Weekly Reads

Image: Proclaim

Each week I plan to share a number of articles that I have come across and thought were helpful/thought provoking. I may not agree with everything that is written, but these articles will hopefully encourage us in our Christian walk, and motivate us to search the Scriptures to see what God has said about how we are to think and live. Enjoy!




Daddy, How Do I Look? by Tim Challies
This world is too dark for the likes of her. She's too sweet, too tiny, too good, too pure. How will she make her way?




Dads, Your Children Need Both Quantity and Quality Time With You by Randy Alcorn
There is no substitute for time spent with your children, and no substitute for your undivided attention.




Help! My Faith is Being Opposed in the Classroom! by Gene C. Fant, Jr.






Help! I Hate My Job! by Jim Hamilton
In this podcast, Jim Hamilton discusses what to do when you hate your job. He offers encouragement for those frustrated in their work, reflects on God's original intention for work at creation, and explains the difference between a job and a vocation.





5 Reasons We Eat Together as a Family by Tim Challies





18 Things to Pray for Your Church by Jonathan Leeman





5 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor by Nicholas Batzig




Praying for Abortionists and Those in the Abortion Industry Makes an Eternal Difference by Randy Alcorn
So, while not stopping our efforts to change people's minds and hearts and advocate for unborn children, let's not forget to earnestly pray in faith.



Try Using Questions in Evangelism by Bob Wilkin

Weekly Reads

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Why You Need Sermons That Don't Directly Apply To You by David Gunderson
How can you benefit from a talk on anxiety if you're not worried, marriage if you're not married, or depression if you're not down?



Aging Gracefully by Tim Challies
There are few longings in my heart deeper than this: that God would let me live a godly, purposeful, dignified old age.



Ten Exhortation Concerning Gossip Blogs and Online Speech by Denny Burk




How Should We Think About Technology as Christians by Tim Challies
I encourage people to understand that there's a battle going on in any use of technology and that we need to be very, very careful to ensure that we're using these things for good, not using them for ignoble purposes.




Iranian Official: Mass Conversions Are Happening 'Right Under Our Eyes' by Lindy Lowry
As persecution against Christians intensifies in Iran, the church is standing strong. In fact, it's growing!




The One Life Dream that Makes a Girl Blush by Andrea Burke
But the souls that move in bodies in and around my home? They are a legacy and an investment that I do not ever regret giving it all for.



The Different Family Worship Makes by Donald S. Whitney
It is unlikely that exposure to the church once or twice a week will impress your children enough with the greatness and glory of God that they will want to pursue Him once they leave your home.




The Counterfeit 'Honesty' of Polyamory by Daniel Frost and Hal Boyd
The trend toward privileging desire over commitment and morality has predictable consequences.




How to Overcome Anxiety in the Workplace by Matt Rusten
The local church is primed to develop communities of people who are inhabiting these practices, and perhaps others, that combat fear and anxiety.

Weekly Reads

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Where is God Asking You to Take Him at His Word? by Tim Challies
So much of the Christian life comes down to this simple discipline: Taking God at His Word. God speaks to me through the Bible and makes so many precious promises. The question is, will I believe, and will I obey? Will I take God at His Word?



What You Share When You Show Christian Hospitality by David Qaoud
Showing Christian hospitality is always worth it. It's not always easy and fun, but it is one of the biggest expressions of love you can show your neighbor.



Nothing On Your Phone Can Replace the Local Church by Brett McCracken
The church is and will always be central to the Christian life: a priceless jewel we should treasure and not trade for anything.



The Ministry of Presence by Tim Challies
I am convinced every church needs more of these people - more people who see their presence as a great contribution to their church. The local church doesn't need people of outsized talents or rare abilities as much as it needs normal people with full-out commitment.



He Must Increase, Our Churches Must Decrease: Thoughts on the Desire for Revival by Jared Wilson
No, a gospel-centered church doesn't aim to be the anything-est church in town because it's not comparing itself to other churches, but to the holiness of God.



Preparing Your Children For Adulthood With Scripture Memory by Dakota Lynch
Whatever your family chooses to memorize this year, may God's Word be found right where it belongs: in your heart and at the center of your home.



Minor Prophets in My Home: How Children Reveal Our Idols by Darren Carlson
We live in a society that is growing in its animosity toward children, primarily because we view them as a limitation, a shift that has sadly infected the church... the Psalmist says, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward" (Psalm 127:3).




