Your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading around the web.
Video of the Week
The Remorse of Abortion and the Healing of the Gospel, Lecrae, John Piper, & John Ensor. This is a bit on the long side (37 minutes), but is a fascinating and convicting conversation. Hip hop artist Lecrae joins Pastor John Piper and president of PassionLife John Ensor to candidly discuss abortion, urban life, justice, and race. Here’s is an excerpt from Lecrae’s autobiographical song, “Good, Bad, Ugly.”
Sex on my brain, and death in my veins
Had a main thing, we stayed up ‘til 2 (Smokin’)
Waking and thinking we naked, my body was loving it
Soul was hating it, man
Time and time after time, our bodies were close (the girl was so fine)
Heard a heart beat that wasn’t hers or mine
The miracle of life had started inside
Ignored the warning signs
Suppressed that truth I felt inside
I was just having fun with this, I’m too young for this
I’m thinking me, myself, and I
Should I sacrifice this life to keep my vanity and live nice?
And she love and trust me so much that whatever I say, she’d probably oblige
But I was too selfish with my time
Scared my dreams were not gonna survive
So I dropped her off at that clinic
That day, a part of us died
Articles of the Week
Five Habits to Keep Your Marriage Strong, Leigh Ann Dutton. Most marriages don’t become beautiful or nasty because of one dramatic event. Instead, they are the sum total of thousands of daily decisions, conversations, and seemingly mundane habits. These aren’t a panacea, and only scratch the surface of what it means to love, forbear, and forgive. But it’s a strong start.
How I Almost Lost the Bible, Gregory Alan Thornbury. “My freshman year…we learned that the Bible was a pastiche of traditions and sources, cobbled together mainly in the second century. … We learned how to do form and redaction analysis, a method of study that assumes the author of a biblical text is motivated by a theological agenda rather than by reporting what he had seen. We simply ‘knew’ that the book we were holding in our hands did not have a direct connection to the apostles whose names were associated with the Gospels and Epistles. For me, this dose of higher criticism was nearly lethal. Any sense that the Bible was divinely inspired and trustworthy, or that the creeds had metaphysical gravitas, started to seem implausible. … I was approaching something close to New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman’s own story of losing faith.”
Five Ways to Protect Yourself from Cold-Hearted Familiarity with God’s Word, Mike Leake. Cold-hearted familiarity: that’s a startling phrase, especially when the topic is God’s Word. Yet for many of us, we can easily be led away from regular time reading Scripture by the devilish little lie, “You already know it.” The diagnosis is clear enough. So what are we to do? Leake offers five answers. They aren’t easy, but follow them and you won’t find yourself yawning at Scripture.
Which Bible Promises Are for Me? Jen Wilkin. The Bible is full of promises, thousands of them. And as Wilkin points out, few thing in life are as comforting as promises made and kept. But how can I be sure that the promise I’m lifting out of Deuteronomy (or Psalms, or Matthew, or Titus) actually applies to me and my situation today? Wilkin offer six common pitfalls to avoid.
On The Lighter Side
What Tech Support Thinks of Me, Dog House Diaries. People working in tech support often get together and guffaw over the folly of their customers. Many folks find this insulting. I (Chris) simply find it accurate. I’m that guy.
Wisdom For Your Weekend is presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from J.D. Greear. This is our attempt to reflect Proverbs 9:9, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
