Links for the Weekend (2023-07-14)

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 (2022-06-17)

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

Why Self-Help Is Not Encouragement

Sadly, much of what passes for encouragement among Christians is more like self-help mantras. Lindsey Carlson helps us understand what Christian encouragement is all about.

Encouragement based on self-confidence has produced a world of under-encouraged Christians. Our confidence is too often in our own desires and feelings, both of which are subject to change. When our confidence is shaken, our heart grows quickly discouraged and we’re far less likely to endure the trials set before us.

Help! I’m terrified of evangelism!

If evangelism feels like a scary enterprise, this article is for you. It’s a simple, down-to-earth list of ideas about how we might start talking to other people about Jesus.

Don’t overthink evangelism. You don’t need to come to every interaction with a non-Christian with a checklist of items to include in the conversation. But don’t censor yourself. Talk about the church service you attended on the weekend. Pray for help from God for courage and clarity. Mention something you have been thinking about from Bible study. Thank God for the weather. Let your faith be seen by others, and you will find opportunities to talk about the One who matters most.

Should I Pray Someone Else’s Prayers?

Chris Woznicki writes about using The Book of Common Prayer to help him pray. Coming from a “low church” Baptist background, this wasn’t natural, but he has found it helpful.

You can feel free to adopt the words of biblically-based, gospel-centred, Christ-exalting prayers written by someone else as our own. I would encourage you to find written, historic prayers, like The Litany that help you to articulate the content of your heart as you pray to God. Doing so has been helpful for me and it might be helpful for you too.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Praying “God, Be With Us.” 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.