Category: Links

Links for the Weekend (2024-10-18)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

What does an idol promise?

This post from Brad East helped me think through some of the attraction of idols.

I am tempted to say that an idol cannot bless, cannot impart gifts at all. But that cannot be true simpliciter. If, sometimes, demons lie behind idols, then it stands to reason that, as living beings, demons can exchange gifts for sacrifices, blessings for devotion. All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. The false note is not that Satan’s offer is a lie without remainder but that, as always, it is intermixed with the truth; whether or not Satan can give what he offers, worship is due God alone regardless.

How Heaven Changes Your Life on Earth

Cameron Cole started thinking a lot more about heaven after the tragic death of his young child. He wrote a book and talked about the book on this podcast. (There’s a transcript available as well.)

Imminence

Poem of the week: Imminence, by Carla Galdo. It’s about autumn, objectively the best season of the year.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called No Good Tree Bears Bad Fruit. 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 (2024-10-11)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Church is Our Evangelism Strategy

What does it look like to bring Jesus into your conversations?

Church is the main event. Church teaches us how to live. The Church is where we learn to be ‘kingdom people;’ which really just means ‘what you learned and were trained in inside church done outside church.’ The Church is God’s plan A to rescue the world and for the Father to transform the world into the image of the Son by the Spirit.

The False Guilt We Feel When Our Quiet Time Falls Short

Here’s a video (with transcript) from Crossway in which Kristen Wetherell talks about daily devotional time.

This is our idea of quiet time and then when we don’t reach it, we feel guilty and we feel like we failed. The reality is there is no command in the Bible about having a daily quiet time—at least not as we think about it. God wants us to prioritize Jesus and spending time getting to know who he is through the power of his Spirit.

Angels Aware (A Villanelle)

Our poem of the week: Angels Aware (A Villanelle), by Ryan Elizabeth. The villanelle is a challenging form of poetry, and this example is just beautiful.

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 (2024-10-04)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

A Concise Theology of Failure

I appreciated Samuel James’ thoughts connecting the gospel to a theology of failure.

But what if you don’t get the life you wanted? In the digital age, you might as well not even exist. Failure is obscurity, and obscurity is death. In the post-religious imagination, without success, there is no meaning to one’s life. You can go on surviving, but each day that is spent contrary to what you actually want to be doing is a waste. If enough of these days accumulate, your very self disappears.

Growing Wise as We Grow Old

Jon Bloom reflects on a high school reunion and what Psalm 90 teaches us about growing older.

I know this all sounds a bit depressing. But our hope has to be real hope if it’s going to sustain us through real life, not the illusory hope of the mirage-like dreams my classmates and I likely had when we graduated. Real hope is only realized when we come to terms with the dismaying reality we all face in this age. Truly facing it is what forges in us “a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12), the kind of heart that Psalm 90 teaches how to cultivate.

Divine Immutability Explained

Here’s a short video in which Kevin DeYoung explains what it means that God does not change.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called God Gives Us Himself. 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 (2024-09-27)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Running and Rest Aren’t Opposites

Trevin Wax builds on a good perspective about running and rest that he heard from a good friend.

Running and rest are to be kept in healthy tension, Lim says, so we’re sacrificially ambitious in our kingdom service and securely anchored in Jesus and his love for us. Right rhythms are the key to ensuring running doesn’t become just a mask for restlessness, and rest doesn’t turn into a spiritualized form of resignation.

The Autonomy Trap

I’m not sure how better to describe this article than that it is both beautiful and moving. James Wood writes about his childhood, his parents’ divorce, his relationship with his father, commitment and the idea of freedom, and how a community of Christians brought him to Christ. This is on the longer side, but it’s worth it.

I come from a stock of relationship-quitters. During my childhood, pretty much everyone in my life had divorced at least once, extended family connections were strained, long-term friends were nonexistent, and moves were frequent. Over time I came to adopt a conception of freedom that had destroyed the lives of many around me, and which would threaten to destroy my own as well: the popular idea of freedom as unconstrained choice. Since this is impossible, the default was a more achievable version: the ability to drop commitments and relationships at any point when they become too complicated. Freedom as the license to leave when things get tough.

