Category: Links

Links for the Weekend (1/4/2019)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Make Habits, Not Resolutions

Since it’s prime New Year’s Resolutions season, I thought I’d share this helpful article at The Gospel Coalition. Justin Whitmel Earley writes about the difference between resolutions and habits and explains why habits are so powerful.

Unlike resolutions, we actually become our habits. There are no changed lives outside of changed habits. And if we want to actually change, we need to take a sober look at where our habits are leading us.

Longing to See God’s Face

Over at Desiring God, Jon Bloom writes about the song “When We See Your Face” by Bob and Jordan Kauflin. He breaks down the words to the song and how they point him to the great fulfillment of longing in heaven. You can listen to the song at the top of the article.

For my soul very much needs this song’s reminder, especially as another year passes and I am another year older, still fighting against the relentless darkness, still waiting, still desiring something that has never actually appeared in my experience. Not yet. It remains a desire for a promised appearing — an appearing I’m growing to increasingly love (2 Timothy 4:8).

What if Some Christians Are Hypocrites?

Randy Alcorn tackles a tough question: How should we respond to those who reject Jesus because some Christians are hypocrites? After acknowledging that some Christians are hypocrites, Alcorn suggests that we explain why this isn’t a good reason to reject Jesus.

However, note what Paul and Silas did not say to the jailer:  “Believe in us—since we’re so great—and you will be saved.” No, they said, “Believe in Jesus and you’ll be saved.” The Good News is not about how great you and I are (thank God for that). It’s about how great Jesus is and the wonderful things He’s done for us.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog Sarah Wisniewski wrote about Branding and the Reputation of Jesus Christ. Check it out!

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

Links for the Weekend (12/28/2018)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Family Devotions

Tim Challies has a great post containing ten ideas and then ten tips on family devotions. I thought everything was valuable, but here are the first two tips to give you an idea.

1. More important than how you do family devotions is that you do family devotions.
2. Keep family devotions simple, especially when starting out. Five engaging minutes are far better than 20 rambling ones.

Encouragement for the Weary

At the end of the calendar year, it’s easy to feel more worn out and tired than excited and energetic. Here’s a post by Colin Smith at Unlocking the Bible addressed to those who feel weary.

Here’s what you know about yourself: You are not God. You’re a created being with limits to your own strength and endurance. You will become weary. You will know what it is to feel spent and exhausted. Feeling worn out should not take you by surprise. Lean into the truth that you know. But that’s only half the answer. 

Bible Reading Plans

The beginning of the calendar year is a great time to reassess your Bible reading practices. There’s a great post at Ligonier which collects links to many helpful Bible reading plans. Maybe you’ll find something here that will be a good fit for you in 2019!

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

Links for the Weekend (12/21/2018)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Look Forward to a Better Christmas

Matt Chandler has a great article at The Gospel Coalition connecting his personal story about cancer to Christmas. Here’s a sample.

Christmas finishes quickly each year. What we look forward to soon lies behind us. But you can look forward to a day that will never end and a future that will never disappoint. The decorations will get packed away. But this year, hope and joy need not. You can look at the God who came and lay in that manger. And you can look forward to the day when he comes again.

Joni Eareckson Tada and Suffering

At Breakpoint, John Stonestreet writes about Joni Eareckson Tada, suffering, and the gospel. Only the true message of the Bible is big and sturdy enough to handle the deep suffering that often comes our way.

This type of Christianity, that’s focused on giving us a positive experience and making us feel good, is a small shriveled vision of the Gospel. This kind of Christianity will crumble in the face of true suffering. It won’t withstand the assaults of quadriplegia, of terminal illness, or of a child with a severe disability. It certainly won’t disciple it’s people to withstand the social disapproval of an angry culture, or a school full of angry peers. It leaves us poorer and anemic.

Internet Church Isn’t Really Church

It’s refreshing (if a little surprising) to see this argument in a column in the New York Times. Laura Turner argues that while live-streaming a church service may be necessary for some, choosing to do “church via app” when you could be there in person misses the point of church.

In an era when everything from dates to grocery delivery can be scheduled and near instant, church attendance shouldn’t be one more thing to get from an app. We can be members of a body best when we are all together — we can mourn when we observe and wipe away tears, just as we can rejoice when we can share smiles and have face-to-face conversations.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

At the WPCA blog this week, Sarah Wisniewski wrote about what God has been teaching her through the book of Hosea. Check it out!

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

Links for the Weekend (12/14/2018)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

A Podcast

Risen Motherhood is a podcast aimed at mothers. Here is part of their description from their About page.

This is a community that will remind you of gospel-truth, no matter how you feel about your motherhood. It’s for the imperfect mother, still learning, still growing and still fully recognizing she doesn’t have it all together, but we serve a God who does.

If you don’t know about this podcast, there’s a lot to explore on their web page. They have a list of recommended resources (music, podcasts, and books, among other things) as well as resources aimed specifically at children. 

Of course, their main undertaking is a podcast that releases every Wednesday. If you’re looking for a place to begin, try this interview with Nancy Guthrie on trusting God with your children.

An Article on Bible Reading

In this article at LifeWay Voices, Trevin Wax writes about how routine Bible reading can change your life.

It’s not every day that you find something extraordinary that stays with you. But every day, in the ordinary routine of reading your Bible, you’re still eating. You’re coming to the table, asking the Lord to sustain you and nourish you through His Word. You’re coming to the Gospels, looking to see the Savior again and again. This is an ordinary routine, yes, but ordinary routines can change your life.

An Advent Resource

If you’re looking for something to do with your family during Advent, try these Advent printables from Faith Gateway that correspond to the Jesus Storybook Bible. You’ll need to hand over your email address, but you’ll get an Advent reading plan that can work for kids of all ages.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

We kicked off the WPCA blog this week with a wonderful article by Erica Goehring entitled “Called Inside.” If you haven’t yet read it, check it out!

Thanks to Maggie A and Sarah W for suggestions for this batch of links!

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