The Life of the Body, pt. 1

In the first part of Ephesians 4, we see an anatomy of the body of Christ (aka the Church). In the second
part of Ephesians 4, we see a glimpse of what the life of this body looks like.

In verses 17-24, believers are collectively called to a new way of life. There are three key aspects to this new way of life...

That's Me.

The parable of the unforgiving debtor: a man is forgiven a debt of millions upon millions of dollars. But he can't forgive a fellow servant a debt of a few thousand bucks.

That's me.

Review: Manhood Restored

In Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole, Pastor Eric Mason (@pastoremase) confronts the brokenness of manhood in our culture, holding out the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the cure.

Weekly Recap

I didn't post one of these last week, so my "top three" is actually a top five this week...

1. In a world filled with tragedy and suffering, humanity is often left wondering, "Where were you, God?" This song addresses that in a powerful way!

 
2. "Jesus said 'not to judge'" seems to be the only scripture some people know. Trip Lee does a good job of addressing the misconception that "only God can judge me."

3. Is God a pacifist? Should Christians practice self-defense or serve in the military? Mark Driscoll gives some food for thought.

4. Check out this comic (and the article that inspired it). Has anything done more damage to the modern church than the heresy of "easy-believism"?

(Click the picture to go to the full comic)

5. Finally, this article kind of puts things in perspective for pastors and others in ministry by asking, "Is It Actually Hard to Be a Pastor?"

Weekly Recap

It has been a busy couple of weeks for me here, and I haven't had much time to keep up with writing. I plan on being back in full force next week. In the meantime, here are my top three favorite posts from the last two weeks.

A lot of Christians had a lot to say about the Supreme Court and DOMA last week. Unfortunately, a lot of what was said left me wishing that some Christians would just delete their social media profiles for the sake of Christ. However, there were a few voices with a gospel shaped perspective on the issue, and Trevin Wax wrote a must-read article on TGC that was (in my opinion) the best take on the whole issue:

Why Gay Marriage Is Good (and Bad) for the Church


On a more lighthearted note, Jon Acuff shared some "Worship Typos" that had me laughing out loud. I'm sure we've all had some similar experiences:

Top 16 Worship Typos

Finally, when it comes to youth ministry, much has been written about why young people are leaving the church. Jon Nielson approaches the issue from the opposite angle:

Common Traits of Youth Who Don't Leave the Church