To those living in secret sin
‘From the title, you may assume I will tell you to bring your secret sin into the light, which is true. Yet, I know this invitation may sound trite and unappealing. If it were that easy, you would have done so already—but chances are it is more complicated for you.’
In praise of being inconvenient
This is just excellent. Good writing making a brilliant point.
Breaking gender stereotypes to the glory of God
‘I guess I was always a different sort of girl. I rarely if ever played with dolls. I played football with the boys at recess and left jump rope to the girls. I detested wearing skirts, dresses, or anything pink, preferring instead jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. My long hair always went into a pony tail, which was in turn swept up into a baseball cap. I enjoyed helping my dad work on cars (or, as I once put it, allowing him to help me), though I don’t think I was really ever any help at all. I enjoyed playing in the dirt, riding bikes with the neighbor boys, and staying out until dark shooting baskets in our yard. I remember at one point wondering if the doctor had made a mistake when I was born and if I really was a boy.’
Bring your Bible to church?
We do put our reading up on a screen. We try – as we go through the sermon – to keep the section we are thinking about up too. But, and I have argued similarly in the past (and continue to think there is something in it), this one makes a case for bringing your own physical copy of the bible to church.
The Luka trade and the perils of emotional decision-making
My daughter and I are basketball fans. The team I used to follow (the Seattle Supersonics) are no more. So, when she got into basketball, we picked a new team. We loved Luka so we nominally followed the Mavs. Now he’s at the Lakers and, whilst we don’t dislike many NBA franchises, they are one of the few. But whether you care about any of that, this one makes a really good point for us in church whether we are basketball fans or not: ‘If you are reading this and you are not a sports fan and have zero idea what I’m talking about, please bear with me. There is a lesson here for you. Let me explain.’
The Great Danger Is to Assume We Are All Headed for Heaven
This is, indeed, a great danger. Randy Alcorn explains precisely why.
From the archive: What is the main priority of the church?
‘As far as I understand the Bible, there is, indeed, one priority of the church. It is the same priority for every single Christian, past, present and future. It has always been the priority of every believer and it will forever remain the priority of every believer. And if we properly prioritise it, we will find a bit of balance in all the excellent, many and varied things that Jesus calls us to do.’