Links for the Weekend (2025-05-16)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Why Does God Make Us Wait for Good Things?

Mark Vroegop says this is a fair question with uncertain answers. He helps us refocus, from wondering about why to looking at who. Waiting is for our good. (There is a video at this link as well as a transcript, so you can watch/listen or read, according to your preference.)

Waiting is part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It’s part of what it means to trust that God knows what he’s doing. And so when you’re waiting for something good and it’s not coming, the hope and the comfort that the Bible offers to us, like from Psalm 27, is that our hearts can take courage as we wait on the Lord.

The One Virtue Every Young Man Needs

Trevin Wax writes about self-control, and he frames this virtue in terms of sanctification instead of stoicism.

The gospel takes the ancient virtue of self-control and transposes it into a new key. It’s not first and foremost about you. It’s about God. It’s self-control in service of love. Love depends on self-control, yes, but love also deepens self-control. Love turns self-control upward and outward, toward God and toward others. It’s not about independence of self but dependence on God. It’s not about self-mastery; it’s about Spirit-mastery. It’s not about controlling yourself for your own sake; it’s about being controlled by Christ for the sake of others. It’s yielding to the One who loves you with an everlasting love and who wants now to love others through you.

Two Poems

I’m sharing two poems this week, both courtesy of the Rabbit Room Poetry Substack.

  • Mary and Eve, by Michael Stalcup — This poem is inspired by the illustration from Sister Grace Remington which imagines a meeting between Eve and a pregnant Mary.
  • Tell No One, by Elizabeth Wickland — This poem describes some of the wonders of spring and insists that they must be experienced (not just heard about) to be truly enjoyed.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article written by Maggie Amaismeier called Books and Podcasts, May 2025. 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. 

Books and Podcasts, May 2025

Posted onAuthorMaggie Amaismeier

It’s been a while since I shared some podcasts and books I have been enjoying, so here we go.

Books

A Still and Quiet Mind: Twelve Strategies for Changing Unwanted Thoughts by Esther Smith. This is a practical read on using Scripture to take your thoughts captive. Not exactly a beach read but a helpful one if this is an area of struggle. 

Parenting with Hope: Raising Teens for Christ in a Secular Age by Melissa B. Kruger. This is my second time reading this book and honestly as someone who works and lives with teens it will probably be a yearly read for me for the next 10 years (at least). Please find me if you read it because I would love to chat more about what God taught you through this book. This time I enjoyed it as an audiobook on Hoopla (a FREE resource from the library, thanks to Ashley Bennett for that tip)! 

Peace Over Perfection: Enjoying a Good God When You Feel You’re Never Good Enough by Faith Chang. An easy read that I digested one chapter at a time. 

God Does His Best Work with Empty by Nancy Guthrie. I also listened to this as an audiobook (Hoopla for the win) and enjoyed her detailed use of Biblical stories to encourage us. I wasn’t able to take enough notes and will probably reread it as a physical book in the future!

Podcasts

Deep Dish Podcast with Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor. I LOVE this new podcast from The Gospel Coalition. It is like listening in on a conversation. The topics are fantastic and it has been one I have started looking forward to each Thursday. 

Journeywomen. This season was focused on discipleship and I loved the continuity of the messages with strong emphasis on Scripture. Warning: it was convicting to me and if you are not yet in a discipling relationship and/or discipling someone else, it just might change your thoughts on that! 

Encourage Women Podcast. Current seasons have been focused on a conversation format. It is a lighter podcast that often is perfect for my drive home from work when my brain isn’t functioning at full capacity but I still want to fill it with an encouraging Scripture-based conversation.

The Humble Skeptic. This podcast was introduced to me by a new friend at the church. I have listened to the faith series (way at the beginning). It makes me think critically and challenges me.  For me, this is a great podcast to listen to while I am doing something else (like dishes or folding laundry) because it requires me to engage intellectually in a different way from other podcasts.

Photo credit

Links for the Weekend (2025-05-09)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Listening Might Be the Best Evangelism Tool You’re Not Using

When we fail to listen to our unbelieving friends, we end up giving answers to questions they’re not asking.

