Tag: The Rabbit Room

Links for the Weekend (2024-11-15)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How Pondering Death Fuels Our Faith

Pondering one’s own death might not be popular these days, but Jenny Marcelene argues that it strengthens our faith.

But when I ponder the finiteness of my days, I’m drawn back to what matters most—Jesus. I’m propelled to carve out more moments to soak in God’s Word. To redirect my heart to pray on the way home from dropping kids off at school or at a stoplight. To take those extra moments to listen for the Lord’s voice before declaring my daily devotional time “done.”

Is Every Psalm About Christ?

What is the relationship between Jesus and the Psalms? Can Jesus pray every psalm, even the ones that involve confession of sin? Here’s a solid answer, in video format.

Sardis

Our poem of the week: Sardis, by Tania Runyan. It’s a poem about serving in the church nursery.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Reading the Bible for the Ten Thousandth Time. 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 (2024-11-08)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

The Practice of Accepting Disappointment

Tim Challies has a good word for us about disappointment and how we can use it to point ourselves to what will truly satisfy.

Instead of being discouraged by disappointment, would it not be better to allow it to remind you of the state of this world and, better, the state of the world to come? Would it not be better to allow it to remind you that this world is not meant to completely fulfill you and not meant to satisfy your every longing? Would it not be better to let it increase your desire to be with God in that place where all disappointments will be taken away? And then to enjoy life as it is, not as you long for it to be?

What Future Judgment Will Christians Face?

John Piper shares some helpful thoughts about future judgment for Christians.

So, if there is a judgment that will not condemn Christians, what other kind of judgment is there for us? That’s what’s being asked, I think. There is a dimension to the judgment that does not call into question our eternal life but determines what varieties of blessing or reward we will enjoy in the age to come.

The Bottle Collector

Our poem of the week: The Bottle Collector, by Liz Snell. This is a poem about a woman who gathers recyclable materials for money. Those final two lines!

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 (2024-10-11)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Church is Our Evangelism Strategy

What does it look like to bring Jesus into your conversations?

Church is the main event. Church teaches us how to live. The Church is where we learn to be ‘kingdom people;’ which really just means ‘what you learned and were trained in inside church done outside church.’ The Church is God’s plan A to rescue the world and for the Father to transform the world into the image of the Son by the Spirit.

The False Guilt We Feel When Our Quiet Time Falls Short

Here’s a video (with transcript) from Crossway in which Kristen Wetherell talks about daily devotional time.

This is our idea of quiet time and then when we don’t reach it, we feel guilty and we feel like we failed. The reality is there is no command in the Bible about having a daily quiet time—at least not as we think about it. God wants us to prioritize Jesus and spending time getting to know who he is through the power of his Spirit.

Angels Aware (A Villanelle)

Our poem of the week: Angels Aware (A Villanelle), by Ryan Elizabeth. The villanelle is a challenging form of poetry, and this example is just beautiful.

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 (2024-09-27)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Running and Rest Aren’t Opposites

Trevin Wax builds on a good perspective about running and rest that he heard from a good friend.

Running and rest are to be kept in healthy tension, Lim says, so we’re sacrificially ambitious in our kingdom service and securely anchored in Jesus and his love for us. Right rhythms are the key to ensuring running doesn’t become just a mask for restlessness, and rest doesn’t turn into a spiritualized form of resignation.

The Autonomy Trap

I’m not sure how better to describe this article than that it is both beautiful and moving. James Wood writes about his childhood, his parents’ divorce, his relationship with his father, commitment and the idea of freedom, and how a community of Christians brought him to Christ. This is on the longer side, but it’s worth it.

I come from a stock of relationship-quitters. During my childhood, pretty much everyone in my life had divorced at least once, extended family connections were strained, long-term friends were nonexistent, and moves were frequent. Over time I came to adopt a conception of freedom that had destroyed the lives of many around me, and which would threaten to destroy my own as well: the popular idea of freedom as unconstrained choice. Since this is impossible, the default was a more achievable version: the ability to drop commitments and relationships at any point when they become too complicated. Freedom as the license to leave when things get tough.

