Kindle deals for Christian readers

This week’s deals from Crossway are focused on reading and understanding the Bible:

• Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible by Wayne Grudem, C. John Collins & Thomas R. Schreiner—$2.99
• Understanding Scripture by Wayne Grudem, C. John Collins & Thomas R. Schreiner—$2.99
• Welcome to the Story by Stephen J. Nichols—$2.99
• Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church by Michael Lawrence—$3.99

Also on sale is Has the Church Replaced Israel? by Michael Vlash ($2.99).

Stop The Racist Jokes

Jeff Medders:

Racism is satanic. And so are racist jokes. We can often feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin with the race conversation. Let’s start here: No more racist jokes. No more. Zero. I’ve heard too many jokes about Mexicans (my race) swimming across and doing manual labor. I’ve heard too many jokes about Asian people’s eyes and driving. I’ve heard too many jokes about Black people’s hair—it’s all wrong. And as Christians, we must adopt a zero tolerance culture toward racism.

Take heed

Nick Batzig:

Consider the following: If an innocent man could choose a piece of fruit over the infinitely valuable God (Gen. 3:6); if the most righteous man of his day could get so drunk that he passed out naked before his sons in his tent (9:21); if the most faithful man of his day could father a child with his wife’s handmaiden (16:1–4) and twice hand his wife over to other men (12:11–15; 20:1–2); if the mother of promise could laugh at the words of the God of promise and then lie to Him about doing so (18:9–15); if “righteous Lot” could greedily pick the most materialistic and sexually depraved place for himself and his family to live (13:8–13), and could hand his daughters over to the sexually perverse men of the city (19:4–8); if the son of promise could show partiality to his oldest son because he liked his hunting skills (25:28), and he, too, could hand his wife over to another man (26:6–11); and if the namesake of Israel could swindle his brother for a birthright (25:29–34), then so could I.

Evolution not Dissolution of the Parachurch

JD Payne:

Though much of my twenty years in vocational ministry has been connected to the local church, I have also been significantly involved in parachurch (i.e., alongside of, not in competition with the local church) ministries. Even extending back to my college days, campus ministry was a major part of my leadership development process. Seminaries, mission agencies, and other parachurch organizations have always been near to my heart. Much Kingdom good may be found with such ministries.

However, my concern with such ministries, both when I was immersed in them vocationally as well as now, is that we were never evolving.

His Eye is on the Sasquatch

Jared Wilson:

I like to think about those creepy fanged fishies deep in the Mariana Trench, swimming around in the murky darkness of the oceanic fathoms, their dangling bioluminescence their only lantern into the future. Most of them we will never see — at least, not on this side of the new earth, where we don’t have the lung capacity or the mechanical capacity to withstand the pressure of such depths. There are species down there we have zero clue about. I think of exotic fish in clear pools of water in the darkness of undiscovered caves deep in the jungles that human feet will never enter. In the thickest centers of the wildest forests, there are species of insects and birds that are yet undetected.

What’s the harm if pastors aren’t theologians?

Good stuff from Kevin Vanhooser:

HT: Derek