Week in Review – Aug 1, 2014

Some of you may have noticed a diminished amount of posting recently. Summertime means more kids around the house, which means less free time for me.  But, here’s a stab at this week’s help links across the interweb–

Starting (as usual) with books, Jared Wilson’s new book The Wonder-Working God released this week. You can get his companion volume, The Storytelling God, for less than $2 on Kindle right now.  Ligonier Ministries is offering several mini-books by R.C. Sproul for free on the iBooks and Kindle platforms.

Under news and culture, Christian persecution has been in the public eye more than usual recently and the Radical Blog had a good round-up of the details. In light of these things, Tim Keesee penned “A Letter to the Caliph” and David Platt was interviewed about the persecuted church.  On the home-front, Denny Burk recounts an call for “incivility” by one reporters towards those who believe in traditional marriage.

Moving on to the church and ministry, John Piper released a new book on The Marks of a Spiritual Leader. This is an expansion of a paper he wrote years ago.  It’s available in print and for free on multiple digital platforms. Perhaps you are a spiritual leader in the local church–how do you respond when someone compliments your sermon? Bryan Croft offered some helpful advice on how you should respond.  Ligon Duncan continued his blog series on “What Gathered Worship Should Look Like” by arguing it should be delightful. Previously, he wrote that it should be mediated and corporate.  Brad Hambrick posted the audio of a discussion he recently had on “Mental Illness and the Mission of the Church.”  Finally, though it dropped last week, Credo Magazine‘s new issue on George Whitefield is worth reading.

Ed Welch helped us think more clearly about theology and the Christian life through his article “The Myth of God’s Silence.”  The media from the The Gospel Coalition’s recent women’s conference is now available.  Jonathan Parnell took us back to the basic by helping us think through what it means to be a disciple. Finally, Jonathan Leeman made clear how Biblical Theology both guards and guides the church.

BONUS: For those enjoying the recent beard resurgence…