Year: 2025

Links for the Weekend (2025-10-10)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Sin Is More Dangerous Than You Think

Here’s an excerpt from a Paul Tripp book, reminding us how dangerous sin is and then giving hope for sinner.

One of the most devastatingly dangerous powers of sin is its ability to deceive. Sin is an evil monster masquerading as your best friend. It is a grim reaper masquerading as a life giver. Sin is darkness masquerading as light. It is foolishness masquerading as wisdom. Sin is disease masquerading as a cure. It is a trap masquerading as a gift.

Are My Motives for Studying the Bible Right?

In this short video (with transcript), Michael Reeves discusses good and bad reasons for studying the Bible.

It is possible to study theology and to study the Bible with a wrong motivation. And we see this in John 5:39, where Jesus speaks to Jewish leaders and Pharisees, and He says, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that you have life in them, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.” And so, it is possible to study the Scriptures and study theology and not come to Jesus for life, but to think that there is life to be had in the mere growth in intellectual knowledge.

Two Stones

Our poem of the week: Two Stones, by Jesse Graves. This is a sobering sonnet about gravestones.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-10-03)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Shatter Your Kid-Centered Kingdom

After moving back to the U.S. as an overseas missionary, Jen Oshman was confronted by the kid-centeredness of many parents (including herself).

Overseas we had few options for the kids’ schooling and activities. We adjusted to that reality, but I confess often skimming Facebook with a twinge of jealousy as I saw my friends’ kids in ballet, piano recitals, sports games, school plays, and summer camps. Now that we were back in the States, I wanted them to have all of those experiences to make up for lost time.

Aileen’s Picks: Books for the Littlest Ones

Tim Challies’ wife Aileen runs the Early Years program at their church. Here are her recommendations of good board books. (This might be helpful for parents, grandparents, or anyone wanting to bless a family with little kids.)

While there are many wonderful children’s classics that certainly have their place, I began to ask why we weren’t being more intentional about the stories we offered. Wouldn’t it be better to fill these early teaching moments with books that reflect God’s truths?

Tractor Sonnet

Our poem of the week: Tractor Sonnet, by Marie Burdett. This is an enjoyable poem about the work of a farmer on a tractor.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called How the Gospel is Dismantling My Critical Spirit. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

How the Gospel is Dismantling My Critical Spirit

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

All Christians have besetting sins—those which recur persistently, fatiguing the most seasoned believers. Most of us survey these well-worn battlefields of temptation and sigh.

I’ve had a critical spirit for ages. It wasn’t until recent years, however, that I realized how much it was affecting my relationships and my ability to worship God.

As I’ve tried to fight against this proud part of myself, I’ve seen that the gospel really is the power of God (Rom 1:16). Where common Christian attitudes toward resisting temptation fall short, the good news of King Jesus gives us all we need.

The Symptoms

Trevin Wax distinguishes between a critical mind and a critical spirit. Those with a critical mind are “incisive, analytical, fair-minded.” Rightly used, this can be a gift to the church. But those with a critical spirit “[delight] in exposing the flaws of others,” and are “quick to judge, dismissive, and proud.”

Though I hate to type it, I recognize myself in these latter descriptions. I try to soothe my conscience by remembering that I am a college professor, trained to be analytical with high standards for my students. But my critical spirit shows up in my personal life far more frequently than at work; that excuse holds no water.

I grumble about the mistakes, flaws, and immaturity of others. This is seldom for their benefit but rather to assert my own superiority. I judge, heaping derision on others in my heart. I congratulate myself on my brilliant insight as I tear my brother down.

The Diagnosis

The critical spirit can sneak onto our porches under the cover of “giving feedback” or “iron sharpening iron” or, maybe at its worst, “discipleship.” But let’s turn on the fluorescent lights and call this what it is: pride.

I cannot speak universally here, so what follows may only be true for me. The standard to which I’m comparing everyone I criticize is—horrors—me. Or, if not me in reality, what I would be if I attempted this observed labor.

They should have known better. (Like I do!) They should have done better. (Like I would have!)

The diagnosis might appear grim, but this is only half of the doctor’s visit. The gospel really is good news, and not just for our initial step into the kingdom of God.

The Treatment

Because the gospel is the way to the Father, it is also the way to holiness. The gospel is how we defeat sin and mortify the flesh. Here is the way this looks for me and my critical spirit.

That flaw I’m spotting in my neighbor? That is not the biggest problem here. (See Matt 7:1–5.) I’m boosting myself as perceptive, wise, and superior, trying to justify myself.

The gospel of Jesus points out the big, ugly lies in my thinking. No amount of insight or skill will make me worthy before God.

