“Last week Rob Reiner released the trailer for his forthcoming movie … on Christian nationalism. The release prompted a spirited debate on social media over the appearance of several evangelical pundits and influencers” - RNS

Read the series.

Part Four of the book contains essays on “Jesus and Israel’s Future.” Michael Wilkins is well known as an expert on the Gospel of Matthew, and his piece considers how the Gospel tackles Israel’s future is portrayed in light of the negative reactions to Jesus’ ministry (e.g., 314).

“Melancholia—on a spectrum from simple sadness to profound discouragement, then crossing a moral line into despair—marks nearly every life at some point.” - Challies

“Small churches have always been and will always be the most common, most resilient and most adaptable expression of the body of Christ.” - C.Leaders

“Thanksgiving is the most popular and well-known holiday in the country, topping Christmas and other festive days on the popularity list.” - Lifeway

“The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal filed by a Christian therapist against Washington state’s ban on “gay conversion therapy,” allowing the law to remain in effect.” - CPost

“The maker of man, he was made man, so that the director of the stars might be a babe at the breast; that bread might be hungry, and the fountain thirsty; that the light might sleep, and the way be weary from a journey” - Breakpoint

“The book is at its best in shedding light on how American evangelicals have confronted – and continue to navigate – the relationship between faith and politics. Across his travels, Alberta recounts a colorful cast of characters and churches.” - Providence

“of the nineteen uses of βασιλεία in the NT epistles, fully half of them occur in contexts of church membership, most often that of church discipline.” - DBTS Blog

“A one-of-a-kind Bible used by the King James translators offers a rare glimpse of their textual decisions.” - Text & Canon

“Universities across the U.S. have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide.” - RNS

“The public health agency said it was ‘unable to report the total number of abortions performed in the United States’ in 2021, limited, in part, due to the four states that did not provide data – California, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey.” - BPNews

Tired of losing debates? Would you like a sure-fire way to win arguments? Consider learning from one of the best. The Pharisees had plenty of experience in theological controversy. Most notable was their interaction with the theological heresy of Christianity. Through the employment of several forms of fallacious arguments they managed to discredit Jesus and his follows and effectively “win” the debate. One prime example of their methodology is found in chapter seven of John’s Gospel. A careful examination of this passage uncovers some valuable lessons that modern controversialists can utilize for silencing the opposition.

Here is a link to an article about "Christian Nationalism" with some really interesting statistics.

Rejecting the Narrative of 'Christian Nationalism' – PJ Media

Here are some sample quotes:

As I wrote almost exactly a year ago, "Christians aren’t called to make a kingdom here on earth; God calls Christians to pave the way for His eternal kingdom."

“Mary, anticipating the peace that would follow great upheaval, rejoices in the promises of God. Her world, and ours, is filled with injustice.” - TGC

“Doctors.net.uk conducted an online survey in October of approximately 1,088 registered members of the General Medical Council, the findings of which were released last month.” - CPost

“Vanden Eykel’s theory is based on exploring the range of meanings attached to the Greek word magoi, and the use of the term in ancient narratives.” - BAR

“belief in spirits or a spiritual realm beyond this world is widespread, even among those who don’t consider themselves religious.” - Pew

Related – Study: Most Americans are spiritual but a growing number say they are not religious - RNS

Read Part 1.

Omnipresence and the Incarnation of Christ

Many Christians may not realize how closely intertwined omnipresence and communion are within the confessional Lutheran perspective. Martin Luther certainly taught “that the Lord’s bread in the Supper is His true natural body.”¹ Mueller therefore admits: “The true doctrine of God’s omnipresence is of special importance for the right understanding of the Lord’s Supper (Real Presence).”²

“So, what exactly am I thinking while I preach? I’ll share my thoughts, but if you preach regularly, share yours in the comments.” - ChurchAnswers

“This is the fundamental reason we shouldn’t discard the old approach—the Bible itself invites readers to learn from the lives of its characters.” - TGC

“FV is not primarily concerned with soteriology, much less justification. However, some of their teaching in other areas helps to shape their understanding of justification. Three areas that indirectly relate to their teaching of justification will be considered here” - DBTS Blog

“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an arm of Homeland Security, works with faith groups across the country to help them prepare for and prevent targeted violence against their facilities and their members.” - RNS

“Why is it that for baseball, consensus favors ‘integrity and playing by the rules’—that is, adhering to an external order—whereas for morality, consensus favors doing what a person wishes to maximize utility or pleasure for that individual? In other words, why are Americans objectivists with baseball and subjectivists with morality?” - Public Discourse

“According to the church, all information about child sexual abuse passed from church members to their bishops is confidential under the clergy-penitent privilege, and all information passed from the Helpline to church attorneys is confidential under the attorney-client privilege.” - RNS

“I have often heard it said that character is who you are when no one is looking…. But as I considered the character of an elder, I also found myself challenged with this: Character is who you are when only your family is looking.” - Challies

FBI Struggled to Define ‘Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology’ in Memo on Extremism: Report - National Review

House panel releases report on FBI’s targeting of traditional Catholics - CPost

“We know that a bishop named Nicholas existed, that he had a great influence on his homeland, and that he probably died on December 6…. this is some of the legend of St. Nicholas” - Kevin DeYoung

“Greg Love, co-founder of MinistrySafe, says most state Baptist conventions are following two pathways in helping their churches protect themselves from sexual abuse.” - BPNews

Read the series.

Biblical fellowship is a two-sided coin, or a two-edged sword, or a two-way street, or something. (The title of this post strongly implies that I don’t know anything at all about baseball.)

I’d like to close this series, and the larger metaseries about the means of grace, by noting that fellowship, our reciprocal care for one another in the body of Christ, is a comprehensive task that involves complex people. It’s not enough to just try to be positive and encouraging.

Biblical Encouragement