Category: Links

Links for the Weekend (2025-03-07)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Keep Reading Your Bible, Even If You Don’t Understand It

Erik Lundeen offers some advice for making Bible reading a regular part of life.

We must remember the interpretive spiral: The parts of Scripture help us to understand the whole, and the whole helps us to understand the parts. Evangelical culture rightly values Bible study, but I suspect we need to value Bible reading more. We should allow proper space for uninterrupted, extensive reading.

Advice for Reading Romans After Decades of Experience

John Piper suggests five questions for readers to answer when they’re reading the book of Romans.

It’s not just the Mount Everest of Scripture, which it is. It is a whole range of mountain peaks of soaring revelation. If there’s any Scripture to which we should apply Psalm 119:18, this is it: “[O Lord,] open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your [instruction].” (That’s a good translation of torah, sometimes translated “law.”) So, with this sense of expectation and wonder and reverence and thankfulness for the greatest of all books, is there a peculiar angle from which we should come at this book as we read it this year?

Lament for Lynn

Our poem of the week: Lament for Lynn, by Kate Ravin. This is a poem about a woman losing her best friend to cancer.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called What We Miss When We Skip the Prophets. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-02-28)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

You Are a Burden

In this post, T. M. Suffield offers a great perspective. Perhaps we should stop apologizing for being a burden on others.

You are a burden. That’s good news. Why? Because it means you aren’t meant to do this on your own. You are meant to need a community around you. Humans are made for cities not smallholdings, even if we haven’t figured out how to make cities humane yet. We need each other.

The Indispensable Inefficiency of Prayer

We need to face the glorious truth that prayer is not at all efficient.

Prayer looks inefficient. There’s no getting around that. Spending time bringing our praise and thanks and needs to God feels like a delay. After an hour of prayer, you still won’t be able to tick any items off your list, or progress your agenda for the day. Then again, is your agenda really as good as the plans and promises of your Creator? Will a whole day—or a year, or a decade, or even a whole lifetime of effort and strain with your own little arms and mind and powers—be able to accomplish even a tiny fraction of what the Maker of heaven and earth can do with just one simple command?

Epistle to a Former Friend

Our poem of the week: Epistle to a Former Friend, by A.M. Juster. This short poem is about anger and unforgiveness.

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 (2025-02-21)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Don’t Let Your Fears Hold Back Your Children

Melissa Edgington writes about trusting God in our parenting.

This is why we shouldn’t hold our kids back from going to far away colleges, from pursuing careers outside of the areas where we live, from following the callings that God has placed on their lives just because those callings make us scared. A big part of raising children is God teaching us to trust Him, and when it comes to experiences and adventures that are reasonably safe, we shouldn’t hold on so tightly that our kids aren’t allowed to see what reliance on God feels like. They won’t need to rely on Him if we keep them so bound to our own side that they never have to make a decision or figure something out without us.

Wikipedia Founder Embraces Christianity: Larry Sanger’s Testimony Highlights

It seems the founder of Wikipedia has become a Christian. Trevin Wax has read his testimony and points out a few features from which we can all learn.

Last week, Larry Sanger, the man who started Wikipedia in 2001, published a lengthy essay laying out his journey from skepticism to Christianity. For most of his adult life, Sanger was a committed skeptic, trained in analytic philosophy—a field dominated by atheists and agnostics. Though he spent 35 years as a nonbeliever, he never saw himself as hostile to faith, only unconvinced, and his testimony is geared toward those who share that rational, open-minded skepticism.

Not All Fear Is The Same

Here’s a link to an episode of the Ligonier Ministries podcast Renewing Your Mind entitled “Not All Fear Is The Same.” Michael Reeves speaks about the fear of the Lord on this podcast, and interested readers might want know that the following four episodes of this podcast feature Reeves diving deeper into this topic.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Ask Questions to Expose Idols. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-02-14)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Never Too Busy to Pray

What does it look like to prioritize prayer in our lives? Scott Hubbard points to Jesus for lessons.

The idea of prioritizing prayer sounds wonderful — until prioritizing prayer means not doing something we would very much like to do. We can talk about prioritizing prayer all we want, but we don’t truly do so unless we regularly set aside second-best priorities, some of them pressing, to get alone with God. The life of our Lord provides the best illustration.