My sin is so bad that it required the death of Jesus. How foolish it sounds that I could either add to that or replace it by some smart critique! God is the ultimate judge, not me.

Jesus died for me, but he also rose again. His resurrection means new life for all those in Christ—I have a new heart, and by the Holy Spirit I can love, encourage, pray for, and be thankful for others in ways that I could not in the flesh. I no longer need to be superior to anyone; the way to glory is not the way of self-exaltation, but of serving others. Jesus bids me follow him.

Just as surely as Jesus died and was raised, he also ascended into heaven. He rules the world, with truth and grace. I can look forward to the time when faith will be sight, when my critical spirit will be renewed, and when I will love God and desire the best for all of my neighbors, all the time.

Not There Yet

My real life friends will need to be patient with me. I’m a work in progress. The gospel is dismantling my critical spirit, but the construction ground is not yet clear.

The gospel is not a magic wand to wave, but we’ll make little progress on our besetting sins until we understand how transformation works. The anemic advice I hear from some Christians can often be reduced to: “You’re forgiven; try harder.” The gospel is much better news than that.

I cannot say how this works with your particular sins. But if this resonates with you at all, I would bet there are others in your church who feel the same need to apply the light of the gospel to the shadowy places of their lives.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-09-26)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Rise with the Sun: A New Song with CityAlight

Tim Challies teamed up with CityAlight to write a song connected to his latest book project. This link has the video and the lyrics.

“Rise with the Sun” is meant to call Christians to marvel at the wonder of what God does each Sunday as saints across the world rise and gather together to worship God. As a new day begins, Christians begin a chorus of praise that soon circles the globe until my church and yours join in. “There’s a song that’s sung through the nations,” says this song. And God means for each of us to “Join in the song and sing out his praise.”

When a Holding Pattern is Your Homework Assignment

Laura Patterson writes about anxiety and faith.

I never told my children to eat their tomatoes as a moral issue of right and wrong. Instead, I wanted to use the food on their plates as a training ground to teach them that their preferences, their likes and dislikes, are flexible. I wanted them to learn that they could teach themselves to prefer things they didn’t previously like. This training, I prayed, would be helpful in the future as they tried to line up their affections with the priorities of the kingdom of Christ—a matter of great moral consequence.

The ‘2 Roads’ Approach to Evangelism

Joe Carter writes at The Gospel Coalition about an approach to evangelism that combines the Romans Road presentation with a new method using texts from Ephesians.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that will always work, I want to recommend a framework that presents two powerful evangelistic pathways—the Romans Road and the Ephesians Road—and demonstrates how this combination can work together to create a more complete and compelling gospel presentation.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-09-19)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Struggling to Keep Up in Motherhood? Let the Spirit Set Your Pace.

Aimee Joseph writes about keeping in step with the Spirit when it comes to motherhood.

Make no mistake about it, motherhood has always been a massive job. I love how G. K. Chesterton captured its staggering scope: “A woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute.” While motherhood’s scope hasn’t changed much over time, its pace has. Aided by technology, compelled by memes, and informed by influencers, modern motherhood feels like a frantic race. The amount of things a mom and her family are expected to do in a day, a week, or a year make our days so full that I’ve often had to double my desired pace to barely keep up.

4 Ways the Church Helps You in the Fight for Purity

It’s all too easy to think that one needs to battle for sexual purity by themselves. Garrett Kell points us to the church for help.

God gives the church to help you resist temptation and draw you in a better direction, toward a better country. Our journey of faith is marked by the joyful assurance that God is with us and that soon we shall be with him. But this journey cannot be made alone; we make it together. You need other Christians, and they need you. Consider how God wants to use the fellowship of a church to help you fight sexual sin and endure in faith.

How is God Unchanging?

This is a short video from Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte on the topic of God’s unchangeableness, featuring Dr. Blair Smith.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called How Short, O Lord? If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

How Short, O Lord?

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

I teach college students, so I know the excitement that mid-August can bring. A new school year is full of possibilities.

My excitement this year is mixed with sadness. My wife and I dropped off our oldest daughter at college this week. She’s not studying on a different continent, but she’s not right around the corner. We’re going to miss her.

Those who know me best know I’ve been anticipating this event with something less than pure joy. (For almost a year I’ve been telling people that I was feeling pre-sad.) But some good friends have recently helped me remember who God is and what this transition represents.

The God of Time

We may not often phrase it this way, but time was one of the things God created and pronounced good. We affirm that God exists outside of time, but he spoke time into being on the first day of creation; we see this in the existence of evening and morning (Gen 1:5).

Time, therefore, was among the “everything” that God saw and pronounced “very good” at the end of creation’s sixth day (Gen 1:31).

