{"id":9379,"date":"2014-08-15T01:00:42","date_gmt":"2014-08-15T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=9379"},"modified":"2016-10-12T00:45:19","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T07:45:19","slug":"weekly-links-8152014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2014\/08\/15\/weekly-links-8152014\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Links (8\/15\/2014)"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\" align=\"center\">\u201cPastors are there for their people. They are in the midst of all of their parishioners\u2019 emotional strains and successes. This is the best thing pastors can do. Nothing I say from here on will diminish that role. Pastors as apologists have the best apologetic in their very presence, and that is a unique privilege (Ravi Zacharias, <em>Is Your Church Ready? Motivating Leaders to Live an Apologetic Life<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><\/em>Feliz Friday! It\u2019s been awhile, and although we may have missed some really exciting stuff, here are this week\u2019s links!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What does the morality of a Christian who supports the legalization of same-sex marriage (SSM) look like? According to sociologist Mark Regnerus, it isn\u2019t that far off the national population average. In a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thepublicdiscourse.com\/2014\/08\/13667\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">survey conducted earlier this year<\/span><\/a>, Regnerus had a number of moral statements listed, asking different groups (Christians who opposed SSM, Christians who were for, \u201dgay\u201d Christians, and non-Christians) whether they agree or disagree with each statement. The results are revealing, even though Regnerus points out that he doesn\u2019t believe supporting SSM causes you to accept the other statements in the survey. Worth looking into.<\/li>\n<li>James White recently <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aomin.org\/aoblog\/index.php\/2014\/08\/10\/full-debate-with-bob-enyart-on-his-peculiar-version-of-open-theism\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">debated Bob Enyart on open theism<\/span><\/a>. Open theism is the belief that God does not know the future, primarily because the future does not exist, and is actually learning along with us, in order to allow the free will of human beings. There\u2019s a lot more to it than that, and even Enyart has a certain twist to it, but if you have ever encountered such a view, this would be good to watch. Dr. White is one of the few who engages in debates as a faithful representative of evangelical Christianity, and does so to purposely glorify God and edify the saints. Don\u2019t miss out.<\/li>\n<li>Speaking of Dr. White, with the recent surge of ISIS attacks that have been plastered all over the news, he has a <a href=\"http:\/\/effectualgrace.com\/2014\/08\/10\/reaching-muslims\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">helpful message<\/span><\/a> that will help us communicate the love we are to have with Muslims in understanding what they believe and being clear with them about what we believe. Also, Joe Carter provides some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/factchecker-is-isis-beheading-children-in-iraq\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">fact-checking for ISIS and the claim that they are beheading children<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Ann Coulter said some controversial statements (an understatement), but this one is said at the expense of those who travel far to serve the least of these. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/how-should-we-respond-to-ann-coulters-article-on-the-ebola-doctor\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Matt Perman<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.albertmohler.com\/2014\/08\/07\/are-christian-missionaries-narcissistic-idiots-a-response-to-ann-coulter\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Al Mohler<\/span><\/a> respond. A perfect example of Proverbs 18:17 in action.<\/li>\n<li>J.D. Greear has a list of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jdgreear.com\/my_weblog\/2014\/08\/26-ways-to-provoke-the-1-peter-315-question-at-work.html\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">26 ways to live provocatively (not dress provocatively) at work<\/span><\/a> that looks very practical and doable.<\/li>\n<li>Ben Holloway has written about a tactic Christians can use in answering objections that many don\u2019t know about: <a href=\"http:\/\/veritasdomain.wordpress.com\/2014\/08\/14\/how-to-start-and-end-well-in-apologetic-debate\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">spotting the assumption(s) behind an objection<\/span><\/a>. In the same vein, Choosing Hats reminds us that the presuppositional apologetics involves <a href=\"http:\/\/choosinghats.org\/2014\/08\/a-common-thread\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">two steps in defending Christianity, not one<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Don Whitney has written a great work on the spiritual disciplines for Christian living called <i>Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life<\/i>. Tim Challies recently posted a portion of the book in relation to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.challies.com\/quotes\/5-great-reasons-to-memorize-scripture-today\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">why we must memorize Scripture, starting today<\/span><\/a>. Here\u2019s Challies <a href=\"http:\/\/www.challies.com\/book-reviews\/spiritual-disciplines-for-the-christian-life\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">review of the book<\/span><\/a>, and an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/blogs\/trevinwax\/2014\/08\/12\/why-spiritual-disciples-interview-with-don-whitney\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">interview Don Whitney did on the new edition<\/span><\/a>, which includes what he added.