Tag: Keith Mathison

Links for the Weekend (2024-03-01)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Bond of Love

This article is especially appropriate for our church as we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper this coming Sunday. Keith Mathison explains the importance of the unity evident when a church takes communion.

Following Augustine, Calvin spoke of this “horizontal” aspect of the Lord’s Supper as “the bond of love.” The Supper is something that is to unite believers and encourage them to love one another. Paul tells us that Christ has only one body of which He makes us all partakers; therefore, we are all one body (1 Cor. 10:17). According to Calvin, the bread in the Supper provides an illustration of the unity we are to have. We are to be joined together, without division, just as the many grains in the bread are joined together to form a single loaf.

Talking with Kids about Gender Issues: Give Them Biblical Vocabulary

I appreciate this effort to equip parents to talk to their children about important issues of gender and sexuality.

Mom and Dad, your key priority is to love, know, and trust God and to understand how the gospel applies to our experience of gender. Christ came offering forgiveness for our sin, including rejecting His design of us as male and female. He came to draw near and heal broken hearts when gender dysphoria triggers shame, and kids feel, and are, outcast and alone. And He is near to you as you engage this vital discipleship pathway with your kids. You may be fearful and overwhelmed with this task, yet remember Jesus’ words to you, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).

The Idol of Competence

I suspect more of us worship an idol of competence than we realize.

The idol of competence is the desire to be perceived by others as capable. It springs from the belief that my worth is tied to my output. It’s productivity fueled by shame and fear. But if we want to do our work in a God-honoring manner, have joy while we do it, and truly serve God and man, we must disentangle our conception of productivity from the idol of competence.

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 (2023-03-03)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

We Must Repent: An Introduction to Lent

This article is a nice introduction to Lent.

Lent, then, is about turning away from our sins and toward the living God. A season dedicated to repentance and renewal should not lead us to despair; it should cause us to praise God for his grace. Central to Lent is the idea that we need this kind of renewal consistently throughout our lives. We do not receive God’s grace only when we turn to him at the beginning of our spiritual journey. God’s grace meets us again and again.

The Scariest Thing Jesus Ever Said

Scott Sauls offers his thoughts on the scariest thing Jesus ever said, and then he goes on to discuss the (related) matters of faith and works.

Both Jesus and James are putting a spotlight on our inclination to replace Jesus’ call to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him. We replace his call with a self-serving path in which we deny our neighbors, take up our comforts, and follow our dreams. When we do this, we exchange true faith for a counterfeit. We exchange irresistible faith with a way of thinking, believing and living that God himself will resist. Why is this so? Because demonstrating active concern for our neighbors—especially those whom Jesus calls “the least of these”—is an inseparable aspect of a true, Godward faith.

5 Things You Should Know about the Doctrine of the Trinity

This article has an historical flavor, explaining the importance of, and some of the misunderstandings of, the doctrine of the Trinity.

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 (6/26/2020)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

It’s the End of the World as We Know It

Keith Mathison reflects on what the behavior of Christians during crises communicates to the unbelieving world. Will we wring our hands in panic, or will we trust the Lord, who controls all things?

Christians need to be encouraged by what God has revealed to us in Scripture, and that is the fact that the enemy simply cannot win and will not win – even if he kills us. Re-read Revelation 20–22 if necessary. The enemy is already on death row. His judgment is sure. Whatever happens here and now, however difficult it may be to experience, is part of God’s sovereign plan that ultimately ends with the final judgment of the enemy and our inheritance of a new heavens and new earth where we will be face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ forever.

Let’s Talk: Battling Discontentment

The Gospel Coalition has launched a limited-run podcast for women featuring discussions between Jasmine Holmes, Melissa Kruger, and Jackie Hill Perry. Check out this episode on contentment.

Be an Intentional Encourager

This is a helpful meditation on Hebrews 10:24 by Cindy Matson. She views the verse in the context of the book, and gives attention to each of the author’s commands. I commend this teaching on encouragement.

However, in another sense, I am responsible, particularly for the brothers and sisters in my local church. I am accountable to them. I am obligated to intentionally find ways to give them reasons to love God, their neighbor, and their enemy; and to do good deeds. The writer of Hebrews tells us that this doesn’t happen by accident. If I don’t carefully consider how I’m going to do it (and of course then do it), I’ll never get around to it. Rarely, do we accidentally stumble into godliness.

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.