Year: 2026

Links for the Weekend (2026-03-27)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

What Unity in the Church Really Is

We don’t always have the right idea about unity in the church. Here’s a brief article describing what unity isn’t, then what it is.

I love the realism of the Bible. The writers of the New Testament held no delusions about the easiness of church and church leadership. In fact, they recognized that unity is exemplified when people with seemingly unassailable differences come together as one in an unexplainable way. True Christian unity demands diversity, difference, and dissent.

Blessed Are the Empty

Here’s a great guide to reading the Beatitudes. You’ll learn about how the Beatitudes are invitations, the OT background of the Beatitudes, and the structure of the Beatitudes themselves.

The structure of the Beatitudes teaches us that in the sermon Jesus invites the empty to come and be filled. Jesus doesn’t offer ultimate happiness to those who trust in themselves for spiritual riches, restoration, and righteousness. Rather, Jesus offers the life of the kingdom to those who are empty and in faith look to him for their eternal good. And in doing so, Jesus promises that he won’t leave his followers empty but will infallibly fill them. 

How do I walk well with someone when they are grieving and they do not share my Christian faith?

Lauren Whitman (CCEF) has a video answering this question. (A transcript is also available.)

Ode to Dawn

Our poem of the week: Ode to Dawn, by Thomas McKendry. This poem is a delightful description of the sunrise. Enjoy the rhythm and rhyme!

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 (2026-03-20)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Embrace Your Life by Enjoying Quiddity

Come for the chance to learn a new word (quiddity!), stay for advice on enjoying life exactly where you are.

How do you become a deep person? You can hear it in the word itself—it’s the desire to mine, uncover, excavate. That doesn’t happen in 14 seconds. One method, then, is through reading great books, but it’s not the only way. Lewis presents a method available to any person at any point in his or her day—practicing attentiveness.

What Is Fasting?

Cassie Achermann has written a nice overview of fasting: what it is, where it shows up in Scripture, and why you might consider doing it.

I began fasting out of a sense of deep need for God. A Bible study I had worked through left me yearning for God to bring revival in my heart as well as in my church. I started small, skipping lunch once a week and instead spending that half hour praying. Not long after, I added a second day in the week. These weren’t aimless, wandering prayer times; I was asking the Lord urgently for help in two specific areas: first, for a breakthrough in an area of ongoing sin, and second, for spiritual revival in my church, where I’d been facing discouragement and difficulty for a while.

Righteousness

Our poem of the week: Righteousness, by Kate Bluett. This is a meditation on hungering and thirsting for righteousness, as Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called 3 Poor Reasons to Read the Bible. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

Thanks to Cliff L for his help in rounding up links this week!

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

3 Poor Reasons to Read the Bible

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

On this side of our glorified bodies, Christians have two natures that wrestle within. Our “old man” persists until we see the Lord, and as a result, even our good behavior can be laced with sin.

We rejoice at the opportunity to help our neighbor, but we recognize the pride of self-congratulation on the walk back home. We try to give money generously, but we catch ourselves scheming how to work our latest donation into a dinner conversation. Our hearts have graduate degrees in dusting sour, selfish powder on the wholesome bread of obedience and love.

Bad Reasons for Bible Reading

Reading the Bible is no exception. We can exploit even this act of devotion for selfish gain.

I’ve seen this in my life. The reasons I have for sitting down with God’s word are often mixed. The more we can identify and repent of our bad impulses, the better.

Read the Bible to Have a Great Day

Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of encouragement to exercise in the morning. I’m told this active start to the day will make me feel amazing and will set me up for success in every other area of my life.

Some people advocate Bible reading in the same manner. Fifteen minutes in the Psalms will give you the spiritual equivalent of endorphins. If you start your day with God, what could possibly bring you down?

This approach to the Bible is stained with the prosperity gospel. Yes, obedience to God brings blessing, but “blessing” does not mean a smooth path and a fat wallet. We must not tie our ease and comfort to God’s favor or our obedience.

Those who push the Bible as a vaccination against trouble also speak a lot about how “inspiring” the Scriptures are. Call me a downer, but we need this sobering truth: The Bible is not always inspiring. It isn’t supposed to be.

In the Bible we find the self-revelation of the holy God of the universe, and this revelation is not always intended to make us feel good. God has designed something much better.

Read the Bible so Others Know You’re Holy

Social media has multiplied our opportunities to broadcast our spiritual practices. And the dopamine hits from likes and shares can transform a posture of humble worship to one of gold-nugget hunting.

