Here are some resources I have found helpful this week. I hope they are an encouragement to you. There are also some links to some recent articles from this blog. I hope you have a good weekend! I pray that you have a local church family to gather with this weekend!
If God Did It, It Must Be Good. Right? By Tim Challies
I so appreciate Brother Tim’s willingness to share his journey of grief, lament, and hope. His transparency is a blessing.
Excerpt: “We don’t necessarily understand how God is good in this, or why taking our son is consistent with his goodness, but we know it must be. If Nick’s death was not a lapse in God’s sovereignty, it was also not a lapse in his goodness. If there was no moment in which God stopped being sovereign there is no moment in which he stopped being good—good toward us, good toward Nick, good according to his perfect wisdom. God can’t not be good.”
https://www.challies.com/articles/if-god-did-it-it-must-be-good/
A Congregation Is Not An Audience by J.T. English
Excerpt: “God isn’t interested in creating an audience; he wants participants. Paul is insistent that one of the main purposes of the church is to invite all people into the work of ministry—not reserve it for a select few. In the church there isn’t a group of people who do ministry, and a separate group of people who receive ministry. All members of the family are called to do the work of ministry, and all members of the family are called to receive the ministry of others.”
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/congregation-audience/
How the 2020 Presidential Election Helps Us Understand the Formation of the New Testament Canon by Michael Kruger
This is an interesting take on understanding the New Testament Canon. I thought it was helpful.
Fear and the Lord’s Amazing Grace by Christina Fox
This article by Christina Fox gives us a glimpse at John Newton’s understanding of God’s amazing grace.
Excerpt: “I think it is safe to say most people are familiar with the hymn Amazing Grace. Many famous musicians have sung or performed it. It’s heard at many funerals and other events. Yet too few know the grace of which the author wrote and more, what makes it so amazing.”
https://www.reformation21.org/blog/fear-and-the-lords-amazing-grace
Sisters, You Have Permission to Lead an Ordinary Life by Melissa Kruger
I shared this article on Facebook a few weeks back. It is such a good reminder and encouragement for sisters in Christ in these days of unrealistic expectations.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/permission-lead-ordinary-life/
Recently from the blog…
Excerpt: “Monday is the day that no one is glad to see. Kids have to return to school. Adults with normal schedules return to work. I have never heard anyone say, “TGIM!” Monday is the day disliked by most. Pastors are no exception.”
https://bibleliving.blog/2020/11/16/monday-blues/
Excerpt: I watched my son play with toys I cherished as a child. I had fought to guard them through my childhood. I was so careful with them all those years. He was not like that. He wanted to play with them, even if it was messy. A thought came to mind as I watched my son play: “Why have it, if you don’t use it?” What was the point of keeping those toys under lock-and-key for private, careful admiration? The toys were meant to be used. I had actually missed a lot of the fun and experience I could have had with those cars. In a way, I misused them, and I did not get to enjoy them. We often treat spiritual gifts like this.
https://bibleliving.blog/2020/11/11/we-have-it-so-lets-use-it/
Bible Living Blog 