Category: Links

Links for the Weekend (2023-07-21)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Hospitality is an Everyday Endeavor

I appreciate the way this article points out unexpected areas where we can show hospitality. (And hospitality is not limited to opening your home for a meal!)

It’s such a common thing for biblical concepts like hospitality to be skewed by the lesser things that we tend to default to: pretty houses, pretty tables, fancy food, and pride. It can be easy to start believing that hospitality is only possible if we can cook or if we have children who don’t make messes or if we have “entertaining space.” HGTV doesn’t define what God calls us to. We could easily host a beautiful meal for strangers and friends and then spend the next day ignoring text messages and making receptionists at the dentist’s office miserable. If hospitality isn’t an everyday, all day endeavor, then we’re confused as to what we’re meant to be as representatives of Christ. Once we move hospitality out of the kitchen and into the overall attitude of our hearts, then we may be amazed at what God can do in that fast food joint or doctor’s office or texted conversation.

He Gives To His Beloved Sleep

When your three-week-old is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance because he has stopped breathing, you might think about sleep a bit differently. I enjoyed this meditation on Psalm 127 and its lessons about sleep for the children of God.

So as I looked at my sweet baby and wondered about his health, obsessively Googling his breathing patterns, and working myself into an all out panic, I was reminded of Psalm 127, he gives to his beloved sleep. Rest is contingent upon trust in the Lord. I am that beloved, I am the one who eats the bread of anxious toil. But I don’t have to. We have been given the precious gift of rest as we trust in an abundantly worthy God.

How Can I Encourage Without Flattering?

The difference between encouragement and flattery is an important one for Christians to understand. John Piper does a good job with the explanation, highlighting the motivations behind each. (This is an episode of a podcast for which a transcript is available, so whether you prefer to read or listen, you are all set!)

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 (2023-07-14)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

4 Questions to Answer Before Giving Your Child a Phone

The time will soon come for all parents when they need to face the prospect of giving their child a cell phone. This article offers some questions to consider before making that decision.

Most parents affirm that kids should be spending more time outside playing, enjoying nature, and hanging out with friends instead of being occupied by screens. But even the practice of meeting up with friends is arranged through text—such is life in the 21st century. So asking the related question—“Are there creative solutions to situations where we think he needs a phone?”—can also prove helpful.

How do you disagree like a Christian?

Why are Christians so bad at constructive disagreement with each other? How can we improve? This article helps to point the way.

The secret to disagreeing like a Christian is best described as convictional kindness. Convictional kindness means having a firm belief or opinion while also being willing to genuinely listen to the views and perspectives of others. It is the natural outworking of both humility and tolerance, and in another time this would have been called by another name: charity. Charity is a lost virtue of our culture, one that disappeared as rapidly as our love of hot takes appeared, but has long been valued, especially by Christians.

In Your Race of Faith, Run Together

In this article, Lindsey Carlson reminds us of our identity as a body of Christ and shows us what “running the race of faith” together might look like.

As a runner in the race of faith, what is the goal of your race? Do you desire encouragement in order to get ahead? Or do you desire encouragement in order to work together with your fellow runners? As a follower of Jesus, you are a member of the body of Christ; every other Christian in the body is a fellow team member whose name is recorded on the roster and who runs alongside you in the same race of faith. You have pledged to run together with the people of God under the headship of Christ.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article written by Sarah Wisniewski called The House No One Could Love. 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 (2023-07-07)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Your Gender Is God’s Good Design

There is a lot of cultural confusion about gender and sexuality at the moment. Here is an article by Rachel Gilson about the goodness of God’s design in our bodies.

When the Son of God took on a human nature, he underlined forever the dignity and value of human embodiment, because he shared it—and still does. He did not leave his human nature behind; he is still fully human and fully God, seated at the right hand of the Father. Additionally, he affirms sexed human embodiment—that is, being female or male. Jesus did not appear in his resurrection as an androgynous being but as he had been in his earthly life: as a male.

What Happened to Historian Molly Worthen?

I don’t often run across testimonies of academics who come to faith in Jesus mid-career. The Gospel Coalition recently ran a podcast interview with historian Molly Worthen about her journey to faith. I found it fascinating and encouraging! (A transcript of the interview is available at that link for those who would prefer it!)

A Series of Articles/Letters on Motherhood

Risen Motherhood is running a series of letters this summer written by five “mentor moms” which address all seasons of motherhood. Here is the landing page for the series. The first entry is already posted: A Letter for the Little Years.

Have you ever wished for a “big sister” in motherhood that could guide you through the ins and outs of mom-life? The “Sincerely” summer series was created just for you.

Thanks to Maggie A 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 (2023-06-30)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How Does the Doctrine of the Bodily Resurrection Shape the Life of the Local Church?

No surprise here: the doctrine of the bodily resurrection is important in many ways for the Christian life!

