RHB and other publishers have come through with a few good Kindle deals, so the avid collectors want to take a peek.
(Yesterday on the blog: COVID-19, Pandemics, and Ventilators: Chatting with a Doctor on the Front Lines)
7 (possible) Church trends emerging from COVID-19
Murray Campbell: “As we approach two months of COVID-19 restrictions, I have noticed a number of trends beginning to emerge among Australian Churches. These indications are based on my own experience and the many conversations I am having with pastors across the country. Also, standing behind the observations are these 3 theological premises: God remains Sovereign over the world today; Human nature doesn’t change. The Bible’s doctrine of total depravity remains the status quo; The Gospel of Jesus Christ remains good, true, and powerful today.”
How Starbucks Created America’s Coffee Craze (Video)
This video is undoubtedly too positive toward Starbucks, but it’s still an interesting little biographical sketch of the company that kicked off America’s coffee craze.
COVID-19 and the Church
9Marks has launched a mini-site to resource churches and pastors as they continue to lead through the pandemic.
Headed Home
Randy Alcorn: “Because we’ve already lived on earth, I think it will seem from the first that we’re coming home. The New Earth will strike us as familiar because it will be the old earth raised, as our bodies will be our old bodies raised. The New Earth will be the home we’ve always longed for.”
Embracing Fragility
“This pandemic should cause us to embrace our fragility. To remind ourselves that even with our advancements in science, our state of the art technology, our unprecedented standard of living, and our greater life expectancy, we can lose it all in a blink of an eye. We are not God.” But this should not cause us to despair. Far from it!
The De-conversion of Saruman: Five Lessons to Learn
Michael Kruger shows how Saruman provides some lessons on de-conversion. “Tolkien’s world is more nuanced than just the good guys and the bad guys. Instead, there are actually good guys that become bad guys—which makes things very complicated. It’s a perfect picture of de-conversion.”
A Greater Healing
You may enjoy this new poem from Leanne Todd. Having been touched by pain and disability, she writes about healing and a greater healing.
Flashback: 2 Ways To Look at the People in Your Church
You can’t act surprised when a hospital is full of sick people and shouldn’t be surprised when a church is full of messy, sinful people.
God’s meticulous sovereignty—whether we live or die—serves his holiness and righteousness and goodness and wisdom. In Christ we are not his dispensable pawns. We are his valued children.
—John Piper