Love (III) — George Herbert

Our poem of the week: Love (III), by George Herbert. This poem provides one answer to the question: What does it look like for God to love sinful people?

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 (2024-09-20)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Why a Good God Commanded the Israelites to Destroy the Canaanites

It’s an important question we should consider when talking to unbelievers: How could God command his people to destroy the Canaanites?

To drive a wedge between God and goodness, I’d point to God’s command to the Israelites to “utterly destroy” every person living in the Canaanite cities God was giving them. They were instructed to “not leave alive anything that breathes”—to kill every man, woman, child, and animal (Deut. 20:16–17). Why would a good God have the Israelites exterminate entire groups of people, including women, children, and animals? Here are four principles to remember the next time you encounter this issue.

“Why Have You Forsaken Me?” Understanding Jesus’s Cry on the Cross

This is a helpful, theologically deep article about Jesus’s famous cry on the cross. The authors approach the question from a number of angles.

The crucifixion is a good case study in showing how a careful Trinitarian framework can help work through thorny issues related to the Trinity and salvation. Not only does it bring to the surface the difficult question of what the Father was “doing” (or not doing) while Jesus hung on the cross, but it also raises the question of the Spirit’s seeming absence during the event.

Podcast: Why Christianity Is Not Just about Being a Follower of Jesus (Sam Allberry)

Here’s a helpful interview with author Sam Allberry about the doctrine of union with Christ, which is the subject of his newest book.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called No Images. 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 (2024-09-13)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

4 Reasons You Might Think the Bible Is Boring

If we’re bored with the Bible, we might need to question the way we’re approaching it.

The Bible is the Drama of the ages, the Story of all stories. In this book we read of the living God’s acts of creation and redemption. We see the true story of the world. It rivals all other epics and transcends ancient myths. The Bible is not like any other book.

If you’re bored with the Bible, have you wondered why? A variety of explanations exist, and any (or several) of them could identify the problem. Let’s consider four possibilities.

Will You Love Jesus in Five Years?

David Mathis uses the metaphor of training in this article—how can we condition our souls to love Jesus now and in the future?

The question is not whether we are training our souls right now or not. Oh, we are training them. Unavoidably so. With every new day, in every act and choice. With every thought approved and word spoken and initiative taken. With every desire indulged or renounced. With every meditation of our hearts in spare moments. With every click, like, and share. With every podcast play, video view, check of the scores on ESPN, or browse of the headlines news. With every fresh opportunity to show love and compassion received or rejected. In all the little moments that make up our human days and lives, we are constantly becoming who we will be and ever reshaping what our hearts pine for and find pleasing. The question is not if we’re reshaping our souls but how.

The Shallows

Our poem of the week: The Shallows, by Michael Stalcup. This is an arresting poem about God’s creation as beautiful art—with a wonderful final line!

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 (2024-09-06)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

You (Still) Need the Gospel

Jared Compton writes about a wonderful discovery he and his wife made at church early in their marriage: the gospel is for Christians, not just unbelievers!

Maybe you know this already. Maybe you don’t. But if you’re a Christian, the gospel is for you. It’s full of good news about your past and future — and your present day-to-day life. It’s full of good news for today. And to live in the goodness of this news, there are precious truths you simply must learn to rehearse, to preach, to yourself.

A Parent’s Guide to Talking with Kids about Technology

Here is a helpful list of principles about God and technology along with conversation starters to use with children.

It goes without saying that technology, particularly all of life in the digital age, is presenting us with a dizzying array of possibilities when it comes to where we spend our time, how we understand who we are, and how we perceive the world around us. No stone is left unturned when it comes to technology. Technology is not just a “thing” we use; it colors virtually every interaction we have in the world today. We use technology but then technology shapes us into the types of persons that further technology’s demands. It’s an unending cycle of compulsion-desire-formation.