By teaching the doctrine of the bodily resurrection, local churches will be casting a more accurate vision of future life. Better than going away to heaven is being raised to dwell forever with the Lord in a new creation. The new creation will be material, not just spiritual, so a life of embodied immortality fits with the future consummation.

Hospitality Is About More Than Food

I appreciated this article about hospitality, which addresses who hospitality is for and what it can look like.

We were once alienated from the people of God, strangers from the covenant of promise, and yet God brought us near through the blood of His Son (Eph 2:12-13). As the hymn goes, “Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God. He to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood.” We get a chance to love the stranger as a beautiful gospel picture to the lost world.

God’s Pleasure is Not Reserved for a Particularly Faithful Few

In this article, the author meditates on the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Who exactly might expect this greeting from the Lord?

But there is sometimes a subtext behind these words. A subtext that makes us wonder whether we will hear such words. Have we been good and faithful servants? Have we done enough to get this commendation from Jesus? The worry for many of us is that we don’t consider ourselves to be as godly as the people to whom we typically apply this. Some of us definitely aren’t considered as godly as them by other onlookers either. Perhaps this commendation isn’t for us? The subtext is that only those who have been good and faithful servants will hear these words.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Connecting Biblical Hope to Promises. 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 (2023-06-23)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How I Grew to Love the PCA

The PCA’s blog recently featured an article by Jamye Doerfler, a member at Redemption Hill Church in our presbytery. (Her husband, Peter, is the pastor.) Her article tells the story of growing up outside the PCA and finding her way in.

You may be wondering how a nice Reformed guy could end up with a girl like me in the first place. Peter and I met at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, which was once associated with the PCUSA but now has students of every Christian stripe. When we started dating in senior year, we had no intention of marrying. After all, he wanted to be a pastor, and I wasn’t interested in being a pastor’s wife (but that’s a story for another time). Our doctrinal differences weren’t as important as the fact that we were both committed Christians. We were out of college and living in different states when we decided to marry, so it wasn’t until then that the rubber hit the road.

2 Things the Church Must Do to Help Our Post-Christian Neighbors Trust Jesus

What does it look like to be a good neighbor who desires salvation for those nearby? This article points a good way forward.

This is what it’ll take to help our neighbors trust Jesus for salvation: faithful relational engagement over years. I long for the church in America to resource and equip Christians for that sort of long-haul witness. We need discipleship, spiritual formation, and life-on-life engagement more than we need evangelistic events or outreach meetings and strategies.

The Assignment I Wasn’t Expecting

As a college student, Andrea was ready to go to the farthest corners of the planet for Jesus. She has had to get used to the calling God has given her in her own family.

But somehow I didn’t expect it all to come down to this. With the ministry over and the children gone, to have my existence circled around the care of this man-child, “the least of these”, as Jesus described him. When I said I would go anywhere, I was imagining an exotic faraway land, not a remote town in northern Minnesota. When I said I would do anything, I imagined kingdom impact, not caring for a 30-year-old man who still refuses to change his socks.

Thanks to Maggie A 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 (2023-06-16)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

God Is Eager to Forgive You

Cindy Matson draws some good news for us about forgiveness from Isaiah 30.

It may not be so hard to believe that God will welcome you back with open arms. You’ve likely heard that parable enough times not to be surprised by it any longer. But maybe you find it a little too good to be true that He would actually want to listen to your prayers right away. Perhaps you think that you’ll be put on “prayer probation” during which you shouldn’t really expect God to answer any prayers.

5 Misconceptions about Heaven and Hell (and 5 Truths)

There are a lot of false ideas and bad teaching about the afterlife. This article from Crossway points us back to Biblical truth about heaven and hell.

As always, we want to counter false ideas about these doctrines with the truth of the Bible. The most common misconceptions about heaven and hell have to do with their nature and purpose. There are many false ideas about what they will be like and what will happen there, but the word of God gives us clear pictures in both cases.

What Is Pride?

This article gives a good explanation of pride and why we are called to repent of it.

 When God humbles the proud, it is an act of His grace. In that moment of emptiness, we have an opportunity to repent and yield to the work of the Spirit in our hearts. In doing so, we cast aside our crown, bow before the King, and submit to His lordship.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article written by Zack Wisniewski called Finding Hope in Slow Sanctification. 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 (2023-06-09)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Delighting in the Trinity

Michael Reeves is a wonderful writer, specifically about the Trinity. In this article, he describes the love we could expect from a single-person god in contrast to the Trinity.

Just imagine for a moment a single-person god. Having been alone for eternity, would it want fellowship with us? It seems most unlikely. Would it even know what fellowship was? Almost certainly not. Such a god might allow us to live under its rule and protection, but little more. Think of the uncertain hope of the Muslim or the Jehovah’s Witness: they may finally attain paradise, but even there they will have no real fellowship with their god. Their god would not want it.

