Destinations

If you only read one thing today, make it this post by Justin Taylor. He writes about how afraid we are to be alone with ourselves. In fact, it might be worth reading twice.

Randy Alcorn writes about why our children so quickly abandon their faith once they get to college.

Jonathan Parnell predicts that one day the abortion industry will self-destruct. We can only hope.

Should we bind Satan? I’ve heard people attempt it many times. Clint Archer weighs in.

Do Big Youth Groups Work?

Teri alerted me to this latest White Horse Inn and the quote below. If you still have children at home, I’d encourage you to listen to what Mike Horton and T. David Gordon have to say. Passing the torch on to our children is a challenge. I think parents are most effective when they live the truth at home, and when they routinely worship with their children in a church that preaches the Word, and will love and pray for the parents and children of the church.

“… Not only are we not keeping our youth, as it were, which is the great fear; not only is it not working, but insofar as that they see any pattern, the curious thing is: the churches that do not have big youth programs, or even any youth program, are retaining their young people through their twenties at a higher rate than the churches with big youth programs. … [Statisticians have] demonstrated it! And at first that seems counterintuitive. ‘What? You mean we have a $75,000 budget in our church for a youth director, and all the bells and the whistles, and we’re getting nothing for it?’ And the answer is ‘of course, you can see why!’ Because Christianity is not all about me. It’s all about Christ, and my serving Christ. And so, if for six or seven years in the youth program, we throw pizza, and Pepsi, and movies at someone, and then at some point, magically he hits 21 and we say, ‘Now, we want you to come out for the Church work party, and clean the gutters out, or do this, that, and the other, or keep nursery,’ he goes, ‘Woah, woah, woah, where’s my pizza? Where’s my Pepsi? Where’s my movies?’”

Destinations

The movie The Son of God is out. June alerted me to a critique from Answers in Genesis. It is helpful. Also, Tim Challies discussed the movie a few weeks ago. Often movies of this genre (e.g. The Passion of the Christ) create quite a stir for believers but seldom, if ever, really deliver.

Doug Wilson in Ukraine Your Neck, But Still Can’t See weighs in on what is happening in Crimea. As always, he is informative and entertaining (note the title).

Jessica Thomson writes about proclaiming the Good News to our children. Our children need both law and gospel.

Finally, what is the street value of the sovereignty of God? What difference should it make in my life. John Piper answers this question …

If You Have Children With a Mobile Device …

Read this. As a parent, you are responsible for locking down Internet access. Trust me, your children will find the wrong places to go if YOU don’t guard the gate. And, the sins dabbled in now might very well haunt them the rest of their lives. Sowing now results in a harvest later. Do your best to keep your children safe.

The Beauty of Motherhood

Destinations

I appreciate this piece by Tullian. It is about a husband who announces that he is going to leave his wife. The wife doesn’t react but instead just keeps loving her husband. In the end, the husband returned physically and emotionally. Even though this is about a husband leaving his wife, the principle Tullian communicates might be applied in our lives at least on a weekly basis. Not that our spouses routinely want to leave us (hopefully). But, all of our mates have difficult days when they can’t seem to love us the way we’d like. The same principle illustrated in this piece needs to be applied in our marriages and lives. As we respond graciously, those we love will eventually come back.

Stephen Altrogge suggests that we should get rid of the word “should.” I’m not sure I completely buy what he’s suggesting.

Finally, I’ve said before that parents have the primary responsibility of discipling their children. This often happens best not as our children are whisked away to youth ministries but rather as they worship and serve with their parents in church. I realize that this only works for children whose parents attend church.

Destinations

In a grace focused environment it is important to remember that we best help our children understand grace in light of the law. John Piper encourages parents to require obedience of their children.

Last week I posted a link to Tim Challies detailing 18 things he will not regret doing with his children. This week he highlights 18 things he will not regret doing with his wife. Good encouragement.

Here is an interesting piece by Halee Gray Scott, critiquing the way women’s ministry is typically run in evangelicalism. From my inexperienced position, it seems that what she says is important.