Crumbs on the Kitchen Table

Poem of the week: Crumbs on the Kitchen Table, by J.C. Scharl. This is delightful little poem about creation.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Fear of Man Will Crush You. 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 (2024-08-30)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Your Pain Has an End Date

Vaneetha Risner writes about how much difference it makes, when suffering, to know that the pain will not last forever.

Yet even when our suffering feels endless, God knows exactly how long it will really last. It has an end date, an exact day and time predetermined by God. My pain will not last forever; it is not random or indeterminate. God has fixed all the details of this trial and will give me everything I need to endure it.

Following Jesus in the Desert of Mental Illness

Samuel James reviews a book in which the author writes about his experience being a Christian with mental illness.

John Andrew Bryant’s A Quiet Mind to Suffer With is the first book I’ve ever read that tries to answer that question from the inside. Bryant’s experience with OCD, hospitalization, and a lifetime of horribly intrusive thoughts is harrowing enough. What sets his particular work apart is the way he invites the reader into these experience with prose that tries to simulate, if any prose could, the turmoil of mental disorder. But then Bryant does something remarkable. He narrates his own discovery of how the gospel anchors him in the midst of (though it does not protect from) mental illness. The insights that follow are all the more powerful because they are so dearly bought.

A Suit for Grandfather

Our poem of the week: A Suit for Grandfather. This is a moving poem about the speaker’s tobacco-farming father.

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 (2024-08-23)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

3 Reasons Heaven Doesn’t Affect Us as Much as It Should

Cameron Cole has lost a child, so these thoughts about heaven are the fruit of going through the fire.

Heightened heavenly mindedness has given me greater contentment, provided strength to persevere in suffering, and inspired me to focus on mission and evangelism. The pain of my son’s death isn’t something I would’ve chosen, and I won’t completely outrun it in this fallen world. But the heavenward shift the Lord brought has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.

How (and How Not) to Talk with Your Kids about Sexuality

It is increasingly important for parents to talk with their children about sex. But the thought of such a conversation can cause anxiety. Here is some wise counsel.

As we think about parenting in this cultural moment, few issues are more urgent and fraught to talk about with your children than sexuality and sex. This is urgent because if you do not talk about it first, the culture certainly will; it is fraught because as our culture changes in how it understands sexuality, it has unhelpfully elevated it to a status that sexuality was never meant to hold, biblically speaking.

How One Family Navigated Smartphones and Social Media in the Teen Years

Here’s another article about parenting, though like the best articles, it has much to offer even to those who aren’t parents. Without insisting on specifics, this family reports the decisions they made and their recommendations regarding technology.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Golden Calf Reveals the Goal of the Exodus. 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 (2024-08-16)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Healing Power of Confessing Sins to One Another

Lydia Kinne explains why confessing our sins to each other is such a good practice.

Our pride gets in the way of confessing seeds of sin in our hearts. We’re upstanding church members, Bible study leaders, and parents. How could we possibly have given in to that thought or secret habit? So we nod and smile in small group prayer times, asking for more patience and wisdom while skirting around the things we don’t want to admit.

Every Good Parent Will Have Regrets: Advice to My 30-Year-Old Self

Dave Harvey writes some parenting advice to his younger self and it is full of good reminders.

I didn’t realize that a child’s “seeming” lack of progress was the place where parents truly encounter God. We pray, “God, fix them!” Then God whispers back, “Yes, Dave, they’re on my list. But first let’s talk about you.” Parenting didn’t exhibit my strengths; it exposed my limitations. It revealed the dozens of places where I trusted in myself and my leadership rather than in God. Ultimately, it laid me low and revealed my self-trust. But that weakness drove me to Jesus where, in my desperation, I was able to see he had plans for my kids and power for me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Memento Vivere

Our poem of the week: Memento Vivere, by Christina Baker. It’s a poem about her thinking after an encounter with a rose bush.

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