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.

Want to Change Lives?

Mike Emlet of CCEF talks about The Number One Mistake People Make Using Scripture to Give Advice.

Want to Grow in Grace? (A Two-for-One)

Two of my favorite bloggers, Kevin DeYoung and Tullian Tchividjian have been blogging about Christian living. To learn about growing in grace, read Kevin’s response (with links to the previous posts) in Gospel-Driven Effort. And, just in time for posting, another response by Kevin: Is Sanctification by Grace Alone?

In a related post, the question is raised, “What role should discipline have in our Christian lives?” Learn the answer from Lina AbuJamra who is the Women’s Ministry Director at Harvest Bible Chapel and a Pediatric Emergency Physician. Read her post Only the Discipline Survive.

Want to Learn the Remedy to Life’s Problems? (Another Two-for-One)

Al Mohler addresses the only cure for what ails us in Theology, Therapy, Twitter, and the Scandal of the Gospel.

Also read Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile as he shares about the antidote to the ensnaring, soul-destroying vice of lust in Lust and Chastity.

Want to Blog?

Have you wondered about starting a blog? There’s no one better to learn from than Tim Challies, one of the premier Christian bloggers. Learn from his blogging wisdom in How to Start a Blog.

Want to Learn about Church Government? (Another Two-for-One)

There have been a number of solid responses to a post by James MacDonald against congregational government. To read the rest of the story, see Fred Moritz’s Response to James MacDonald.

Also read the 9Marks response Like He Uses Everything Else.

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: 9Marks, Al Mohler, Kevin DeYoung, Lina AbuJamra, Mike Emlet, Thabiti Anyabwile, Tim Challies, Tullian Tchividjian

Five to Live By: The Rob Bell Issue 

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

The Post That Started It All

This week’s top 5 focus on “the Rob Bell issue.” Justin Taylor “broke the story” with his post, Rob Bell: Universalist? Read Taylor’s take on Bell’s forthcoming book, Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived due out on March 29 by HarperCollins.

Answering the Question

Some have taken Taylor to task for blogging before the book is released. Kevin DeYoung blows that argument out of the water with Two Thoughts on the Rob Bell Brouhaha.

What’s at Stake?

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

Lots of Links

Over at Christianity Today, they’ve provided a “journalistic perspective” by outlining the issue and the response, including a boatload of links and tweets. Find lots of links at Rob Bell’s Book.

See for Yourself

Watch the Rob Bell video and judge (that’s not a dirty word—discern truth) for yourself. Here’s the link to the YouTube video for Love Wins.

Bonus Link # 1: About Hell

This issue is so important, that I couldn’t stop at 5. Bonus link # 1 offers you a batch of links to books about hell. Read all about it at the 9Marks blog post Annotated Bibliography on Hell.

Bonus Link # 2: A Biblical Theology of Hell

Here’s a second post by the guy who started it all, Justin Taylor: Hell Under Fire. He outlines what looks to be an excellent book on a biblical theology of hell.

Bonus Link # 3: Historical Perspective

Being a lover of and a writer about church history, I couldn’t resist adding Shawn Lucas’ historical take on the Rob Bell issue. Read his Reformation 21 post The Lesson of David Swing.

Join the Conversation

What is your view of the “Rob Bell issue”? What other posts about this issue would you suggest that people read?

Tags: Hell, Justin Taylor, Kevin DeYoung, Love Wins, Rob Bell

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.

Living with Regrets

Why have over 1,500 people passed this post on to friends? Find out when you read Ed Welch (CCEF) post If Only: Living with Regrets.

Holy Joy

Dr. Laura Hendrickson teaches us that we can bear the truth about ourselves because it’s not the end of the story. Ponder he life-changing biblical reflections in When You’ve Really Messed Up.

Wrestling with Convictions

By now, most have heard about the young Christian wrestler from Iowa who choose to forfeit his match at the State meet rather than wrestler a girl—based upon conviction. As a high school wrestling coach, I wanted to blog on this. I did not, but many did. The best post was Al Mohler’s A Clash of Worldviews.

Biblical Counseling Homework

Pastor Mark Kelly provides four worksheets he developed while working through Jonah with a teen struggling with obedience toward authority. They’re a great example of how to use the Bible to engage people in spiritual conversations and scriptural explorations about their lives. Read them and even download them at Counseling from Jonah.

On Display?

Mary Kassian helps us to understand the purpose of womanhood in The Amazing Display.

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, CCEF, Ed Welch, Five to Live By, Laura Hendrickson, Mary Kassian

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.

You Have to Read This

Al Mohler has a very sobering post about how “the Obama administration is now ready to use the coercive power of the state to force medical personnel to perform acts they consider to be morally wrong and unhealthy for their patients.” Read the full implications at Conscience Trampled by the Regime.

What Do I Do If People Think Negatively of Me?

A very insightful and relevant (as usual) post by John Piper from Desiring God about What If Your Reputation Is Unjustly Bad?

Why You Should Care about the Biblical Counseling Coalition

Pastor Rob Green shares his personal story of why the newly launched Biblical Counseling Coalition matters: Why I Care.

Praise to Live By

Pastor Scotty Smith has been posting prayers based upon Scripture. This moving post focuses on A Prayer of Praise to Jesus.

Our Hope Is in Christ

Dr. Laura Hendrickson’s candor about her failures raise a question that she biblically answers in Why Do I Talk About My Failures. Her biblical answer brings Christ’s glory and all of us hope.

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, Biblical Counseling Coalition, John Piper, Laura Henrdickson, President Obama, Rob Green, Scotty Smith

The Best of the Best Around the Christian Net: This Week’s Top 5

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

Do We Need Another Biblical Counseling Organization?

The Biblical Counseling Coalition launched this week. Read all about them at the BCC launch website.

The Experts on Bias…Are Biased!

Surprise, surprise. Social psychologists who study bias are themselves biased. So shares Al Mohler in Academic Bias Against Conservatives.

If Only…

How do we handle life’s “what ifs?” Ed Welch and CCEF explores this important question in Living with Regrets.

God Still Speaks through a Fish

The folks at The Resurgence teach us about God’s amazing grace in Jonah as the Parochial Prophet.

A Prayer of Augustine

Trevin Wax shares Augustine’s prayer Let Me Fly and Take Refuge in You.

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, Biblical Counseling, Biblical Cousneling Coalition, Ed Welch

The Best of the Best Around the Christian Net: This Week’s Top 5

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

The Top 15

Tullian Tchividjian shares his top 15 books on applying the Gospel to life in Fifteen Books on the Gospel for Christians. 

The Top 10

This is the week for post about top books. Michael Patton shares his top ten systematic theology texts in Top Ten Systematic Theologies.

Doing a 180 in 40 Years

Al Mohler explains how the world’s morality has turned completely around and upside down in one generation. Read his analysis at Now It Is the Other Way Around.

God’s Kingdom for a 15-Year-Old

Russell Moore explains the Kingdom of God so a fifteen-year-old could understand it (and me, too) in The Kingdom of God Explained to a Fifteen-Year-Old.

Counseling in the Real World

Rob Green shares a very honest post about the other side of counseling—the side we don’t often share. What do you do when your counselee is disgusted with you? Read Rob’s take on this in Keeping at It Even When Your Counseling Is Met with Disgust.

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, Russell Moore, The Best of the Best, Tullian Tchividjian