At the Resurgence, Tullian Tchividjian examines the value of accountability groups.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in “accountability groups” where there has been little to no attention given to the gospel whatsoever. There’s no reminder of what Christ has done for our sin—“cleansing us from its guilt and power”—and the resources that are already ours by virtue of our union with him. These groups produce a “do more, try harder” moralism that robs us of the joy and freedom Jesus paid dearly to secure for us.
When the goal becomes conquering our sin instead of soaking in the conquest of our Savior, we actually begin to shrink spiritually.
Relevant Magazine looks at the Friends With Benefits Epidemic.
Friendships and sex have been around since the beginning of time, but it’s our generation that puts them into the same phrase—and the same bedroom. From high school hallways to movie theater screens, “friends with benefits” is sold to us as a new combination as simple, acceptable and wonderful as mac-and-cheese.
Tim Challies on the size of the universe and the glory of God. This is really good.
When we look at the universe we see, first and foremost, the majesty of God (see Psalm 19). God could have created 50 or 100 or even a million stars to declare something about his character. Our minds would reel at the significance of one million stars, each one far beyond our reach, each one different from every other, each one formed and known by God. But 300 sextillion? That’s making an even bigger statement. That is making a statement not just about power, but about complete, absolute, transcendent power. When you look to the night sky you see God making a statement about himself.
Owen Strachan directs our attention to a debate forthcoming this fall between Al Mohler and Jim Wallis on the issue of Social Justice.
North American Evangelicals, long focused on sharing the gospel as the essential mission of the church, have recently become very interested in issues of social justice. A growing sentiment among some today is that Jesus, when he lived on Earth, was indeed among the poor and marginalized, and this fact has, or at least should have, implications for the church’s self-understanding and mission.
