Five to Live By

Linking you to the top 5 Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. 

President Obama’s War on Religion, Part 1 

Don’t miss Denny Burk’s passionate commentary against Obama’s war on religion. Here’s an excerpt.

The President rolled out a regulation that will force religious organizations to pay for abortions. The regulation is all a part of Obamacare, and it requires faith-based hospitals and universities to provide birth-control without a co-pay. Many Christian groups (especially Roman Catholics) have religious objections to birth control, but those groups will now have to pay for it. What is worse is that some of the birth control methods that will be covered are abortifacients. Nearly all conservative Christian groups (both Protestant and Catholic) oppose abortifacients because they are medicines that cause abortions. In effect, Obamacare now requires these Christian groups to pay for the killing of unborn human life.

Read the rest, and pray, and vote: President Obama’s War on Religion. 

President Obama’s War on Religion, Part 2

Nor should you miss Al Mohler’s equally scathing rebuke of the new law in The President, the Pill, and Religious Liberty in Peril.

Here’s an excerpt. 

In 1808, President Thomas Jefferson stated the matter bluntly: “I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises.” Fast forward 204 years and President Barack Obama has reversed that logic, ordering religious institutions to provide insurance coverage for employees that must include contraceptives, including those that may induce an abortion.

5 Reviews of The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams 

Heath Lambert’s new book The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams is attracting some well-deserved attention. Here are 5 recent reviews.

• Biblical Counseling Coalition/Jeff Forrey

• The Gospel Coalition/Bob Kellemen

• Thirsty Ones/Greg Wilson

• The Association of Biblical Counselors/Jay Younts

• The Institute for Nouthetic Studies/Donn Arms 

6 De-Churching Trends 

Pastor Paul Tautges nails it and challenges consumer “churchianity” in his summary of 6 De-Churching Trends. 

Intelligent Design 

Justin Taylor posts videos of An Interview with Stephen Meyer on Intelligent Design. In the videos, R.C. Sproul interviews Stephen Meyer, author of Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, on philosophy, evolution, education, Intelligent Design, and more.

Join the Conversation 

Which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Tags: 5 to Live By, Abortion, Al Mohler, Culture War, Ingelligent Design, Obama, Pro Life

Life Lessons from the Captain Francesco Schettino of the Cruise Ship Costa Concordia

By now everyone has read about and most have listened to the recordings of Captain Francesco Schettino of the cruise ship Costa Concordia. His decision to abandon ship rather than, as Captain, being the last person to leave the ship (or to go down with the ship) provides many life lessons.

Am I the Chicken of the Sea?

David Murray provides a powerfully convicting take on all of this. He encourages us to take the log out of our eye as we judge Captain Schettino. Perhaps we, too, have failed in many similar ways.

Consider David’s probing words…

I’ve steered deliberately off course too…

I’ve tried to impress old friends too…

I’ve sailed too close to the rocks too…

I’ve turned too late too…

I’ve let others suffer the consequences of my sins too…

I’ve fled from the scene too…

Read the rest of David’s post… Are You the Chicken of the Sea? 

The Chicken of the Sea

Al Mohler rightly calls Captain Schettino “the chicken of the sea.” In A Modern Tale of Fear, Failure, and Cowardice, Mohler applies lessons to our daily lives. Read his take in The Chicken of the Sea. 

Join the Conversation

What life lessons can we learn from Captain Schettino?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Tags: Al Mohler, Captain Francesco Schettino, Costa Concordia

Five to Live By

Linking you to the top 5 Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. 

Resources for Discipling Your Children 

Pastor Joe Thorn saves us a boatload of time with a robust resource page on Resources for Discipling Your Children. 

Learning from Christopher Hitchens 

If you don’t really know how he thinks, then Al Mohler might be the last person you would suspect would post a blog entitled Learning from Christopher Hitchens: Lessons Evangelicals Must Not Miss. So…you’d better click that link embedded in the title to find out what he means!

10 Ways Sin Clings to Us Like Social Media

David Murray compares how social media companies make it extremely difficult to leave their services…and how that echoes how sin makes it difficult to extricate ourselves from its grip. Read his valuable insights in O Sin That Will Not Let Me Go.

7 Reasons to Remember An Unborn Life

An aborted child, a still-born baby, a miscarriage. How do we remember and grieve these babies? Pastor Paul Tautges shares Seven Reasons to Remember An Unborn Life. 

In Loving Memory

Pastor Brian Croft shares 5 ways his pastoral mentor, Pastor Jackson Boyett, taught him to be a more faithful pastor. Read his tribute in In Loving Memory. 

