“Prayer doesn’t usually change our situation immediately, but it changes us. We grow in trust of our sovereign God, and take refuge that ‘the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment’ (2 Peter 2:9).” - K. Halloran

“Although the pandemic disrupted family life across the U.S. since taking hold in spring 2020, some parents are grateful for one consequence: They’re now opting to homeschool their children, even as schools plan to resume in-person classes.” - AP/RNS

“Two Spanish Bibles are now in the top ten. Neither was ranked ten years ago. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is no longer in the top ten.” - Thom Rainer

“What is really out there is not dependent upon how I feel about it or even how I perceive it, because I am not the author of truth; I am not the one who creates reality. I encounter reality.” - RC Sproul

“Our quest for a theology of enterprise and entrepreneurship is to find a way of expressing the godly value of beauty, innovation, and creativity.” - Acton

Read Part 1.

“The Kingdom in Your Midst” (Luke 17:21)

Considerable effort has been applied to these words, and an array of interpretations put forth. Perhaps most common is the view that Jesus is claiming that the Kingdom is inside of people; that is, of those who will open their hearts to accept it. In this outlook the Kingdom is an internal spiritual thing; hence, the phrases “does not come with observation” and “within you” would mean that the Kingdom is internal not external.

“Whilst he was in a gathering and therefore in breach of regulation 7, however, the parties were together and were allowed to rely on articles 9, 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Their gathering was limited in duration, and they were entitled to gather for street evangelising.” - PCN

“Americans’ life expectancy at birth fell 1.5 years to 77.3 years from 2019 to 2020, the lowest level since 2003. The shift is primarily driven by COVID-19 and unintentional deaths primarily from drug overdoses, new data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates.” - C.Post

“Our personal experience and anecdotal evidence shouldn’t automatically outweigh solid statistical research, but it can provide a window into some of the confusion surrounding evangelicals.” - Lifeway

Podcast: “John and Maria discuss a new reality that over other the past 2 months at least 48 churches have been burned by arsonists in Canada.” - BreakPoint

“Of course, most pastors and churches are sensible enough to avoid such ostentatious displays of weirdness. But we’ve got plenty of well-intentioned, respectable weirdness to go around.” - 9 Marks

In a previous article, I outlined a brief case for why the regulative principle of worship (“RP”) wasn’t a label worth owning. I still believe that. Here is a modified version of the argument I presented there:

“Mississippi’s attorney general argued Thursday that the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v. Wade, its landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion across the US, calling it ‘egregiously wrong’ and insisting the matter should be left solely to the states.” - NYP

Related at NR: Mississippi’s Case against Roe

“…it is imperative that we have gentleness as we confront. Too many times, especially in our circle, we can be rough with the truth. We can come too strong and our tact in the counseling room can be terrible.” - CLeaders

“This conviction of sola Scriptura— the Scriptures alone are the Word of God and, therefore, the only infallible rule for life and doctrine—provided the fuel needed to ignite the Reformation. Indeed, it was regarded as the ‘formal cause’ of the Reformation (whereas sola fide, or ‘faith alone,’ was regarded as the ‘material cause’).” - Ligonier

“As I’ve walked through the meaning of repentance in my own spiritual walk, the Puritans have been helpful in clarifying the meaning of the word repentance. In particular, Thomas Watson’s work entitled The Doctrine of Repentance” - Tim McKnight

“I doubt that many of my friends who have no religious affiliation could tell you concisely what it is they don’t believe. The time has come for ministers to stop assuming that people–even the ones already in the pews–have a good understanding of what the Gospel is and what the Christian faith teaches.” - Conciliar Post

“The English word worship comes from the early Modern English ‘worthship’; at its root it’s simply recognizing the worth of someone. … we do that in the same ways that we’d show respect for anyone else, but elevated, or exponentiated, because he’s exponentially more worthy than anyone else.” - Olinger

Read Part 1, and Part 2.

Another topic that received almost as much attention as the main theme at this year’s IFCA International Annual Convention, which was held in Lincoln, Neb., from June 28 to July 2, was social justice as well as the related subjects of critical race theory, intersectionality and wokeness.

In this final installment of a series about the convention, I will attempt to sum up a great deal of discussion that occurred on this topic.

IMO, every Bible version has its pros and cons.

This is your chance to express your level of contentment with the version you use. And, even if you are very content, you can list things you don’t like about your version. I guess this is a complaint forum for less than perfection!

While commenting, you can mention which version you use. Maybe a revision committee will see our gripes, or maybe you will find comfort in not being alone.

You are also free to share what you like about the version you use, and other versions you might prefer for personal use.

Poll Results

How satisfied are you with the Bible you use for ministry?

“Early Americans bore energetic witness to bodily suffering. What can their example teach believers today?” - C.Today

“Summer is typically a busy time at Maranatha with campus construction, new faculty moving to town, and new academic programs being refined. Summer 2021 was no exception.” - MBU

BJU “was unanimously approved as a member of the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) by the Board of Trustees Tuesday, July 21, 2021. The SCICU board includes the presidents of the 20 member institutions and up to 42 at-large members who are community and business leaders.” - BJU Today

“we must be careful as we are confronting a person who thrives on conflict not to become the same type of person. Because we have a sense of the Judgement Day, and the fact that justice will eventually be done, we are freed from our need to seek judgement in the present age” - Russell Moore

“ ‘That we would change our stance on abortion and sexuality, that we will allow critical race theory, Black Lives Matter and defunding the police to drive our agenda as a church,’ he continued, noting that all those claims are ‘unquestionably untrue.’” - C.Post

Related at BPNews: Lawsuit opposes Platt, McLean elder election

“The college is looking into ‘deeply troubling’ allegations from victims who say its procedures were ‘enabling on-campus rapes.’” - C.Today

Introduction

Servant leadership is something people frequently talk about but rarely understand or practice. Many Christians seem to equate servant leadership with passive or subservient leadership. They envision the servant leader as a gentle, accommodating person who works hard to meet everyone’s needs and keep everybody happy. True servant leaders, however, are not docile. They’re driven.

“People who regularly listened to the opposite opinions did not adjust their views and become more balanced or moderate because for many people social media have become places where they are curating a self. And therefore they see opposing views as attacks on their identity” - TGC

“…it is taken for granted that Christians have a daily ‘Quiet time’ — a few minutes put aside, usually at the beginning of the day, to read the Bible and pray … And yet, historically, that is a relatively new practice.” - Challies

“Men appear to have suffered disproportionately in the collapse of friendships. In 1990, a majority (55%) of men had at least six close friends. Today, only 27% report having this number of close friendships. Single men are in even worse shape…” - IFS