However, if we don’t also listen, we tend to share the good news of Jesus in a way that applies primarily to our lives, the way it was good news to us, but fails to address the situations others are facing. We can become proclaimers of the good news while remaining ignorant of the ways in which others need to hear it. This doesn’t negate how good the news of Jesus is at all. However, if we read the rest of the story of Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman, we find that while her testimony created intrigue, the people in the village had to meet Jesus for themselves. It wasn’t enough for her just to share her story. They had to get to Jesus as well.

3 Truths Your Daughter Needs to Hear About Beauty

Kristen Wetherell’s article offers good counsel to parents, helping them teach young women a biblical view of beauty.

What might change if we emphasized the eternal in our most basic conversations, especially within the family of Christ? What if, instead of commenting on another female’s appearance, we simply said, “It’s wonderful to see you! Tell me how you’re doing today”? Our littlest girls would feel warmly welcomed not because they’re wearing pink but because they’re a valuable part of God’s precious body.

Mirth

The latest issue of Clayjar Review is on the theme of mirth. Here are two poems from this issue I have read and enjoyed.

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 (2025-05-02)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Ever-Present Search for an Easy Christian Faith

Does anything about the Christian faith make you uncomfortable? Trevin Wax proposes that should probably be true in some area of your life.

We should test ourselves. Do we pledge our allegiance to God as he truly is, or do we settle for fashioning a god of our own imagination? Are we shaving off the rough edges of his revelation to suit our preferences? Or are we willing to submit to what he says about himself—even when we don’t understand (or don’t want to)?

The Problem With Habits (and Why We Still Need Them)

Darryl Dash has a good perspective on habits (and a good analogy for them too). He writes: “habits alone cannot transform us, yet we cannot grow without them.”

God has established means of grace. They’re ways through which he promises to work in our lives. When we seek him through Scripture, our hearts are changed. The transformative power lies not in our routine of Bible reading, but in the living word itself. God’s Spirit actively works through his word. God’s word has the power to change our lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The same applies to prayer. God promises that those who seek him will find him (Matthew 7:7-8). The power isn’t in habits; habits just get us to God’s means of grace.

In Waiting

Our poem of the week: In Waiting, by Joshua Fullman. This is a poem about visiting a loved one in the hospital.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called 3 Essential Ingredients for Understanding the Bible. 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. 

3 Essential Ingredients for Understanding the Bible

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

It’s not popular these days. So many people are counting carbs and dodging gluten. But it’s true: I love bread.

Bread is one of God’s great gifts—a gift so great that even someone with my paltry cooking skills can throw together a passable loaf.

While there are thousands of variations, the core bread recipe is remarkably simple: flour, water, yeast, and salt. That’s it.

Experts can punch up the flavor with add-ins and fancy baking techniques, but those four ingredients are essential. Without them, you might whip up something delicious, but you don’t have bread.

It’s the same way with understanding the Bible. There are a few essential elements that must be present if we’re to learn from God’s word.

The Bible

This may be obvious, but it must be said. In order to understand the Bible, we need to actually read the Bible!

We don’t need to be Hebrew or Greek scholars. God has been generous in providing plenty of quality English translations. And for most of us, these translations are easy to access.

But we do need the actual words of the Bible. Not study notes or a friendly devotional or a commentary. Not at first. We need time to read, hear, and meditate on the words of God.

The Bible is meant for Christians to read and understand. God is not trying to hide its meaning from you. You are smart enough to read and study the Bible.

Humility

If we aim to understand the Bible, we must approach it with humility.

What is true in our personal relationships is also true in our approach to the Scriptures—in order to learn, we must be convinced that we have things to learn! When we draw near to the Bible, we are submitting to an authority. We approach the bench in handcuffs, we do not bang the gavel. The posture of the Christian disciple must be one of open hands, bowed head, well-worn knees.

As we meet with God in his word, we acknowledge that we are naive and foolish. Ignorant and forgetful. Frail. Incomplete in our understanding.

