Weekly Links (8/30/2019)

“What God desires is unity, not uniformity. Instead of avoiding all conflicts or demanding that others always agree with us, we can celebrate the variety of God’s creation and learn to accept and work with people who simply see things differently than we do. Unity means we are of one purpose, one mind, one heart. Uniformity means we are clones of each other, with everyone looking, thinking, and acting the same.” (Ken Sande and Kevin Johnson, Resolving Everyday Conflict)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Short, unlike the weekend! Here are this week’s links!

  • What does it mean to keep ourselves in the love of God, according to Jude 21? Paul Tautges gives a short but meaty answer.
  • Kelly Needham writes 13 signs you can tell of a friendship gone wrong.
  • With the church in China suffering more from persecution these days than in recent history, four Chinese pastors provide some lessons they have learned along the way as they seek to be faithful to God in their planting of house churches.
  • Leave it to Joe Carter to give a list of nine things we ought to know about Ulrich Zwingli.
  • John Piper wrote a short biographical sketch of John Bunyan, celebrated preacher and author of many books, most notably The Pilgrim’s Progress.
  • With the recent departure by former pastor Joshua Harris from the Christian faith, some of the issues raised has popped up on secular and Christian blogs and radio. Justin Brierley recently interviewed Jessica van der Wyngaard, director of the documentary ‘I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye,’ on his podcast Unbelievable? The documentary chronicled Harris’ rejection of ideas in his first book. Brierley also included Christian apologist Sean McDowell in the interview to provide a believer’s perspective.
  • Melissa Cain Travis highlights some good conversation talking points from the show The Good Place to go deeper with an unbeliever. I may not agree with everything written, but this a good example of taking what people watch, and turning it to a discussion of what really matters in life.

That’s all for this week! See you all on Sunday! And enjoy Labor Day!

Soli Deo Gloria

Weekly Links (8/23/2019)

“Since the Reformation, the church (in general) has been better at seeing sin and idols than seeing and celebrating love. We have a clear vision of what we shouldn’t be, but a dull vision of what we should be. Our wonderful Reformation emphasis on sin and grace needs to be enlarged to encompass a vision of beauty and love. Otherwise, we’ll get stuck in the darkness. Our cynical age amplifies this tendency because cynicism is the craft of seeing evil in others’ motives. If we are not captured by a larger vision of the beauty of Jesus, we will see evil everywhere— especially in the church.” (Paul E. Miller, J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! It’s been a while, but glad to be back and ready with a fresh new set of links for you to enjoy!

  • Greg Koukl answers a common question asked of Christians: does Jesus endorse blind faith?
  • At the Founders blog, Alex Kocman points to the source of biblical boldness, and our call to meditate again on the gospel to be faithful witnesses of Christ.
  • 9Marks published their newest journal, and the title alone should excite you: “The Heart of the Gospel: Penal Substitutionary Atonement.”
  • On the most recent Truth in Love podcast, Stephen Yuille talks about how the Puritans counseled with the Word, leading to their well-deserved label, “physicians of the soul.”
  • Al Mohler earlier this year gave a talk on how to raise children in this day and age, and The Gospel Coalition recently made mention of it on the blog. Less than 30 minutes, so I’m sure it can fit in your commute somewhere.
  • Becket Cook, a successful Hollywood set designer, was interviewed on TGC about his new bookA Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption. A fascinating testimony to the power of the gospel.
  • True Woman blogger Christy Britton confronts a common sentiment found in the church: casual Christianity. There is much to reflect and, possibly, repent of.
  • Amy Hall at Stand to Reason points to the unwarranted criticism people have leveled at ‘purity culture,’ some responses, and calls all believers to continue to pursue obedience of our faithful God.
  • Do humans and chimps differ? There are a number of reasons to think so, and also why they most likely aren’t our ancestors. Evolution News points to Wesley Smith’s article and Ann Gauger’s four-part series covering this topic.
  • Can you help your teen study the Bible? Katherine Forster, a teen, believes so. She writes five tips to get you started.

