Category: Links

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. 

Links for the Weekend (2024-08-09)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Maybe We Make Meditation Too Difficult

Tim Challies wonders if we don’t often meditate on the Scriptures because we have over-complicated it.

What is meditation? Meditation is pondering the words of the Bible with the goal of better understanding and sharper application. Ideally, meditation leads us to understand the words we have read and to know how God may call us to work them out in our lives. It is one of the ways that we output wisdom after inputting knowledge.

What Does It Mean to Die with Dignity?

I have found Kathryn Butler’s writing about faith and medicine/health care so helpful this year. In this article she writes about end-of-life care and what it means to “die with dignity.”

What does it mean to die with dignity? Abstractly, we all long for a dignified death, during which family surround us and we suffer minimal pain and anxiety. In reality, however, the dying process is often unsettling, even when we try to prepare ourselves for its messy realities. Perhaps most importantly, however, conflating the phrase “death with dignity” and assisted dying confuses the conversation.

counterpressure

Our poem of the week: counterpressure, by Carreen Raynor. It’s largely about kindness.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The 3-Step Path to Biblical 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 (2024-08-02)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

‘Never Look Your Age’ — Shiny Lies We Often Buy

Stacy Reaoch has an important message for women and girls. Our culture has one message about aging, but the Bible has another.

Next time you look in the mirror and notice the ways your body has changed, try looking in a different way. Those stretch marks and loose skin around your abdomen — maybe they’re a reminder of the gift of children. Perhaps those dark circles under your eyes show the late nights you’ve spent counseling a troubled friend or anxious teen. That furrowed brow reveals the trials you’ve worked through, figuring out how to be a diligent friend or family member or worker. Those crow’s feet and laugh lines are sweet reminders of time spent delighting with others.

When God Doesn’t Give His Beloved Sleep

Tim Challies struggles to sleep, and he writes about trying to submit to God in this difficult area of life.

Though I’m really good at falling asleep, I’m extremely poor at staying asleep. And, as I’m sure you’d agree, the staying is every bit as important as the falling! When night comes and bedtime draws near, I always face it with a mix of eagerness and dread—eagerness to get some rest but dread of waking up before I get enough rest. More often than not, I sleep for a time, then wake up in the wee hours—too tired to feel rested but too rested to fall back asleep. I often begin a new day discouraged, with my mind hazy and my brain sluggish. It’s a battle that has gone on for decades and one that is getting no better as I age. In fact, it could actually be getting worse.

What to say to Dave about regular Bible reading

If someone at church (perhaps named Dave) asked you for advice on reading the Bible regularly, what would you say? Here is Ian Carmichael’s answer.

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 (2024-07-26)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Savor Christ in Every Psalm

This article feels especially appropriate with our current sermon series on the Psalms. Christopher Ash writes about how we can sing the Psalms best when we see Jesus as the chief psalm-singer.

But with Christ, I rejoice that, first and fundamentally, Christ himself is the blessed man of Psalm 1; Christ is the righteous man of Psalm 15; Christ has the pure heart called for in Psalm 24. It is Christ who fulfills the high calling of the Psalms, Christ who can sing them with perfect assurance, Christ who ascends to the Father, and Christ alone who brings me there. The Psalms set before us unnumbered blessings. Each one of them is yours and mine in Christ.

The Lord Sees: Learn to Rest in God’s Justice

The fact that the Lord sees all can be terrifying or comforting. Trevin Wax fruitfully meditates on this theme.

“El Roi” is a name given to God in the Old Testament, a source of comfort and peace in times of distress. It first falls from the trembling lips of Hagar, the enslaved woman driven into the wilderness after being caught up in the sinful designs of her master and his wife. There she kneels, despondent and despairing, ready for life to come to an end. And there in that desert of sorrow, the Lord sees. Transformed by the gracious presence of the God of all justice and mercy, Hagar speaks with surprising confidence. She names the Lord who spoke to her: “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” (Gen 16:13)

Prayer (I)—George Herbert

Our poem of the week: Prayer (I), by George Herbert. This is a delightful poem to read out loud (even if I’m not sure what exactly all of it means!).

