“Gospel Links for Gospel Culture” is a weekly round-up of content to encourage you in your faith and ministry.
One Easy Way to Alienate the Members of Your Bible Study Group
Michael Kelley:Because the gospel is a welcoming message, we are compelled to make environments like our Bible study groups welcoming in order to mirror the kind of welcome people of all ages can and will receive from God.
The State of American Theology 2018
Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research have released the 2018 findings for the ongoing “State of Theology” research project. The findings are both fascinating and troubling. (Look for some thoughts from our team on this research soon.)How churches can better serve those who are single
Sara Beth Fentress:Churches need to be intentional to offer opportunities for community and discipleship for all of their members at various life stages. Singleness has a way of making you feel hidden in plain sight. Married friends, how much of your identity revolves around the other people who live under your roof? How do you introduce yourself? Do you seek your spouse’s opinion, approval, encouragement and validation more than your heavenly Father’s? It may be worth consideration: has your family become an idol?
Discipling Every Generation
Aaron Armstrong:But in talking with him, and with other friends, I’ve come to realize that this isn’t right. It’s not how the Christian faith works, and it never has been. God doesn’t appear to see any of us as second-, third-, or thirtieth-generation believers. Although there are many families—and I pray mine will be one of them—that have a long line of faithful believers among them, not a single one of them inherited the Christian faith. Every single believer in these long lines was saved the same way: by grace alone through faith alone (Eph. 2:8). Whether they can pinpoint the exact moment they believed or if believing was as natural as breathing, all believed, and through that belief alone they were credited with the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 4:3). No matter how many believers have preceded us, every Christian is a first-generation Christian.
Lord, Teach Us—and Our Kids—to Pray
Megan Kennedy:One of the most basic ways we love our children is through prayer. But if we’re honest, prayer is one of the hardest things to do consistently and intentionally.
Below we want to share two stories about prayer from the life of our family, and then give a few tips for capturing and leveraging everyday moments to pray with your toddler.
Authenticating Glory in Scripture
Jim Elliff:The reader or listener encounters God in his glorious revelation, the Scripture. By this phenomenon simple men and women as well as intellectual men and women may receive the ground of confidence required to be a true believer.
Please Do and Don’t Assume Motives
Tim Challies:That’s hardly all the Bible has to say about motives. Though 1 Corinthians 13 is a popular wedding text, its foremost purpose is not to guide the relationship between a husband and wife, but the relationship of one believer to another. And in that text, God tells us what love demands of all of us. If we’ve been touched by the love of God, this is how that love ought to manifest itself as we relate to others: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). Several of these words and phrases speak to the matter of motives.
The Gospel Project’s editorial team contributed to this post. Photo: Pixabay