So God has created time and rules over it. The days and months and seasons are under his control. And we should also affirm that the fact we have periods of our lives is good. This is the way God has designed our world to work: the earth spins and orbits, the clock hands rotate, and time passes.

The Nature of Seasons

The essence of a season or period of time is that it has a beginning and end. These starting and ending points may not be predictable, but they exist for us as finite beings.

So often we want to hold onto the past and resist the change that time brings. At its core, this is a subtle way of cutting against the grain of creation, of whispering that God may not be governing all things very well.

God wants thanksgiving and remembrance from us. Many of the festivals and worship occasions for believers throughout the ages celebrated what God has done. But rejoicing in what has past is not the same as grumbling that we no longer live there. We remember what has been done so we can live faithfully into the future.

Mourning is Real

The cry of David in Psalm 13:1 is “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” And this is the familiar plea of those who lament. Their circumstances are difficult, maybe nearly intolerable, whether because of illness, sorrow, or persecution. The deliverance they seek is an end to their situation—in essence, they want God to intervene by speeding time up.

I’ve found myself wanting the opposite this summer, essentially praying, How short, O Lord? How short and fleeting are these days with my dear daughter? How will we manage as a family with such a glaring absence? Could you, perhaps, slow time down just a bit?

Not Bad, Just Different

My family is entering a new reality, and some of the sadness I’ve been feeling is mourning the end of a season. No longer will both of my children be at home, available for a conversation just by walking down the hall.

There have been some seasons of parenting that could not pass quickly enough. My wife and I were quite glad when each of our children reached the age of 2. Other seasons (like the one that just ended) are much sweeter, seasons we’re not eager to leave.

But God is good and he governs time well. He goes with his people, including my oldest daughter. God cares for her more than I do, and he will be faithful to her. Though I’m feeling blue this week, I’m learning that turning the page on a season doesn’t make the present worse—it’s just different.

We’re finite creatures made by an infinite God with a longing to be with him. For those in Christ, we will realize this desire one day. Until then, we live as those in time, with all of the accompanying joys and sorrows.

And, this week, some of us will learn how to cheer on new college students from hundreds of miles away.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-09-12)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Wrinkles That Testify

I love the way Beth Ferguson writes about Psalm 71 and aging. She writes about the challenges and joys of discipleship for those past mid-life.

The culture whispers that aging is a problem to be solved, a disease to resist. My social media often features the next miracle supplement, an exercise plan promising strength and mobility. There are many lists—do this, and don’t do that—for longevity. But Psalm 71 pushes back with a better vision: aging is an opportunity, a holy vocation, another chapter in the lifelong call to be a disciple of Jesus and to make disciples of Jesus.

How to Rightly Train Your Affections

Casey McCall writes about our affections—what they are and how we can faithfully shape them. (I thought his food analogies here were very helpful.)

I never told my children to eat their tomatoes as a moral issue of right and wrong. Instead, I wanted to use the food on their plates as a training ground to teach them that their preferences, their likes and dislikes, are flexible. I wanted them to learn that they could teach themselves to prefer things they didn’t previously like. This training, I prayed, would be helpful in the future as they tried to line up their affections with the priorities of the kingdom of Christ—a matter of great moral consequence.

Epiphany

Our poem of the week: Epiphany, by John Claiborne Isbell. This short poem is about the distance from us to God and what happens when God reaches out.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-09-05)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

How can I trust God when he doesn’t answer my prayers?

Here’s another thoughtful CCEF video (with transcript) answering this hard question: How can I trust God when he doesn’t answer my prayers? Aaron Sironi directs us to the Psalms of lament.

Isn’t it amazing that the psalms of lament were written down and passed from one generation to the next by saints who went before us, who also suffered greatly and who were troubled, deeply troubled, and even shaken by the fact that God was not answering or helping them, that they experienced his silence and even distance? And the whole purpose of the psalms of lament is that we would grow and develop a deeper trust and a deeper faith in the Lord at those times and at those seasons when we cannot see or hear him.

Sola Scriptura: A Firm Foundation for Making Disciples

Here’s a good definition and explanation of sola scriptura as well as an explanation of how useful this doctrine is in our spiritual growth.

People rarely revel in foundations and are generally not wowed by soil walls or gravel footings. We don’t show off our concrete slabs to houseguests. Yet if our foundation crumbles, the entire house falls into ruin. Likewise, if we fail to stand firm upon God’s Word, the entire church will face disaster. Foundations are never flashy, but the foundation of sola Scriptura, Latin for “by Scripture alone,” has upheld disciple-makers generation after generation.

Everyday Pacing

Our poem of the week: Everyday Pacing, by Alyssa Strzalka. This poem is about a summer evening and being rooted to a particular place in the world.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Living Hope and the Resurrection of Jesus. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here. 

