“The hope of the church has never been its cultural footing; the hope of the church has always been the resurrection power of Christ. The power of the church has never been within its measure of people, but always in its measure of the Holy Spirit.“ (Daniel Henderson, Old Paths, New Power: Awakening Your Church through Prayer and the Ministry of the Word)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Another week wraps up, as we begin our celebration of LBCSD’s 20 year anniversary! But first, some links for your spiritual growth.

• Did Jesus claim to be God? Some modern scholars don’t believe so, particularly Bart Ehrman. RTS President Michael Kruger points out some of the inconsistencies found in some of Ehrman’s criticisms against the deity of Christ.
• Rosaria Butterfield was interviewed this week in the Crossway podcast about how to be a loving and faithful witness to those who identify as LGBTQ+ and what role hospitality can play in that. Very moving story and very insightful perspective.
• What would be some helpful ways to share the gospel with someone? Well, here’s 101 different (and even creative) ways to get you going!
• The church has been facing its own version of the #metoo with members coming out and addressing abuse within its own community. How are the members of the body of Christ to respond? Rosaria Butterfield, Melissa Kruger, and Trillia Newbell offer some valuable ways to give help and hope to those who have suffered.
• How does the concept of mental health relate to the area of biblical counseling? ACBC Executive Director Dale Johnson talks with Dr. Sam Stephens, who is also ACBC Director of Training Center Certification, about the meaning of mental health, its history as a concept, and seeing it from a biblical worldview. They cover the idea of mental hygiene, and how modern psychology/psychiatry and culture are insufficient sources of help, while Scripture is more than sufficient to address the needs of men and women.
• Nancy Guthrie interviews Taylor Turkington and Courtney Doctor on their involvement with The Gospel Coalition’s Women’s Training Network, their growth in understanding and teaching Scripture, and their desire to teach this to women nationwide.
• Recently, Georgia passed new legislation called the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, which includes unborn children as persons and banning abortions after the point of heartbeat detection in the womb. This week, Tennessee and Alabama passed laws with similar goals. In a recent CNN interview, former Democrat Christine Quinn claimed “when a woman gets pregnant, that is not a human being inside of her.” Christian apologist Tim Barnett lays out the scientific error in that statement, appealing to current embryology textbooks.
• Neil Shenvi and Pat Sawyer wrote a VERY helpful summary of the incompatibility of Critical Theory and Christianity. They also link to Shenvi’s page, which includes the best presentation of the relationship between Critical Theory and Christianity that I’ve seen thus far.
• Matt Reagan, Director of Campus Outreach Charleston, writes six pieces of counsel for the high school graduates of 2019. I pray every student takes these words of wisdom to heart.

That’s all for this week! Please be in prayer for our 20th anniversary service tonight, as we celebrate God’s faithfulness these past two decades. See you all then (or Sunday)!

Soli Deo Gloria