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Word of the Cross is the Power of God. 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 (2024-07-19)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Three Greatest Enemies of Marriage

Some counselors might point to money, sex, and in-laws as the three hardest issues in marriage. Tim Challies has found that the greatest enemies to his marriage are much more personal.

The greatest challenges to my marriage haven’t come from without but from within. The greatest discouragements haven’t stemmed from circumstances but from character. The greatest difficulties haven’t arisen from other people but from myself. I have learned that the greatest enemies of my marriage are the unholy trinity of me, myself, and I. When I consider my marriage with honesty and with whatever humility I can muster up, I have to admit that it’s me.

Why Every Church Member Matters

The overwhelming majority of church members won’t be well-known outside of their local community. But all church members are vitally important.

When we look at Paul’s letters, we see him name around 100 different people. There are deacons, coworkers, ministry partners, friends, and church hosts. God’s work is too big for Paul, too big even for a Bible-writing apostle. There is no way to experience all that God intends for us as his church with only celebrity leaders, senior pastors, and paid staff. It takes many people to do God’s work.

‘Every Idle Word’: What if we had to own up to what we say?

Our poem of the week: a meditation by Malcolm Guite on Jesus’s warning about our “idle words.”

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 (2024-07-12)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How God Uses Our Waiting

The title of this post doesn’t exactly match its content, but I found this discussion of waiting helpful nonetheless.

I don’t know if I’ll ever love waiting. The tension is uncomfortable. Frankly, I’d rather have quick solutions and easy answers. But the more I’ve studied what it means to wait on God, the more I see the value of the gap moments. They provide an opportunity to renew my trust in a God who loves me and cares for me and whose ways are always good.

Beware the Emotional Prosperity Gospel

We might reject the prosperity gospel (faith will bring you health and material wealth), but do we accidentally buy in to an emotional prosperity gospel?

Here’s how we could summarize the emotional prosperity gospel: genuine faith in Christ removes all negative emotions. Therefore, the presence of negative emotions—fear, anxiety, anger, or sadness—reveals a lack of faith. At first glance, many evangelicals sense the Bible supports this view.

Thou Shalt Not Catastrophize

Glenna Marshall writes about how memorizing verses from the book of James helped her to learn not to be afraid.

My desire to be in control of my life continued to shape the way I viewed the world when I went to college, got married, became a pastor’s wife, and especially—especially—when I had children. If my ability to plan for every possible catastrophe was strong before kids, there was no comparison after having kids. Every rash, fever, unexplained symptom, off-schedule milestone, or potential for illness or injury kept me awake at night. When my kids were small, I lost many nights of sleep trying to decide if we should go to the hospital or not. My fears of what could happen to my children made me fearful of the world. Personal health struggles only added to my frenzied catastrophizing. I googled everything all the time, trying to research my way out of a potential disaster. Knowledge was power, right? I decided that preparation was wisdom and wisdom was preparation.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Tabernacle 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 (2024-07-05)

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 the Bible Mean by “the Heart”?

The Bible mentions the heart frequently, and so do most modern Christians. This article offers a helpful description of what we mean by “heart.”

Put simply, the heart in Scripture conveys the totality of our inner self. We are governed from this one point of unity. From it “flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). It is the control center—the source of every thought, the seat of every passion, and the arbiter of every decision. All of it is generated from and governed by this one point of undivided unity.

Train Your Body in Light of Eternity

Stacy Reaoch writes about the tendency we have to swing from apathy to obsession when it comes to bodily training. She points us to godly motivation for caring for our bodies.

Maybe you can relate—the demands of this fast-paced world often prod us to try to do more and more, all while looking good and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Even when we remember that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19–20) and start out with a good desire to steward our bodies well, the push of our western culture to look our best for the sake of vanity can send us spiraling into obsessive workouts, diets, and expensive beauty rituals. Or on the other side, we might lose sight of the fact that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Ps. 139:14) and think our bodies are not worth caring for diligently.

