by Stephen Rodgers

Well, welcome back to another edition of the Weekly Links. That means we’ve made it to Friday once again. I hope you’ll enjoy and reflect on the following as you finish your week and start to get ready for Sunday.  Just to keep things interesting, I’ve broken them up thematically for you again this time.

CHURCH & GOSPEL

• Starting everything off, here’s a short video from Joshua Harris on what our attitude and behavior should be like as we come to church. (VIDEO)
• Over at the Resurgence, Russell Moore asks a bit of an odd question: do our church testimonies empower Satan? His exploration of our perception of testimonies is very insightful.  (WEB)
• And since we’re on the subject of things that happen in church, the Biola blog has a good article on the nature of worship music in church today in their article “Weightier Worship.” They explore the issue of what music and singing are supposed to do and point us to, and what they’ve been reduced to instead.  (WEB)
• A few weeks ago, the weekly links had a couple of articles on how to disagree with people. For anyone who did NOT read that and now find themselves in severe interpersonal conflict, here are 15 reminders/Biblical principles as you navigate the conflict. (WEB)
• Jon Acuff has a helpful reminder about the target of the Gospel in his post “Getting the Bus All Wrong.” And since it’s Jon Acuff, he also talks about doughnuts. (WEB)

SOCIAL MEDIA & DIGITAL LIFE

• Over at the Desiring God blog, they’ve begun a series on the consequences of multi-tasking. If this is something that you’re interested in, you might want to check it out. (WEB)
• And meanwhile, over at GTY, John MacArthur has an excellent article on some of the concerns and pitfalls of the digital life. I think he raises some incredibly valid points, made all the more interesting because I’m pretty sure the GTY staff had to print out all those articles for him.  I say this without mockery since Pastor MacArthur used to be my pastor.  Some might say that invalidates his arguments, but I don’t think so; I think this is about as close to an unbiased opinion based on Biblical truth that you can get.  (WEB)

PRISON

• Over at PyroManiacs, Dan Phillips has a post on how criminals, convicts, crime, and conversion should influence our understanding of the Gospel. (WEB)
• Stand to Reason has a quick retelling of their experience in visiting a prison. The Resurgence tells a similar story. (WEB)
• I thought I had already posted this, but apparently not.  Not too long ago, John Piper visited, preached, and did a Q&A at Angola Prison. The sermon where he discusses it is not available on their website, but John MacArthur did the same, and is actually personally financing a theological library for them as well.  So please remember these Christian brothers and sisters in jail who are trying to use their incarceration to further the Kingdom. (WEB/AUDIO/VIDEO)

That’s all for this week.  See you Sunday!

Pro Rege