Homeschooler theologian?
Kim Shay:
When the rest of the public school children went back after Christmas holidays, ours stayed home. It was a decision we’d been planning. They were, at the time in 5th grade, 2nd grade, and kindergarten. Eventually, they all graduated from public high school to ease the process of matriculation into university.
Those were good years. They learned a lot, and I introduced them to things they would never have been given in public school. Most adults aren’t taught Church History; my kids were. It was good for me, too. In a post at Out of the Ordinary, I shared about how books were my tutors as I went through a time of examining what I believed and why. Homeschooling helped in two ways.
Why I Love an Evening Service
Tim Challies:
Of all the casualties the church has suffered in recent decades, I wonder if many will have longer-lasting consequences than the loss of the evening service. There was a time, not so long ago, when many or even most churches gathered in the morning and the evening. But today the evening service is increasingly relegated to the past.
At Grace Fellowship Church we hold on to the evening service and I wouldn’t want it any other way. It is a commitment, to be sure—a commitment for the pastors to plan a second service and to prepare a second sermon, and a commitment for the members to give the church not only the morning but also the evening. But these are small costs compared to the great benefits. Here are a few things I love about an evening service.
Kindle deals for Christian readers
In addition to the list from the other day, here are a few new Kindle deals:
When Your Husband Is Addicted to Pornography by Vicki Tiede—$2.99
True Friendship by Vaughan Roberts—$2.99
When the Word Leads Your Pastoral Search by Chris Brauns—$5.77
Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas—$2.99
What Angels Wish They Knew by Alistair Begg—$5.77
Can We Know the Truth? by Richard Phillips—$1.99
Christians and Movies: Are We Contextualizing or Compromising?
Trevin Wax:
At this point, I feel like we are heading down a rocky terrain without any brake system working on our vehicle. Without any brake system in place, there is, in principle, no film we could not or would not see.
I’ve seen Hollywood elitists raving about the lesbian love story, Blue is the Warmest Color, which contains lengthy, explicit sex scenes with graphic nudity. Should we watch this film in order to speak knowledgeably about it if it comes up in a discussion with our neighbor?
When Divorce Is Good and Holy… Christians Are Confused
Julian Freeman:
Someone recently forwarded me an article called ‘When Divorce is Good and Holy‘ and asked for my thoughts. I don’t typically respond to other people’s posts publicly but when I read this one, I felt a strong sense of urgency within my own heart to reply.… The premise of the article is simple: If Jesus upholds divorce as a legitimate option then we ought to view it as good and holy, when carried out according to his teaching. Therefore, we ought to stop criticizing those who want a divorce (for legitimate reasons like pornography use, etc.), and we must stop compelling them to stay in the marriage as if it is the only thing that would please God. In fact, the author goes one step further: He even asserts that when divorce is upheld as the good and holy option that it is, divorce rates and pornography use will decline.
I take several issues with that line of thinking. A few of them are outlined below.
Six Steps to Better Thoughts, Feelings, And Actions
David Murray:
What we think has a huge impact on what we feel and what we do.
For example, if I think about all the things I failed to do today, I will get discouraged and possibly even angry. I will then drive home in a bad mood, and those thoughts and feelings will have a knock-on effect on how I interact with my wife and children.
If, on the other hand, I focus on what I actually managed to accomplish, if I look at the boxes I ticked today, and fade out everything else, then I go home cheerful, energized, and ready to play with my kids and chat to my wife.
New review of Contend
This is a very kind review of Contend by Nate Claiborne (who I’m really looking forward to hanging out with again someday):
All that to say, I would commend you Aaron’s work here. It is a thoroughly researched, easy to read, motivational exposition of Jude’s appeal for our modern context. He focuses on the basic, foundations of our faith that need to be defended and then gives sage advice on how to do so. The book strikes a fine balance between doctrinal exposition and practical application, making it very epistolatory. Yes, I just said epistolatory.
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