“While we certainly anticipated that many church members would return to in-person worship attendance after the quarantine, we were not prepared for the magnitude of decline in digital services. And this decline took place regardless of the platform: Facebook, YouTube, and others.” - Rainer

I’m not simply referring to the reason why God allowed Christ to be tempted. I’m also querying God included the account of Christ’s temptation in the Bible. According to John’s Gospel, 20:30, Christ did many significant things in His lifetime that are not recorded in Scripture. Apparently, the Holy Spirit moved the writers of Scripture to record those events which were most necessary for the salvation of sinners and edification of the church. Since three of the four Gospel writers include the temptation of Christ in their gospel presentation (see Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13), there must be a good reason!

“It is unacceptable for the government to force religious institutions to become coercive extensions of state power. We have no choice but to push back against this intrusion of the government into matters of conscience and religious conviction,” - BPNews

Related…

“A full 27 percent of the Virginia electorate identified as white born-again or Evangelical, and that clearly means a large majority did not rank abortion first, even though this could be the most consequential election for state abortion rights in a generation” - David French

“The term ‘inspiration’ and the phrase ‘inspired by God’ have a particular meaning within Christianity” - TGC

“Listen, listen, listen. Perhaps more good evangelism than we realize starts not with speaking but with good listening. Getting to know someone well, and specifically applying the gospel to them, is huge in witness. Relationship matters.” - C.Leaders

“We might feel that apologetics is best left to the experts. But Peter is clear that every Christian must be “prepared to make a defense” of the faith (1 Peter 3:15).” - Ref21

Intellectual dishonesty takes many forms. One of the most common occurs when we look at the collection of arguments someone is making to support a claim, select the weakest among them, ignore the rest, and respond as though the weakest support is the only support.

Often, mockery follows. We heap scorn on the whole claim, emphasizing the absurdity of the one weak supporting idea.

I’m saying “we” here because it’s a common human failing. Some do it because the situation is emotionally charged and they haven’t learned to use analytical distance and other structured thinking skills.

“Proposition 3 (officially termed TX HB1239) adds a clause to the Texas constitution that forbids the government from similar actions in the future.” - BPNews

More at RNS

“The poll by the Public Religion Research Institute, released Monday, found that 23 percent of white evangelicals and 26 percent of Republicans believe three major tenets of the QAnon theory” - C.Headlines

Related: (PRRI) Findings from the 2021 American Values Survey

“The Spokesman-Review … quoted Wilson as saying that the idea of a ‘spiritual takeover’ of the city originated with is dad, James Wilson, after he retired from the Navy. Wilson’s father wrote a book titled ‘Principles of War: A Handbook on Strategic Evangelism’ ” - C.Leaders

“What would you do for recognition? What would you do to have fellow believers think well of you? If you’d do something God forbids, then you’ve made yourself into an idol that you worship. Can you think of anything more ridiculous?” - Olinger

“…Georgia-based National Christian Foundation (NCF), www.ncfgiving.com/ which to date has quietly given $14 billion to 71,000 non-profit groups, $1.3 billion of that last year, in both tiny and huge grants. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution piece recently noted that ‘mysterious’ operation is ‘one of the most influential charities you’ve never heard of.’” - GetReligion

Read the series.

The “Law” was not Law even though it was Commanded

As we move on from Block’s discussion of what he calls “the Cosmic covenant” (i.e. Noahic) the “Adamic covenant” (?), and the “Israelite covenant” (i.e. the Abrahamic and the Mosaic together!) we next encounter the “New Israelite covenant” (275ff.). For reasons I shall attempt to explain this is what most call “the New covenant.”

“Regulations issued this year by China have intensified the communist government’s control of clergy among the five state-authorized religious groups and have effectively prohibited the work of pastors and leaders of unregistered churches and other entities, according to a new report.” - BPNews

“The simple aim of this article is to show that, far from being a peripheral matter for fussy literalists, it is biblically and theologically necessary for Christians to believe in Adam as a historical person who fathered the entire human race.” - TGC

“Writing in Scientific American this month, former Harvard astronomy chair Avi Loeb proposed that our universe may have been created by an intelligent designer… just not God.” - Breakpoint

“One doctrine, justification by faith alone, is rightly called the doctrine by which the Church stands or falls. It was this doctrine that Martin Luther was, ultimately, being asked to recant but could not…. five hundred years later, it is still a worthy hill and mountain to stand upon” - Ref21

“I see Chesterton as one of the great defenders of the Christian faith in the 20th century. He was resolutely, persistently, and brilliantly countercultural, and in the wonderful way he spoke out I find three things worthy of praise.” - C.Post

Reposted from Rooted Thinking.

In a recent article, I told my story of struggling with idolizing missions. After that surrender and spiritual blessing, God used my physical problems to redirect my ministry.

The Lord allowed me to recover enough to continue to serve in Cambodia. However, it was clear that I no longer have the physical ability to maintain an aggressive evangelistic ministry like I once did. Now I found that I had to tackle ministry one day at a time, because I could not schedule with much certainty.

So maybe this seems to be a no-brainer to you, but I am trying to think this through. When I meet a Catholic priest, I may address him as “father,” even though he is not my spiritual father. By doing so, I am not acknowledging his superiority to me, as, perhaps, a Catholic might.

“A majority of churches didn’t start holding in-person services again until June 2020. By September 2020, 87% met physically, but that dropped to 76% in January 2021, according to Lifeway Research studies conducted at the time. In August 2021, however, only 2% of churches did not meet in person at all.” - Lifeway

“It’s not just Lakewood. So far, 99 Christian orgs have repaid their Paycheck Protection Program loans.” - C.Today

Related, at RNS: For some churches, paying back PPP loans is better than forgiveness

The count comes from Mark Lee Dickson, founder and head of Sanctuary Cities for Life - BPNews

“Gallagher, 80, and his Gallagher Financial Group advertised on Christian radio with the tagline, ‘See you in church on Sunday.’ He promoted his investment business in books… and on Christian radio broadcasts.” - RNS

“…the private Christian university pulled Meacham’s lecture after a student created an online petition and a resolution was passed by the Student Government Association, both calling for his removal.” - BPNews

On the push and pull between ‘humans as made in the image of God and humans still trapped in sin.’ - David French

“The justices heard oral arguments in lawsuits brought by abortion providers and the Biden administration that seek to block enforcement of the Texas Heartbeat Act (S.B. 8), which prohibits the abortion of an unborn child whose heartbeat can be detected.” - BPNews

Related

“We talk together about the upsides and downsides of constant connectivity, increased technology, and the tool of social media — hoping to include them in the decision. By God’s grace, they both recognize that there are some inherent downsides to growing up on a phone.” - Geiger

“even as the pace of technological change has felt dizzying and exhausting for churches in recent years, we’ve only seen the tip of the digital iceberg. The real change, which will truly transform our mental, spiritual, and ecclesial landscapes, is coming soon: the metaverse.” - TGC