“Couples who practice the Christian faith seriously and the disciplines and values it teaches face a substantially decreased life-time risk of divorce, some by as much as 30 to 50% reduced risk relative to the general population.” - Daily Citizen

“Christians have often found it a blessing to pray words that others have written. Perhaps you have benefitted from praying the words of The Book of Common Prayer or The Valley of Vision. But…Have you ever tried praying poetically?” - Challies

“as Yuval Levin points out in his new book, American Covenant … ‘weaker parties … mean more intense partisanship.’ Why this should be so, and how we reached this pass, are best answered by a tour through some classic books on the parties.” - Public Discourse

Michael Otazu (Read Part 1.)

“they taught me to think about the creative act as a kind of worship, as a way to be human. Since we were made to glorify God, worship happens when someone is doing exactly what he or she was made to do.” - IFWE

“57% of young adults raised in two-parent households report that they could rely on both their mother and father for help with a personal problem, while only 40% percent of Americans aged 50 or older report the same.” - IFS

“Future historians may refer to our moment as ‘the early days of World War III,’ but is this an extraordinary time of crisis? In one sense, we live in a remarkably peaceful time. There has not been a war between any of the Great Powers in generations.” - Breakpoint

“God doesn’t need our work. That’s not the point. Paul gave us these instructions because this will bring the greatest joy to us when we work this way” - John Piper

“during the Plague of Cyprian in the third century…. Christians stayed behind in the cities to provide medical care, community support, and God-centered conversation for sufferers. Pagans ran away from their neighbors. Christians moved near.” - TGC

“Our survey explored various reasons people might use TikTok and other social media platforms. Young TikTok users stand out from their older peers on several of these reasons” - Pew

Thirty years ago this summer, Lynnette and I set out to visit Faith Baptist Theological Seminary.

When I was investigating seminaries, a trusted pastor friend told me that Faith must be good, as Dr. John Hartog II was teaching there. When we went for a visit, I asked about meeting with some of the faculty, and they called Dr. Hartog first. He left his beloved garden and yard projects and put on a shirt and tie just to meet with us in his office. There he regaled us with tales from his years of training at Dallas Theological Seminary, as well as his time in the doctoral program at Grace Theological Seminary.

Charlie Kirk Urges Pastors to Mobilize Churches for Trump - Ministry Watch

“Another key in managing a crisis well is to make sure the message communicated is consistent whether it is to the church members or the community at large. ‘There may be things that you share internally but not externally, but it’s not different information’ ” - The Baptist Paper

“It shall be left to each individual heart, and each member of the church, to answer for himself the question, whether his own church is in a state of spiritual health, taking these things as a test; namely, purity, soundness, unity, and prayerfulness.” - 9 Marks

“Lewis and Keller wrote to skeptics…. But Ortlund’s audience is different. Rather than skeptics, he addresses Protestants who feel confused and are questioning not God or Christianity but Protestantism” - TGC

“Even some supporters of Ukraine see the ban as an overstep in the name of national security, a violation of religious freedom and a potential risk to continued foreign military aid.” - RNS

Michael Otazu

“The debate [with Daniel Haifley of the King James Bible Research Council] will take place Monday evening, October 21, at Dayspring Bible College in Mundelein, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.” - YouTube

“Grief is lonely when you are the only one grieving and lonely when you are grieving with others…. ‘The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy’ (Proverbs 14:10).” - Challies

“I realized that something crucial was amiss…. I saw the same people rotating in and out of leadership positions. I realized that my church had a glaring absence of fresh faces, young leaders eager to step into roles of influence.” - GARBC Blog

“A Gallup survey finds 37% of Americans believe God created human beings pretty much in their present form…. Additionally, 34% say human beings developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life but God guided this process.” - Religion Unplugged

“On hearing this, Peter… asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Instinctively he wanted to compare God’s difficult calling on his life with His plans for John. Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’” - Randy Alcorn

“Origen’s six-columned Old Testament, produced in the second century, was a monumental achievement in the Bible’s history.” - TCI

“Something is different. But I contend that it’s not that different…. ‘What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun’ (Eccl. 1:9)…. Even as the world is chaotic, we can be calm, friendly, and convictional in its midst.” - London Lyceum

“That misunderstanding of Isaiah 64:6 has caused many Christians to believe that it is impossible for a Christian to please God. If their best works are filthy rags, there’s nothing they can do to please him. This is a profoundly unbiblical notion through and through.” - John Piper

“However, U.S. adults view marijuana as less harmful to users than tobacco, nicotine and alcohol” - Gallup

Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2024, 389 pages, paperback.

I have already reviewed the previous volumes from this series. All three were what I would call average to above average works, containing useful content, although my repeated refrain was that in my opinion they fail to live up to the title. If you want to write a NT commentary “through OT Eyes” then you really can’t superimpose the NT on it. At least you can’t unless what you meant to say was something like “How the NT Book of _____ Reads the OT.”

“The rule change went into effect Aug. 1 in states that agreed with it, but for more than half of U.S. states, it did not. At least 26 U.S. attorneys general have filed suit over the change, arguing it violates their states’ laws regarding transgender students participating in athletics.” - Baptist Press

“Principle two seems to be the most important as it is interwoven throughout many (if not all) of the others. Naselli identifies three separate types of reading: surveying, macro-reading, and micro-reading.” - DBTS Blog

“50,000 Catholics gathered for the National Eucharistic Congress…. Catholic bishops and other worshippers in the stands, hands raised in worship like Pentecostals, singing ‘How Great Is Our God,’ ….Others included ‘Way Maker,’ ‘Build My Life,’ ‘Come to the Altar’ and ‘Praise,’ the latest hit from Elevation” - RNS