Who Healeth All Thy Diseases

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Psalm 103:3

Humbling as is the statement, yet the fact is certain, that we are all more or less suffering under the disease of sin. What a comfort to know that we have a great Physician who is both able and willing to heal us! Let us think of Him awhile to-night.

His cures are very speedy-there is life in a look at Him; His cures are radical-He strikes at the centre of the disease; and hence, His cures are sure and certain. He never fails, and the disease never returns. There is no relapse where Christ heals; no fear that His patients should be merely patched up for a season, He makes new men of them: a new heart also does He give them, and a right spirit does He put with them.

He is well skilled in all diseases. Physicians generally have some specialite. Although they may know a little about almost all our pains and ills, there is usually one disease which they have studied above all others; but Jesus Christ is thoroughly acquainted with the whole of human nature. He is as much at home with one sinner as with another, and never yet did He meet with an out-of-the-way case that was difficult to Him. He has had extraordinary complications of strange diseases to deal with, but He has known exactly with one glance of His eye how to treat the patient. He is the only universal doctor; and the medicine He gives is the only true catholicon, healing in every instance.

Whatever our spiritual malady may be, we should apply at once to this Divine Physician. There is no brokenness of heart which Jesus cannot bind up. ‘His blood cleanseth from all sin.’ We have but to think of the myriads who have been delivered from all sorts of diseases through the power and virtue of His touch, and we shall joyfully put ourselves in His hands. We trust Him, and sin dies; we love Him, and grace lives; we wait for Him and grace is strengthened; we see Him as he is, and grace is perfected for ever.

5.31p

Weekly Links (10/28/2016)

“To move from religion to secularism is not so much a loss of faith as a shift into a new set of beliefs and into a new community of faith, one that draws the lines between orthodoxy and heresy in different places.” (Tim Keller, Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Well, the weekend is here, and there’s a lot to catch up on, so here are this week’s links!

  • How thick is your Bible? This is a question Biblical counselor Jim Newheiser asks to those interested in counseling the Scriptures to one another, and gets to the heart of that question in his recent contribution to the Biblical Counseling Coalition blog. As in his teaching, he provides some practical counsel that will be of great help in this endeavor! In case you want to check out his list of 100 go-to Scripture passages on counseling topics, go here.
  • Parents, in case you were wondering about the new book The Radical Book for Kids: Exploring the a Roots and Shoots of Faith by Champ Thornton, here’s Tim Challies’ review.
  • Jack Chick, famously known for his Chick tracts, died this past Sunday. Christianity Today has a brief story of his life. Fred Butler gives a personal take on his tracts.
  • Andy Stanley, considered pastor of one of the largest church in America, recently gave a series of messages at his church that sought to draw those who have left the church to come back. Since then, he has received criticism from some influential Christian leaders, most recent of which is John Piper. This one is a definite must-read.
  • Ken Sande shares a story, and some biblical principles, of how to show care to those who aren’t sure whether to open themselves up to you or not.
  • Jason Engwer has written a nine-part series of posts responding to New Testament scholar Annette Merz’s doubts about the reliability of Jesus’ infancy narratives, claiming Nazareth is more likely his birthplace, not Bethlehem. This is very informative, so I hope you give some time for this series about the birthplace of our Lord.
  • Though I have yet to see the whole video, many have anticipated Ray Comfort’s new film, The Atheist Delusion, which is a response to Richard Dawkins’ best-seller, The God Delusion. Jordan Standridge at The Cripplegate gives his reasons to watch the film, providing the video at the bottom of the post.
  • With the coming of Reformation Day on the 31st (and that other event people celebrate), John Piper answers a question about why Christians should affirm the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura, and why Roman Catholicism is in the wrong on this issue. Tim Chester writes 10 things you should know about the Reformation. Gregg Allison and Chris Castaldo were recently interviewed about their new book The Unfinished Reformation: What Unites and Divides Catholics and Protestants After 500 Years.

