Tag: Sorrow

Links for the Weekend (2023-10-20)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Last Thing Sufferers Need to Hear

Does the sovereignty of God bring comfort in the midst of suffering? It can, but it might not be the first thing to share with a grieving friend.

But for others, these truths—prematurely applied—can bypass the grieving process that needs to happen to fully reckon with and heal from a loss. Our brains often work in binaries, assuming that if God is in control, we shouldn’t make a fuss about it. Good theology can be used to heal the wound lightly, pronouncing “Peace, peace” when, in the raw heart of the bereaved, there is no peace (Jer. 6:14).

The Power And Pitfall Of Vulnerability

This author writes about learning to be vulnerable and the difference between online and local vulnerability.

I hated vulnerability because I’d rather push through life on my own. Put my head down, wipe the sweat and tears from my face, and plow forward alone. I sought independence, because it was the only way to keep my pride before others. If they knew what laid in my closet, they’d mock me, disown me. No one could see the shadows and grim behind my façade.

The Afterlife

This article is another entry in the “Theology in the Everyday” series at For The Church. The author here explains the Bible’s teaching on what happens after we die.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Taking a Biblical Worldview to My Back Yard. 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 (2023-09-29)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

When You Long to Know the “Why” Behind Your Sorrow

Tim Challies, who has seen his share of sorrow over the last few years, writes about the natural human impulse to understand why God would bring such sadness into our lives. He ends the article with some wise counsel about how to handle these impulses.

Yet the answers are rarely forthcoming. We may know the general answers—“all things work for good” and “for my name’s sake” and find some comfort in them. But when we scour the Scriptures and devote ourselves to prayer in search of the particulars—or even go further and appeal to prophecies, coincidences, or inner feelings—we are met with silence or uncertainty.

It’s Worth Saying Again: You Need Repetition

Modern evangelicals tend to think things that are repeated are formal and unable to help us worship. But Trevin Wax makes a good case for the value of repetition in our Christian lives.

Repetition can lead to a cold-hearted formalism, but it can also work against it. The deeper I dive into the meaning of familiar words, the more likely my heart is to be transformed. The constant search for novelty can be a setback, like wearing a new pair of shoes every day—they may dazzle on the outside, but we stumble around in them. We don’t give ourselves time to adapt and align our hearts to the truths we profess. 

Hymn of the Day: Praise Him All My Days

The Hymn of the Day website shared the hymn Praise Him All My Days recently, and I appreciated this reworking of a psalm with a focus on singability for the congregation.

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 (2023-08-18)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Why Is It Better That Jesus Went Away?

In this book excerpt, Brandon Smith explores the surprising moment when Jesus told his disciples it was better that he went away from them. Imagine their shock!

The comfort, however, is the truth that our triune God never leaves us. Though we are intent to destroy ourselves and everything around us, he is faithful to keep moving history toward redemption. When he makes a covenant, he keeps it. When we break the covenant, he still keeps it. Though he may feel distant at times, we know he has never left us—Pentecost is proof. Every promise of God has come true, and the Holy Spirit brings the triune God’s comforting presence into our hearts, come what may.

3 Things You Should Know about Psalms

This short article provides a brief introduction to the Psalms using some facts about that book that might be surprising.

The Psalms portray the life of faith with searing honesty. They poignantly remind us that the pattern of death and resurrection that was etched into the holy humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ is the pattern that the Holy Spirit seeks to replicate in the lives of all God’s children. The book of Psalms is a divinely inspired songbook that reflects the highs and lows, the triumphs and tragedies, of God’s covenant people over a millennium. John Calvin described the Psalms as “an anatomy of all the parts of the soul.” Let us sing the Savior’s songbook, lest we risk impoverishing our worship and robbing ourselves of the rich spirituality contained within its songs. 

God of Every Grace – The Story Behind the Song

Kristyn Getty explains the background and lyrics to the new hymn God of Every Grace. The song lyrics explore how God is with us in our deepest sorrow. You can listen to the song here. Here’s the chorus.

Now to the God of every grace
Who counts my tears, who holds my days
I sing through sorrows, sing with faith
O praise the God of every grace

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 (2022-09-23)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

A New Song: In the Valley (Bless the Lord)

Tim Challies recently released a book on sorrow, and the group CityAlight wrote a song inspired by the book. The words are simple but powerful. Here’s the second verse.

When the road that I tread

Fills my heart with despair

And it seems like my grief has no end

Still to Jesus I hold

Who will walk with me there

And the Lord he will give me His strength

Age with Joy

I enjoyed this meditation on aging. Our approach to aging can distinguish Christians from the world!

Just as Death has lost its sting, so aging has lost its ability to cheat us. We may momentarily lose loved ones or abilities, our outward self will waste away; but it is only a momentary loss, and as the Holy Spirit renews us day by day, our inward lives are strengthened, more robust and alive. Even as our flesh decays and we are nothing but bones in the ground, this is but a temporary reality. Because the grave is indeed swallowed up in Christ’s victory. We are laid to rest, yet we will rise again with bodies imperishable.

Can you summarize the doctrine of the believer’s union with Christ?

In a video from Ligonier Ministries, Sinclair Ferguson gives a 2-minute answer to this question about union with Christ.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Let the Guilty Lament. 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.