Love (III) — George Herbert

Our poem of the week: Love (III), by George Herbert. This poem provides one answer to the question: What does it look like for God to love sinful people?

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 (2024-09-13)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

4 Reasons You Might Think the Bible Is Boring

If we’re bored with the Bible, we might need to question the way we’re approaching it.

The Bible is the Drama of the ages, the Story of all stories. In this book we read of the living God’s acts of creation and redemption. We see the true story of the world. It rivals all other epics and transcends ancient myths. The Bible is not like any other book.

If you’re bored with the Bible, have you wondered why? A variety of explanations exist, and any (or several) of them could identify the problem. Let’s consider four possibilities.

Will You Love Jesus in Five Years?

David Mathis uses the metaphor of training in this article—how can we condition our souls to love Jesus now and in the future?

The question is not whether we are training our souls right now or not. Oh, we are training them. Unavoidably so. With every new day, in every act and choice. With every thought approved and word spoken and initiative taken. With every desire indulged or renounced. With every meditation of our hearts in spare moments. With every click, like, and share. With every podcast play, video view, check of the scores on ESPN, or browse of the headlines news. With every fresh opportunity to show love and compassion received or rejected. In all the little moments that make up our human days and lives, we are constantly becoming who we will be and ever reshaping what our hearts pine for and find pleasing. The question is not if we’re reshaping our souls but how.

The Shallows

Our poem of the week: The Shallows, by Michael Stalcup. This is an arresting poem about God’s creation as beautiful art—with a wonderful final line!

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 (2024-07-26)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Savor Christ in Every Psalm

This article feels especially appropriate with our current sermon series on the Psalms. Christopher Ash writes about how we can sing the Psalms best when we see Jesus as the chief psalm-singer.

But with Christ, I rejoice that, first and fundamentally, Christ himself is the blessed man of Psalm 1; Christ is the righteous man of Psalm 15; Christ has the pure heart called for in Psalm 24. It is Christ who fulfills the high calling of the Psalms, Christ who can sing them with perfect assurance, Christ who ascends to the Father, and Christ alone who brings me there. The Psalms set before us unnumbered blessings. Each one of them is yours and mine in Christ.

The Lord Sees: Learn to Rest in God’s Justice

The fact that the Lord sees all can be terrifying or comforting. Trevin Wax fruitfully meditates on this theme.

“El Roi” is a name given to God in the Old Testament, a source of comfort and peace in times of distress. It first falls from the trembling lips of Hagar, the enslaved woman driven into the wilderness after being caught up in the sinful designs of her master and his wife. There she kneels, despondent and despairing, ready for life to come to an end. And there in that desert of sorrow, the Lord sees. Transformed by the gracious presence of the God of all justice and mercy, Hagar speaks with surprising confidence. She names the Lord who spoke to her: “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” (Gen 16:13)

Prayer (I)—George Herbert

Our poem of the week: Prayer (I), by George Herbert. This is a delightful poem to read out loud (even if I’m not sure what exactly all of it means!).

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Word of the Cross is the Power of God. 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 (2024-06-28)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

‘I Will Not Forget You,’ Hope in the Grief of Dementia

Dementia seems like a particularly cruel disease both for those afflicted and their loved ones. This post discusses spiritual matters associated with dementia and offers some assurances.

As we ride the swells of confusion and sorrow, our concerns turn toward the spiritual. What can we say about a loved one’s soul when he loses all memory of attending church, of reciting prayers, and even of Christ himself? Does God’s grace fade away with memories, shriveling as our neurons thin? Are our loved ones still saved when they can no longer affirm with their words that Christ is risen?

10 Things You Should Know about the Final Judgment

The final judgment may not be a terribly popular topic of conversation, but it is important! This post rounds up some important facts about the final judgment.