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

Soli Deo Gloria

July Hiatus (2019)

As we’ve done in years past, we’ll be taking a brief hiatus for the month of July. In case anyone is curious as to the reasons behind that, in no particular order they are:

  • This is a time where a number of our members who support the Beacon directly and indirectly are unavailable: many collegians are out of town, summer mission team members are out of the country, etc.
  • This is a time where we like to give our pastors, elders, and ministry coordinators a little bit of a break from writing articles. Some use it to catch up, others to get ahead, but they really do appreciate a few weeks off. And this year, some of them are also out on the mission field.
  • Last but not least, this gives us on the Beacon staff an opportunity to update, upgrade, and generally tweak some of the code under the hood, without the fear that we’ll inadvertently bring the site down and prevent you from receiving fresh content. (We just inadvertently bring down the site and prevent you from receiving any content whatsoever…just kidding…mostly).

In the meantime, I’d encourage you to take the opportunity to explore and catch up on some past articles you may have missed. Here’s a few of my favorites:

  • Since summer missions are usually happening now (this year is an exception), you might want to review either the entire missions category, or the Argentina missions or Czech missions sub-categories. We did a whole series on missions last year, so if you haven’t read that, this is a great chance to catch up.
  • An oldie-but-a-goodie is the Peacemaker series. If you haven’t read that book or listened to that Sunday School series, I’d strongly recommend you do so.

And if that’s still not enough for you, then you’re welcome to browse all our various series, check out recommended resources, or find a ministry to join.

That’s it for now. See you in August!

Pro Rege

Weekly Links (6/28/2019)

“Every attack on the Bible is an attack on divine truth and God’s holy nature, no matter where the attack originates. And what is most shocking in this endless battle is how often Scripture is hit by friendly fire. Perhaps no doctrine has been as consistently assaulted from within the church as the inerrancy of Scripture.” (John MacArthur, Final Word: Why We Need the Bible)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Another week has come to an end, and the links just keep popping up. So here are this week’s links!

  • The Discovery Institute has begun a series of videos contrasting common scientific slogans with science. This week, episode 4 came out, challenging Bill Nye’s “I suck” comment about the supposed insignificance of everyone in this world as a speck of specks. A great conversation-starter! For a good overview of the series, and all the previous episodes in one spot, click here.
  • SBC Pastors Tom Ascol and Jared Longshore discuss the importance of manhood in light of the SBC’s attention on sexual abuse within the church on this week’s Sheologians podcast.
  • Yet again, Stand to Reason’s Tim Barnett deals with another pro-choice meme meant to silence those against abortion, and not create opportunities for dialogue.
  • Biblical counselor Mark Shaw addresses the recent decision by the World Health Organization to label “gaming disorder” as an disease and an addiction. Some heart questions are definitely in order here.
  • How are teens tempted to embrace a false gospel? What are some of the most common false ideas influencing teens today? Biblical counselor Ellen Castillo gives four and good reason to hope for both counselor and teen.
  • How do we understand the book of Job? Tyndall House writer-in-residence Christopher Ash gives nine guidelines to get a better grasp of this complex book.
  • As complementarians, what is our responsibility towards women in the church and in our homes? Hohn Cho wrote a very helpful post detailing our role before God to care for our sisters in Christ.
  • Pastor Robert Cheong lays out four priorities in the essentials of gospel care. This is definitely worth bookmarking and referring back to if you provide any counsel to those in need.
  • In this week’s Crossway Podcast, medical doctor Kathryn Butler discusses her experiences as a trauma surgeon in the ICU, common misconceptions about intensive care medicine, and counsel she has provided to those who are reaching the end of their life.

That’s all for this week! Please pray for Salt and Light, as they will be having their Table for 5 event tomorrow. See you all on Sunday, at church and at FITS!