That’s all for this week! This week is flocks week, so please keep them in prayer as they review this past Sunday’s sermon, and don’t forget to pray for all the ladies who will be attending Table for 6 tomorrow! See you all on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

Total Depravity

by Josh Liu

During seminary, I was presented the following scenario and question:

I have heard a lot of talk lately about the doctrine of “total depravity.” What is total depravity? I have some neighbors who are not Christians but they actually seem pretty nice. Are they totally depraved? They are actually nicer and more gracious than a lot of Christians I know.

Unfortunately, the experience that some unbelievers are “more gracious” than believers is a scathing evaluation of how many Christians are not living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. It’s true that many non-Christians are genuinely nice! However, that is not what the doctrine of total depravity refers to.

Total depravity refers to the fallen nature of man. Man (or mankind) is completely polluted by sin in such a way that sin affects everything that he does, says, thinks, and desires. As such, man cannot change himself. There are two parts to this doctrine.

First, every person, both non-Christian and Christian, is born totally depraved–sin has corrupted every part of man. Every person is sinful. The Bible attests to this fact. Genesis 6:5 says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This assessment of man is true of every unregenerate person presently. In 1 Kings 8, Solomon, addressing Israel after the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Temple in Jerusalem, makes a comment that “there is no man who does not sin” (v. 46). Even the New Testament affirms this teaching. The Apostle John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). The Apostle Paul drives home this teaching in Romans 1:18-3:20, where he declares Jews and Gentiles are sinners. He emphasizes this reality by declaring, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). No on escapes this condition. King David recognizes that he was born depraved: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5). The reality of man’s total sinfulness is also seen in Ephesians 2:1-3,

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Man is ultimately dead in his depravity to the extent that he lives according to his depraved nature (e.g. disobedience, indulging the desires of the flesh). The only way this can be changed is God’s merciful intervention to transform man’s nature:

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. (Ezek. 36:25-27; cf. Eph. 2:4)

Second, man’s depravity touches every aspect of humanity; hence, “total” depravity. Man’s will is polluted by sin (cf. Rom. 1:32; 7:18-19; Eph. 2:2-3). Man’s intellect is polluted by sin (cf. Rom. 1:21; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 4:17-18). Man’s heart is polluted by sin (cf. Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Mark. 7:21-23). Man’s actions are polluted by sin (cf. Is. 64:6). As a result, man cannot please God. Romans 8:8 declares, “those who are in the [sinful] flesh cannot please God.” “Niceness” is not enough. If you aren’t part of Christ, which is only through repentance of sins and faith in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection to transform your depraved nature, then you can’t be good before God (cf. John 6:44; 15:5).

All of this is not to say, however, that every person is as evil as he could possibly be at all times. Depraved sinners can manifest some “goodness” at times, which is attributed to God’s common grace and restraint of sin. Also, this is not to say that sinners can’t “do” good things. Unbelievers can certainly contribute positive things to society, relationships, and so on. Yet Scripture is clear that such “good works” do not please or honor God since they are not in right relationship with Him (cf. Matt. 7:21-23).

The doctrine of total depravity recognizes that there are varying degrees of manifestations of one’s sinful heart, as well as varying degrees of the seriousness of individual sins. So, you can’t conclude that someone like Adolf Hitler was necessarily more depraved (in the doctrinal sense) than someone like Mother Teresa. Every person is totally depraved, in the sense that no part of their material or immaterial being is exempted from the influence of sin. It is by God’s grace that not every person manifests that evil in every way possible, or to the greatest extent possible. In other words, it is by the grace of God that we fail to live up to our evil potential…but we all still have it.

For your non-Christian friends that seem like good people, remember that they are not “good” before God. Remember God’s perfect standards. He, being the perfect, righteous judge has declared “for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). Yet we have not just stumbled at one point in God’s perfect law, but our offenses are perhaps uncountable. Even more so, we ourselves have fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). You may commend good works in others, but don’t confuse that with equating it to being good before God. Remember Christ’s warning that those who did “good works” but aren’t in a right relationship with God will be cast away in judgment (cf. Matt. 7:21-23).

