“You can’t physically see the gospel; it’s simply truth. But when we encourage community that is obviously supernatural, it makes the gospel visible.” (Mark Dever & Jamie Dunlop, The Compelling Community: Where God’s Power Makes a Church Attractive)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Just another week of great links to pass on to you. So…here we go!

• Elyse Fitzpatrick has written the well-known book (in biblical counseling circles) Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone. If you haven’t delved into this book, but would like to get into knowing your heart, P&R Publishing created a devotional from the book that’s free for the taking. One application of this study can be found in the idol of education. This may be a very revealing study, so be prepared for what will be exposed.
• In light of recent events on the UCSD campus regarding an exhibit depicting photos of aborted fetuses, a similar situation occurred at Purdue University, leading to Pastor Barry York’s thoughts (as a father) on what took place. Very thankful for his wise words.
• What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”? Pastor David Murray points out what Scripture says about this phrase.
• Ever wonder why grumbling is a sin? Pastor Clint Archer starts off by explaining what the scope of grumbling condemned in Scripture is, and then gives the two types of complaining that Scripture addresses. Straightforward, so get ready to apply directly to the forehead.
• Is there any benefit to listening to expository preaching? Pastor Derek Thomas gives six reasons this kind of preaching benefits the church body.
• Michael Kruger continues to deal with common objections to Christianity, this time dealing with the claim by many that early Christianity was very diverse with the majority comprising of ‘heretics’ as early as the second century. He lays that one to rest.
• In a previous Weekly Links post, I made mention of an annotated version of B.B. Warfield’s article on the Trinity. Professor Scott Swain, from RTS Orlando, contends with certain aspects of Warfield’s essay, from a lecture which you can watch and follow the brief outline provided by Justin Taylor.
• Another commonly abused text of Scripture is Romans 10:13, which the Grace to You blog expounds upon.
• The Los Angeles Bible Training School recently had their Men’s Conference, the audios of which have now been uploaded! Don’t miss out on being blessed from this!

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

Soli Deo Gloria

Pride and selfishness, rather than Christ’s principles of humility and sacrificial love for others, control much of what is called God’s work. All too often God’s work becomes a matter of ego, a competitive game, or a ladder to success in the big business of religion.

Strauch, Alexander; Peterson, Robert. Agape Leadership: Lessons in Spiritual Leadership from the Life of R.C. Chapman

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! It’s been quite a week, but what’s a week without links? A weak one! Well, let’s finish it strong by getting into the links that have been provided by some of God’s people this week.

• Here’s a slice of Michael Reeves’ story in overcoming unbelief by a deeper pursuit and study of God through His Word. Also a lead in to John Piper’s very anticipated book on the self-authenticating nature of Scripture.
• David Powlison recently spoke at RTS on depression and suffering, which Justin Taylor highlighted on his blog. You can watch the video and follow the brief outline below.
• If you have never heard the story of Rosaria Butterfield’s conversion, this would be a good place to start.
• Ken Sande continues addressing how to change habits through the lens of the gospel. There is much that will help you here.
• The Grace to You blog continues their series on Christian cliches, covering the common slogan, “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship.“
• Continuing his series on gospel conversations, biblical counselor Robert Kellemen gives two portraits of what a gospel conversation looks like.
• When seeking to apply forgiveness, it’s best to have a working knowledge of how Scripture defines forgiveness in light of what the culture perceives forgiveness to be. Mark Snoeberger provides a short summary of this beautiful, and difficult, theme.
• Over at the True Woman blog, Kimberly Wagner writes 10 ways for wives to love their husbands well. The majority of these ways can be applied to the other gender, so men, pay attention!
• Denny Burk provides his reasoning on why, when it comes to presidential elections, he’s a single-issue voter. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve read it.
• Here’s a couple posts to bookmark: James Dolezal gave a series of lectures on the doctrine of God, specifically on His simplicity, at the 2015 RBAP Conference, and Pastor Gavin Beers spoke on God’s impassibility, which David Murray highlighted and included a number of follow-up articles on the subject. All in all, these speak more of the God we worship, so dig in!
• You might be surprised to know that, for Christian professor Mitch Stokes, he encourages athiests to be more consistent in their athiesm. To understand why, check his recent post at the Crossway blog.
• On The Glory Book’s Women’s Hope podcast, Carolyn Lawson seeks to give hope to those who would call themselves lonely by fault, and by no-fault. To understand what that means, take a listen (make sure to read the post below as well).