How to Help Your Teens Use Their Phones for Good by Katherine Forster
Teens don't just need more productivity or better time-management skills. We don't need to "take back our lives" from technology. No, we need to submit them to the Lord Jesus - every part of them - including our smartphones.

Weakly Reads

Where Did Family Come From? by Tim Challies
We are at an interesting and perhaps unprecedented time in history when our understanding of family is being confronted and our definition of family is being rewritten. So what is a family, anyway? Where did it come from? Who has the right to define it?



Cheerful Confidence After Christendom by Timothy Larson
The world is used to Christians who are alarmed, angry, fearful, despondent, grumpy. I have found they are confused and intrigued by Christians who are confident, witty, and cheerful. They start to wonder if we know something they don't know about what is really true and things are really going to turn out. And do we not?



Bearing One Another's Burdens by John MacArthur
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).




What Jesus Has to Say About Our Sexuality in a #MeToo Culture? by Sam Allberry
Sexual injury is not the same thing as a grazed knee. Our sexuality gets to the very heart of our personhood. It's why Jesus is so protective of it.




The Eclipse of God, the Subversion of Truth, and the Assault Upon Religious Liberty by Al Mohler
God is not dead. Truth is not a dream. And liberty is ours to defend.



5 Ways to Help Kids Communicate Well on Social Media by William P. Smith
Perhaps it was the content of what you said or how you said it or the visual you attached, but haven't we all put something out there we wish we hadn't?




Don't Squander the Little Years by Dane Orlund
Your kids, even while they are so young and needy, don't diminish your life - they enrich it, if you will collapse into enjoyment of them.

Weakly Reads

Five Ways to be a Godly Grandparent by Avery Foley
You've done your job: you raised your kids and watched them leave the nest to start families of their own. It's time to relax with, enjoy, and spoil the grandkids... right? Well, yes and no.



How Do I Pursue a Discipling Relationship in my Church by Aubrey Coleman
I will never outgrow the need for discipleship, nor will I outgrow the command to disciple.



Pastor, Keep Preaching the Gospel by David Prince
Be encouraged, keep your head down, keep planting and watering by faithfully preaching the gospel of Jesus, and you can know God is working through it even when you don't know.



Three Ways Your Faith Should Shape Your Work by Jeremy Treat
It is the workplace, not the sanctuary, where most Christians live out their faith. If God's reign shapes all of life, then it must shape one's view of work.


Something Profound For Our Generation by Ray Ortlund (Francis Schaeffer)
"True Christianity produces beauty as well as truth. If we do not show beauty in the way we treat each other, then in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of our own children, we are destroying the truth we proclaim."



Help! My Kids Are Bored This Summer! by William P. Smith
The summer season doesn't have to be something parents dread. Make it a time instead that help your kids learn how to take their God-given place in His world.


Real-Life Ways to Disciple My Grandchildren by Karen T. Mason
You want to teach your grandchildren? You can and you must. It is indeed a joyful calling!

Weekly Reads

18 Things to Pray for Your Church by Jonathan Leeman


Three Barriers to Spiritual Growth Faced by Teens Today by Lindsey Carlson


Help! I Don't Know How to Bring My Faith to Work! by Gregory Cochran


Serving the Body Outside Our Comfort Zones by Scotty Anderson


What We Need to Learn From the Early Church by Tim Keller


How (What) to Pray for Your Grandchildren by Sylvia Thornburg


No Excuse, Sir! (1 John 4:20-5:5) by Kenneth Yates

Thursday Reads - 9/20/18

Advice to Christian Apologists by Douglas Groothuis
"Since all Christians should be witnesses to the reality of the Gospel, every Christian is an apologist."


Disruptive Conversations by Alan Noble
"The gift of time demonstrates to someone that they matter, and that their questions and thoughts and fears matter."



3 Boundaries You Absolutely Need in Your Marriage by Ryan Frederick
"The first step toward living with integrity in your marriage is being transparent."



4 Ways to Become an Effective Role Player in Your Church by Joseph Dicks
"Sports fans also know there's no greater competitive experience than when your team is firing on all cylinders because everyone is doing their job."



Pray for Revival - In the Other Guy's Church by Andy Johnson
"God has a big plan for His whole world, and God will accomplish His work in the world... Sometimes He may do that through us. Sometimes He may do it through the church down the street."