For your Christian friends, encourage and exhort them to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, which will manifest the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (cf. Eph. 4:1; Gal. 5:22-23). May you live as salt and light, bearing testimony to the transforming power of the gospel so that those who see will give glory to God (cf. Matt. 5:13-16). Praise God for His mighty power and lovingkindness to transform a depraved sinner to a new nature, covered by Christ’s righteousness!

Ordination – An Exercise in Patience

by Pastor Mark Chin

Dr. Richard Mayhue defines ordination as “the biblical concept of God’s appointment of men to full-time ministry.” [1] He goes on to say that, “ordination is to church leadership as the bar exam is to the legal profession, the C.P.A. exam to accounting, or state board examinations to medical practice.” [2] This comparison serves to highlight a process whereby a man’s calling and qualification for full-time ministry are publicly affirmed by God and the local church, both its leaders and its members. It also serves to highlight how scary and taxing ordination can be, especially for those of you have written the bar or state board exam.

When I graduated from seminary, ordination was something I very much desired. And yet God graciously made me aware that it is something neither earned nor accomplished by men, but like all good things, it is a gift given entirely by God. God made very clear that if ordination was going to be a reality for me, it was something I would have to wait a long time for. God did this, in part, by withholding from me the opportunity to serve full-time in a local church for two years following my graduation from seminary. And when God finally did give me the opportunity to serve full-time at Lighthouse Bible Church San Jose, the first two years of full-time ministry provided little time for me to prepare for the ordination exam – a comprehensive 4-hour oral exam that was to cover my life, my seminary education, and the entirety of the Bible. Like most of the great things in my life, God made me wait.

When Pastor John gave me the ordination manual and Pastor Patrick sent me a list of theology topics I needed to know for the exam, one glance at both the manual and the list informed me that I would need some divine intervention to be remotely ready for the exam. I must confess, that many times, the only thing I looked forward to with regards to ordination was being finished with it. Frequently ordination loomed over my head like an insurmountable debt. To squeeze me a little more, God graciously raised up any number of church or family issues that made prepping for the exam nearly impossible. Over an extended period of time, being made aware of how little I could do yet how much needed to be done turned out to be a long and painfully nerve-wracking experience. The first week I finally was able to study for the exam, I could barely sleep – as my mind raced through the material, continually reminding me that there was not enough time to cover all the required material. The weeks prior to ordination involved 5am starts, study cards ad infinitum, and never ending quizzing by my wife that continually reminded me of how much a human being can forget. And yet, all of this was a wonderful gift from God.

Not only was I forced to be patient and to pray – a lot. I was forced to depend on the patience of others – the elders of LBCSJ, the LBC alliance pastors, my wife, my children, and the members of LBCSJ. I learned that one of the most precious gifts in this life is to see the beauty of God’s patience extended to us through other believers. Typically, this only happens when we are stretched beyond what we ourselves can handle. As the Lord brought me closer and closer to the ordination exam, He made me aware that ordination is an exercise of patience – first and foremost His patience for me. Paul in 1 Timothy 1:16 states: And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. The context of this statement is Paul’s testimony of having been put into service by Christ Jesus our Lord. In a sense, Paul, in 1 Tim. 1:12-17, is providing Timothy and us with the testimony of his ordination. And what he points to is not long hours of study, seminary training, service in the local church (all of which do play a valuable God-given role), but rather the amazing love, mercy, grace, and perfect patience that God demonstrates in the lives of sinners when He puts them in His service, doing so as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

Pastors are not the only ones who are forced to wait patiently for the good things of God. Pastors are not the only ones who are called to serve full-time. In one sense, as children of God in Christ and members of His body, we are all called to serve Him full time as our King and Lord. And yet at the same time, we are all unworthy and unable to fulfill the task for which God has called us. Waiting for God’s grace can often be frightening, difficult, and painful. And yet, in all these things, God proves to be faithful to His Word, demonstrating in the lives of undeserving sinners, His perfect love, mercy, grace, and patience in Christ – not only for our benefit but also for the benefit of our fellow believers. For every true child of God, ordination is an exercise of His patience in Christ that is a wonderful and fruitful gift. May it be yours in the fullest.