But Instagram did not create this temptation. From my earliest days as a Christian I have wanted others to praise me for my piety. I would read God’s word with an eye toward sharing my devotional discoveries with my friends.

Most people want others to think well of them, and in the church, this can take the insidious form of spoiling genuine time with God by an obsession with one’s reputation. Time set apart to think about and worship God becomes more time to focus on me.

Read the Bible to Earn God’s Love

Christians need to hear the gospel of grace over and over and over. The news is so stunningly good, we have trouble believing and remembering it.

We doubt that God’s love is as deep and steady and present as he says. We know the devotion God desires, and we think his love for us must be proportional to our obedience. We pick up the Bible either in the fear that we have sinned too much or in the hope that God might, finally, be pleased with our latest offering of worship.

This thinking is pervasive, but it is nowhere in the Bible itself. For Christians, God is a good father whose love cannot be improved. Our accounts are at maximum capacity. Whether we read the Bible, or how well we read the Bible, does not change God’s affections toward us.

One Good Reason to Read

These poor reasons to read the Bible are focused on self. A great reason to read the Bible is to focus on God.

In the Bible, God shows us himself. He shows us his holiness and his law and his mercy. We see the background and setting for the life of Jesus, the central act of history. We hear the cosmos-rocking implications of his death, resurrection, and ascension.

We read the Bible because God commands we love him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. But the transformed people of God long to worship their loving father and hear from him.

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Links for the Weekend (2026-03-13)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Edgelords Won’t Inherit the Earth

This one is especially for parents or friends of young men or teenage boys. Joe Carter writes about this moment’s cultural figures who influence young men and contrasts it with a biblical perspective on being a man. He offers three ways for the church to help.

The tragedy of our moment is that young men are starving for such mature masculinity and often can’t find it because the platforms that dominate their attention are structurally hostile to it. When the loudest voices in a young man’s life are those modeling immaturity, he’ll assume immaturity is what strength looks like.

​​6 Tactics for Your Fight Against Sin

This article from Brad Wetherell presents some help in the battle against sin and temptation.

When temptation comes, don’t think to yourself, “Sin is inevitable. Its pull is too powerful for me. What’s the point of fighting?” Instead, tell yourself, “Sin has lost its authority over me. I belong to Christ. Therefore, I will resist. I will not act as if sin reigns.”

Whatever Is

Our poem of the week: Whatever Is, by Sarah Chestnut. This poem is a wonderful meditation on Philippians 4:8.

Thanks to Leeanne E for her help in rounding up links this week.

    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 (2026-03-06)

    Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

    Six Gospel Antidotes to Anxiety

    As this article says, “We live in an anxious world.” But the Bible speaks to anxiety! Brady Hanssen writes about the portions of the Sermon on the Mount relevant to those who are anxious.

    In verse 27, Jesus asks, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” The answer is obvious: nobody. Anxiety accomplishes nothing; in fact, it is counterproductive. Psalm 139:16 reminds us, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” The Lord has sovereignly ordained the number of our days before we were even born. Worrying about our life will not extend it beyond the days that God has given us.

    How Do You Know If You Are Called to Write a Book?—Five Questions Every Artist Should Ask

    Andy Patton had a conversation on a podcast with Will Parker Anderson about vocation and calling. (At that link is a written summary of the highlights.) Even for non-artists and non-writers, this might be helpful for thinking about what God might have you do.

    God is personal, present, and near. He wants us to walk in His way, and He has given us means of discernment. Some people have dramatic, unmistakable moments of calling. Most do not. For most of us, calling is discovered through prayer, patterns, community, Scripture, desire, slow obedience—and, to be honest, simply trying things and stumbling around.

    Hillside Vigil

    Our poem of the week: Hillside Vigil, by Thomas McKendry. This is a quiet, sobering poem about a man mourning by a grave.

    On the WPCA Blog This Week

    This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Context Matters: Bear One Another’s Burdens. If you haven’t already seen it, check it out!

    Thanks to Phil A for his help in rounding up links this week!

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

    Context Matters: Bear One Another’s Burdens

    Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

    Perhaps you’ve heard that Christians are to bear each other’s burdens. When a member of your church family is ill, recovering from surgery, or has recently welcomed a new child, you may have been encouraged (using this verse) to provide meals and other practical assistance.

    “Bearing the burden” or “carrying the load” of another person is a memorable, vivid image. When a friend is weary and struggling with something weighty, we can take that heavy object in our arms. This is an act of service and love.

