Category: Links

Links for the Weekend (2026-04-17)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Danger of AI Isn’t Misinformation. It’s Mis-Formation.

If not used thoughtfully, artificial intelligence has the potential to damage our spiritual formation.

The real issue is what habitual AI use does to us. It turns into muscle memory that, over time, will reshape basic Christian habits like what we pay attention to, what we expect, and where we look for counsel.

How Ben Sasse Is Living Now That He Is Dying

You may or may not be familiar with former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse. He is an outspoken Christian with ties to our denomination. He received a diagnosis in December that he is dying of pancreatic cancer.

This is a podcast episode he did with Ross Douthat of the New York Times. A good chunk of this podcast is about politics, artificial intelligence, and higher education. If you’re not interested in those topics, skip to about 55 minutes to hear Senator Sasse’s thoughts on his top priorities as he is dying. (There is audio, video, and a transcript available at that link.)

We Have Seen You

Our poem of the week: We Have Seen You, by Kate Bluett. This is a poem about believing in the resurrection of Jesus, whether we have seen it with our eyes or not.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article written by Meghan Watt called Good Stewards of God’s Grace. 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 (2026-04-10)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Bible Isn’t a Smartphone

I enjoyed reading T. M. Suffield’s thoughts on the difference between instruments and devices, particularly as it relates to the way we read the Bible. I think you’ll benefit from his exploration of how we read the Bible and how that forms our expectations of our interaction with the Bible.

I think we do the same thing in much subtler ways too. Do we come to the Bible expecting to find answers provided to us, or expecting to have to work to discover what it would say to us? Do we come to the Bible as though it doesn’t require anything of us to understand, or do we expect to have to change to become the sort of people who can read it? Does the Bible act on our behalf, or do we by the Holy Spirit use the word of God to engage differently in the world?

What is the Unforgivable Sin?

Gavin Ortlund tackles this question about the “eternal sin” and he reads the Bible closely to arrive at his answer.

Meditation XX

Our poem of the week: Meditation XX, by Mark Rico. This poem is an exploration of the way God waits and how we long for his presence while we wait.

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 (2026-04-03)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Resurrection’s Centrality

Patrick Schreiner has written a nice article about the necessity of the resurrection in the gospel message.

A gospel message that does not include the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is no gospel at all. To quote another author, “At the heart of Christianity is a cross; and one of the most significant things about it is that it is an empty cross.”

Hell to Pay: What Truly Happened to Jesus on the Cross?

Understanding exactly what happened between the Father and the Son on the cross is not easy! Here’s an article by Nick Batzig with an attempt to explain.

Some have insisted that Jesus didn’t truly endure hell on the cross, because his human nature didn’t experience complete annihilation. Others have rejected the teaching that Jesus experienced the equivalent of hell on the cross because his sufferings were temporary rather than eternal in their endurance. The answer to both of these objections is, of course, found in the mystery of the union of the two natures of Christ.

A Sonnet for Easter Dawn

Our poem of the week: A Sonnet for Easter Dawn, by Malcolm Guite. This is a poem about the discovery of Jesus’s empty tomb. Here’s a bonus, seasonally-appropriate sonnet from Malcolm Guite: This Breathless Earth. This one is about Jesus’s appearance to the disciples in the Upper Room.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called God’s Fleeting Gifts. 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 (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. 

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. 

    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. 

    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.