If Jesus is dead and gone, we have:
No Forgiveness of Sins
No Removal of Guilt
No Cleansing from Shame
No Righteousness in Christ
No New Life in Christ
No Relationship with God
No Victory over Sin
No Victory over Satan
No Mediator with God
No Intercession by Christ
No Sending of the Holy Spirit
No Way to Heaven
No Return of Christ
No Personal Resurrection
No Hope in Death
No Confidence in God’s Word
No Mercy or Grace
No Basis for Our Faith
No Reason to Sing
Here are some good posts for your reflection today:
It Was My Sin That Held Him There: Weeping at the Foot of the Cross – Greg Morse (DG)
We Are Barabbas – Dave Furman (Crossway)
Let Us Never Grow Weary of the Cross – Kevin DeYoung
10 Things You Should Know about the Cross – Patrick Schreiner
Banded Chert
As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—
the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,
“Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered,
“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
– Luke 19:37-40
And the stones do cry out – proclaiming the glory and beauty of our Creator!
I’m a bit late this year, but here are several “best books of 2017” posts. With a great variety of categories, there is something for everyone. If you are looking for some good books to read this year, check out these lists.
Christianity Today’s 2018 Book Awards
Best Books of 2017 – Kevin DeYoung
Top 17 Books of 2017 – Tony Reinke
My Top Books of 2017 – Jared Wilson
The Collected Best Christian Books of 2017 – Tim Challies
One of my top books for 2017, that showed up a few times on the above lists, is David Murray’s book Reset which I highly recommend (even passed out a few).
For youth, Jaquelle Crowe’s book This Changes Everything also showed up several times. I am taking our youth group through it right now.
For children you might try Trillia Newbell’s God’s Very Good Idea which is also on numerous lists.
A few others that are now on my reading list include This Is Our Time by Trevin Wax, The Story of Reality by Greg Koukl, Recapturing the Wonder by Mike Cosper, and The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary by Jonathan Pennington.
And if you want to know in general what not to read, you might check out Tim Challies’ new post: A Guided Tour to 2017’s Bestselling Christian Books. Surely we can do better.
Here are some good posts on making resolutions for 2018:
Ten Questions To Ask at the Start of a New Year (pdf) – Don Whitney
Nine Questions to Ask Yourself to Prepare for 2018 – Scott Slayton
4 Christian Principles for Making New Year’s Resolutions – Burk Parsons (Ligonier)
A New Approach to New Year’s Resolutions – Zach Nielsen (TGC)
Here are some good posts for your long Christmas weekend:
Into the Darkness He Came – Jon Bloom (DG)
3 Things Mary Knew About Her Baby Boy – Jonathan Toutley (TGC)
Mary, Did You Know? What the Catholic Church Teaches About the Mother of Jesus – Thomas Schreine (DG)
Singing ‘Peace on Earth’ When Your Heart Is Heavy – Trevin Wax
How to Share Your Story This Christmas: Counsel from Charles Spurgeon – Tony Reinke
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day and a merry Christmas!
Here are some good posts for Thanksgiving:
10 Things You Should Know about Thanksgiving – Nathan Finn (Crossway)
5 Readings for Your Thanksgiving Gathering (Crossway)
9 Passages to Read on Gratitude (Crossway)
The Greatness of Giving Thanks – Kevin DeYoung
Blessed Even in the Worst: How to Give Thanks in Every Circumstance – Nancy Guthrie (DG)
Struggling Toward Thanksgiving – Trevin Wax
As we continue celebrating the Reformation this week, here are some good posts on women of the Reformation, as well as some posts recognizing that the Reformers were flawed – in need of a Savior just like you and me.
The Forgotten Women of the Reformation – Stephen Nichols (Crossway)
5 Lessons from Reformation Women – Rebecca VanDoodewaard (TGC)
Whitewashed Heroes: The Flaws in Our Reformers – Scott Hubbard (DG)
Thank God for Flawed Heroes – Brad Littlejohn (TGC)
Here are some more short biographies of folks from the Reformation:
Thomas Cranmer: The Gospel Lobbyist – Matthew Westerholm (DG)
Guillaume Farel: The French Firebrand – Johnathon Bowers (DG)
Hugh Latimer & Nicholas Ridley: The British Candle – Scott Hubbard (DG)
Ulrich Zwingli: The Swiss Giant – Travis Myers (DG)
Hans Gooseflesh: The Accidental Reformer – Rick Segal (DG)
Brian J. Mikul 