    And yet, context matters. When we learn to read the Bible as a unified collection of letters and books instead of as a binder stuffed with proverbs, we’ll see that some of its most memorable commands don’t mean what we always assumed.

    Ensnared in Sin

    The context of the command to “bear one another’s burdens” is a person caught in sin.

    Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2)

    This instruction comes on the heels of Paul’s famous passage about the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16–26). Paul is explaining, in part, what it means to keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

    What should Christians do when someone in their fellowship is “caught” in a transgression? Those who are spiritual should “restore” them in a spirit of gentleness. These topics are tricky and sensitive; being ensnared in sin is humbling and the one who is caught has likely been exposed. We must proceed with caution and love, and Paul gives us guidance.

    Fulfill the Law of Christ

    Perhaps by now we can see that bearing another’s burdens has little to do with mowing their grass after knee replacement surgery. Paul is concerned that Christians bear the burden of their friend’s sin entrapment and help them to freedom. This is so central to the way we are to love one another within the church that Paul writes that it helps us “fulfill the law of Christ.”

    It is rare that someone can escape the quicksand of entrapping sin without the help of a Christian friend. A friend who will listen, who will gently speak the truths of the gospel, who will pray, who will help develop a plan for resisting and fleeing temptation—this is a friend whose value is beyond gold. These are the friends we need, and these are the friends we are called to be.

    The surrounding passage gives further commentary on these situations.

    • Those who restore a sinner must be careful to watch themselves, lest they also be tempted (Galatians 6:1). When walking so close to the bog of sin and temptation, we must take care not to fall in the muck ourselves.
    • Christian friends must remember their own weaknesses and sin. There is no place for pride when bearing the sin burdens of another (Galatians 6:3).
    • We must not think we are better than our friend and boast in that perceived superiority (Galatians 6:4-5). Our “walking by the Spirit” is not measured by comparison to others; rather, we should use Paul’s list of the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit to make an honest self-assessment of our lives and hearts.

    What We Lose

    Do not fear. When we interpret Galatians 6:2 correctly, we are in no danger of losing the Christian call to care for our brothers and sisters when they need practical help.

    Earlier in this epistle, Paul tells the Galatians to “through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). In 1 Thessalonians, we read, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). Finally, the many New Testament commands to love one another more than cover the circumstances which are usually in mind when Galatians 6:2 is cited.

    The danger we face, in fact, is just the opposite. This is one of a few places in Scripture that teach us how to act when a friend is stuck in the brambles of sin. If we misuse Galatians 6:2 because we haven’t read the passage carefully, or because we have over-emphasized the burden-carrying image, or because we think sin is a private matter, we’ll lose valuable instruction about how Christians bear the fruit of the Spirit in community.

    Context matters.

    For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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    Links for the Weekend (2026-02-27)

    Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

    4 Practical Tools to Help You Pray

    Sometimes we talk about prayer in the abstract. (And this can be helpful!) Courtney Reissig wrote an article to help us put prayer into practice.

    Let’s get really practical about the “how” of prayer. Different strategies will work for different people, but I want to show you practical ways I’ve found to be helpful in making my prayer time more intentional. The point is not for you to replicate what has worked for me but to find something that works for you.

    How do I know when my actions are a result of sin in my heart or because of bodily weakness?

    Mike Emlet (from CCEF) answers this question about the connection between sin and our bodies in a video. (There is a transcript as well.)

    The most accurate way to conceive of our human makeup is that we are constituted as a duality—body and soul. The Bible uses terms like soul, spirit, and heart interchangeably to refer to the immaterial aspect of our personhood. But how should we understand the relationship between the immaterial and material aspects of our personhood, and how might that help us answer the question regarding sin?

    Elegy for a Tow Truck Driver

    Our poem of the week: Elegy for a Tow Truck Driver, by James Matthew Wilson. This is a poem demonstrating love and curiosity for someone the speaker didn’t quite get to know.

    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 (2026-02-20)

    Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

    The Only Way Out Is Through

    Marc Sims contends that every difficulty presents us with a choice: will we give up or make it through? He points to Jesus as our hope and help in these moments.

    I’m grateful for many technological innovations we have. I am grateful for the computer I am writing these thoughts out on. But I am aware of how the material circumstances of my culture have imprinted something deep in my lizard-brain: I should not have to do hard things. I am certain that every human being in every age would feel exasperated trying to get a key off an overly tight key-ring, tie a wiggling toddler’s shoes, or navigate an automated customer-service phone call with a health insurance company…but I think I feel it uniquely. I, who have been given titan-like powers through my iPhone and computer, can find it more plausible than any other previous generation that the material world should bow to my will. It doesn’t, of course. But it feels like it should. When most of my life is spent sinking digital nails effortlessly into digital boards, it feels mildly outrageous when a real one bends crooked.

