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ParentingOn reading together
It used to be, a generation and a half or so ago, that reading out loud was family entertainment. My own childhood memories – although…
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Recent ArticlesPAUL vs. JAMES? Dealing with Bible difficulties
“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” – Paul, writing in Romans 3:28 “You see that a…
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NewsThe PCUSA and the need for more praise from the “mouth of babes”
This past June the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US – the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) – held their 223rd General Assembly. This is a…
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Media biasReligious “ghosts” haunt the mainstream media
Back in 2004 a couple of Christian journalists were frustrated at how, in the words of William Schneider: “The press…doesn’t get religion.” So Terry Mattingly…
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Book excerpts5 quotes from Greg Koukl’s “The Story of Reality”
The following quotes are from Greg Koukl’s new apologetic book “The Story of Reality: How the world began, how it ends, and everything important that happens…
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NewsJustin Trudeau, and what the need for two witnesses would have us do
On August 4, 2000, the 28-year-old Justin Trudeau was in Creston, BC to have fun at a festival put on by a beer company. Ten…
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TheologyForgiveness
What a wonderful word! Yet, what does it mean? How do you grant forgiveness; and, for what? As much as Christians talk about forgiveness, you’d…
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Assorted“Did God answer her prayer?“
To my dear niece and namesake: First of all, thanks for your letter. It’s great to hear from a niece. The pages you wrote were…
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In a NutshellTidbits – July 2018
A most wonderful secret “What does it feel like?” I asked. “To have a whole new person growing inside you?” My mom sat down on…
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NewsSaturday Selections – June 30, 2018
A refresher on the Columbo Tactic This past Spring, RP brought Tim Barnett around Canada to teach a couple of very effective apologetic tactics. In…
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AssortedHull humanity
“Hey, here’s your sandwich,” I called across the lunchroom to Caldwall, the kid we picked on. He was fat and unathletic, and we kept him…
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EconomicsIf work is worship, does that mean I just gotta be warm and fuzzy all day?
In an earlier article we peered into God’s design for business and how that changes one’s outlook on vocation and the marketplace. Our work done…
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AssortedThat cloud of witnesses….
Mina and Marco in Egypt Open Doors is a non-denominational mission working in over 60 countries where Christianity is socially or legally discouraged or oppressed….
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News
Saturday Selections – June 23, 2018
What submission means for singles Wives are called to submit to their husbands so does that mean submission is only for marriage? Supercomputers don’t compare…
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MagazineMay/June 2018 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: How are we to understand the Bible? / Dethroning the dictator: a simple electoral reform that might actually make our democracy more representative…
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Pro-life – AbortionDon’t know? Don’t kill.
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News
Saturday Selections – June 16
Free book on what it means to be a man What does it mean to be a godly man? Dr. Bredenhof reviews The Masculine Mandate,…
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Adult non-fictionGod has a wonderful plan for your life
by Ray Comfort 128 pages / 2010 Why doesn’t the modern evangelistic message “work”? In this book Comfort is confronting an enormous problem that he…
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NewsEntertainment industry stands strong for what’s wrong
Veteran actor Robert De Niro made news on Sunday for a very short speech – just 17 words. His assignment, at the Tony Awards, was…
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PoliticsDethroning the dictator
**** Canada’s democratic system has been likened to a four-year “elected dictatorship.” Why? The fault is often lain at the feet of our First-Past-The-Post electoral…
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Adult non-fictionCalvinist vs. Arminian: a tale of two books
Why revisit the debate between Arminianism and Calvinism? Isn’t it a waste of precious time to discuss these differences even as the world is aflame…
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News
Saturday Selections – June 9
I believe in “theistic evolutionist” Dr. Bredenhof on the disingenuous way some in the creation/evolution debate describe their positions. Airport security: where do we draw…
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NewsPossible evidence of life on Mars may have been discovered…perhaps. Or not.
When the Mars Rover’s latest findings – organic molecules – were reported in early June it unleashed the latest round of hype about the possibility…
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Adult non-fictionCan I smoke pot? Marijuana in light of Scripture
by Tom Breeden and Mark L. Ward Jr. 103 pages / 2016 This book is valuable in two very different ways. First, it’s valuable for…
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NewsNew euthanasia code illustrates Dutch slippery slope
Doctors in the Netherlands are getting mail. Every single general practitioner in the country – some 14,000 – will receive their own copy of the…
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In a Nutshell
Tidbits – June 2018
FUTURECASTING Dr. Kathy Koch has a saying that reflects the biblical thought Paul express in 1 Cor.15:33. She notes, “Show me your friends, and I…
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News
Saturday Selections – June 2
Why do churches need good organs and good organists? An interesting perspective on organs from someone outside Dutch Reformed circles. Antony van Leewenhoek: a Dutchman…
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DocumentaryBeyond Is Genesis History?
Documentary 2017 / 400 minutes In Del Tackett’s 2017 documentary Is Genesis History? he interviewed PhD-holding scientists with various areas of expertise, all of them…
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TheologyHow are we to understand the Bible?
