Hello friends. I hope you’re having a great start of September. Here are some interesting reads that I thought will be worth your while. Enjoy:
1. THE MEDIATED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING: “These days nearly everything we do is mediated by and filtered through technology–and this is not necessarily a good thing. Our social interactions are increasingly conducted and assisted via our phones, which all too often distract us from actual conversation and connection.”
2. IS JESUS ENOUGH FOR DRUG ADDICTS? A powerful call to community and deliberate discipleship. Mez: “Yes Jesus is enough. Yes, the gospel is the only power on this earth (or anywhere for that matter) capable of completely transforming any life, no matter how lowly. But addicts need a reason to get out of bed. They need a purpose. Very often they lack ambition. They lack dreams. They lack motivation. They lack sustained support and accountability. They lack true community.”
3. DELIBERATE MISUNDERSTANDING: “Speakers and writers have certain responsibilities: they should try to be clear, honest, efficient and sensitive to their audience. But listeners have a responsibility, too. To insist on implausible meanings is to pull a silly time-wasting trick: “Can I ask you a question?” “I don’t know, can you?””
4. WHY I CALLED OUT JOEL OSTEEN AND JOYCE MEYER. Rick Henderson: “Yesterday I did something that I have never done before in a sermon. I publicly called out false teachers and named them by name. I said,
If you listen to Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer, if you take what they teach seriously, it will not be good for you. It will be detrimental to your long-term growth as a follower of Jesus.”
5. JOHN STOTT’S 8 KEYS. These eight keys to preaching with authority are applicable beyond the pulpit, to any other Bible teaching context. I hope you find them helpful: “His [Stott’s] suggestions are incredibly practical and perceptive – unfortunately, they’re sparsely practiced. So, here’s a friendly reminder: please, please, please take his advice.”
Have a blessed week
Cornell
Alien Citizen 