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Final Call

Final Call

Welcome to Final Call, a brief, hand-picked selection of news, articles, videos, and curiosities from the Internet and beyond.

Mini-Review: A Time for Confidence

It is clear that we are living at a time of seismic societal change. Things we recently considered the highest good are now considered the greatest evil; things we used to consider aberrant we now declare normal and noble. “Enormous pressure to cower, to capitulate, and to cave closes in on us like the unstoppable walls of a compactor. We see it. We sense it.” Into the fray steps Stephen Nichols with A Time for Confidence: Trusting God in a Post-Christian Society. “This is not a time to cower, cave, or capitulate. It is a time for confidence, and our confidence must be in the right place. Or, better to say, our confidence must be in the right person. Our confidence must be in God. All else will disappoint.”

Through five chapters, Nichols shows that our confidence must be in God, in the Bible, in Christ, in the gospel, and in hope. His book is meant to encourage Christians to take heart and to press on, to reaffirm their confidence in God, his character, his means, his gospel. It’s a quick read, but a powerful one and I gladly recommend it.

G3 Conference

The G3 Conference has begun to add the 2017 conferences talks and panels to YouTube. There are sessions from Voddie Baucham, D.A. Carson, Steve Lawson, Conrad Mbewe, Paul Washer, and others. I had the privilege of preaching on Colossians 3:16: “Let the Gospel Give You Your Song.” Here it is in case you’re interested.

Also, I should have gone with a double windsor knot. Next time.

Good Theologians with Informed Convictions

Enjoy this quote from Aimee Byrd’s No Little Women.

We are to recognize that women are created in the image of God as necessary allies to men in carrying out his mission. Because of this, women are to be good theologians with informed convictions. We are to take this call seriously and invest quality time in our theological growth and Bible study within the context of our local church as a foundation to our service and contributions to the church, our families, and society. The church is to recognize this and help to equip competent women as necessary allies. And as we uphold the headship roles in household management, we are to relate to one another on the basis of our unity in Christ. Elders are also to ensure that the mature women in the church can pass down their knowledge to the younger women in the faith, explaining how our doctrine relates to our everyday lives and roles. And yet we stumble as we try to faithfully work this out. We see this in Scripture, we see it in church history, and we are still stumbling about now.


  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 21)

    A La Carte: Lessons from Trump’s and Harris’s social media campaigns / What is my spiritual gift? / The messages we receive / 10 mistakes I’ve made in preaching / Big Kindle and book sales / and more.

  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.

  • What Grieves the Heart of God

    What Grieves the Heart of God?

    What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…