A Few Good Reads

“How to Use Your Home for Mission”
We do not realize how much evangelism and discipleship can happen in our homes around a meal or on the back porch. The Bible commends the practice of hospitality to Christians for this reason. Dustin Willis offers some helpful thoughts on how our homes can be used for this purpose. “Hospitality gives us the opportunity to display the gospel to those we welcome into our homes. Hospitality at its essence is about allowing others to feel both loved and welcomed, which is what Jesus has modeled for us in His kindness toward us. One of the greatest weapons we have been given to fight against isolation is the home. How do we practically open our homes and begin to build community as we live on mission?”

“The Churchill School of Adulthood Lesson- #2: Establish a Daily Routine”
I benefit from many of the articles at The Art of Manliness. Recently they have been sharing thoughts on adulthood from Sir Winston Churchill. This post on establishing a daily routine encouraged me to sit down and sketch out how my ideal day should look from when I get up until when I go to bed. “Yet even though his day-to-day life was no longer structured by a schoolmaster or a superior officer, he did not in fact do away with having a daily schedule altogether. Instead, he created a routine he actually delighted in – because he had created it himself.”

“The State Finds Against Parson Brown”
Betsy Childs imagines what would happen to Parson Brown if he refused to perform a wedding because of the couple’s sexual orientation. “The Respondent’s claim that he is not “Parson Brown” fails to state a genuine issue of material fact because the U.S. Court of Appeals for this circuit has upheld the right of same-sex couples to redefine a snowman as a parson, priest, or rabbi. While a parson has traditionally been defined as a living human being ordained by a religious body to be a member of the clergy, New York State Law does not specifically require a parson to be a human or to be able to speak.”

Sacred Marriage
Gary Thomas explains how marriage was meant to make us both holy and happy. I worked through this book a few years ago getting ready for a sermon series on marriage and learned a lot from it. “Your marriage is much more than a union between you and your spouse. It is a spiritual discipline ideally suited to help you know God more fully and intimately. Sacred Marriage shifts the focus from marital enrichment to spiritual enrichment in ways that can help you love your mate more. Whether it is delightful or difficult, your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God.”