<\/li>\n<li>With the recent passing of famous actor Robin Williams, the church has been very compassionate and helpful in pointing to resources that help us deal with loss. Desiring God has done just that with their links and recommendations on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.desiringgod.org\/\/articles\/help-for-those-fighting-or-grieving-a-suicide\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">how to deal with the loss of a loved one<\/span><\/a>. Nancy Guthrie has written an article in Ligonier Ministry\u2019s <i>Tabletalk<\/i> about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ligonier.org\/learn\/articles\/ministry-grieving-parents\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">ministering to grieving parents<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Andreas and Margaret Kostenberger have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crossway.org\/blog\/2014\/08\/5-things-to-avoid-when-discussing-the-bibles-teaching-on-gender\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">five things to avoid when teaching\/discussing the topic of gender from Scripture<\/span><\/a>. Gain insight and heed their warnings.<\/li>\n<li>I may be linking to this against my better judgment, but CBMW has a post <a href=\"http:\/\/cbmw.org\/men\/manhood\/why-i-read-jane-austin\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">commending Jane Austen\u2019s writings to men<\/span><\/a>. Let\u2019s just say, this got me thinking (don\u2019t expect me to devour <i>Pride and Prejudice<\/i> just yet; I\u2019m more open to <i>talking about it<\/i> now).<\/li>\n<li>Remembering Pastor Nigel\u2019s message on expository listening, here\u2019s a post that complements that message well: <a href=\"http:\/\/dandumas.com\/preaching\/2014\/8\/11\/your-role-in-expository-preaching-guest-post\" class=\"broken_link\">\u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Your Role in Expository Preaching<\/span>\u201d<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>A common objection to same-sex \u201cmarriage\u201d is expressed: \u201cHow will gay marriage impact your marriage?\u201d Denny Burk has a <a href=\"http:\/\/erlc.com\/article\/how-will-gay-marriage-impact-your-marriage\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">good response<\/span><\/a> that lays out the real issue this brings to biblical and traditional marriage. Another one has to do with the claim that the Bible does not condemn homosexual orientation, since that is not identified as sin in Scripture. Jared Moore <a href=\"http:\/\/cbmw.org\/men\/manhood\/is-being-gay-sanctifiable\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">interacts with this very oft-cited claim<\/span><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Here\u2019s a question I think all of us would be the wiser for contemplating: <a href=\"http:\/\/reflectionsbyken.wordpress.com\/2014\/08\/12\/do-you-like-being-alone-with-your-thoughts\/\">\u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Do you like being alone with your thoughts?<\/span>\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Here\u2019s another post <a href=\"http:\/\/www.radical.net\/blog\/2014\/08\/mack-stiles-on-evangelism-teaching-the-gospel-with-the-aim-to-persuade\/\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">interviewing Mack Stiles<\/span><\/a> about his new book on evangelism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s all for now! Please remember to pray for the youth retreat this weekend, as well as the member\u2019s meeting Sunday night, and also members who have been saying goodbye for various reasons. Let us continue to love one another (including before, during and after Sunday service) in the hope that many will see that we are disciples of Christ.<\/p>\n<p><i>Soli Deo Gloria<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cPastors are there for their people. They are in the midst of all of their parishioners\u2019 emotional strains and successes. This is the best thing pastors can do. Nothing I say from here on will diminish that role. Pastors as apologists have the best apologetic in their very presence, and that is a unique privilege [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-links"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9379"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12698,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9379\/revisions\/12698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}