But God is wise. He is experienced. All-knowing. Never forgetting. Strong. On top of all that, he loves to communicate about himself and his world through his word.

When we call the Bible “God’s word,” this is not just a synonym. This is a reassuring, bulls eye-accurate description. We must come humbly to the Bible because the God of the universe stands behind these words.

The Holy Spirit

Finally, we need help to understand the Bible. This is help that God loves to give, but we cannot understand the Bible on our own.

God helps us grasp the Bible by coming to us himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit’s work and power to give us both insight and the gift of repentance.

The Holy Spirit is described as our helper and teacher (John 14:26). Paul writes that we have received the Spirit of God “that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12), and that, because of the Spirit, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Pray and ask for his help as you read the Bible.

More to Say

There is more to say about studying the Bible, of course. (This website is devoted to saying more about studying the Bible.) But this article is about the essentials.

Remember this the next time you seek out God in the Scriptures. Read the Bible. Approach with humility. Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help. And God will give you hearty, nourishing, sustaining food that will bring deep satisfaction to your soul.

Post credit | Photo credit

Links for the Weekend (2025-04-25)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

He Cares for Us

Paul Levy reflects on both caring for others and being cared for by others. He connects both to God’s care for us.

We care for those things and people that are precious to us, and God cares for us because we are precious to Him in His Son. So cast your cares and your worries on Him, because He cares for you.

The Themes of Exile and Return Are Seen Throughout the Psalms

This Crossway article explains how the structure of the book of Psalms helps us to see some of its themes emerge.

Gerald Wilson has argued that the psalms that begin and end each book serve as thematic “seams” that stitch the otherwise diverse psalms together. Thus a discernable pattern emerges that matches the narratological flow of the entire Old Testament, emphasizing exile and hope for return. The definitive turning points are the rise of David, crowning of Solomon, descent into exile, and rising of Israel out of exile into a new creation.

Two Poems

I have two poems to offer you 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 (2025-04-18)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Resurrection Déjà Vu

Here’s a reminder (including lots of links) about the evidence for Jesus’s resurrection. The Christian faith is built on historical facts, and despite claims to the contrary, there are plenty of good reasons to believe those facts. (You can read or listen to this article.)

Good News! God Hates Sin.

Yes, God hates sin. But it’s important for us to understand the reasons why, because there’s good news in there!

This is why we must do better at explaining why God hates sin. It’s not enough to say sin is bad. We must show how sin is a parasite, feeding on the good and beautiful things God has made, warping our affections, deceiving our hearts, and leading to destruction. Sin is what keeps us from the God we were made for. Sins are like spiders that must be stomped.

Overcoming Discouragement

A number of CCEF counselors discussed discouragement on a podcast episode recently. They talked about why having language about the feeling of discouragement is important, along with how to overcome discouragement. (For those not into podcasts, a transcript is also posted.)

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. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-04-11)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Prayer Is and Should Be Trinitarian

The doctrine (and reality) of the Trinity should affect every aspect of our lives, including the way we pray.

After decades of reading the Bible, following Jesus Christ, and participating in countless worship services, I am more convinced than ever that prayer is and should be Trinitarian. Of course, this doesn’t mean that every single prayer must reference the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But for prayer to be truly Christian, it must consistently bear witness to the three-in-one.

Navigating the Challenges of Motherhood with Grace

Christina Fox looks at three mothers in the Bible to remind us that God meets us and provides grace in our need.

When I first embarked on this journey, I felt overwhelmed by all that I did not know. I felt inadequate in the face of so much that was new and unknown. I lacked wisdom for challenging parenting decisions and feared not getting them right. Since then, I’ve encountered many difficult circumstances in my motherhood and anticipate more to come. Yet, I can look back and see God’s grace at work and His faithfulness to meet me in all my troubles.

Lenten Sonnet XXVI

Our poem of the week: Lenten Sonnet XXVI, 2025, by Andrew Peterson. There are actually two sonnets at that link, and they’re both good, but I’d recommend the first if you only have time for one.