    Three Things That Make Temptation Flee

    Jacob Crouch offers us just what his title promises: three things to think about to help in the fight against temptation.

    But for the Christian, there is a real sense in which these temptations no longer lord over us. We are no longer bound to obey them anymore. Even on this side of heaven we experience real victory over sin and temptation. Those are glorious seasons when our hearts are lifted to heaven and we do the things that we really want to do. What are those things that make sin seem so silly? What is our frame of mind when temptations lose their shimmer? I want to point out three things that make temptations flee.

    The Flood

    Our poem of the week: The Flood, by Kate Bluett. This poem reflects upon creation and the mercy of God in his Son.

    On the WPCA Blog This Week

    This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Uncomfortable Reason God is Kind to His People. 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. 

    The Uncomfortable Reason God is Kind to His People

    Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

    Nice is not the same as kind, though we conflate these terms. I hear people described as being “nice” far more than “kind,” and I suspect that’s because cultural niceness is not a high bar to clear. If someone is generally unoffensive, refrains from kicking puppies, and smiles here and there, they are nice.

    But this is not kindness. Think about it: Scripture tells us that God is kind, but can you imagine describing God as nice?

    The Christians in Rome had trouble understanding God’s kindness, so Paul wrote with some difficult words on the subject.

    Kind Is Not Permissive

    At the beginning of Romans 2, Paul confronts those who judge others and practice the same things themselves.

    Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Romans 2:3–4)

    These Romans knew God was kind, but they assumed that meant God would overlook their sin. God is patient, but if knowing this leads to hypocrisy under the cover of God’s grace, things have gone off the rails.

    God is not only kind but rich in kindness, forbearance, and patience (verse 4). And this kindness is meant to lead us to repentance.

    Kindness and Repentance

    In our permissive, mind-your-own-business culture, the connection between kindness and repentance is confusing. The thought goes that anyone who is kind or nice would let us do what we want instead of encouraging us to change.

    But God knows better. It is good and kind of God to turn us away from sin and back to himself. We may think of the law as dampening our fun, so it seems like only a killjoy would turn us away from what we want to do.

    But if what we want is bad for our souls, if it make us less human and less like what we were meant to be, then letting us carry on in sin is not kind at all. In fact it is uncaring, unloving, mean, and even hateful.

    If we’re thinking properly, we should embrace and welcome this kindness of God to turn us around. We should pray for God in his kindness to open our eyes to our sin and to gently and firmly lead us to repentance.

    Becoming More Kind

    Note that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance and that kindness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). One implication is that if our kindness is like God’s, we will also point others to repentance.

    There are loving and unloving ways to do this, of course. But my guess is that Christians reading this have probably experienced a loving rebuke from a friend. It hurts, yes, but the pain is like that of fixing a dislocated finger. Popping the finger back into joint can be excruciating, but it leads to health. We can now function the way we are supposed to. When we repent, in that area of our lives we’re no longer working against the Holy Spirit within us.

    I’m not encouraging anyone to become a sin hunter. But there will be times where our kindness to our friends will lead us to confront in love, helping them to turn back to the God who loves them.

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    Links for the Weekend (2026-02-13)

    Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

    In Praise of Godly Mothers-in-Law

    Tanner Kay Swanson has written a helpful article describing her relationship with her mother-in-law and what it takes for that relationship to be healthy.

    Beneath my mother-in-law’s lack of boasting is a lack of envy. She sees me not as her competitor in all things marriage and motherhood. She sees me as her son’s wife, the woman to whom he now owes first allegiance. She sees me as her “adopted” daughter, a young woman with fears and needs and dreams, just like all her kids. Ultimately, she sees me as “one for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15) — as a sister she’ll have forever, countless ages after marriages and titles like “mother-in-law” and “daughter-in-law” fade away.

    Life is a Vapour. Enjoy it.

    Here are some reflections on the book of Ecclesiastes. What does it mean for us that life is a vapor? How should we live in light of that?

    The wise King said that vapour-life is not a curse if you learn to enjoy it (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20). But can you really enjoy life, when you see how transient it is? When it slips through your fingers no matter how tightly you clench them? Yes, you can.

    Two videos

    Here are two videos which might encourage you in your faith this weekend.

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