[1] Richard Mayhue, “Chapter 8: Ordination to Pastoral Ministry” in Pastoral Ministry, edited by John MacArthur, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 107.

[2] Ibid., 109-110.

The King Also Himself Passed Over The Brook Kidron

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

2 Samuel 15:23

David passed that gloomy brook when flying with his mourning company from his traitor son. The man after God’s own heart was not exempt from trouble, nay, his life was full of it. He was both the Lord’s Anointed, and the Lord’s Afflicted. Why then should we expect to escape? At sorrow’s gates the noblest of our race have waited with ashes on their heads, wherefore then should we complain as though some strange thing had happened unto us?

The KING of kings himself was not favoured with a more cheerful or royal road. He passed over the filthy ditch of Kidron, through which the filth of Jerusalem flowed. God had one Son without sin, but not a single child without the rod. It is a great joy to believe that Jesus has been tempted in all points like as we are. What is our Kidron this morning? Is it a faithless friend, a sad bereavement, a slanderous reproach, a dark foreboding? The King has passed over all these. Is it bodily pain, poverty, persecution, or contempt? Over each of these Kidrons the King has gone before us. ‘In all our afflictions He was afflicted.’ The idea of strangeness in our trials must be banished at once and for ever, for He who is the Head of all saints, knows by experience the grief which we think so peculiar. All the citizens of Zion must be free of the Honourable Company of Mourners, of which the Prince Immanuel is Head and Captain.

Notwithstanding the abasement of David, he yet returned in triumph to his city, and David’s Lord arose victorious from the grave; let us then be of good courage, for we also shall win the day. We shall yet with joy draw water out of the wells of salvation, though now for a season we have to pass by the noxious streams of sin and sorrow. Courage, soldiers of the Cross, the King himself triumphed after going over Kidron, and so shall you.

5.31a

Weekly Links (10/21/2016)

“The only necessary key to understanding the Bible is to approach it with a humble and contrite heart softened by the Holy Spirit, ready to listen to what God says, and just as ready to obey him.” (David Helm, One-to-One Bible Reading)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! Seems like this week has flown by, but not fast enough to not have links for you all. There is much that is taking place, and I hope this week’s links will bring about thanksgiving and prayer to God.

  • Rick Pearcey writes of an actress’ recent comment that abortion is a human right, noting the utter incoherence of that claim.
  • To catch you up with all things Planned Parenthood, a total of 15 states have sought to defund the organization in light of the undercover videos put out by the Center for Medical Progress earlier this year.
  • The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) recently had their 40th annual conference, approving a new Standards of Conduct that was accepted by 99% of their members. If anyone plans on becoming certified in biblical counseling, or wants to grow in their understanding of how to do biblical counseling, this would be a good place to start.
  • Recently, InterVarsity has made a bold move in affirming a biblical view of marriage, asking their employees to do the same. One of the results from this has been the call of the executive director of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) to prevent InterVarsity Press (IVP) from having a booth at SBL’s conference, thereby removing member access to some of their many good books. Michael Kruger, who has published though IVP, reports on the matter.
  • Regarding the recent outburst from members of the Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP) towards Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne concerning his remarks about homosexuality, Swinburne posted a statement since the controversy began. Be sure to read the concerns made by the author of the post, Edward Feser, linked at the beginning.
  • Do you struggle with anxiety? Biblical counselor Paul Tautges recently preached on remedies for anxiety from Scripture, and posted his notes in three parts. Hopefully, this will be a blessing to you and those around you.
  • Many have heard of the importance of Martin Luther and John Calvin with respect to the Protestant Reformation, but not many know about the contributions of Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli biographer William Boekestein was interviewed about this neglected reformer, and I think you will learn a lot about him in this podcast.
  • With the recent publication of the special report on sexuality and gender from two professors at the John Hopkins School of Medicine, the Human Rights Campaign, the biggest LGBT organization, has threatened John Hopkins University if they do not publicly renounce the conclusions that this report came to. We will keep an eye out for upcoming developments.

