As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“There is work that neither lasts long nor matters much. How important is it to sell lottery tickets? Cotton candy? Promotional T-shirts that can’t survive two journeys through a washing machine? It is unpopular but necessary to say it, but all work is not equal in every way.” - Ref21
“Although the local church cannot end sexual abuse altogether, churches can take preventive measures to ensure the safety of their youngest members during church events. Below are ten recommendations to help reduce the likelihood that sexual abuse will occur in your church’s nursery and kids ministry areas.” - Church Answers
Scripture is clear—Proverbs in particular—that there are such things as fools and these individuals are nothing but trouble. We shouldn’t be in their company more than necessary—much less, put important responsibilities in their hands.
Though the English word “fool” appears 60 to 65 times in most English versions of Proverbs, the book doesn’t offer a concise definition. That leaves us with some ambiguity. How many of the traits of fools does someone have to have to be rightly classified as a fool? Are we supposed to take the qualities of fools only as way to gauge the degree of foolishness?
“Brent Leatherwood, vice president of external affairs and chief of Staff for SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said in a statement that he has ‘long called for America to be a bold voice for liberty against these oppressive regimes.’” - C.Post
“Donors to Ravi Zacharias International Ministries are suing the troubled nonprofit for allegedly covering up its founder’s abusive behavior.” - BPNews
Related at C.Today: Football Player Sues RZIM Claiming Misuse of Funds …and at RNS
“Hovind… was released from prison in 2015 after serving time for tax fraud. He told his YouTube followers he is being falsely accused.” - RNS
“More than one-third of white evangelical Protestants say they are hesitant to get their children vaccinated (36%), and more than four in ten say they will not get their children vaccinated (42%). Hispanic Protestants are much more likely to be hesitant (52%) than to refuse vaccines for their children (19%).” - PRRI
“Pro-life groups and conservative politicians are cheering after a federal court of appeals upholding part of an Indiana law requiring abortion facilities to report any complications from abortions taking place at their clinics to the state.” - C.Post
“…many Christians have blasted past rightful skepticism into nonsensical fear-mongering. They assume the worst of others, and they see conspiracies and evil under every bush.” - P&D
“Here’s what I’m surprised (and convicted that I’m surprised) to see: the simple message of the gospel and the Word of God preached still change people’s lives to God’s glory and the advancement of his kingdom.” - Tim McKnight
“One place to begin is historian David Bebbington’s four-part definition of evangelicalism. In his 1989 book, Bebbington argued that evangelicals share …” - The Conversation
“To a hammer, everything looks like a nail, and to a critical theorist everything looks like oppression. But what if that’s not a big enough answer?” - Breakpoint
“…rebuke, which the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s Book of Church Order explains, ‘… is a form of censure more severe than admonition. It consists in setting forth the serious character of the offense, reproving the offender, and exhorting him to repentance and to more perfect fidelity to the Lord Jesus Christ.’” - Ref21
“In a notice filed Monday, lawyers for Jack Phillips asked the appeals court to review the June ruling by a Denver judge by looking at both procedural issues and whether the ruling violated Phillips’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion.” - RNS
“Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan tweeted, ‘The Republican Party is no longer the ‘wine and cheese’ party. It’s the beer and blue jeans party.’ …. As it stands right now, however, the party is much more about grievance politics and retribution” - Dispatch
By Jordan Standridge, reposted from The Cripplegate.
How many takes have you seen about Simone Biles and her decision to drop out of several events at the Olympics?
Everyone seems to have an opinion.
There are people that are angry at her. There are people that are thankful for her. There are people calling for more discussions about mental health. There are people blaming the horrid sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of Nassar. It seems like everyone is talking about it.
Read the series.
It is a bold and somewhat subjective statement to make, but the Parable of the Pounds (or Ten Minas)1 in Luke 19:11-27 is perhaps the key passage in this Gospel, if not in all the Gospels, on the theology of the two comings of Messiah.2 Since I believe it to be so crucial, I will give it special attention. The parable is introduced as follows:
“The author of a popular anti-CRT book has been accused of misquoting sources and plagiarism. His publisher says the accusations are not ‘well-founded.’” - RNS
“Plagiarism controversies and a growing sermon-prep industry bring attention to a question pastors face when preparing material for the pulpit: How much borrowing is too much?” - WORLD
Related at TGC: How to Use Resources to Preach Well (and Avoid Plagiarism)
“Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission filed a petition Monday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide a case in which the Washington Supreme Court ruled in favor of a bisexual lawyer who sued the mission over its anti-LGBTQ hiring policy.” - C.Leaders
Podcast: “Todd reviews the ‘overtures’ voted on at the Assembly and what they mean in the big picture. Overall, it’s an encouraging affirmation of biblical standards and reformed doctrine.” - Ref21
“Actress Elizabeth Tabish talks about her role as Mary Magdalene on The Chosen” - WORLD
“In this episode of The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, host Mike Cosper breaks down how technology shaped the messaging and marketing of Mark Driscoll and how personal brand can isolate a leader even as it fuels a ministry’s growth.” - C.Today
“I am not arguing that Christians should decide not to engage in politics or civic life. We all have a role to play in our society and if we can influence some changes for the good, I am all for it. However, shouldn’t we be thinking about the most important things and how to achieve them?” - Don Johnson
“The Roman world needed Christians to take in abandoned children and oppose the gladiatorial games, precisely because the pressure was enormous to do exactly the opposite. When we engage with culturally acceptable causes but ‘stay in our lane’ on unpopular ones, we fail the tests of courage and integrity.” - Breakpoint
“It was rare for average folks in the early church to have an individual copy of the Scriptures…. What they had instead was a community—in this case the synagogue—which had a collection of writings we know as the Old Testament.” - TGC
“It isn’t just the Olympics. All of the teams I follow are dragging down my mood.” - Veith
“many of the same folks who say that government authorities shouldn’t be trusted to make sure vaccines are safe or that elections are fairly conducted also say that we should have the government set industrial policy, regulate speech on the internet, or even engineer the size and shape of American families. How can institutions so corrupt as the ones described by right-wing nationalists be trusted with the power to administer matters far more complicated than testing vaccines or counting ballots?” - Dispatch