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 (2025-04-04)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Combat Anxiety Through Surrender

I appreciated this reminder from Tim Challies about what the Bible calls us to when we’re anxious and feeling out of control: surrendering ourselves to God.

One of the lessons I have learned through life’s greatest difficulties is there is far more comfort in surrender than control. The reason is obvious: Surrender is within our power while control is not. We have the ability to surrender ourselves to God and his purposes, but we do not have the ability to control God and his purposes.

It’s Never Too Late to Learn How to Pray

This post draws instruction from the way that Tim Keller didn’t really learn to pray until in his 50s.

The applicational impact of Jesus’s example is hard to miss. If Jesus needed to pray under these circumstances, how much more do I? And yet, after twenty-three years as a Christian and nearly twelve as a pastor, I must admit that I’m still learning to pray. Judging by my conversations with other Christians, I’m not alone in that sentiment. Prayer is perhaps the most challenging component of the Christian life, and the distractions of our digital age only compound the difficulty.

Lenten Sonnet XX

Our poem of the week: Lenten Sonnet XX, by Andrew Peterson. This reflection on 1 John 1:5 is a poem about light.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Don’t Drift Away From the Bible. 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. 

Don’t Drift Away From the Bible

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

Most people don’t set out to gain fifteen pounds. Instead, their diet changes over time. Candy and ice cream take the place of fruits and vegetables, and the numbers on the scale creep northward.

It happens over weeks, not days. And unless a person is taking measurements, visiting the doctor, or talking with friends about their habits, they might not even notice.

The same drift that happens with diet can happen with Bible intake. And both types of drift can leave us in an unhealthy place.

The Terrible Drift

Those with a commitment to God and his word don’t intend to drift away. But without an anchor, they get caught in the river’s current. They enjoy the breeze, not realizing they’re headed for the danger of a waterfall.

People that drift away from the Bible aren’t that different from you and me. They belong to churches. They have a history of practicing spiritual disciplines. But maybe they’re busy. Their priorities subtly shift. They develop other habits, even good habits like exercise or time with friends. And one day they realize they haven’t read the Bible in six months.

They don’t feel like they’ve forgotten the gospel, but the truth of the Bible is no longer at the front of their thinking. The glory of God is no longer the lens through which they see and interpret life. This leads to a person increasingly turned inward and focused on their own earthly happiness. Externally, they may be pleasant and kind, but their soul is in danger. Blatant, external sins often begin with the erosion of personal communion with God.

Guard Against Drift

While it may seem unthinkable to walk away from God, we have plenty of examples in the Bible (Hebrews 6:1–8, John 6:60–71, 2 Peter 2:17–22). Each Christian likely has a story of a friend or acquaintance who was once near to Jesus and is now in a distant land.

A drift from God often begins with a drift from his word. So, how do we guard against this drift?

  1. Make Bible intake a habit. Humans are prone to selfishness and forgetfulness. This is why we read and re-read the Bible. We need to study it, memorize it, hear it, sing it, and meditate on it. We cling to all reminders of the truth—to see ourselves, the world, and God aright. We cannot find this perspective within ourselves.
  2. Talk deeply and honestly with friends who share your values. We all need friends who care about us enough to know our temptations and triggers to sin and who will ask us regularly—even out of the blue—how we’re really doing. Friends like this will make you uncomfortable and even angry at times. And you should thank God for people like this in your life. Friends don’t let friends neglect the Bible.
  3. Give yourself to regular, corporate worship. It is difficult to hate that which your church family loves. If your church values the Bible—if God’s word is at the center of its preaching, singing, teaching, lamenting, praying, feasting, counseling, and encouraging—this can be a helpful tether. A church that consistently points back to the Bible helps its people learn to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
  4. Pray. None of us, if left to ourselves, are above turning from God. Confess your weakness and your proneness to wander. Ask God to keep you and to give you an enduring love for him. He is a good father who loves to give good gifts to his children.

Post credit | Photo credit