Best of the Week for March 20

In Best of the Week we link to a handful of the best articles, videos, books, etc. that we have come across in the last week. We hope this will point you to some of the right places and give you gospel-rich tools and thoughts for life and mission.

Is the Bible Good for Women?

“’Man’s root problem from the fall leads to a frustrated idolatry of work, while the woman’s lead to a frustrated idolatry of man’ (66). She provides substantial evidence of this pattern throughout countries and cultures. Yet, she also reminds us, the fall isn’t the end of the story.”

This is a book review, but a good read in itself. It goes along with what we talked about just a few weeks ago in how God made men and women differently.

How Can My Difficult Marriage Glorify Christ?

“‘Can a hard marriage model Christ, or only easier ones?’ Well, the answer to that is easy. Yes. Whether a marriage is easy or hard is not what undermines the testimony to the world about Christ and his church. There are plenty of stresses between Christ and the church, and it is all the church’s fault, not Christ’s.”

This is audio with a transcript. It is a hope-giving and helpful discussion about how to honor Christ and even glorify him in your marriage, even if it is far from a model marriage.

Is Beauty and the Beast Ok for Kids? (And what about that gay character?)

“It doesn’t even matter if parents take the kids to watch Beauty and the Beast. Their friends will see it. And the kids will come home with questions. We better be ready with answers.”

I love that quote from this review. It sums up what I’ve been thinking. Whether you take your kids to see the movie is your choice, but whether you do or not, these conversations are coming for you and for them, so YOU BETTER start figuring out how to talk to them about these things. While we do not accept homosexuality as ok, it is part of our world now, and we have to learn how to live around it and teach our kids.

Roadblocks to Missional Sustainability

“Now I don’t mean to diminish the sacredness of work and family, but if work is too demanding for us to involve ourselves in being authentic disciples in realms other than work, it is the dominance of our work that should be questioned and not the viability of our discipleship.”

This is a great, hard look at some things it will take if we are going to prioritize a life of discipleship and obedience to Jesus. Hirsch identifies a few things that will threaten it, and once we can articulate them, we can begin to address them. Get after it.

Church Hunters: Part 1

This one has been making the rounds. It’s funny because of how true it is. Usually these parodies are filled with funny over-exaggerations, but this one is just saying out loud what many people are thinking. Laugh a little, and then aggressively fight the temptation to approach the church like a consumer.

Have a good week.

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