That’s all for this week! Please be in prayer for College Life, as they will be at CL Retreat, with Pastor Scott Ardavanis from Grace Church in the Valley! See the rest of you on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

by Stephen Rodgers

Alright everyone…welcome to the first Friday of the month, which means welcome to free stuff!

• First up, the free audio book of the month from christianaudio.com is Geisler & Turek’s I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist. I can tell you first hand that if you’re looking for a solid, evidentialist introduction to apologetics, this is a good one!
• Next up, the free Logos resource of the month is The Journal of Theological Interpretation, Vol. 1 by Joel B. Green. I’m not as familiar with this one, but there it is if you want to check it out.
• This month’s edition of Tabletalk magazine from Ligonier is on the topic of “Awakening.” Tabletalk is always good, so I’d expect this month is no exception.
• There’s a new issue of Credo Magazine out, and the topic is The Prince of Puritans: John Owen. I’ve been impressed by the quality of CredoMag over the past several years, so if you haven’t checked them out yet, you might want to give them a shot.
• And last but not least, here’s a quick little article where someone from TGC interviews John Frame…because John Frame is the best. And here is a whole bunch of free books, courses, and articles from both John Frame and Vern Poythress.

Alright, that’s it! See you Sunday!

Pro Rege

“Note that Jesus did not expose the rich young ruler’s pretensions to holiness by disputing his claim to sinless perfection.  Instead he tested his love for God.  Was God first in his life, or was something else?  By instructing the man to give away his possessions Jesus was not saying that we can win our way to heaven simply by giving away our wealth.  The requirement for salvation is faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.  The rich ruler was willing to keep some of the commandments but he refused to surrender his standard of living for the glory of God.  One writer says “for this man to choose insolvency for the sake of joining Jesus’ movement was to choose a kind of social death”.  What do you suppose Jesus would tell you or me to give up for the kingdom of God?  Jesus would tell us to give up anything that we love more than we love Him.” (Dr. James Benecke)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Another week has flown by, but the links keep on coming! Without further ado, here they are!

• If you have ever wondered how to explain to someone, whether a co-worker or a kid, why we shouldn’t take the Lord’s name in vain, Philip Graham Ryken gives a thorough and clear answer.
• Matt Smethurst explains three ways to share the gospel this week, which if you haven’t done, can always begin today! Pastor Clint Archer also lays out three different things to pray for in sharing your faith in Christ as you proclaim Him.
• Grace to You blog continues their series on Christian cliches by addressing the phrases ‘travelling mercies‘ and ‘backsliding.’
• How would you respond to someone you love if they broke your trust? You may need to look at how Jesus treated Judas in order to see how you should be with your betrayer.
• If you had to choose between a knowledgeable, but immature believer, or a mature but simple believer, which would you choose? Kevin DeYoung gives his answer, but also explains why neither is sufficient.
• Randy Alcorn gives a plea for Christians to raise the bar in their book-reading. I think all lovers of books would give a hearty ‘Amen!’ Brother, sister, if you don’t like to read, please read and heed Alcorn’s advice.
• Michael Kruger continues to deal with common objections to the faith, this time answering someone who believes Christians didn’t accept Jesus was God until much later. Don’t get caught without an answer to this one.
• Would you believe that married couples have contributed to an increase in singleness? It depends on how the marrieds speak of their spouses, especially in the presence of a single. Katie Van Dyke provides some corrective wisdom for married couples in how they can help with the singleness epidemic, primarily by enjoying our marriage to God’s glory.
• For the sake of fairness, Ken Samples deflates 7 common myths about old-earth creationism that we should be mindful of, especially if we are seekers of truth, and want to represent our brothers in Christ accurately.

That’s all for this week! Don’t forget that we’re on break for affinity groups, and have flocks instead. Members, don’t forget we have members meeting Sunday night. For the rest of you, see you all Sunday morning!

Soli Deo Gloria

“You do not have the luxury of sitting out the battle for knowledge. No Christian can afford to be on vacation from speaking the truth in love in the strength of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:15). Eternity is too long and God’s glory too important to do Christianity on the cheap.” (Douglas Groothuis)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! I hope your weeks have been filled with time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer. Now that the week is coming to a close, I pray these links will only draw you to a closer look to His Word and a deeper trust in Him.

