Good morning. Grace and peace to you. I have collected some interesting articles below and hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I did.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include noteworthy books from Crossway like Kingdom through Covenant, What Is Covenant Theology?, and others.
Recommended Reading
Meet the First Embryo Ever Adopted, Now a 27-Year-Old Young Woman. Randy Alcorn tells the story of the first baby born from an adopted embryo. “Hannah, now 27, and Marlene testified in Missouri regarding a Personhood Amendment. When they returned home, Hannah was encouraged to record her testimony to share online. This eight-minute video from Hannah is heart stirring. After watching it, I feel like I know her. Not only was she the first of her kind, but her presentation was the first of its kind I have ever seen! I find myself still thinking about it.”
We Know What Kind of Society We Are: We’re Just Haggling Over the Price. Stephen McAlpine pulls no punches here. “You’ve heard the crass tale (attributed to many, but sourced to none) of the businessman who propositions a woman for a million dollars. She agrees. He then propositions her again but drops the fee to one hundred dollars. ‘Sir, what kind of woman do you think I am?’ she retorts. ‘We’ve already established what kind of woman you are,’ he responds, ‘Now we’re just haggling over the price’. That’s the cultural moment we are living in when it comes to ethics around the body. We’ve established what kind of society we are. Now we’re just haggling over the price.”
The Sports Gambling Epidemic Is Only Getting Worse. Cole Douglas Claybourn says rightly that the sports gambling epidemic is only getting worse. “Sports betting is the new opioid crisis, former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warns. ‘Our kids, especially our boys, are getting exposed and hooked early. And it’s ruining lives as surely as turning a blind eye to prescription opioids did,’ Adams wrote on X. If that sounds hyperbolic, Pennsylvania resident Ray Mikesell would like you to know about his son, Ray Jr., who developed a gambling addiction as an underage high school student through online betting platforms. That addiction followed him into his 20s, and on the verge of being evicted, Ray Jr. took his own life. Ray Sr. contends that his son’s financial strain and spiraling mental health state were directly related to his sports gambling addiction.”
Your Social Media Feed Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story. This is true: your social media feed doesn’t tell the whole story, and it’s important that you keep that in mind. “Rage-stoking flaws and failures in churches move to the top of our news feed. But far more common is the care and generosity that takes place among Christians. As a pastor, I have a front-row seat in this theater of love.”
You Are Not Your Trials. I think most of us need this reminder from time to time. “Though our trials are an essential part of who we are, they do not define us. They are one of many great works of God in and through us, all coming together to bring about our Christ-likeness. They are part of our definition, of our very core, but they don’t define who we are.”
Why Aslan Is Male, and Why God Is a Father. Pierce Taylor Hibbs responds to the recent news about the Narnia film series by explaining why Aslan is male and why God is a Father. “Recent news outlets have announced that the forthcoming Greta Gerwig film, a cinematic portrayal of C. S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew, features the actress Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan. At the risk of seeming dramatic, I was heartbroken. The Magician’s Nephew is one of my favorite books, and the character of Aslan has been chiseled into the Western world’s ‘social imaginary’ (to use Charles Taylor’s phrase) for almost three quarters of a century. So, why is it such a big deal that Aslan’s voice is cast by a woman rather than a man?”
Reader Recommendations
Once a week, I like to ask what you enjoy and recommend. What books, products, videos, sites, or experiences do you recommend to others who read this blog/newsletter? Let me know, and I’ll share a collection on Saturday. (If you’re reading this via email, you’ll need to visit my site to fill out the form. Go here to read last week’s recommendations.)
Flashback
No Hand But His Ever Holds the Shears. If it is our loving gardener who does the pruning, we can be sure there are never any unwise or careless cuts. Though we may not know why this branch has had to be trimmed or that one removed, we do know the one who wields the blade.
More than anything else could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them.
—Milton Vincent