If you are in a harrowing car wreck and you come out unharmed and safe, you feel a keen sense of relief and gratefulness that you escaped uninjured. The final judgment shows us what we deserved, what we, as sinners and as those who refused God’s ways, should experience. When we see and feel the glory of God’s merciful love in Jesus, we give thanks for our rescue, just as we are all the more thankful for our health after a ravaging case of the flu. Our escape from judgment should not provoke us to think we are better than unbelievers. Instead, we feel that we are blessed ten-fold in that the Lord has rescued us from his righteous wrath.

Life Without Internet

Our poem of the week: a poem that remembers how we looked up information before the internet.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Four Precious Promises from God for Everyday Growth. 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 (2024-06-14)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

How to Not Exasperate Your Children

Hannah Carmichael wrote a helpful article discussing ways parents often exasperate their children and then what to do when that has happened.

Spending more than 15 years counseling young adults wrestling with the ramifications of how they were parented has prompted me to think deeply about specific parenting behaviors that lead to feelings of anger and discouragement in most children. There’s a type of parenting that crosses the line from instructive and nurturing to oppressive and exasperating. And it’s important we understand the difference both because our parenting has ramifications for our children and because our parenting is a reflection of the gospel.

Don’t Be Half a Berean

Jacob Crouch looks at the example of the Bereans in Acts 17. He notes that these early Christians had two characteristics worth emulating.

When Paul went to Berea, he encountered a group of people who were “more noble” than others in their reception of the gospel. They received the word with all eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures to make sure that what Paul said was true. What a glorious account of these folks, and what a great example to emulate. I’ve loved this verse for a long time, and it has encouraged me often. But, I’ll admit, that sometimes I’ve been only half a Berean.

Monday Morning’s Cupboard

Our poem of the week: a lovely poem about hospitality by Kate Gaston.

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called The Sabbath Proclaims the Gospel. 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 (2024-05-10)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Fulfilling Your Personal Definition of Happiness Is Not God’s Goal

Here’s a great reminder and explanation from Paul Tripp: God’s goal in all of his dealings with you is your holiness.

The message is consistent throughout all of these passages. God is not working to deliver to you your personal definition of happiness. If you’re on that agenda page, you are going to be disappointed with God and you are going to wonder if he loves you. God is after something better—your holiness, that is, the final completion of his redemptive work in you. The difficulties you face are not in the way of God’s plan, they do not show the failure of God’s plan, and they are not signs he has turned his back on you. No, those tough moments are a sure sign of the zeal of his redemptive love.

Social Media (and Overprotective Parents) Changed Childhood

This 8-minute video is worth your time. It distills some ideas from Jonathan Haidt’s book The Anxious Generation into a short, understandable form. It’s especially timely for parents as they consider how their children should interact with social media and opportunities apart from screens.

Judas in the Upper Room

Our poem of the week: a sonnet from the perspective of Judas at the Last Supper. This is worth some time and contemplation!

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 (2024-04-05)

Posted onAuthorRyan Higginbottom

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

Christ’s Resurrection Is the Amen of His Promises

It’s so, so important that we properly understand Christ’s resurrection and what it means for his followers. An eternal existence floating among clouds is not resurrection at all!

If this event is historically true, it makes all other religions false, because Jesus claimed to be the only way to God. To prove this, He predicted He would rise three days after His death. And He did. John Boys (1571–1625), the Dean of Canterbury, put it beautifully: “The resurrection of Christ is the Amen of all His promises.”

God Delivers from the Suffering He Ordains

Many people (including Christians) struggle with the description of God as sovereign. How can God bring us into suffering and then also deliver us from it? Here’s John Piper’s attempt at an answer.

This is why thousands of people have found that the sovereignty of God over their suffering is a precious reality, because it means none of our suffering is meaningless, none of it is owing to the weakness of God or the folly of God or the cruelty of God, but all of it is owing to wise and loving and holy purposes of God for those who trust in his goodness in the midst of it. And the very power and wisdom and love that governs our sorrows now is the same power that will deliver us in God’s all-wise timing.

Tea Cakes with Jesus

Our poem of the week: What might it look like if Jesus visited our messy home and showed us his love there?

On the WPCA Blog This Week

This week on the blog we published an article I wrote called Now, We Laugh. 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.