That’s all for this week! Please be in prayer for Lumos and College Life, as they meet tonight. See you all on Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

Stoogle

by Stephen Rodgers

Type your search in the box below:

After you’ve run a search, you can narrow the results to only the
sites listed in the specific categories above by clicking on the
appropriate search refinement at the top.

If anyone is interested, here is a list of what sites are in what categories:

Apologetics

  • http://blog.bibleplaces.com
  • http://butthesethingsarewritten.blogspot.com
  • http://carm.org
  • http://michaeljkruger.com
  • http://str.typepad.com
  • http://triablogue.blogspot.com
  • http://truthbomb.blogspot.com
  • http://www.aomin.org
  • http://www.apologetics315.com
  • http://www.frame-poythress.org
  • http://www.iliadforum.com/blog
  • http://www.proginosko.com
  • http://www.str.org

Biblical Counseling

  • http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org
  • http://christiancounseling.com/
  • http://paultrippministries.blogspot.com
  • http://www.ccef.org
  • http://www.nanc.org
  • http://www.peacemaker.net

Creation & Origins

  • http://creation.com
  • http://www.answersingenesis.com
  • http://www.evolutionnews.org

LBC Beacon

  • http://www.lighthousebc.com/beacon

MacArthur & TMS

  • http://bibchr.blogspot.com
  • http://centuri0n.blogspot.com
  • http://hipandthigh.wordpress.com
  • https://mikevlach.blogspot.com/
  • http://teampyro.blogspot.com
  • http://thecripplegate.com
  • http://www.gty.org
  • http://www.tms.edu

Mohler & SBTS

  • http://www.albertmohler.com
  • http://www.dennyburk.com
  • http://www.russellmoore.com
  • http://www.sbts.edu

Other Sites

  • http://cbmw.org
  • http://kevindeyoung.org
  • http://thegospelcoalition.org
  • http://www.9marks.org
  • http://www.challies.com
  • http://www.desiringgod.org
  • http://www.gotquestions.org
  • http://www.ligonier.org
  • http://www.monergism.com
  • http://www.theopedia.com

Stoogle Explained

by Stephen Rodgers

Due to some changes in the world of static web-hosting, we’ve brought Stoogle entirely in-house (see the top menu). Since I’m sure there’s at least one person out there scratching their head and wondering “What’s a Stoogle?” this is probably a good time to explain.

First, I should mention that I didn’t name it. Someone else did, with the intention of making a portmanteau of “Stephen” and “Google.” However, it turns out that “Stoogle” is also a slang term for stalking someone on the internet using a search engine…but by the time we figured that out, it was too late. The thing was already branded.

But what is it, you might still be wondering. Stoogle is a little search engine I built using the Google Custom Search tool a few years ago to aid in my personal study. You use it just like any search engine, but instead of searching the entire internet, it only searches a small subset of websites. It also categorizes these websites into search refinements if you want to further narrow down your results.

This is not to say that these are the only good Christian websites out there. There are many, many more that could have been included, but weren’t for reasons of time, technical challenges, and/or diminishing returns. But generally speaking, these are reliable websites who aren’t going to lead you astray, even if they might disagree with the LBC Statement of Faith in a few places. As I’ve said before:

Just because a source is recommended here does not indicate that every doctrine it professes reflects the beliefs of LBC or it’s leaders (if you are interested, you are welcome to read LBC’s Statement of Faith) or with each other. Faithful men of God have held positions on secondary and tertiary issues that differ from our own, and we hold them no less Christian for doing so. God calls Christians to love Him with their mind (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27) and to examine every teaching in light of the totality of Scripture (Acts 17:11).