Do you ever read the Old Testament and wonder how to apply it? Eric Ortlund offers some helpful tips in his piece, A Very Brief Guide to Reading the Old Testament Devotionally.

Finally, “Christ-Centered Preaching and Teaching” is free in several formats.

Destinations

Tim Challies lists eighteen things he will not regret doing with his kids. There is good encouragement here.

The issue of divorce and remarriage is a sticky biblical issue. In what sense is remarriage adultery? Douglas Wilson grapples with the question.

Gambling has never been attractive to me. I have other vices. The idea of giving what little money I have away in the hope that I might get more in return has never gained traction with me. Yet, many do battle with this issue. Daniel Darling highlights the social cost of gambling.

In this life, the need to forgive and be forgiven never goes away. We are fallen people and intentionally or unintentionally we hurt those around us. We too are hurt. David Murray briefly talks about the variations of forgiveness and its benefits.

Destinations

Piggybacking on yesterday’s post about books, Nicolas McDonald is composing a list of the best novels. I love good stories. Here is his list of honorable mention books.

I appreciated this short post on when to use him, her, whom, he, she, and who. I still have nightmares about a test regarding the use of who and whom in high school. Who is for subjects, whom is for objects. I bet you already knew that.

Our educational system isn’t kind to boys. This shouldn’t surprise us given the political climate of our day. Alas, silly ideas have huge consequences. Christina Hoff Sommers from Time weighs in on the issue. Here is a quote:

Schools must enforce codes of discipline and maintain clear rules against incivility and malicious behavior. But that hardly requires abolishing tag, imposing games of tug of peace or banning superhero play. Efforts to re-engineer the young-male imagination are doomed to fail, but they will succeed spectacularly in at least one way. They will send a clear and unmistakable message to millions of schoolboys: You are not welcome in school.

Finally, Thabiti Anyabwile addresses the battle over gay marriage. Because of the graphic nature of what he writes, you might not want to read the whole thing. TMI. I appreciate what he writes about homosexual relationships and love as well as the issue of gay rights. While the yuk factor is inescapable, I’m not sure it helps believers properly interface with the lost. Thabiti writes:

Consider how many times you’ve read the word “gay” or “homosexual” in this post withoutthinking about the actual behaviors those terms represent. “Gay” and “homosexual” are polite terms for an ugly practice. They are euphemisms. In all the politeness, we’ve actually stopped talking about the things that lie at the heart of the issue–sexual promiscuity of an abominable sort.

Destinations

I’ve been derelict in my blogging duties lately. So, here are some posts worth considering …

First here is “Kirsten Powers: How a Liberal Democrat and Former Atheist Came to Know Jesus Christ as her Savior.” I love conversion stories. This is a good one.

What is the longest book in the Bible? Here is a hint: the book of Psalms weighs in at number three.

Family devotions are always difficult. Parents, not the church, have the responsibility of raising children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. Why not use the Heidelberg Catechism to disciple your children? Here is some help in using the catechism with your kids.

Here is a brief response to the George Zimmerman verdict (I know you are probably tired of hearing about it.) by H. B. Charles Jr. I think that most of us who hail from Europe have trouble resonating with the response from the African-American community. The difficulty with an event like this is that it is truly impossible to really know what happened that fateful night. Because of this I identify with people on both sides of the debate.

Church discipline is always difficult. Here is a reflection of how the excommunication of a father ended up being a positive thing.

When J.I. Packer speaks, we should attempt to hear what he is saying. In this article his concern is that too many churches in America are playing the numbers game. Whether a church is large or small, it is always tempting to gauge success and faithfulness based on the size of the congregation.

At Bowman, it always seems that there is some pushback when using the Apostles’ Creed. The word “catholic” trips us up. Here is a brief discussion of the word.

Is Jeremiah 17:9 true of believers? I appreciate this balanced answer.

25 Common Phrases That You’re Saying Wrong. Don’t you hate it when you find out you’ve been revealing your ignorance? I do it all the time.

I enjoyed this piece about the difference between British and American humor (warning: there is some very minor crude allusions).