3 Ways Our Relationship With Social Media Warps Friendship

I appreciate the way this article explains how social media connections can taint our thinking and beliefs about in-person friendship.

Shallow, transient friendships (or “acquaintances”) aren’t all bad—not every “friend” can be a best friend, of course—but those kinds of relationships aren’t built to bear the weight that comes with walking side by side on the road of faith. Unfortunately, the social internet specializes in the generation and maintenance of shallow, transient friendships that masquerade as deep ones. And because we spend more time scrolling our feeds than we do looking at faces, we’ve become far too comfortable with the shallow, transient relationships that social platforms provide.

The kingdom of heaven is like

Here’s a brief, vivid poem about the kingdom of heaven. I especially like the last stanza!

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 (2023-06-02)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

You Cannot Out-Sin the Cross

Here is a short, simple meditation on a portion of the apostle Peter’s sermon in Acts 2. It’s a great reminder that God’s forgiveness is available to everyone.

Now, linger over what Peter does say. Instead of condemnation, he offers grace. Instead of a hopeless word, he holds out the offer of forgiveness. He looks at those who murdered Jesus and tells them they can be saved. The depth of the gospel is deeper than the sin of murdering the Son of God. Is that not stunning?

To Those Who Fear They Aren’t Radical Enough

Lara d’Entremont has written about living an ordinary life to God’s glory. She has zoomed in on how God calls many to “ordinary” jobs to glorify him.

You are called by God to live a quiet life. You don’t have to be leading social justice groups or speaking from podiums to the masses to glorify God. You don’t have to be taking crazy risks for God. He calls you to live quietly, steward the things he’s put in front of you, and work with your hands to provide for yourself and your family. This glorifies God and puts us in good standing before the world so we can better minister to them. This is the beautiful calling God has for your life, and when you neglect it for any other work, that’s when you stop glorifying God.

How to Read the Prophets

The prophetic books can be difficult to understand. Here’s an article from Ligonier with some tips on reading and understanding the Prophets.

 Although the prophets do not speak with omniscience with regard to the future, they do often speak of the certainty of God’s coming in Jesus Christ, the new covenant, and even to the second advent of our Lord, without distinguishing all the parts from one another. Nevertheless, there is still an integral unity to the various stages about which they speak under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Giving Thanks is Serious Business. 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 (2023-05-26)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The glory of weakness

This writer reflects on a documentary about Michael J. Fox and approaching human weakness as a Christian.

Our world celebrates triumph and strength. It shuns weaknesses, vulnerability, and frailness. But the Michael J. Fox story and my own story can testify to something else. Weakness, vulnerability, and frailness are inevitable elements of being truly human. In light of the Christian worldview, they are even redeemable qualities. As C.S. Lewis once said, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

The Freedom of Embracing My Weaknesses

I wasn’t intending to have a theme to this week’s links (weakness), but here we are! Tim Challies writes about the freedom that comes from recognizing the weaknesses and inabilities God has given him.

I used to see weakness as a trial I needed to challenge and overcome. I used to see weakness as an obstacle that stood between me and my purpose. I used to see weakness as one of life’s great discouragements. But now I see weakness as part of God’s plan for me. Now I see a realistic assessment of my weakness as what guides me to my purpose. Now I am encouraged by weakness, for it helps me understand and even become the man God means for me to be.

What Tim Keller Taught Us

Tim Keller, author and longtime PCA pastor, died last week. Even if you haven’t heard of him, you have most likely been influenced by him or by people influenced by him. The Gospel Coalition has collected some articles written to express gratitude for Tim Keller.

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 (2023-05-19)

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 Give Up Too Quickly

We are told in Scripture to persevere in prayer. Here’s a short article about why that might be.

I’ve been thinking that our Heavenly Father handles our requests in a similar way. There might be something that we’re excited about. We hurry into prayer with the faith, excitement, and discernment of a child. Then the Lord doesn’t immediately answer. He doesn’t say yes and doesn’t say no. Instead, through his silence and apparent inactivity, he says that it’s time to wait.

Willing Spirit, Weak Flesh: The Real Meaning of Matthew 26:41

Here’s a great example of careful Bible study and reading Scripture in context. Zach Hollifield takes a look at the famous comment from Jesus, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

Peter is forced to see that while he has all the right desire in the world to remain faithful to Jesus, there is also a chasm of weakness lying between that willingness and his actual carrying it out.

I’m So Glad It’s You

This link is a confession/prayer which is a wonderful model of looking to God as the sovereign one in the midst of suffering.

I’m so glad it’s You. None of it makes sense to me, but it was done in perfect wisdom. Who else could be trusted to wound like this? All Your works are perfect, and You are infinite in wisdom. I trust that Your ways are higher that my ways, and Your thoughts than my thoughts. I’m so glad it’s You.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called What Makes a Good Friend? 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.