“Once considered a vice and the realm of Vegas casinos and organized crime, legal commercial sports betting has become America’s favorite pastime.” - RNS

Related: The Sports Betting House Always Wins. Who Loses? We Do. - TGC

Various studies over the past decade or so have found that increasing numbers of people think of themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”

The trend makes sense. We are made with eternity in our hearts (Ecc 3:11). The view that everything is just chemistry and physics can’t possibly satisfy. We all know at some level that there is more to reality, and we’re drawn to that something more. Because humans are at odds with God by nature (Eph 2:3), we’re drawn to something more, but without God. We use to call it “spiritualism.” It has gone by many other names.

The Price We Pay Betting on Sports

“So it is with all secondary sources of happiness. Things such as art, music, literature, sports, careers, and hobbies generate no light on their own. The light they bring comes from ‘the Father of lights’ (James 1:17).” - Randy Alcorn

“you can inadvertently create a vibe that suggests the work of membership is somehow ‘less than’ the work of elders. That’s a tragedy.” - 9 Marks

“The 2024 Super Bowl drew more than 123.7 million U.S. viewers, the largest television broadcast viewership in the nation’s history. Yet, most U.S. adults don’t believe God cares who wins the Super Bowl or determines the game’s winner” - Lifeway

“A new project to explore how technological progress should serve human flourishing has united a stellar group of conservative leaders. A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right is asking where technology should take us.” - Breakpoint

“Ministry success [is]… about the tension between competing goods. Each good is vital. Each demands attention. And each represents a genuine biblical mandate. These aren’t problems to be solved but tensions to be managed in ministry.” - Lifeway

Last time we began a consideration of the Apostle Paul’s statement in Romans 11:13: “I magnify my ministry.” We’re thinking of some practical implications and applications of these words of Paul, which fall in the midst of his extended treatment of God’s future plan for the people and nation of Israel.

We previously pondered our need to manifest sobriety in our ministries, and also to model consistency in all that we do in our service to the Lord.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have favorable ratings that exceed their unfavorable ratings by seven or eight percentage points. However, at least one in four U.S. adults are not familiar enough with Rubio and Jeffries to rate them.” - Gallup

“…spiritual warfare rages over who appears to make people most satisfied: God or Satan. Thus, sounds of human gladness in God taunt Satan’s ears. Saints have understood their joy as a polemic: ‘You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound’ (Psalm 4:7).” - Desiring God

It is easy to begin with comments “It depends” or “Yes and no.” A poll, by nature, addresses a broad summary, not so much nuances or exceptions.

I have felt overwhelmed with all the news about the many changes our current president has made in such a short time. Many of them thrill me, others I have questions about. But I don’t think I have ever seen so much creativity from Washington. Even solutions that might not work (like making Gaza into a Riviera) are out of the box.

What is your general impression?

“Officials announced the university, previously named Baptist Bible College, would close last summer amid financial struggles and declining enrollment. It was listed on the market for $17.5 million in the fall.” - Yahoo News

Also: Sale of former Baptist Bible College is pending - Audacy

“Christianity is absolutely compatible with a neutral, procedural liberalism—in fact, Christendom birthed that political system. But Christianity isn’t entirely compatible with a secular, value-laden version of liberalism.” - TGC

“While the missionary-supporter relationship is multifaceted, this basic truth must be established: anyone choosing to financially support a missionary joins the missionary’s ministry and that of his sending church.” - P&D

One of the marks of a Christian is a desire to share the good news of the life-transforming gospel with others. In the words of the apostles, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). But what if a friend, fellow worker, schoolmate, or family member asks us to desist? Does there come a time when we should refrain from speaking to a person about Jesus and Christianity?

“In his new book, ‘Believe,’ Douthat makes a case for name-brand religion, saying the world’s largest faith traditions are like maps for helping us navigate life and the universe around us. They also might just be true.” - RNS

Related: Gavin Ortlund interview

“A lot of smart people—including many who have made a career helping the ‘least and the lost’ in our broken world—say the answer to that question is ‘no.’” - Religion Unplugged

“What if our work, in and outside of our job, is what we were made for?” - Breakpoint

“In a statement, Cedarville University President Thomas White identified junior Grace Maxwell as one of the victims of the tragedy near Reagan National Airport” - CPost

“Do I think of myself as a leader before I seriously think about my sinfulness? …Do I so see myself in charge that I consider too little the truth that the church belongs to Christ?…Am I living for my recognition or Jesus’ recognition?” - Chuck Lawless

“You listen far more than say anything… Being present is the key ministry gift we give to those we minister.” - The Baptist Paper

The more I moved into sober life—the more that became a fact rather than anything to think about—the more I found myself questioning the alcohol-based structure of Western society. - Persuasion

“Parents, our kids may not be physical captives in Babylon, but they are captives to whatever is captivating them. And that presents a serious challenge for discipleship.” - Baptist Press

“I find something distorted and distorting in how seemingly all our public conversations concern authority in its worst and most illegitimate expressions.” - The Dispatch

This article argues that the Roman Catholic Church (“Rome”) is wrong about the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement. In fact, she is so incorrect that her teaching on this matter is grave error that distorts the gospel.

By “Christ’s atonement,” we mean the action by which Christ’s vicarious death reconciles us to God and restores fellowship with him. The dispute here is about the sufficiency of this atonement. Did Christ atone for the consequences of all our sins? Is his atonement permanent or conditional?

“If affirmed, the school would be the nation’s first faith-based charter—a sea change in education law, expanding the boundaries of government aid to faith-based schools.” - The Conversation

“We understand that life is more than work. We devote periods of time to recreation, sleep, play, and other activities not directly part of our principal employment or labor. However, the element of our lives that is taken up by work is so encompassing and time-consuming that we tend to understand our personal identity in the light of our work.” - Ligonier

“…we are now seeing the emergence of what might be called “right exvangelicalism.” If left exvangelicals sought to keep Jesus but dispense with the church, right exvangelicals are following a similar trajectory, but from the other side of the political spectrum.” - Mere Orthodoxy

“The amulet shows that Christianity had spread further north into Germania more quickly than we previously realized. We know there was a robust presence of Christianity north of the Alps in places like Lyons, Gaul (modern-day Lyon, France), where Irenaeus ministered as a priest from AD 161–80.” - TGC