• Ligonier Ministries is making their book Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue by R.C. Sproul free to download for the rest of this month. You would be wise to get your (digital) hands on this book! Don’t miss the link to his video/audio series on abortion at the end. To give you a taste, Sproul addressed the issue of whether one who has had an abortion can be forgiven.
• The Grace to You blog has begun a series addressing the many Christian clichés that pop up in discussions amongst our own. First up, “Ask Jesus into your heart.“
• What does the term, ‘evangelical,’ mean? Greg Koukl from Stand to Reason gives a short, succinct answer.
• Michael Kruger addresses a claim, in academic circles (and becoming more mainstream), the idea that Christianity was more diverse than what many Christians think. So much so, in fact, that to speak of early Christianity would be misleading; rather, it would be more accurate to say, ‘early Christianities.’ Don’t be surprised when you hear this at the university, and take in what Kruger writes.
• Robert Kellemen continues his series on how to have gospel conversations by finishing his five portraits of a loving biblical counselor with the latter three portraits. Make sure you read the previous posts, as they are very helpful things to consider in counseling others.
• It’s common to hear that idolatry only took place in the past or currently in a religious context, but it can occur in the habits that have formed in our lives. Ken Sande zeroes in on what an idolatrous habit looks like, and what the cure is.
• How can Christians who are pro-life honor a pro-choice president? John Piper writes a helpful primer.
• In this week’s Glory Books Women’s Hope podcast, Kim Wine, Kimberly Cummings, and Brandi Huerta provide some sound wisdom for ladies in how to pursue a holy marriage. Just so the guys don’t feel left out, Pastor Phil Wages gives a great overview of the structure and content of the Old Testament, in anticipation of the New (Testament and upcoming post). Ladies, this post is for you, as well.
• If you wonder how you’re doing in the art of communication, Joel Beeke provides seven ways for us to grow in that area. Every Christian needs to grow in the area of talk, and hopefully, this will lead you in the right direction. Dads, this is definitely an encouragement for you to teach your children in the way they speak (and the original reason for this post).
• Don Whitney recently came out with a book on family worship, from which Crossway posted a snippet of it: husbands, it’s time to start leading family worship. May we all, whether with or without children, take the charge humbly.
• Here’s one to bookmark and give some time to: the 2015 Bahnsen Conference, named after presuppositional apologist Greg Bahnsen, has a number of presentations related to the issue of apologetics from a number of speakers/authors/pastors/professors. Also included is a debate about the existence and attiributes of God. I don’t expect everyone to agree with everything presented, but I am thoroughly looking forward to watching Jeff Durbin, K. Scott Oliphint, and E. Calvin Beisner’s presentation (Gordon Clark vehemently differed with Cornelius Van Til, and Bahnsen was not a fan of Clark, either).

That’s all for this week! Don’t forget to keep the youth and collegians in prayer, as they meet tonight at church for Bible study. See you all on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

“God’s very existence is witnessed in the creation, and His immutable truth is clearly proclaimed for all to observe. Even science itself— we might even say, especially science— verifies the hand of a Creator in our universe. The Bible, unique and beautiful in its account of human history from the beginning, becomes the foundational textbook in which we begin our search for truth.” (Henry Morris III, Exploring the Evidence for Creation: Reasons to Believe the Biblical Account)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! It definitely can be challenging to limit how many links to include for the Weekly Links, so all the more reason to thank God that many believers seek to bless the church with insights and biblical thinking to many of the current challenges from the culture today. With that said, I hope these links will bring a deeper devotion to our Lord and Savior!

• At the recent Urbana 2015 conference, led by InterVarsity, Michelle Higgins chided pro-life advocates for spending their time and energy focusing only on the unborn, and not on other issues related to those out of the womb. There have been a number of responses, but I have found Rich Poupard’s post clear-headed and simply gracious. Also, as this Sunday is recognized by many churches as Sanctity of Life Sunday, here are some pro-life resources that will equip you to be a bold witness for Christ and life.
• Have anyone tried stumping you with an objection that the Bible promotes slavery? How would you answer the skeptic? Denny Burk gives a very helpful answer.
• Justin Taylor was given permission to post an assignment from David Powlison’s Dynamics of Biblical Change course at CCEF, which is a study in Philippians as it relates to how God seeks to change you and how you can be an agent of change in the lives of others. It looks like it’s worth your time.
• With his usual clarity and simple explanations of complex subjects, R.C. Sproul explains the difference between spirituality and righteousness, their relationship, and how to pursue both biblically.
• How does the gospel apply to adopted teens? Ellen Castillo provides some sound wisdom that will be of use if you are considering adoption or know of those who have.
• We’re aware that Barnabas was known as an encourager; his name is translated “son of encouragement.” Yet, how can we become and raise others to be encouragers? Pastor James Ferris helps us along the way.
• In an ongoing series on having gospel conversations with one another, biblical counselor and trainer Robert Kellemen uncovers the method that God uses in getting His Word into our lives, and it involves His people. Then, he lays out two (out of five) portraits of a loving biblical counselor. If you desire to be used by God, you will be helped in that area with what Kellemen writes.
• Over at the Glory Books website, a new podcast geared towards ladies premiered, called Women’s Hope. This first episode deals with the temptation for ladies to have meaningless chatter, and the pursuit of having godly conversations with one another. This looks like something to bookmark for future listening.
• Church historian Stephen Nichols provides a meaty overview of the church and why every Christian should be involved in a local church. If you’re curious as to the trajectory of what God has said concerning the church, this would be a great place to start.

