Oh, Behave! Conduct Worthy of the Gospel in Corporate Worship

I have said (sarcastically) in church before "Come early to get a seat at the back": Oh, Behave! Conduct Worthy of the Gospel in Corporate Worship – The Gospel Coalition Blog:

Park far, sit close.
This is one practical way to count others more significant than yourselves, and look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4). Parking far leaves the better spots in the lot for those arriving after you, and sitting close leaves the seats near the doors easily accessible

The Far Less Sensational Truth about Jesus’ ‘Wife’

Interesting: The Far Less Sensational Truth about Jesus’ ‘Wife’ – The Gospel Coalition Blog:

This new manuscript---aptly titled the Gospel of Jesus' Wife---is a fragment of a fourth-century codex written in Coptic (Sahidic) that in one place reads, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife . . . she will be able to be my disciple.'" The fragment is quite small (4 x 8 cm), with faded writing on the back. The main text is written in a cramped, semi-literate hand. Most notably, Karen King of Harvard University has suggested that while the manuscript is fourth century, the original composition should be dated back to the middle of the second century.

Corinthians 15:1-11 The Resurrection

A few Sundays ago Con Campbell spoke at my church, and it was one of the best talks on the resurrection that I had heard: Corinthians 15:1-11 The Resurrection

Articles | Love And Subjugation

Turns out marriage is between two people: Articles | Love And Subjugation | Phillip Jensen:

Sydney Anglicans are accused of speaking a lot about the submission of the wife and the difference between the spouses, but not of the sacrificial love of the husband and the equal rights of the spouses. It is an accusation that does not ring true to my experience, where most wedding sermons on passages like Ephesians 5 major on both Christ’s sacrifice rather than the church’s submission, and on the husband’s responsibility rather than the wife’s response.These accusations are the result of selective listening.

This is hard to understand because English doesn't have a middle voice, which is used in the "submit" passages:

While the Bible calls upon the wife to submit it never calls upon the husband to subjugate or subdue his wife. It is never his prerogative or responsibility. Hers must always be her own willing, Spirit filled, response to the Saviour, never a response enforced by her husband. All forms of coercion – physical, economic, social, psychological, spiritual – are inappropriate and wrong for a husband to use on his wife. Some, such as physical abuse, are criminal and should be dealt with by the courts. The Christian husband’s duty and solemn vow is to follow the example of his Lord and lay down his life for his bride. This will always put her interests before his own at whatever cost it is to him. This will mean never using or even threatening force. To subjugate his wife is a complete denial of what he promised.

Scrambled Eggs

Some common sense advice: Scrambled Eggs:

Most people want some magic prayer or answer as to how they can make it like it never happened. In other words, how do I unscramble the eggs that I scrambled?  They don’t like the consequences of the choices they made in the past and don’t want those consequences to impact the present or future. Here’s the hard truth: We reap what we sow. It’s in The Bible and apparently churches aren’t teaching this to their people outside of the financial context. Preachers will often use the concept in terms of money, yet fail to extrapolate it to the whole of life. 

If you never pay attention to your spouse, if you have an affair, if you sleep with a dozen different people and get an STD, guess what? You reap the negative consequences. But, if you spend time with your spouse, stay faithful in your marriage, remain a virgin and live monogamously, you reap the positive consequences. Amazing how that works!

The Chocolate Milk Test

Some interesting points in this, and a concerning one about a restaurant that gives you a discount for openly wearing a gun: The Chocolate Milk Test:

You have a right to marry, and they do not." But "marry" is not an unspecific verb with no direct object. I have the right to marry a woman, and so do they. A man and a woman together is what marriage is. The fact that they don't want to marry a woman is their look out. I have a right to own a gun and so does your spinster Quaker aunt. The fact that she doesn't want to own a gun is perfectly acceptable. But what she is not free to do is redefine everything, and say that gun ownership is very important to her, but that for her, gun ownership means owning a quilting rack.

When Should My Children Be Baptized?

Not a bad attempt at all: When Should My Children Be Baptized? | Challies Dot Com:

One of the ongoing discussions among Baptists relates to the age at which children can or should be baptized. Many children raised in a Christian home—perhaps even most of them—profess faith at a young age. Many parents then ask, Should my child be immediately baptized? Here is my attempt to answer this question.

Counterfeit Gods || Spoken Word || Jefferson Bethke

Another good poem by the I Hate Religion but love Jesus poem guy: Counterfeit Gods || Spoken Word || Jefferson Bethke - YouTube

Gender & Toys: Monkey Study Suggests Hormonal Basis For Children's Toy Preferences

Well this is strange... I wonder about the size of their sample: Gender & Toys: Monkey Study Suggests Hormonal Basis For Children's Toy Preferences:

When offered the choice of playing with either a doll or a toy truck, girls will typically pick the doll and boys will opt for the truck. This isn't just because society encourages girls to be nurturing and boys to be active, as people once thought. In experiments, male adolescent monkeys also prefer to play with wheeled vehicles while the females prefer dolls — and their societies say nothing on the matter.

Sinning Against Our Own Bodies

Sinning Against Our Own Bodies:

Many people don’t want to follow God’s design about sex because they’re afraid they will miss out on something; God wants us to follow His design precisely because He doesn’t want us to miss out on something.

Is Bigger Really Better? The Statistics actually Say “No”!

This is interesting. I wonder if bigger churches have a "come see" attitude rather then a "go tell"  attitude...: Is Bigger Really Better? The Statistics actually Say “No”! | ChurchPlanting.com:

A global survey conducted by Christian Schwartz found that smaller churches consistently scored higher than large churches in seven out of eight qualitative characteristics of a healthy church. A more recent study of churches in America, conducted by Ed Stetzer and Life Way Ministries, revealed that churches of two hundred or less are four times more likely to plant a daughter church than churches of one thousand or more. The research seems to even indicate that the pattern continues—the smaller the size of the church the more fertile they are in planting churches.

Inspect but Don’t Introspect

There are some good quotes on this page, but I think Piper does the best with few words: Inspect but Don’t Introspect – Justin Taylor:

“Periodic self-examination is needed and wise and biblical. But for the most part mental health is the use of the mind to focus on worthy reality outside ourselves.”