God’s Purpose in Our Boredom

Here’s an intriguing question that John Piper answers on his podcast: How should Christians think about boredom?

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 (2024-06-28)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

‘I Will Not Forget You,’ Hope in the Grief of Dementia

Dementia seems like a particularly cruel disease both for those afflicted and their loved ones. This post discusses spiritual matters associated with dementia and offers some assurances.

As we ride the swells of confusion and sorrow, our concerns turn toward the spiritual. What can we say about a loved one’s soul when he loses all memory of attending church, of reciting prayers, and even of Christ himself? Does God’s grace fade away with memories, shriveling as our neurons thin? Are our loved ones still saved when they can no longer affirm with their words that Christ is risen?

10 Things You Should Know about the Final Judgment

The final judgment may not be a terribly popular topic of conversation, but it is important! This post rounds up some important facts about the final judgment.

If you are in a harrowing car wreck and you come out unharmed and safe, you feel a keen sense of relief and gratefulness that you escaped uninjured. The final judgment shows us what we deserved, what we, as sinners and as those who refused God’s ways, should experience. When we see and feel the glory of God’s merciful love in Jesus, we give thanks for our rescue, just as we are all the more thankful for our health after a ravaging case of the flu. Our escape from judgment should not provoke us to think we are better than unbelievers. Instead, we feel that we are blessed ten-fold in that the Lord has rescued us from his righteous wrath.

Life Without Internet

Our poem of the week: a poem that remembers how we looked up information before the internet.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Four Precious Promises from God for Everyday Growth. 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 (2024-06-21)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Uselessness of Prayer

We may struggle with prayer because we’re approaching it with the wrong mindset. “You will never think prayer is a good use of your time if you’re thinking of prayer in terms of usefulness.”

Over time, praying works on us from the inside out, inviting us into communion with our Father who delights to hear us, even when we sound childish and immature. We’re his kids, and he loves us, and he smiles to see us growing up into the fullness of faith. As we echo the words of the psalmists, as we join our voices to the great saints of old, as we soak in the Scriptures, we find our hearts growing larger. Perseverance in prayer leads to the transformation of our desires.

What You Need to Understand about Evangelism before You Do Evangelism

J. Mack Stiles shares some mistakes he’s made when thinking about evangelism and helps us avoid them.

What comes to mind when you hear the word evangelist? What about evangelism? Before I became a Christian, those words sounded creepy and pushy to me. “Evangelistic zeal” seemed a standard applied to anybody who believed something too much—a wild-eyed and preachy fanatic.

night drive

Poem of the week: night drive, by Isabel Chenot. This is a beautiful poem about taking a drive at night in the rain.

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 (2024-06-14)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How to Not Exasperate Your Children

Hannah Carmichael wrote a helpful article discussing ways parents often exasperate their children and then what to do when that has happened.

Spending more than 15 years counseling young adults wrestling with the ramifications of how they were parented has prompted me to think deeply about specific parenting behaviors that lead to feelings of anger and discouragement in most children. There’s a type of parenting that crosses the line from instructive and nurturing to oppressive and exasperating. And it’s important we understand the difference both because our parenting has ramifications for our children and because our parenting is a reflection of the gospel.

Don’t Be Half a Berean

Jacob Crouch looks at the example of the Bereans in Acts 17. He notes that these early Christians had two characteristics worth emulating.

When Paul went to Berea, he encountered a group of people who were “more noble” than others in their reception of the gospel. They received the word with all eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures to make sure that what Paul said was true. What a glorious account of these folks, and what a great example to emulate. I’ve loved this verse for a long time, and it has encouraged me often. But, I’ll admit, that sometimes I’ve been only half a Berean.

Monday Morning’s Cupboard

Our poem of the week: a lovely poem about hospitality by Kate Gaston.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Sabbath Proclaims the Gospel. 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.