That’s all for this week! Please be in prayer for Lumos and College Life today, and don’t forget to pray for those considering membership, as membership class begins tomorrow. See you all on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

by Stephen Rodgers

Alright, welcome back, happy 2016, yadda yadda, etc. etc. Let’s start with the free resources and finish with the New Year’s themed ones.

• First up, the free audiobook of the month is the Common English Bible from christianaudio.com. If you were thinking of adding an audio Bible to your life, it’s kind of hard to beat free.
• The free monthly resource from Logos is The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus by Nahum M. Sarna. Beyond the fact that it exists, I can’t tell you much about it, but there it is.
• The January 2016 issue of Tabletalk magazine is on the topic of Apologetics. In case you’re on the fence about Tabletalk, here’s a link to their “best of 2015” collection. You really should check it out if you haven’t already.
• There’s also a new issue of CredoMag on the topic of John Owen. And if you’re looking to catch up on past issues, you can do that as well.
• And last but not least, issue 40.3 of Themelios is out; if you’re not sure where to start, I particularly liked Rob Smith’s article on “The Amorality of Atheism.”

Alright; so that takes care of the new-and-free-in-January-2016 category. Let’s change the subject slightly. New calendar years often bring resolutions and resolve to read the Bible more earnestly or consistently, so let’s talk about that.

• First of all, you might be surprised to learn that we have a whole section on the Recommended Resources page devoted to Bible Reading Plans.
• On top of that, every year a few of the big Christian blogs put out posts or resources on the topic of daily Bible-reading, and 2016 is no exception. So here are some posts by Ligonier, Justin Taylor, and the Cripplegate.
• And last but not least, if you’re looking for last year’s article roundup on this topic, you can find it here.

Hope that helps!

Tolle Lege Pro Rege

“For the words of the Scriptures are our spiritual weapons; but if we know not how to fit those weapons and to arm our scholars rightly, they keep indeed their proper power, but cannot help those who receive them. For let us suppose there to be a strong corselet, and helm, and shield, and spear; and let one take this armor and put the corselet upon his feet, the helmet over his eyes instead of on his head, let him not put the shield before his breast, but perversely tie it to his legs: will he be able to gain any advantage from the armor? will he not rather be harmed? It is plain to any one that he will. Yet not on account of the weakness of the weapons, but on account of the unskillfulness of the man who knows not how to use them well. So with the Scriptures, if we confound their order; they will even so retain their proper force, yet will do us no good. Although I am always telling you this both in private and in public, I effect nothing, but see you all your time nailed to the things of this life, and not so much as dreaming of spiritual matters. Therefore our lives are careless, and we who strive for truth have but little power, and are become a laughing stock to Greeks and Jews and Heretics. Had ye been careless in other matters, and exhibited in this place the same indifference as elsewhere, not even so could your doings have been defended; but now in matters of this life, every one of you, artisan and politician alike, is keener than a sword, while in necessary and spiritual things we are duller than any; making by-work business, and not deeming that which we ought to have esteemed more pressing than any business, to be by-work even.” (John Chrysostom, Homilies On John, 30:2)

by Stephen Rodgers

Merry Christmas!

We’re actually going to be going on hiatus until early next year, but before we did that I wanted to drop a little Christmas cheer on you, Beacon-style, just as we’ve done in past years. And maybe I’m getting a tad cranky in my advancing age, but you can see I’ve thrown in a quote from John Chrysostom on what happens if we neglect this material entirely.