Soli Deo Gloria

Weekly Links (6/21/2019)

“This is why we need our faculties trained by Scripture to discern the difference between the apparently spiritual and the truth of the gospel. A regular diet of biblical teaching helps to develop in us an instinctive wisdom. And thus discernment protects us from ‘super-spiritual’ teaching that attributes its own wisdom to God, and in the process confuses others, sometimes creating in them a painful sense of guilt and uncertainty. So, growing in spiritual discernment is an essential element in spiritual maturity. Our lives are shaped in part by our ability to persevere in the important but unspectacular exercises that build Christian character—the ministry and study of the word, worship and fellowship, prayer, and serving the Lord day by day in all the ordinariness of life. This is what forms Christian character. So if we want to become mature Christians we must set our hearts on long-term goals and devote ourselves privately and steadfastly to their accomplishment.“ (Sinclair Ferguson, Maturity: Growing Up and Going On In the Christian Life)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Short and sweet, just like you like it! Here are this week’s links!

That’s all for this week! Please be in prayer, as some of us are attending the IBCD Summer Conference this weekend. See you all on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

Weekly Links (6/14/2019)

“What kind of picture of reality makes room for the fact that people matter most? I suggest that the Christian picture of reality makes good sense of this aspect of our lives. In other words, the picture of reality presented by Christianity grounds and explains our values and aspirations concerning the importance of people. A simple observation is enough to show this claim to be true: In the Christian story, the most fundamental reality is personal…Because God has purposes for us, our meaning does not depend on how we feel about our lives on any given day.” (Gregory E. Ganssle, Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspirations)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! The school has finally come to an end, and I couldn’t be more excited for the summer! Here are this week’s links to start you off right!

  • Have you ever wondered who wrote Deuteronomy 34, the chapter on Moses’ death? Do we have any reason to doubt the inspiration of God’s Word due to this question? Old Testament adjunct professor Richard McDonald lays out some of the proposed authors, but also reminds us of the trustworthiness of God in answering some of the hard questions.
  • What role does testosterone play in impacting men? Medical doctor and biblical counselor Dan Dionne is interviewed about this on this week’s Truth in Love podcast.
  • Biola professor and philosopher J.P. Moreland was interviewed about his new book on anxiety and the implications of intelligent design in the area of mental health and science on the ID the Future pocast.
  • David Powlison, former CCEF Executive Director, died last week after battling stage IV pancreatic cancer since November 2018. A number of tributes have been written about him already, and I wanted to pass along some of them to you, in order to get to know the man who influenced many within the biblical counseling movement. Randy Alcorn linked to a few tributes, and posted one from Ray Ortlund. The Biblical Counseling Coalition dedicated this week to Powlison’s work and example: a post he wrote on how sanctification works, a tribute by Bob Kellemen, a focus on what David loved, and a small reflection from BCC director Curtis Solomon. Justin Taylor posted five questions to ask when you are suffering, from Powlison’s latest book on suffering.
  • Stand to Reason speaker Tim Barnett deals with another example of bad science with respect to abortion arguments in the form of a tweet from comedienne Heather Anne Campbell.
  • What is the reformed view of predestination? R.C. Sproul wrote a very helpful answer.
  • Joe Carter gives a detailed FAQ on the recent release of a report by the SBC on sexual abuse within the denomination.
  • Donn Arms, ministry co-laborer with biblical counseling pioneer Jay Adams, gives some very important advice for any student studying biblical counseling: read Jay Adams!

