Wisdom For Your Weekend: your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Book Review of the Week
Praying the Bible, Donald Whitney. Reviewed by Tim Challies. We often say that people shouldn’t just be reading their Bibles. They should be praying through their Bibles. To which people respond, “Just how, exactly?” It’s a fair question, and Donald Whitney has come out with a recent book to answer just that question. This isn’t the only way to pray through Scripture, as Challies points out, but it’s clear, do-able, and likely to inspired a renewed zeal to pray. Not too shabby.
Articles of the Week
Texting and Driving Is Stupid, Tony Reinke. I (Chris) have always been a bit of a stickler for avoiding texting while behind the wheel. But it was news to me to learn that texting makes you 23 times more likely to get in an accident. It’s actually worse than driving while drunk…and high on pot. Reinke helps show why this continues to be such a problem, and brings the perspective of Christian love to bear on the entire situation.
Message of the Bible in One Sentence, Dane Ortlund. For bibliophiles, there’s nothing more frustrating than a good book poorly summarized. But when someone is able to distill a complicated work into one sentence well, it’s both impressive and illuminating. Ortlund asked a bunch of scholars and pastors to summarize the book (the Bible) in one sentence. Most of these are quite helpful. (Although Greg Beale cheated a bit.) And, by the by, it’s not a bad exercise to try out yourself!
An Embarrassing Week for Christians Sharing Fake News, Ed Stetzer. Did you know that a pastor got arrested for refusing to officiate a same-sex marriage last week? Or that Bible publishers are being sued because of the recent Supreme Court ruling? Oh…you didn’t? Maybe because none of that actually happened. But far too many Christians bit down hard on the paranoia-laced bait of a fake news story. Stetzer lets ‘em have it, but also offers a way forward. Let’s not be gullible and afraid, people. Truth is a good thing.
Planned Parenthood, Abortion, & the Conscience of a Nation, Albert Mohler. In light of all the fake news from last week, the news that Planned Parenthood gets paid for the dismembered pieces of aborted babies looked too gruesome to be true. And yet, sadly, this was no cooked-up story. Planned Parenthood, for their part, continues to insist that they don’t actually profit off of the organs that they’re intentionally and callously harvesting. For those of us who wish to protect the lives of the unborn, that seems like a rather inconsequential distinction.
On The Lighter Side
Don’t Go to the Ocean; the Ocean Is the Shark’s House, Kiddie Punker. To swim, or not to swim? That’s the question for this year’s beachgoers. One concerned citizen decided to weigh in, providing an entertaining and compelling warning. Tough to argue with this. (Also, irony alert: don’t record videos and drive. That is all.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11K8RRj8w-M&feature=youtu.be
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.”
