A Few Good Reads

“10 Ways to Grow Your Marriage While Having Young Kids”
Gavin Ortlund hits on an important issue for young families who face the consistent temptation to forget about their marriage in the midst of raising small kids. His encouragement is practical and should be committed to memory. “When planning a date night, I often think, Can we afford this? But when we do it, I always think, I’m glad we did this—we needed it. It’s so important to have times of laughter, recreation, and play with your spouse. The old saying is corny but true: ‘Families that play together stay together.’”

“Evangelicals must not bear the mark of Trump“
Michael Gerson of The Washington Post addresses the news that 500 evangelical leaders will meet with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump soon. He argues that by endorsing Trump for even the most noble of pragmatic reasons evangelicals will sacrifice their credibility before the watching world. “Evangelical Christians are not merely choosing a certain political outcome. They are determining their public character — the way they are viewed by others and, ultimately, the way they view themselves. They are identifying with a man who has fed ethnic tension for political gain; who has proposed systemic religiousdiscrimination; who has dramatically undermined the democratic values of civility and tolerance; who has advocated war crimes, including killing the families of terrorists; who holds a highly sexualized view of power as dominance, rather than seeing power as an instrument to advance moral ends.”

“13, right now”
All parents know our kids are growing up in a very different world than we did. Jessica Contrera chronicles the quest for status and recognition kids deal with in the digital world. “Katherine Pommerening’s iPhone is the place where all of her friends are always hanging out. So it’s the place where she is, too. She’s on it after it rings to wake her up in the mornings. She’s on it at school, when she can sneak it. She’s on it while her 8-year-old sister, Lila, is building crafts out of beads. She sets it down to play basketball, to skateboard, to watch PG-13 comedies and sometimes to eat dinner, but when she picks it back up, she might have 64 unread messages.”

“Galatians 3:28 Does Not Encourage Color-Blind Christianity”
Many well-meaning people say we should live in a color blind society. They often say this to try to tap down racial tensions and encourage the downplaying of race in our culture. Christians who advocate for this viewpoint often point to Galatians 3:28 as evidence for their assertions. Jarvis Williams shows the fallacies behind this view and points us towards simultaneously embracing our ethnic diversity and unity in Christ. “Christians, don’t be color-blind, but be transformed in Christ and pursue unity in Christ both with those who are like you and who are distinct from you. If you affirm Christian color-blindness, you will fail to live in in light of Gal. 3:28: ‘you are all one in Christ!’”

A Meal with Jesus
This book is five years old and I have recommended it many times, but I am working through it again and wanted to bring it back to your attention. Christians often wonder how they can engage their neighbors with the gospel and Tim Chester points to an obvious answer from Jesus’ ministry- shared meals. He works through Jesus’ meals in Luke’s Gospel and shows how we can engage in mission and community around the table. ““Jesus didn’t run projects, establish ministries, create programs, or put on events. He ate meals. If you routinely share meals and you have a passion for Jesus, then you’ll be doing mission. It’s not that meals save people. People are saved through the gospel message. But meals will create natural opportunities to share that message in a context that resonates powerfully with what you’re saying.”