To Those Living in Secret Sin

Esther Liu pleads with those living in secret sin, reminding them of the gospel and assuring them how much better it is to walk in the light.

Yet, I plead with you. I know what it can feel like to live in secrecy—the way it deadens your soul. And whether you are ready to face it or not, you are not truly doing well. You live a fractured life. As gratifying as your sin may be in the moment, when all is said and done, this life you are living doesn’t feel full. Imagine the joy of having a clear conscience, not because you are sinless, but because your lifestyle is one of honest confession and repentance. Imagine being able to have people in your life walk alongside you to support and encourage you in your struggles—you won’t have to face it all alone.

Club Escape

Our poem of the week: Club Escape, by Aaron Poochigian. This is a short poem which raises the question about where real satisfaction can be found.

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 (2025-02-07)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Your Phone Habits Aren’t Just About You

Trevin Wax writes about our phone habits and the way they affect people around us.

You’ve likely seen this phenomenon elsewhere. If you’re on a hike with friends, enjoying conversation and the beauty around you, the moment someone pulls out a phone to capture the moment for social media, the dynamic shifts. The scenery is no longer just scenery—everything is potential for content or a possible background for a selfie. The hike is no longer only about you and your friends—it’s something to be broadcast, something open for evaluation and discussion online.

To (Almost) Die is Gain

Heidi Kellogg reflects on a scary surgery and how she was affected by the prospect of facing death.

Weeks after my craniotomy I received a call from the doctor’s office. A new patient was asking to speak with someone who had faced a similar diagnosis. I happily agreed to talk with her. She was close to my age and, like me, she had a husband and two young-adult sons. She asked me, “How do you prepare to die?” I couldn’t help but think it’s best to start long before you get a diagnosis like ours. Four days was not enough time for the most important preparations, but thankfully, I had been preparing for a long time.

Near Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Our poem of the week: Near Vanderbilt University Medical Center, by A.M. Juster. It’s a short, punchy poem about our finitude as humans.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Sorrow: An Engine of Christian Hope. 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-01-31)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

If I Could Change Anything about the Modern Church

If Tim Challies could, he’d “return the graveyard to the churchyard.” He makes a compelling argument.

How would it change your worship if you were constantly confronted with the reality of death in this way yet also comforted by the proximity and the nearness of those who had gone before? How would it change your understanding of the church if the living and the dead maintained such a close distance? How would it change the way you prepare your heart to worship and prepare yourself to die? Speaking personally, I think it would be deeply moving and spiritually comforting. It would be a blessing to worship where my people are buried and to be buried where my people worship.

Enough with the Valorization of Doubt!

Trevin Wax laments the way many praise religious doubt as a virtue.

Of course, the life of faith isn’t easy. Thomas doubted the reality of the resurrection. A number of disciples doubted the truth even after they’d seen the risen Lord. Struggle is to be expected. That’s why Jude tells us to “have mercy on those who doubt.” Honesty about our doubt is a virtue, but it’s the honesty that’s commendable, not the doubt itself.

For The Church Podcast: Contentment

I appreciated this episode of the For the Church podcast on contentment. You might too! (Note: I do not see a transcription for this podcast episode.)

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 (2025-01-24)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Spiritual Battles in Your Bible Reading

In January, many Christians are starting read-through-the-Bible reading plans. In this short podcast episode (there’s a transcript!), John Piper explains three spiritual attacks to expect surrounding your Bible reading and then nine benefits of Bible reading.

Expect opposition. Satan hates the word of God and will disincline you, blind you, distract you, bore you. He will fight with all his might to keep this from happening. So pray and fight and ask God to make all four of those things that Satan tries to do to backfire, to blow up in his face as you become a stronger warrior against him — your heart inclined, your blindness removed, focus instead of distraction, excitement instead of boredom. So, expect opposition.

A Template of Praise from Psalm 103

James Johnston writes about the first few verses of Psalm 103 and how they can help us remember what God has done for us and praise him accordingly.

Fifth, God “satisfies you with good” (Ps. 103:5). Satisfied is how I feel after Thanksgiving; I don’t need anything else. God fulfills our deepest hunger and longings. He says, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Ps. 81:10). He is not stingy and cheap with his people. “He would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you” (Ps. 81:16).

