look out for each other both practically as we look out for those in need, those who are lonely and those who are sick but also and even more importantly looking out for how we are doing in our relationship with Christ.”
Why (Almost) No One Wants to Host the Olympics Anymore
I suppose we hear this every time. “The spectacular impracticality of putting on the party could cause hosting bids to vanish altogether.”
Killing Sin Does Not Make You New
“Killing sin is essential to the Christian life, but it’s not the essence of the Christian life. When Christ calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow him — and he does summon us to deny ourselves — he does so that we ‘may have life and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10). What we put on is far greater than anything we put off or leave behind.”
Phones Are Designed to be Addicting. (Video)
“The 3 design elements that make smartphones so hard to put down, explained by Google’s former design ethicist.” This is worth thinking about.
The Trump Administration and America’s Transgender Moment
“It’s understandable that many ordinary Americans recoiled at this transgender mandate. Most Americans — including those who identify as transgender — aren’t activists and want to find ways to peacefully coexist. Most can understand why a man who identifies as a woman doesn’t want to be forced into the men’s room but also understand why women don’t want a man in the ladies’ room. These concerns are even more heightened when dealing with students.”
Wheaton College Wins Court Battle Over Obama’s Birth Control Mandate
This is happy news: “A judge ruled Thursday the government would violate federal civil rights laws if it forced Wheaton College to provide services like contraceptives in its health care plans against its religious beliefs, and granted a permanent injunction against it.”
Late for the Olympics: The Amazing Story of Kipchoge Keino (Video)
This is fun: “Kipchoge Keino, aka Hezekiah Kipchoge Keino or (thankfully in the interest of avoiding typos) just Kip, is a retired athlete who ran for the country of Kenya. Throughout his career, Kip earned almost a dozen medals, half of which were gold, for being an amazing middle to long distance runner. The story we want to share is the time Kip was almost late for his own race and had to (literally) run to get there, then won a gold medal anyway, despite another major adversity in that race, which we’ll get to in a minute.”
Flashback: “I Love You” and “Please Forgive Me”
One friend speaking to another and saying, “I love you”—this is where love is declared. But one friend approaching another to express remorse and seek forgiveness—this is where love is displayed and preserved.
Backsliding, generally first begins with neglect of private prayer.
—J.C. Ryle
