“Services like MultiTracks, PraiseCharts, and SongSelect offer tools that allow big churches to replicate the recorded versions of new worship songs. Bishop says that for larger churches with the teams and budget, those resources are ideal. But it’s not what most smaller churches need.” - Christianity Today

No, you are not omnipotent, and you never will be. You are not a god, and you cannot ascend to that level. That’s been tried, and the devil and his angels got condemned forever for it. Yet, God made you like Him. You bear the image of God.

Genesis 1:26 records how God created human beings: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” By design, God purposely made us like Him. But how? What does it mean to bear the image of God?

“Whose prayer and whose faith? Verse 14 is clear that it is the elders who are doing the praying. And since it is supposed to be a prayer of faith, it seems that the faith that is primarily in view would be of those praying that prayer of faith: the elders’ faith.” - P&D

“61% of Protestants…said they believe the actions detailed in the trial were morally wrong, with only 35% contending the opposite. The breakdown was similar among Catholics (63% vs. 33%) and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (59% vs. 40%).” - RNS

“The pendulum of 20th-century evangelical scholarship on Aquinas has swung between strongly negative appraisals (…Francis Schaeffer and Cornelius Van Til…) and, since the 1980s, more appreciative receptions (…Norman Geisler and Arvin Vos). Yet in the last decade or so, there has been a Thomist renaissance within evangelical circles.” - Christianity Today

“To this day, it’s hard for any patriotic American not to get choked up when watching the speech, when Reagan says, ‘These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.’” - National Review

“While Americans have complex opinions on gender identity and transgender rights, a growing share of voters (65%) say that whether a person is a man or woman is determined by the sex they were assigned at birth. About a third (34%) say someone can be a man or woman, even if that differs from their sex at birth.” - Pew

I experienced all kinds of weather playing eight years of high school and college football in Wisconsin—from the burning heat of August to the frigid cold of November. I only remember one snowfall, during a practice in my last season in college. But I remember rain—lots and lots of rain and, especially, lots of mud.

“While progress is being made, a significant financial gap remains. To cover the gap, we’re following legal advice to put us in the best place moving forward…. this recommended action mandates furlough for CSU employees while the process takes place.” - CSU

“Finding a job is always going to be a spiritual journey for the Christian. Here are a few practical tips from my own experience that I can share with you” - IFWE

“I strongly believe that church size doesn’t matter, but I also just as strongly believe that church size does matter. I know that’s contradictory, but…” - Chuck Lawless

“Echoing Catholic teaching, ERLC President Brent Leatherwood says the procedure causes moral harm and separates procreation from sex.” - RNS

“Dinesh never really got off of the big picture into the details, so there’s a lot of vagueness….” - Gavin Ortlund

“With nearly 1 million followers, author and speaker Beth Moore is considering shutting down her presence on X (formerly Twitter). The social media giant recently updated its official policy on ‘adult content,’ freely allowing images and videos.” - Christian Leaders

“Prior to being named at the president of Cru, Robbins served as the CEO of FamilyLife, another Cru ministry focused on helping families grow closer to God and each other, since 2017. He has also worked with Cru doing ministry work in Italy, New York City and other parts of the U.S.” - Christian Post

“One in 5 U.S. Protestant pastors (21 percent) say they see nothing wrong with two people of the same gender getting married…. Three in 4 (75 percent) are opposed, including 69 percent who strongly disagree with same-sex marriage.” - Baptist Press

“Wouldn’t it be great if children growing up in Christian homes looked forward to additional God-centered holidays…. I like Richard’s idea of a ‘Looking Forward Day,’ as in “looking forward to a new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home” (2 Peter 3:13).” - Randy Alcorn

“Some theologians argue it’s wrong to forgive an impenitent offender, while others say it’s wrong not to. Let’s review the arguments for both options and see if we can find a solution.” - TGC

Deplatforming: “Use of the word has expanded to include banning, limiting, or demonetizing an individual or organization’s social media access based on the content or ideology of their message.” - Maranatha Baptist Univ

Hat tip: P&D

Read Part 1.

After Beacham’s excellent offering we get one by Kevin Bauder. Bauder is one of the best representatives of Dispensationalism, and any contribution by him will be eminently worthwhile. He writes on Israel and the Church and his chapter is welcome because of the way Bauder tackles the subject. First he addresses the question of just what is meant by “a people of God” (72-79). This is perhaps a little long-winded but at the same time the delineation is most useful in view of the fact that God says that He will have all nations worship Him (78-79).

“To date, no names appear on the Ministry Check website designed to track abusive pastors, despite a mandate from Southern Baptists to create the database. The committee has also found no permanent home or funding for abuse reforms, meaning that two of the task force’s chief tasks remain unfinished.” - Christianity Today

“I believe that our statement of faith does a masterful job of calling all believers to active Christian service while maintaining biblical roles for men and women.” - Bart Barber

“Currently, several states already have abortion-related ballot initiatives, while others are still pending in the qualification process. Below is an overview of each state ballot initiative to be voted on this November” - Baptist Press

“Godliness is the result of effort—focused effort that turns us away from useless distractions (1 Timothy 4:7a), and consistent effort that follows an ongoing regimen of spiritual exercises. Don’t lose steam after a few early morning ‘workouts.’” - Chris Anderson

Read Part 1 and Part 2.

If God’s omniscience and immutability rule out a change of mind, then why does the Scripture relate incidents in which he “repents”? I’ve suggested that the biblical authors are using literary devices to demonstrate important points about God—theological points. If you’ll run down the list of those incidents, you should be able to state the point that the author is making in each case—

“ ‘Is the English language decaying? Was it once in a pristine state? Has it been sliding ever since?’ I was relieved to see Garner say ‘No, on all counts.’” - Mark Ward

“’Dad,’ the son said to his father loudly enough that I could hear, ‘How come mom got roses on Mother’s Day and you get a lecture?’” - The Baptist Paper

“far better people than I have experienced far worse depression, including Martin Luther, John Owen, and William Cowper, to name a few. I studied the life of Charles Spurgeon who battled depression, and found comfort in the fact that godly men and women had walked the same path I was walking.” - Randy Alcorn

“Last month, onetime Fox News host Tucker Carlson sat in his cabin-like studio and introduced a bearded, 70-year-old Idaho pastor named Doug Wilson as the person ‘most closely identified’ with Christian nationalism, calling him one of the ‘rare’ clergy ‘willing to engage on questions of culture and politics.’” - RNS

“His second argument is that these churches, while not necessarily preaching the gospel, do provide moral guidance for living, and money given to charities that helps the poor and needy. The most important loss is the loss of the social “gospel” endeavors of the mainline denominations.” - P&D