Living Hope and the Resurrection of Jesus

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

The word “hope” is often used, culturally, as a synonym for “strongly wish.” Even among Christians, “hope” might sound vague and squishy. I suspect some Christians’ hope would not withstand much scrutiny.

On what grounds do you have hope? What assures you of your hope? When will your hope be realized?

Peter answers these questions in the early part of his first letter.

A Living Hope

At the beginning of his letter, Peter uses the word “hope” to describe our status as believers.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3–5)

Specifically, Peter uses “living hope” to describe the state into which God has caused us to be “born again.” Hope is to be so present with Christians that it is our new residence. When we are made alive by God, we are (as it were) citizens of Hope. Christians are the hopeful ones, characterized by the joyful expectation that God will keep his promises.

Importantly, this hope we have is living. This modifier is not misplaced—our hope is living because our Savior is alive! Peter writes that we have been born again to this living hope “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Jesus’s resurrection makes our hope possible, vibrant, and vital.

Peter tells us some of the substance of this living hope, as we have been born again “to an inheritance.” This inheritance is pure and lasting, unlike any earthly inheritance, “kept in heaven” for us.

As Christians, Peter wants us leaning forward, eager for what is coming, like toddlers waiting for the whistle to start an egg hunt.

Hope in God

Later in this chapter, Peter reflects on Christ and the means of our salvation.

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:20–21)

Because God raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory, our faith and hope are in God. It is the “precious blood of Christ,” which is imperishable, by which we “were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from [our] forefathers” (1 Peter 1:18–19).

This is not just splitting hairs. Jesus’s suffering and death secure our ransom, and his resurrection and exaltation are the grounds for our faith and hope. We are always to be looking ahead with the confidence that God will keep his promises to us just as he kept them to Jesus.

Hope in Forthcoming Grace

The first command Peter gives in this letter comes in verse 13 of chapter 1.

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13)

Obeying this command requires our minds to be both ready for action and sober. Hope-setting is not for the lazy, the distracted, or the easily numbed. Our hope is a rudder, a precious tool, and we must be careful where it points.

Further, Peter exhorts us to set our hope fully on upcoming grace. It is not enough that we acknowledge this grace or look forward to it some of the time or with a divided heart. The grace that is coming to us is so transforming and thrilling that it demands our entire hope.

Peter also gives a time frame. We are not called to hope forever nor to look ahead to a vague, unspecified future. At “the revelation of Jesus Christ” everything will change and we will be new. Though we have already received (and continue, daily, to receive) buckets of grace, we will swim in an ocean at the revelation of Christ.

Grace Over All

Peter’s command in verse 13 (above) might sound impossible. It’s the first of several full-throated exhortations in that paragraph: “do not be conformed” to your former passions, “be holy in all your conduct,” “conduct yourselves with fear” (1 Peter 1:14–17).

Let’s not lose sight of the context, though. These commands are given knowing that we were ransomed from our futile, former ways (1 Peter 1:18). Like many commands in Scripture, these urge us to act like the new people we are instead of the former people we were.

Grace, thankfully, hangs over everything. If you feel small or inadequate reading these requirements, that’s good! You are. Like all of us, you need God’s grace which comes to us in Christ. God forgives our sin and enables our obedience by his Spirit.

And we have much to look forward to. One day we will know nothing of our former passions, we will be holy in everything, and we will fear God perfectly. There is so much grace waiting for us at the revelation of Jesus that we can’t fathom it all.

That’s our hope.

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Links for the Weekend (2025-08-29)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Each Friday, I’ll post links to 3–5 resources from around the web you may want to check out.

Love the Lonely Among You

Steve DeWitt writes about how the gospel is inherently welcoming and how this should propel Christians to embrace a ministry of hospitality.

Jesus said that radical love for one another would distinguish his disciples (John 13:35). The early church shook the world with its countercultural heart of hospitality, especially for the marginalized, orphaned, and abandoned. This ancient DNA is still embedded in the gospel today. So, it should trouble us when the lost and lonely who wander into our gatherings are overlooked.

Working with Faithfulness When Our Bodies Are Weak

Glenna Marshall reflects on chronic illness and faithful work in her context as a mother.

For many moms, our work—paid or not—must continue when we don’t feel well. How do we practice faithfulness in our work when we don’t have the energy or margin to tackle our normal tasks? Are we faithful on the days we feel strong and accomplished but unfaithful on the days we feel weak and need rest?

Analogia Entis (Sunlight)

Our poem of the week: Analogia Entis (Sunlight), by Phillip Yelverton. This poem describes a walk in the woods and the dreams dreamt along the way.

Note: Washington Presbyterian Church and the editors of this blog do not necessarily endorse all content produced by the individuals or groups referenced here.