Some years ago I attended a three-day conference on the topic how to read the Bible. Actually, the conference organizers used a big name for…
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NewsAustralian rugby player won’t back down
Editor’s note: After this article was posted, it was suggested that Israel Folau might be a Trinity-denying (and thus, heretical) Oneness Pentecostal, and he did…
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News
Saturday Selections – May 26, 2018
I want to buy your cheapest phone Tim Challies has bought a “dumb” phone to help him regain balance and control over his “digital assistant.”…
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DocumentaryCalvinist
Documentary 89 minutes / 2017 RATING: 8/10 Calvinist is the story of a generation of young men and women who went searching for answers and found…
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MarriageTo the newly married…
**** There is a fascinating verse in Deuteronomy. It isn’t marriage advice; it is a marriage command. When a man hath taken a new wife,…
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Adult non-fictionHeaven: what can we know?
**** Christians don’t seem to speak about Heaven as much as in the past. There is more interest in establishing the Kingdom of God on…
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NewsAre young people the loneliest generation?
In our ever more connected age, somehow loneliness seems to be growing. Earlier this year the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, appointed a “minister of…
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NewsDonald Trump, G.K. Chesterton, and the 10,000 Commandments
During his campaign, Donald Trump promised he would get rid of two regulations for every one that he added. Why make such a pledge? Because…
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TheologyDid Abraham really exist?
Evangelicals are debating the historicity of Adam, but they are too timid. It is time to reject fundamentalist distortions of the Abrahamic narrative just as decisively as…
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EconomicsThe rich get richer by making us all wealthier too
Coveting is not only a sin, it’s stupid. It’s important we’re clear on both points, because the Devil is willing to work any angle. He…
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News
Saturday Selections – May 12, 2018
5 questions to ask a book before you read it Tim Challies lists 5 questions to “help you filter the few books you will read from the…
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AssortedGo to the ant, you sluggard…
“Go to the ant, you sluggard consider its ways, and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provision in…
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Book ReviewsFaithfulness Under Fire: the story of Guido de Brès
by William Boekestein 2010 / 32 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give “Church history” and “picture book” are almost mutually exclusive terms, but William Boekestein, author (and URC pastor),…
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Being the ChurchOn being a Titus 2 young woman
Older women [must] train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of…
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MusicU2 shows us how love can hurt
It’s been quite a week for U2. In the space of just four days, the Irish rock band took public stands in favor of homosexuality,…
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Book excerptsOne good deed is worth more than a thousand good intentions
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” Ecclesiastes 9:10a “Whatever your hand finds to do,” refers to works that are possible. These…
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Recent ArticlesDealing with the Bible’s troubling texts
Whether it’s passages about slavery, or gender roles, or the imprecatory Psalms, some sections of Scripture make Christians uncomfortable. God’s command to kill all the…
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In a Nutshell
Tidbits – May 2018
“Pastor, I already know how to farm better than I do” In an April 16 post at nouthetic.org, Donn R. Arms recounts how, as a…
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Adult non-fiction“The Devil’s Delusion” and the baseless confidence of the certain atheist
Some atheists, such as the late Christopher Hitchens, were very certain about their doubt. This sort of sure skeptic will argue that society should make…
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News
Saturday Selections – April 28, 2018
Rosaria Butterfield on hospitality On how hospitality is both easier and more radical than we know. And far more important too! Why I am a…
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Being the ChurchOlder women have much to give
Our church has a sizable number of older women. Why? What task would the Lord give these sisters in His church? Like the older men,…
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Assorted“Othercott” – like a boycott but better
Some years ago a particularly blasphemous movie, The Da Vinci Code, hit theaters and a number of prominent Christians called for a boycott. Even the…
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ParentingFathers, fear, and self-interest
Men, our legacy since the fall is that we tend to either be indifferent or become angry at our children’s sin. Both responses are dangerous…
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AssortedWhat my grandma taught me
My grandma died at the age of 93, more than 25 years after her Henk died. And during those years she often wondered why God…
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DatingFaint heart never won fair maiden
On dating, Ephesians 5, and being a man A serious conversation requires serious chairs – the sort to sink down in and get properly settled….
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Assorted“So what you’re saying is…”
In January Jordan Peterson was interviewed by journalist Cathy Newman, on Britain’s Channel 4 News. The exchange quickly went viral, with more than 9 million…
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MagazineMar/Apr 2018 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: Is Jordan Peterson the champion we’ve been looking for? / Grandma is not a dog / The growth of Statism in Canada /…
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NewsSouth Korean babies: going, going….
Last year South Korea had the lowest number of babies born since their statistics agency started tracking this back in 1970. The decline has been…
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Science – GeneralPlants that pack an explosive punch!
Sometimes when my husband and I sit quietly in our house, maybe reading, or drinking coffee, we hear a barely audible “pop” followed by a…
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Adult non-fictionThe Story of Reality
The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important That Happens in Between by Gregory Koukl 2017 / 198 pages…
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PoliticsJohn Piper on debating moral issues in the public square
“…in your public involvement, don’t conceal the roots of your convictions about what is right and wrong. Don’t try to get a better hearing through…
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AssortedTo be known
It is a good thing to be known, that is to say, to be familiarly recognized. When someone greets you by your first name and…
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In a Nutshell
Tidbits – April 2018
“Wait…what?” As our family has been reading through the Bible, certain passages (starting right off with Genesis 4) make it necessary to at least touch…
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AssortedWhy doesn’t the OT say more about what happens after death?
