This is your brain on materialism

Body

“Their thoughts about the brain, or anything else, would be products of material causes and [have] no more significance than steam wafting from a bowl of oatmeal.” - CPost

Discussion

Suicide Pods and the Trivialization of Death

Body

“Our modern Promethean aspirations are not merely marked by Frankenstein’s desire to play God in the creation of life. We have taken on the role of God in the bringing of death as well.” - Carl Trueman

Discussion

What Is Real Success?

Google the phrase “What is success” and you will get 1.13 billion results. I’d like to examine each of those with you today (not really). Much has been said about success. Everybody seems to want it, but it is surprising how few actually can define it.

One dictionary defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, the attainment of popularity or profit, or a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity.” But what should be the aim or purpose? And how do we define prosperity?

Some suggest success changes with age:

Discussion

What's Wrong with a "Rule of Life"?

Body

“Are the interests of our time dictating what is of greatest interest to us? If so, then surrender to God’s rule, not reinvention of our own, is the order of the day.” - Mere Orthodoxy

Discussion

Laboring is a Privilege, Opportunity and Obligation

Body

“Writing in his book, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work, the late Dr. Tim Keller frames the larger purpose of our employment…. ‘if the purpose of work is to serve and exalt something beyond ourselves, then we actually have a better reason to deploy our talent, ambition, and entrepreneurial vigor.’” - Daily Citizen

Discussion

The Pursuit of (Which) Happiness?

Body

“Admittedly, many Christians will insist joy (deep, serious, lasting) should be sharply distinguished from happiness (light, trivial, fleeting), but this is a relatively recent—and in my view unhelpful—distinction.” - TGC

Discussion

What Is “Religion”?

Body

“The word first appears in the first century BCE in Roman culture, with the Latin word religio. At the time, it meant ‘scruples,’ the concern that some activity is important enough to be performed carefully.” - Psychology Today

Discussion

Redeemed Imaginations

Body

“Shouldn’t creativity and imagination thrive in the digital age? Anyone can be an artist, musician, or storyteller these days….But what’s the point? What ultimately limits a culture of limitless self-expression is meaninglessness.” - Breakpoint

Discussion

What Do Secular Studies on Happiness Have in Common with the Bible?

Body

“modern happiness studies demonstrate that wealth, success, power, and popularity are not predictors of happiness. People who choose gratitude and engage in respectful, others-centered relationships are happier than those who are self-focused and driven by feelings of entitlement.” - Randy Alcorn

Discussion

A Search for Significance

Body

“Each verse in Peggy Lee’s 1969 song describes a life event, such as going to the circus or falling in love….Each verse leads to the same chorus: Is that all there is?” - TGC

Discussion