Truly to grasp that the eternal God, our Maker and Judge, has out of inexpressible grace sent his Son to die the odious death of an abominated criminal in order that we might be forgiven and reconciled to him; that this wise plan was effected by sinful leaders who thought they were controlling events and who were operating out of selfish expediency, while in fact God was bringing about his own good, redemptive purposes; that our only hope of life in the presence of this holy and loving God lies in casting ourselves without reserve on his mercy, receiving in faith the gift of forgiveness purchased at inestimable cost — none of this is possible apart from the work of the Spirit. (D. A. Carson)

by Richard Shin

We got another great set for you guys. Enjoy!

• I remember listening to Thabiti Anyabwile’s sermon on racial categories through the T4G recordings and being powerfully moved. In the aftermath of the Zimmerman trial decision, it was good to be reminded of this through Jesse Johnson’s summary here.
• Does it rub against you the wrong way to think you labor for an eternal reward? Tim Challies has an article on this that hopefully helps you.
• BiblicalTraining.org has released an iOS app for their website. It has a lot of great material ready to be listened to straight from your Apple device. To get a preview of their offerings, check out their website here. It looks like they’re developing an Android version as well.
• Isaac Adams shares a story about the experience he underwent as a son of an elder who was excommunicated from the church. That’s all I’ll say; you just gotta go read it.
• Marc Cortez shares three mistakes Christians often make when talking about the sovereignty of God.
• In anticipation of Desiring God’s 2013 National Conference, many around the blogosphere are pumping out a lot of content on C.S. Lewis. They’re also doing a series of “small talks” at the conference. You can find Tim Keller and John Piper speak on Lewis here. You can find some audio clips of C.S. Lewis here. You can hear Lewis give the radio addresses that eventually became the book Mere Christianity.
• [Updated] Last but certainly not least, here’s a very encouraging article on three men who are keeping themselves accountable for their struggle with homosexuality. You want to read this.

Coram Deo