That’s all for this week! Please pray for all the graduating seniors! Congrats to all of you! See you on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

Examining the Faith in Youth Group (Part 2)

by Andrea Vigil-Ruiz

It’s hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end, which means the Youth Group’s Sunday School is also coming to an end. The Youth Group is continuing through Nathan Busenitz’s book Reasons We Believe for Sunday School and is scheduled to finish going through the entire book when this Sunday School term ends. As mentioned in the article in January, Reasons We Believe was chosen with the hope of showing the youth that there are tangible, reasonable, and intelligent reasons in support of the Christian faith. In January, we had discussed reasons why Christians believe in God and the Bible. During this past month, we went over the fifth section of Busenitz’s book that explains the reasons why Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of the World. This article will be about three of the ten reasons Busenitz gives for why Christians can have confidence in their belief in Christ.

Busenitz opens the section explaining the fact that for the most part, most people would acknowledge that Christ was “a moral teacher, a social visionary, and an inspiring example of selflessness” (p. 155). Even people of other religions acknowledge that Christ was an influential man. For example, Buddhists such as the Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) regard Jesus as a being who reached a high state of enlightenment. Hindu leaders also regard Jesus as a great prophet or teacher, and even some atheists and agnostics applaud Jesus as a social reformer. The problem with these views, as Busenitz points out, is that they all fall short and do not acknowledge who Christ truly is — that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of the World.

One of the first reasons Busenitz gives for why Christians believe in Jesus is He perfectly met the requirements of the messianic prophecies that are in the Old Testament. The promised Messiah couldn’t be just anyone because the Old Testament had certain criteria for the Messiah: He had to be a Jew (a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), of the family of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) through David (Jeremiah 23:5). The Messiah also had to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Aside from these criteria, Busenitz gives even more narrowing criteria that point to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. One of the more specific criteria is about the curse of Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin), who was an Old Testament king and a descendant of David. Unlike David, Jeconiah was cursed by God for his wickedness and as a result, would not have an heir of his own to sit on the throne as king of Israel (Jeremiah 22:30).

So if Jeconiah, who was a part of the royal line of David, was cursed to never have physical offspring to ever rule as king of Israel, how could the promised Messiah also come from the royal line of David? The answer can be found in the virgin birth of Christ. Since Joseph was a direct descendant of Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11), he too was subject to the same curse as Jeconiah of not having physical offspring be Israel’s king. With the virgin birth of Christ, it meant that Jesus was not the physical offspring of Joseph. Since Christ was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-25), He avoided the curse that was placed on Jeconiah’s bloodline. In addition, Mary was also related to David, but not through the royal line of Solomon (or Jeconiah). This means that as Joseph’s legal son, Jesus was able to have the rights and privileges of Joseph’s royal ancestry, as well as being a true descendant of David through Mary. Therefore, Jesus was able to meet the requirement of coming from David’s royal line despite the line having a curse placed upon it because of Jeconiah. No mere man would have been able to overcome that curse while fulfilling other prophecies, but Jesus was able to.

Another reason why Christians believe in Jesus is because the Old Testament predicted the nature of His life and death. Similar to the previous reason, Busenitz argues that messianic prophecies are actually broader than just Jesus’ ancestry and the timing of His coming. The coming of a future deliverer was first predicted in Genesis 3:14-15 and was repeatedly confirmed throughout the Old Testament (Genesis 49:10, Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 9:6-7, Zechariah 9:9, and many, many other passages). What is important to understand is that early Christians were not the only ones who understood the implication of these messianic prophecies, but Old Testament Jews also did. Busenitz then quotes from Targum Pseudo Jonathan and the Babylonian Talmud to show that ancient Jews did understand that scriptures found in Genesis, the Psalms, and Isaiah point to the coming of the Messiah. Since Busenitz also has limited space in his book, he then focuses on Isaiah 53 to explain how Christ fulfilled many prophecies during His Passion week. Some of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled were:

  1. The Messiah would be despised and rejected by men, such that men would hide their faces from Him (v. 3; cf. Luke 23:35; Mark 14:50; John 1:10-11)
  2. He would be smitten by God (v. 4; cf. Matthew 27:46)
  3. He would be wounded and tortured (v. 5; cf. John 19:34)
  4. Through is suffering, He would bear the punishment that sinners deserved (vv. 4-6, 8, 10, 12; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18)
  5. He would justify many by bearing their guilt (v. 11; cf. Hebrews 9:28)

These are just five of the 20 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. What is even more amazing is that this one chapter, along with the book of Isaiah, was written 700 years before the events it describes. In addition, if one were to look at the many other prophecies from the Old Testament and even see what ancient Jews believed, it is clear that only one person was able to fulfill these prophecies: Jesus Christ.