Join the Conversation

Which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth

Tags: 5 to Live By, Al Mohler, Brian Croft, Parenting

The Top Five to Live By: The Year End Edition

Linking you to the top 5 Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living. 

Today I offer the top 5 posts from around the Christian web in 2011.

Here are 5 blog posts that I think were most important and/or helpful for readers.

5. Relational Ministry

Ed Welch of CCEF has an outstanding post reminding us that soulless ministry is not biblical ministry at all (compare 1 Thessalonians 2:8). Gain from his wisdom in Are We Skilled Counseling Mechanics? 

4. Does God Have a Good Heart?

John Piper’s Desiring God ministry blog provides a powerful series of quotes from Martin Luther on relating to God as our gracious, loving heavenly Father. Be encouraged with Abba Father Versus a Wrathful Roar. 

3. Evidence for the Resurrection

Justin Taylor posts two videos of Dr. William Lane Craig’s presentation Is There Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus? 

2. Wright on Hawking

This has to be a first for me with Five to Live By: linking you to the Washington Post. But there’s a grand reason. N. T. Wright responds to Stephen Hawking’s recent comments about heaven. Read it and learn What Stephen Hawking Doesn’t Understand about Heaven. 

1. What’s at Stake?

As usual, Al Mohler cuts to the chase in his response to Rob Bell’s book on hell. Read his take in Universalism as a Lure. 

Join the Conversation

Which post from 2011 impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this year that you want to share with others?

Tags: 5 to Live By, Al Mohler, Ed Welch, Hell, John Piper, Lists, Rob Bell, Stephen Hawking

Five to Live By: The Penn State Edition

Linking you to the top 5 Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living.

Today’s Five to Live By focuses on the horrendous sexual abuse of young boys by a former Penn State football coach.

Protecting the Powerless

It’s quite rare that I reference my own posts in the Five to Live By. Today I make an exception. In Protecting the Powerless, I address the church’s role in protecting children from sexual abuse and women from sexual harassment.

Tragic Lessons

Al Mohler has two recent posts. In The Tragic Lessons of Penn State he calls the church to action. In The Briefing he shares his thoughts on what Christians can learn from these horrific events.

The Image of God 

Erik Raymond of Ordinary Pastor ponders what this hideous behavior implies about the image of God. Read his probing thoughts in The Penn State Scandal and the Image of God. 

Hero Worship 

Ted Kluck derives from the ongoing support of some for Joe Paterno the lesson that Everybody Needs Something That Think Is Perfect. 

Moral Failure 

At the Daily Beast, Michael Tomasky offers a scathing indictment of Joe Paterno’s failure to do more in Joe Paterno’s Moral Failure. 

Join the Conversation

Which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

Tags: Al Mohler, Joe Paterno, Penn State, Sexual Abuse

Five to Live By 

Linking you to the top 5 Christian blog posts of the week—posts that provide robust, rich, and relevant insights for living.

Can I Change?

Paul Tripp explores how God changes us in Big Drama Christianity or…?

Does God Have a Good Heart?

John Piper’s Desiring God ministry blog provides a powerful series of quotes from Martin Luther on relating to God as our gracious, loving heavenly Father. Be encouraged with Abba Father Versus a Wrathful Roar.

Can I Trust God?

Rick Thomas addresses how we should deal with our desires in Why I Can’t Have Life on My Terms.

How Do I Deal with Chronic Pain?

My good friend, Chris Boucher, recently started a blog. His insights for living are well worth following, as exemplified in his post about The Valley of Vision and Chronic Pain.

How Should Christians View Homosexuality?

Al Mohler offers a loving, nuanced, robust, relational approach to the vital issue of how we as Christians view homosexuality. Ponder his views in Mohler, Scripture, and Homosexuality.

Bonus Blog: What If I Blew It As a Parent?

I know, this makes # 6 in my “5 to Live By”… Elyse Fitzpatrick at the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Grace & Truth blog addresses imperfect parents (all parents!) in Grace for Regretful Parents Too.

Bonus Blog # 2: How Do We Find Hope When We’re Hurting?

Rita Schulte’s Heartline Podcast interviews yours truly about finding hope in our hurts in God’s Healing for Life’s Losses.  

Join the Conversation

Which post impacted you the most? Why? What blog posts have you enjoyed this week that you want to share with others?

Tags: 5 to Live By, Al Mohler, Chronic Pain, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Homosexuality, John Piper, Parenting, Paul Tripp