A Few Good Reads

“7 Ways Parents Unfairly Provoke Our Children”

As parents we tend to spend much time thinking about the ways our children disobey us and how we need to correct their behavior. Unfortunately we don’t spend as much time thinking about our own interactions with our children and how we need to grow as parents. Tim Challies shares seven ways we disobey God’s command to not provoke our children to anger. “Every parent needs to discover it as well. Parental pride manifests itself in a hundred different ways, but perhaps never more clearly than in an unwillingness to seek our children’s forgiveness.”

“Making Introductions: The FAQs”
Many Art of Manliness posts remind us of manners with either didn’t learn or have forgotten. We need to recover the lost art of manners in our day and here they share an excerpt from an old book on how to make introductions. Since Christians are concerned with loving our neighbors, this will help us to love them well and help them make connections with other people. “Your responsibility doesn’t end with introductions. It’s up to you to fill the awkward pause that may follow the how-do-you-do’s. Don’t direct your remarks to one person. Swing the conversation into some channel where all of you can navigate equally well.”

“8 Reasons to Preach Through Books of the Bible”
I have been a firm advocate of preaching through books of the Bible for almost two decades now. Jared Wilson shares eight reasons why this is a great practice for pastors and churches. This much needed word should be heard by all. “Contrary to what some have said, expository preaching through books of the Bible has biblical precedent. The two most notable examples can be found in Nehemiah 8, where Ezra preaches through the book of the Law, “giving the sense” (v.8) as he goes, and of course in Luke 24, where “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (v.27).”

“The Legacy of Ordinary Life on Mission in the Early Church”
Tim Brister embodies how to live as a Christian in a neighborhood as well as anyone I know. He has made living on mission in the everyday the focus of his site lately and his latest post on how the early church did this as well is worth your consideration. “The way God will reach our world may be through a Peter or Paul. But it also may be through “those who were scattered” that went about their lives making much of Jesus and sowing that gospel seed day in and day out.”

Seeing Christ in All of Scripture
This small work looks like it will pack a big punch. Edited by Peter Lillback, this series of essays from professors at Westerminster Theological Seminary shows how the entire Bible points to Jesus. They write from perspectives across multiple theological disciplines, but they all share the same end- to preach Christ. “Interpreting the Bible can be a challenge. Seeing Christ in All of Scripture is designed to help people understand the beautiful, Christ-centered structure of the Bible. This concise compilation of essays provides a unique and practical tool for personal or group Bible study.”