First off, long-time readers (and people who know how to use the search box), will recall that we’ve done special Christmas posts before.  The content therein is still as timely as ever, and I’ll highlight a few articles that you’ll find in each one (anyone who clicks a link will quickly notice that it’s hardly an exhaustive listing however):

• 2009 (“X-Mas” vs. “Christmas”, the context of Christmas, etc.)
• 2010 (the importance of the virgin birth, Christmas apologetics, holidays with family, Santa Claus vs. Santa Christ, etc.)
• 2011 (Jesus’ relatives, alleged pagan elements of Christmas, what to tell kids about Santa, etc.)
• 2012 (the date of Christmas, the star of Bethlehem, the history of Santa Claus, etc.)
• 2013 (Christmas apologetics with particular emphasis on the virgin birth, etc.)
• 2014 (this is getting too long to list, but it’s a little bit of everything)

Seriously, if you’ve never checked those out, you really should. And part of the reason I say that is because I’ve seen roughly the same articles boomerang back around through the Christian blogosphere year after year after year. So before you get bent out of shape that I’m not including any new articles on Nicholas of Myra this year, please, please read the backlog. And there’s always Stoogle as well.

Alright, let’s get on to what’s new this year.

• First of all, this was a year that included an awful lot of attention on the star of Bethlehem, mostly due to the publication of Colin Nicholl’s book The Great Christ Comet. It first came onto my radar (no pun intended), when Justin Taylor gave it a rather glowing endorsement, which was somewhat lessened when I remembered that he’s an EVP over at Crossway, and they published this book. More recently, the main TGC blog did a Q&A with the author. Not everyone in the conservative evangelical camp has been as enthusiastic, for example, Jason Engwer’s review and subsequent interactions with the author (here and here), where he defends a supernatural interpretation over and against an astronomical interpretation. Steve Hays also takes umbrage with some of Nicholl’s arguments in his book; of particular interest (to me at least) is his response to Nicholl’s claim that the supernatural view is not found in a scholarly commentaries (not true!).
• I’ve pointed out before that Christmas and Easter are times when the American media is particularly focused on writing articles that are antagonistic to orthodox Christianity. This year, TIME magazine proved to be no exception to that tradition, with an article that begins criticizing aspects of the Christian tradition, and then lurches rather abruptly into a critique of the factual basis of the birth of Christ. The aforementioned Jason Engwer interacts with those claims in greater depth.
• On the other hand, there are some errors that have gotten associated with the Christmas tradition that I wouldn’t mind seeing get jettisoned. To that end, I very much appreciated this article from Köstenberger and Stewart. In a similar vein, I think this article by Mathewson on common mistakes in preaching the birth of Jesus is also quite helpful.
• Since I seem to be on a bit of Jason kick this year, here’s one more post that serves as a collection of links related to his interaction with the work of Raymond Brown (who’s name will be familiar to anyone who’s don’t any study of the biblical infancy narratives).
• I’d be remiss if I didn’t throw in Triablogue’s 2015 post of Christmas articles and resources; it collects many of the issues listed above, along with quite a few others.

That’s about it for this year I’m afraid. Hopefully this gives you something to read until we come back in 2016. See you then!

Pro Rege

“After reading Scripture, we must ask God for light to scrutinize our hearts and lives, then meditate upon the Word. Disciplined meditation on Scripture helps us focus on God. Meditation helps us view worship as a discipline. It involves our mind and understanding as well as our heart and affections. It works Scripture through the texture of the soul. Meditation helps prevent vain and sinful thoughts (Matt. 12:35), and provides inner resources on which to draw (Ps. 77:10-12), including direction for daily life (Prov. 6:21-22). Meditation fights temptation (Ps. 119:11, 15), provides relief in afflictions (Isa. 49:15-17), benefits others (Ps. 145:7), and glorifies God (Ps. 49:3).” (Joel Beeke, Feed My Sheep)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Another week closer to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior! And another week or providing links that will hopefully draw you closer to Christ. So let’s jump right in!