We can also have confidence in believing in Jesus Christ because of the testimony of His friends and followers. Throughout the New Testament, it can be seen that those closest to Jesus indeed understood Him to be the Messiah, Son of God, and the Savior of the world. They knew He was God in human flesh and was their only hope for salvation. In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say I am?,” and Peter correctly responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Later, Peter would go on to write of “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1), who “was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:20-21). Along with Peter, other individuals such as John, Matthew, Philip, and Mary Magdalene all provide evidence of their understanding of who exactly Jesus was. The rest of the New Testament affirms these understandings of who Christ was through the written testimony of individuals such as Paul, James and Jude (who were Jesus’ half-brothers), and the author of Hebrews.

One illustration that was given during our Sunday school really helped the youth understand how having the testimony of close friends and followers affirms who Christ is. The youth were asked, “What if you want to get to know someone without speaking to that person directly? Who or where would you go to to find out more information about him/her?” The youth actually all responded that they would go to the person’s family members and close friends, which is the same idea when it comes to relying on the testimonies of Jesus’ close friends and followers. Moreover, these close friends and followers also endured great consequences for their belief and following Christ. Busenitz quotes John MacArthur to show just what kind of consequences Jesus’ close friends had to face:

A brief survey of ancient Christian tradition reveals that Peter, Andrew, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus were all crucified; Bartholomew was whipped to death and then crucified; James the son of Zebedee was beheaded, as was Paul; Thomas was stabbed with spears; Mark was dragged to death through the streets of Alexandria; and James, the half brother of Jesus, was stoned by order of the Sanhedrin. Philip was also stoned to death. Others, including Matthew, Simon the Zealot, Thaddeus, Timothy, and Stephen were also killed for their unwavering commitment to the Lord. (p.180)

So the question begs, why would all of these men die for their belief in Jesus? It is because these men, as well as other of Jesus’ followers, truly believed that Jesus was all that He claimed to be: the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Savior of the world.

However, if the testimonies of close friends and followers are not enough to affirm who Jesus is, Busenitz also explains that there is even evidence for who Christ is from people who hated Him, from people outside of Israel, and even from “neutral” third-party observers. One group that hated Jesus was the Jewish leaders who tried denying certain key aspects of the Christian story by inventing alternative explanations. For example, in an attempt to deny the empty tomb on the third day, the Jewish leaders paid soldiers to say that the disciples stole Jesus’ body from the tomb (Matthew 27:57-66; 28:11-15). Other important Jewish documents, such as the Babylonian Talmud, have many parallels to the New Testament and Christ’s life. Busenitz notes that although the Talmud says that Jesus was hanged, he explains that since crucifixion was a part of the Roman punishment system rather than the Jewish system, only few Jewish scholars knew about crucifixion and that form of punishment was not as well-known to other Jews. This difference in word choice for how Christ was put to death still points to a common story: that Jesus died on the cross.

Josephus, a Jewish historian, who lived from about 37 A.D. until sometime after the turn of the century, wrote in a particular passage called the Testimonium about Jesus and the miracles He had performed, as well as His crucifixion and His resurrection. Then Busenitz lists other Roman sources that were written by individuals who were adversarial toward Christians, such as Cornelius Tacitus, Celsus, and Lucian of Samosata. The sources that these men wrote affirmed that Jesus claimed to be God, that He demonstrated supernatural power, and influenced many. One other writer Busenitz mentions is Thallus, a secular historian who wrote a history of the ancient eastern Mediterranean world around 52 A.D. Thallus attempted to explain away the darkness that covered the land during the late afternoon hours when Jesus died on the cross (Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45). With these sources that were written by those outside of Jesus’ close circle of friends and followers, the existence of Jesus and the claims that He makes about who He was is only supported even more.

