Key Connections (August 23, 2017)

12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You and What We Can Do About It (David C. Smith, The Village Church)

No plan for smartphone use alone will make us worship and desire God over the things of this world. Through prayer, thoughtful reflection and communal accountability, with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can become a smarter smartphone user.

Do You Read the Bible Like a Nonbeliever? (John Piper, Desiring God)

I cannot stress enough how our real spiritual helplessness should be accompanied by the daily cry to God that he would sustain and awaken our desire to read his word. Too many of us are passive when it comes to our spiritual affections. We are practical fatalists.

Mandates of Expository Preaching (Eric Davis, The Cripplegate) 

Therefore, expository preaching is that method of preaching which keeps most in step with the way in which the Holy Spirit inspired the word. It seeks full submission to what the Spirit laid down in Scripture.

4 Weighty Attributes of Scripture  (Sean Nolan, God Centered Discipleship)

The Scriptures are indispensable for those who would follow Christ, for apart from them we don’t know who he is. They speak with clarity to those who read them in faith with the aid of the Holy Spirit. They are enough to know all that is necessary to be made right with God. Most of all, they are the sole authority God has given to govern his church, the vessel used to dispense his grace in the world.

Expository Preaching – The Antidote to Anemic Worship (Albert Mohler, AlbertMohler.com)

 The hymns of the faith convey rich confessional and theological content, and many modern choruses recover a sense of doxology formerly lost in many evangelical churches. But music is not the central act of Christian worship, and neither is evangelism nor even the ordinances. The heart of Christian worship is the authentic preaching of the word of God.

The Two Types of Rest You Need (Nivine Richie, Unlocking the Bible)

I often wonder if my lack of physical rest is a symptom of a deeper problem: a lack of spiritual rest. For those who’ve not yet received the gift of salvation, the spiritual struggle to make ourselves right with God is exhausting and fruitless work. For believers who’ve trusted Christ with their salvation, spiritual pride may prompt us to work as though ministry depends on us rather than the Lord.

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