• Denny Burk points us to a recent interview between Ryan Anderson and Mary Louise Kelly on gay rights as a civil liberty at The Atlantic’s inaugural LGBT forum, and the respect displayed by both sides in the interaction. Anderson continues to be a clear thinker on this issue, and hope to see his tribe increase in the public square.
• Bob Kellemen just finished blogging a series of posts related to how to counsel ourselves and others through anxiety. May God use you to bless others in providing a biblical perspective on this debilitating issue, to His glory. And don’t forget his list of top 15 biblical counseling books that appeared in 2015!
• Thanks to Veritas Domain, a recent chapel message from TMS covered the importance in maintaining humility while engaging others in defense of the Christian faith. Oh, how we need to hear this message today!
• John Piper has continued to provide slow gazes into passages of Scripture in his ‘Look at the Book’ labs, recently going over John 1:1-3, 14 to argue that God lived among us. A fitting theme for us to remember during this Christmas season. In part two, he hones in on Scripture’s emphasis that the glory of God in Christ is found in the Word of God.
• Ever wonder where we get the rate of divorce in the US from? Glenn Stanton breaks down the number, and also lays out the risks of a higher divorce rate, given certain factors. This can be a helpful guide in discussing how our beliefs affect marriage, and dispel the myth that those in the church have the same divorce rate as the general population.
• What are the benefits of systematic, long-term Scripture memorization? Pastor Chris Brauns lists seven, so you don’t want to miss this!
• Every Christmas, there’s always posts that focus on how to observe the holiday with Christ at the center, and also articles that denigrate the Christ of Christmas. First up, professor Michael Kruger gives a healthy dose of skepticism to an article that denies Jesus’ existence.  Jonathan McIatchie argues for the historicity of Christmas, pastor Mark Jones reminds us of some truths of the incarnation to meditate on, Paul Tripp provides a number of resources on Advent (including a devotional, sermons, and videos), and Richard Phillips discusses the incarnation of Christ in this week’s Glory Books podcast. These are subjects worth pondering before Christmas.
• With the new release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Peter Jones writes on the worldview presented in the film that every believer should be aware of. May we continue to be discerning in what we watch.

That’s all for this week! Be in prayer this weekend for our Lumos Christmas Party / Lock-In! See you all on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

“The two halves of God’s story pivot around one central point: the coming of Jesus to rescue God’s wrecked and ruined creation — BC and AD.” (Andreas Kostenberger and Alexander Stewart, The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! My, this week has come and gone! But who can let this week go without your weekly links? Not me! Check it out!

• IBCD has been a true blessing, particularly with the number of resources that they provide on their website for free (a biblical counseling introductory course, audio from previous conferences, etc.). Now, they have begun a podcast called The Care & Discipleship Podcast. Their first episode focuses on how to counsel someone through anger, and also gives a list of recommended resources for further study. They also put out their Winter Newsletter. See how God is using their ministry for His purposes of restoring biblical counseling to the church in the northern San Diego area!
• Do you know the story behind who would be later identified as Santa Claus? John Aloisi provides a very short summary of the life of St. Nicholas, and a very interesting little bit of his involvement in church history.
• In light of the event that occurred in San Bernardino, here is one mother’s response that is worth reading (and having). Justin Taylor provides resources that give a crash course on Islam that is worth watching.
• Tom Shreiner has written a new book on justification involving texts and church history called Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification. SBTS published a post that summarizes Shreiner’s book, as well as give some of his reasons for writing yet another work on justification. It’s more interesting than it sounds, and more relevant than ever. You may end up wanting to pick up a copy after reading this.
• Professor Michael Kruger informs us that Reformed Theological Seminary provides a weekly video by faculty every Wednesday on topics relevant to Christian faith,called ‘Wisdom Wednesday.’ This week, Professor Kruger answers the question, ‘How Can Seminary Students Keep Their Devotional Life Strong?’ Make sure you bookmark this weekly video series for your edification!
• Parents, have you wondered how to conduct family devotions with your children? The Glory Books Podcast conducted an interview with Ed Braswell on this very issue. May your home become a beacon of light for your children with this crucial discipline.
• Randy Alcorn address the consequences of debt in a person’s life. This is particularly relevant for the collegian, and even youth, to consider should they go to college. A must-read.
• In evangelism, are you confident to express a deeper view of Scripture than, “The Bible says it, I believe it”? If asked specific questions regarding the doctrine of Scripture, would you be able to guide another believer (or unbeliever) through some of the theological terms? Here to help, Kevin Gardner provides a list and succinct definitions of the key terms we use in discussing a full-orbed view of Scripture.
• Since Christmas is coming up, and gifts are already being considered, here to help with some great books to buy friends and family are Kevin DeYoung’s top ten books of 2015,  Aaron Armstrong’s favorite books published this year, David Murray’s massive list of recommended reading (in 21 categories, no less!), and last but not least, Tim Challies’ list of top books. Get them while you can!
• If you are in need of resources surrounding the issue of intelligent design and evolution, Casey Luskin gives a very helpful post worth bookmarking for future reference.

That’s all for this week! Please pray for the upcoming Christmas Concert at our church, and please consider coming! See you tomorrow and Sunday, Lord-willing!

Soli Deo Gloria