Questions are powerful things: absolutely vital for anyone who wants to be wise, but also a way for the foolish to try to tear down….
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HistoryCanada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms was always meant to be revolutionary
Many Christians are puzzled by the decline of religious freedom in our country. Time after time, in conflicts involving homosexuals or abortion rights activists, Christians…
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NewsSaturday Selections – March 31, 2018
Materially blessed like no other generation “…if the media truly reported the important changes in the world, “they could have run the headline NUMBER OF…
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Recent ArticlesThe best news ever!
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:32-43) **** Three people were taken that day to a hill…
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HomosexualityWhen a gay couple wants you to help them celebrate sin
Back in 2012, an American couple that rented out their barn for weddings ran into trouble when two ladies wanted to reserve it for a…
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News“Non-binary” fellow takes on feminist law
In mid March news broke of yet another “first,” this time in an Oregon county where Venn Sage Wylde, a “non-binary candidate” – a man…
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NewsGlenn Beck on Stephen Hawking (1942-2018): When almost right is completely wrong
When renown theoretical-physicist and atheist Stephen Hawking, 76, passed away March 14, it made headlines around the world. He was probably the world’s best known…
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Children’s picture booksGolly’s Folly: the prince who wanted it all
by Eleazar and Rebekah Ruiz illustrated by Rommel Ruiz 36 pages / 2016 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Inspired by the Preacher’s denouncement that “all is vanity,” this is…
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EvangelismHelp wanted: Prophets
**** God’s Word cuts. We acknowledge that is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). It may even be that it’s because…
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FamilyMisty
Family / Drama 1961 / 91 minutes RATING: 7/10 If you have girls in your home there’s a good chance you’ve already heard of Marguerite…
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Adult biographiesShocked by Augustine’s Confessions
There are many classics I mean to read in my life, but I just haven’t yet. Fortunately this summer, while laid up with an injury,…
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Adult non-fictionTactics: a game plan for discussing your Christian convictions
by Greg Koukl 2009 / 208 pages What would you do? You’re in a public place and you encounter a woman with a pentagram hanging…
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NewsEpiscopalians consider non-binary/feminine pronouns for God
The 1.7 million member Episcopal Church opposes the death penalty, supports legalized abortion, and ordains both women and homosexuals into office. Now one diocese has…
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DocumentaryGenesis: Paradise Lost (part 1)
Documentary 109 minutes / 2018 RATING: 8/10 There have been some very good Genesis-related resources coming out in the last few years and this is…
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AssortedWhat’s next? The growth of Statism in Canada
Last month I attended a particularly moving live stage production called Solitary Refinement. The play is based on true stories of persecution. It focuses on the…
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NewsNew Gerber “spokesbaby” has Down syndrome
Since 2010, Gerber, the baby food company, had conducted an annual photo contest to find real-life Gerber babies – the winner is then their “spokesbaby”…
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Science – GeneralAmazing green meat-eaters!
The first thing a student of nature learns, is that it is fatal to generalize – an exception can be found to almost any general…
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AssortedElection
Nobody would tell who had written the naughty word inside the door of the boys’ toilet. The six girls in our one-room country school were…
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NewsLeaving Frozen out in the cold?
For show biz, as elsewhere, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Hollywood stands to benefit from whatever controversy it can generate. Disney is one…
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ParentingDiscipline or punishment: do your children know the difference?
There is a huge difference between punishment and discipline. Since children are born wanting to go their own way, every parent engages in some form…
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FamilyStorm and Luther’s forbidden letter
Family / Drama 105 minutes / 2017 RATING: 7/10 Storm Voeten is the 12-year-old son of a printer, living in 1500s Antwerp. Martin Luther has…
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In a Nutshell
Tidbits – March 2018
John Calvin on abortion “…the fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being…and it is almost a monstrous crime…
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Adult non-fictionHow does a Christian live in the midst of suffering?
**** Pain and suffering require good theology because often, during intense pain of any kind, the whole question of how God’s sovereignty and goodness relate…
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NewsEuthanasia in the Netherlands: So bad even some supporters are now opposed
The Netherlands is a pioneer in the field of euthanasia. In 2002, it was the first country in the world to legalize physician-assisted suicide, and…
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NewsBilly Graham (1918-2018): The last of the Great Revivalists
Without a doubt, Billy Graham has had a huge role in shaping American Christianity. His death on February 21, 2018 signals the passing of an…
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Science – Creation/EvolutionDeep Time – the god of our age
Throughout history, human beings have had the tendency to reject their Creator, and replace Him in their lives with gods of their own making. From…
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MagazineJan/Feb 2018 issue
WHAT’S INSIDE: The Mike Pence rule / Work is worship / The surprising secrets of highly happy marriages / Five fun family-friendly films / Hospitality…
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ParentingWhen you’re asked, “Do you spank your child?”
On a December edition of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors Truth in Love podcast, