The Sunday Refill – 7 Links for Your Weekend (26/5/19)
Seven up…
1) The Whole Bible in 12 Verses – If you had to choose 12 Bible verses to summarise the whole story of Scripture, which would you choose? Here’s Andrew Wilson’s choice dozen.
2) On What Can Miserable Christians Sing (with Carl Trueman and Matt Merker) – I’ve been pondering the theme of lament recently, so this is a helpful listen. It’s a fruitful conversation with Carl Trueman, whose important essay of the same title a few years ago (found in his book The Wages of Spin) argued that there was a dearth of lament within the modern-day Western church. So what? He argued it was leading to “an insipid, trivial and unrealistically triumphalist Christianity”. Reflecting practically on the article with him are podcast hosts Mark Dever & Jonathan Leeman, as well as congregational songwriter Matt Merker.
3) Sermon Notes Guide for Young People – Are there tools we can use as churches to help people engage more during preaching? Obviously a lot of that rests on the preacher themselves, but Trinity Church Scarborough have created this sheet for their teenagers to use during the sermon – and they’ve kindly made it widely available. I’m guessing they then create opportunities for the young people to share their reflections. Of course, you could argue that such a handout is just as effective for adults too, and perhaps more so than a series of printed bullet points. It also works as a healthy checklist for the preacher as they prepare their sermon.
4) What we need to Confront about Christianity – I’m excited about Rebecca McLaughlin’s new book, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion – it looks like a great resource to pass on to those who aren’t Christians, as well as giving confidence to those who are. This engaging conversation between Rebecca and Gospel Coalition podcast host Collin Hansen sees the author reflect on perceptions of Christianity in the West, differences between Christianity in the UK and US, and how we might respond to our cultural moment as a Church.
5) Satan Will Sing You to Sleep – A powerful challenge about spiritual indifference.
6) A Pastor’s Restoration Process: Journey to Healing Through the Eyes of Those Closest – This is a fascinating set of interviews. Darrin Patrick was the lead-pastor of The Journey Church which he helped plant in 2002. After being confronted about an emotional affair and various leadership failures in 2016, Patrick was fired but placed in a restoration process. Three years on, Ed Stetzer seperately interviews Darrin, his wife Amie, and another pastor, Gregg Surratt, about his role in that restoration process.
7) Danny Day Care – For something a bit different, check out what happens when Scottish trials cyclist Danny MacAskill is invited to do your child-minding…