Today’s Kindle deals include the excellent Together Through the Storms. You’ll also find Paul Tripp’s Lead and several other solid picks like 5 Things To Pray for Your Spouse.
If you’d like to buy a book for your teens, you might consider Sinclair Ferguson’s new Thirty Second Theology, which is on sale this week at Westminster Books.
(Yesterday on the blog: Amplify Not a Fool by Responding to His Folly)
12 Theses on Church Buildings
I appreciated this list of theses on church building. (I might have added one: something along the lines of a church being practically formed and shaped by its building in such a way that the physical structure of a building will enable or restrict certain forms of ministry. Churches build their buildings, and in some ways the buildings return the favor.)
Christians Must Resist Assisted Suicide
“Currently, 12 states and the District of Columbia already have assisted suicide laws on the books. New York will likely be the 13th state. Christians in the other 37 states have an opportunity to resist the spread of euthanasia both politically and culturally. This can be accomplished, in part, by affirming the value of human life from conception to natural death.”
From Ash Wednesday to the Empty Tomb
Prepare your heart for Easter with Elyse Fitzpatrick’s Lenten devotional, Friend of Sinners. Through conversational anecdotes and convicting insights, this 40-day devotional illuminates the marvelous truth of what it means to call the Crucified King your friend, helping you draw near to the soul-restoring love of Jesus. Use code CHALLIES for 30% off at The Good Book Company. (Sponsored)
Beauty Will Win
Yes indeed, beauty will win in the end. “How do we rightly take a stand for truth without becoming like the world we’re called to counter? In our battles against Mordor, how do we keep from becoming more like orcs than hobbits? How can we resist the suspicion and cynicism that would lead us, like Nikabrik in Prince Caspian, to sacrifice principle on the altar of pragmatism? Especially when everywhere you look, ugliness seems to be winning.”
I Want to Finish Well for God’s Glory
“I’m not Paul. And I’m certainly not Jesus. But I cling to hope that I also will finish well. My hope does not lie in some unique trait that I possess or to some great degree of commitment that I claim. No, when all is said and done, finishing well ultimately depends on God.”
Babel & the Sin of Glorifying Ourselves
“The great sin of the city of Babel is not tower-building, or unified labor toward a societal goal. The sin of Babel is the sin of seeking independence from God.” This should concern us, because we, too, can often seek independence from God. “The people of Babel hoped to glorify themselves and fortify themselves. Whenever our chief goal goes from glorifying God and enjoying him forever, to glorifying ourselves, bad things always result.”
The Great Omission
Jen Wilkin expresses her concern about biblical illiteracy. “Those of us in church leadership have too often followed a discipleship strategy of lowering the bar on learning environments, believing people are too busy to commit to anything requiring effort. We beg them apologetically to come to a six-week study, promising it won’t have homework.”
Flashback: Throw Out the Buoys!
I often think we should treat our past sins like buoys, markers that we throw down to keep us from striking the same rock twice—or committing the same sin twice. As soon as we identify a sin in our lives and repent of it, we should make it like a buoy that reminds us of the danger lurking in that sordid corner of our hearts or within reach of our evil desires.
One of the clearest examples of the extent of our pride is how quickly it infiltrates even our attempts to ‘be humble.’
—Hannah Anderson