Rhymes

Our poem of the week is Rhymes, by JC Scharl in Ekstasis Magazine. This sonnet takes a lighter tone with a heavy topic; it works!

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 (2025-01-17)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Why Don’t We Read The Bible More? Three Common Misunderstandings

Ava Ligh looks at the real reasons (not just the stated reasons) we don’t read the Bible. She clears up some misunderstandings about the purpose of Bible reading to help us on our way.

Most sermons and Bible teachings tend to approach Scripture through a medical paradigm. The text is seen as offering a diagnosis and remedy for a specific problem within the congregation, and the sermon concludes with various prescriptions or applications to address the symptoms of that problem. However, Jesus encourages us to engage with Scripture through an agricultural paradigm, where the Word of God is compared to a seed that must be received (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). 

Nearness is Enough

Kirsten Black writes about her experience in the hospital as one of her sons was dying. She honestly wrestles with the promise of God’s nearness and how or whether that’s a good thing in the midst of suffering.

So, what does the nearness of God look like amid our trials and our suffering? For years, I thought the nearness of God would mean that everything would be okay or, at the very least, feel okay. I hoped that his nearness would mean some sort of tangible presence, some sort of relief from pain. I hoped that it would act as a shield and protection around me, that it would stop the fiery arrows of the enemy from penetrating my heart. But that was not the nearness of God.

When

Our poem of the week is When, by Henry Lewis in Ekstasis Magazine. Brace yourselves—this one is about dying.

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 (2025-01-10)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

You Can’t Life-Hack Your Way to Holiness

Trevin Wax has written about how our culture’s obsession with techniques and results may have affected our approach to growing in holiness.

We live in an era flooded with life hacks—new exercise regimens, cooking recipes, productivity shortcuts, and self-optimization strategies. The message is clear: Find the right technique and everything will change. We’re bombarded with marketing, which influences how we think, even in spiritual matters. This hyperfocus on techniques and disciplines often drives our conversations about spiritual formation. We’re drawn to it because of our consumer society and our hearts’ inclination toward self-justification. The desire for self-optimization warps into the belief we’re responsible for our spiritual growth.

Answering Kids’ Hardest Questions: What Makes Me Special?

This post is relevant for all parents, but it is also important for all Christians who might talk to young people. (Which is all of us, hopefully!) When children ask what makes them special, Sarah Walton has some suggestions for how to answer. (This is available as a video and a written article.)

Especially for kids going up into junior high and high school ages, as they’re being flooded with questions of identity, this message is increasingly important. It’s so important to begin this conversation early to help them see that their identity is fixed in Jesus Christ, not in anything that they do or can accomplish.

It will be so freeing for them if we can help them build from there because the reality is, sometimes the gifts we have can be taken. That happened to me. I was an athlete, and I lost it all through an injury. It completely changed the trajectory of my life.

Two Poems

Here are two great poems which have Christmas or New Year connections. Enjoy!

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Why Isn’t Hope a Fruit of the 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. 

Links for the Weekend (2025-01-03)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How Healthy Is Your Soul? Six Questions for a New Year

At Desiring God, Scott Hubbard provides some questions to help us take our spiritual temperature at the start of a new year.

So no, the purpose of these questions is not to condemn, but rather to expose any area where we have cooled insensibly, by degrees, by little and little. And therefore the purpose of these questions is to draw us nearer to the Lord who has warmth enough to melt our coldness, if only we bring ourselves close to him.

3 Illustrations That Help Us Understand What It Is to Be “in Christ”

I linked to several articles related to union with Christ last year. Here’s another one, with a link to a book that looks to be good.

Without an understanding of what it means to be in Christ, our view of the Christian life becomes blurry. The ideas will still be there, of course—we’ll know that we’re justified through the death of Christ alone, that we will one day join him in resurrection life, that in the meantime we’re to commit ourselves to walking in holiness, and that all this is to be understood and worked through in the context of a local church. The pieces will be in place, but they won’t fully cohere—they’ll seem like separate elements, each of which we admire in its own way but which, like Lego bricks poured out onto the table, are meant to fit together and make a whole. Union with Christ is the lens through which all these parts of the Christian life can be seen most sharply and beautifully.

Bible Reading Plans for 2025

Ligonier has rounded up more than 20 Bible reading plans for 2025. Check them 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.