By going through these three reasons and many others in Busenitz’s book, the goal is to show the youth of our church that Christianity is not a blind faith. Yes, Christianity does require faith in what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1), but there is historical evidence and tangible reasons that support the existence of Christ and therefore Christianity. Although this Sunday School class is for our youth, I actually find myself growing in more confidence in my own faith and belief in Christ. Reasons We Believe is not just for youth-aged church attendees, but for unbelievers who are seeking out answers to their questions and for believers who would like to grow more in their own understanding of their faith.

They Gathered Manna Every Morning

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Exodus 16:21

Labour to maintain a sense of thine entire dependence upon the Lord’s good will and pleasure for the continuance of thy richest enjoyments. Never try to live on the old manna, nor seek to find help in Egypt. All must come from Jesus, or thou art undone for ever. Old anointings will not suffice to impart unction to thy spirit; thine head must have fresh oil poured upon it from the golden horn of the sanctuary, or it will cease from its glory.

To-day thou mayest be upon the summit of the mount of God, but He who has put thee there must keep thee there, or thou wilt sink far more speedily than thou dreamest. Thy mountain only stands firm when He settles it in its place; if He hide His face, thou wilt soon be troubled. If the Saviour should see fit, there is not a window through which thou seest the light of heaven which He could not darken in an instant. Joshua bade the sun stand still, but Jesus can shroud it in total darkness. He can withdraw the joy of thine heart, the light of thine eyes, and the strength of thy life; in His hand thy comforts lie, and at His will they can depart from thee. This hourly dependence our Lord is determined that we shall feel and recognize, for He only permits us to pray for ‘daily bread,’ and only promises that ‘as our days our strength shall be.’ Is it not best for us that it should be so, that we may often repair to His throne, and constantly be reminded of His love? Oh! how rich the grace which supplies us so continually, and doth not refrain itself because of our ingratitude! The golden shower never ceases, the cloud of blessing tarries evermore above our habitation.

O Lord Jesus, we would bow at Thy feet, conscious of our utter inability to do anything without Thee, and in every favour which we are privileged to receive, we would adore Thy blessed name and acknowledge Thine unexhausted love.

7.16a

Weekly Links (6/7/2019)

by Stephen Rodgers

Well, we made it to June! And with a new month, comes some new free resources.

That’s it for now!

Pro Rege

Thoughts from a Fireflies Teacher

by Hosanna Koo

I have been involved in the Fireflies ministry for the past five years and entered the teaching rotation this past summer. Over the past five years, I’ve witnessed God’s faithful hand in softening the hearts of the littlest members of our church. It doesn’t take much to see the depravity of sin in tiny humans who are solely concerned with satisfying their desires, whether it’s through the overwhelming need to have a certain toy at an exact moment with no possibility of sharing or the upset crying echoing down the hall. However, God is not impeded by sin. His grace is greater than our sin and He has overcome the world. He teaches us that He is mighty, that He is everywhere, and that He loves us.

In addition, God is not impeded by age. The fact that we have organized, structured lessons for one-year-olds can be puzzling, but we know that God can change anyone’s heart. If He can turn the vilest of sinners towards Him, then He can also save anyone regardless of age. We as a ministry are solely reliant on the Lord to bear any sort of fruit. Anytime a child demonstrates an understanding of who God is, all praise goes to the Lord of Heaven, because He is working. We do not labor in vain, but are instead comforted by the fact that God doesn’t need the words we speak, the songs we sing, or the pictures we use to communicate truth. We are encouraged by a God who works above human constraints to work wonderful miracles in the hearts of rebellious sinners.