That being said, Stoogle has saved me countless hours by filtering out some of the more rampant craziness that the internet has no shortage of. I hope you’ll find it helpful as well.

How to Get the Most Out of Small Groups (Part 1)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

One of my fondest memories from attending Bible study in college was being a part of small groups. We were a group of about five young men coming together each week to pray for one another and grow in our understanding of God’s Word. I can hardly think of a better way to spend time with other believers. This is true in the church as well where small groups are one of its most helpful ministries. Whenever we have membership classes, I encourage our incoming members to take advantage of our small groups whenever possible.

Perhaps small groups have become such a familiar part of the church’s ministry that we take them for granted without really thinking through the great benefits they provide. Here are some reasons small groups might not be as helpful as they should:

  1. You treat them more like a right than a privilege. Perhaps your attitude with small groups is to treat it too casually – attending whenever you want, participating whenever you want, but without really making much of a commitment to it. It would be good to remember that each person in your small group is also setting time aside for you, including your small group leader who presumably prepared well for your time together.
  2. You don’t really know how to utilize that time. Perhaps you signed up for small groups without really knowing what to expect. It is helpful to know what small groups are for and why the church provides them. Once you know the purpose behind small groups, you can attend in a more informed way. Don’t just sign up for small groups because your friends do. Know what you are getting involved in.
  3. You depend on them too much for your spiritual health. Small groups are a way to help provide spiritual support, but they are not a substitute for the cultivation of your own relationship and walk with the Lord by spending quality time in His Word and in prayer. Small groups are most effective when you come to them spiritually strong, ready to contribute and give rather than only take.
  4. Your pride is getting in the way. This can manifest itself in a number of ways. Perhaps a fear of man is preventing you from opening up to others or asking for help. Maybe because of a spirit of elitism you don’t feel like others can really contribute to your spiritual growth. The truth is that we all need help. What might be helpful is to take a long, hard look at your own shortcomings and faults and to confess those things to the Lord. Yes, the people in your small group have issues, but so do you.

If you have a good understanding of what small groups are and what they are for, then being part of them can really be a rewarding experience. What are some of the benefits of participating in a small group?

  1. Small groups provide a close setting in which to develop relationships with other people in the church. Especially as the church grows larger, it is going to become increasingly difficult (even impossible) to develop close relationships with everyone. It may become more difficult to get plugged in and find ways to begin relationships and fellowship with others. Small groups provide a good environment to enjoy these benefits. People in the church have testified frequently that some of their closest relationships were borne out of small groups.
  2. Small groups allow for concentrated times of fellowship that are centered on spiritual truth. Oftentimes we spend time with other believers but in ways that are not essentially spiritual. We play games, watch movies, or enjoy the outdoors. But the purpose of small groups is to spend time together in a deliberately spiritual way – to pray with one another or study the Bible together. As such, small groups can be used by God to help you grow considerably in the faith.
  3. Small groups offer members a specific environment to practice the “one anothers” of Scripture. Most of the “one another” commands in Scripture are given in the context of the church, and while they are generally applicable in any context, they certainly should be applied in the church. By being a part of a small group, you are placed in a context conducive to loving one another, serving one another, praying for one another, etc.
  4. Small groups are a great place to cultivate and identify future leaders of the church. While this is not its primary purpose, because of its emphasis on accountability and spiritual growth, small group is a great place to see if there are any men and women in the church that exhibit spiritual maturity and consistency.

All of these principles are wonderful, but they still do not guarantee that your small group time will be a good one. Much of that depends on the effort you put into small groups. What you put in is likely to be directly proportionate to what you get out of it. How can you make the most of your small group time, and when your small group meets, how can you best make use of that time together? That will be the focus of the next article.