Hope is essential to human life…. God’s master story, of course, is the story of hope…. This hope strengthens us in the hardships and drudgeries of everyday life. Knowing where all things in heaven and earth are headed, we can wait and persevere…. Without it we are left with grumbling, addiction, or despair.
– Edward Welch in Side by Side
Here are some good posts on the intersection of ideas and identity:
Why Transgenderism Is a Problem for Secularism – Bernard Howard (TGC)
The Ancient Heresy Driving Modern Identity – Akos Balogh (TGC)
The Gospel Is the Only Stable Source of Identity and Value – Melinda Penner (STR)
This foundational truth of Christ and Him crucified must be emblazoned upon every preacher’s soul.– Steven Lawson in The Kind of Preaching God Blesses
Q/A#10
Q: What is God’s continuing work in creation?
A: God’s continuing work in creation is to preserve and rule over it according to his perfect plan.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.
– Acts 17:24-26 (ESV)
For Further Reflection
Ps. 65:9, 139:16, Is. 40:26, Matt. 6:26, II Chr. 20:6
Our Response
Trust in His care
Trust in His plan
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
The Cumulative Effect of Our Little Choices – Randy Alcorn (EPM)
Following Christ isn’t magic. It requires repeated actions on our part, which develop into habits and life disciplines. Our spirituality hinges on the development of these little habits, such as Bible reading and memorization and prayer. In putting one foot in front of the other day after day, we become the kind of person who grows in Christlikeness.
Your Sin Begins with a Felt Need – David Bowden (DG)
The more we put our faith in the truth of who God is for us in Christ, the more he fills in the places within us that are lacking. As he does this, the Holy Spirit creates new desires within our hearts (Romans 8:1–11). These new desires cut temptation’s legs out from under it and lead us away from sin and toward holiness.
Who Was Saint Patrick and Should Christians Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? – Stephen Nichols (Ligonier)
Perhaps we remember him best by reflecting on the “St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” which has traditionally been attributed to him. The word breastplate is a translation of the Latin word lorica, a prayer, especially for protection. These prayers would be written out and at times placed on shields of soldiers and knights as they went out to battle. St. Patrick’s Lorica points beyond himself and his adventurous life. It points to Christ, the one he proclaimed to the people who had taken him captive….
Instructive Worship – Andrew Roycroft
The beauty of true worship is that we address ourselves to God, but we also address one another with who God is and what he has said. We worship in our spirits, by the power of the Holy Spirit, but also with deep intellectual investment, with an eye fixed on the glory of the gospel as well as a heart tuned to its sentiments. Such worship is deeply didactic, it retrains the flagging disciple, it prohibits empty sentiment, it draws our attention and our affection towards the God in whose presence and power we are meeting.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!
Here are some good posts about reading books:
8 Ways to Read (a Lot) More Books This Year – Neil Pasricha (HBR)
10 Tips For Reading In 2019 – Jon Coombs
How to Remember What You Read – David Qaoud (GR)
5 Questions to Ask of a Book – Tim Challies
There is no chance of fire in the pews if there is an iceberg in the pulpit; and without personal prayer and communion with God during the preparation stages, the pulpit will be cold.– Alistair Begg in Preaching for God’s Glory
God made us from dust. We’re never too far from our origins. The apostle Paul says we’re only clay pots – dust mixed with water, passed through fire. Hard, yes, but brittle too. Knowing this, God gave us the gift of Sabbath – not just a day, but an orientation, a way of seeing and knowing. Sabbath-keeping is a form of mending. It’s mortar in the joints. Keep Sabbath, or else break too easily, and oversoon. Keep it, otherwise our dustiness consumes us, becomes us, and we end up able to hold exactly nothing.
– Mark Buchanan in The Rest of God
Suffering reminds us that the world and everything in it, including us, are not quite right. Everything will not be right until Jesus returns and his will is done on earth as it is presently done in heaven. So we are people of hope.– Edward Welch in Side by Side
Here are some good posts on preaching from 9Marks:
Pastor, Aim to Preach Simple Sermons – Jeff Wiesner
Preacher, Study the Text—But Also Study Your People – Sean DeMars
What Makes a Good Sermon? Five Questions to Ask – Josh Vincent
Brian J. Mikul 