Welcome to the Weekly Nerd! It’s July 5th, 2021, and so far, 2021 has been better than 2020, in my opinion, at least!
Monday’s Top Read:
Lord, Spare Our Land
On the heals of July 4th and too many patriotic themed church services around the country, this read is a great encouragement on revival in our country. The author writes, “Revival of a nation, should God be pleased to grant it, begins in the church.” But it does not begin with the church worshipping the nation, but God. And only God.
5 Questions to Ask About Patriotic Worship Services
“Surprisingly, more than half of pastors surveyed (53 percent) also agreed their congregation sometimes seems to love America more than God. Pastors in the South (59 percent) are more likely to agree with this point than pastors in the Midwest (51 percent) and West (42 percent).”
This ought not to be…
Jesus and the Reality of Hell
This read gave me goosebumps and conviction: “But Jesus was not skittish about preaching hell. He knew the stakes couldn’t be higher. “Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you,” he tells the healed paralytic (John 5:14). Because he knows there are worse things than being paralyzed. He knows there are worse things than dying.”
Life As a Christian Under Communism
“Realizing communism fell because of its false assumption about human nature, I turned to Christianity and embraced what the gospel assumed: the sinful nature of all humans and the need for redemption through Christ’s atonement.”
Don’t Assume Anything In the Pulpit
While I cannot be sure, I am fairly certain I have said the phrase, “You remember,” or, “You know,” in regards to certain Bible stories or texts. Hearing the anecdote from H.B. Charles, Jr. makes me realize that I must do better and take a few minutes to explain or rehash something, rather than assume that they know.
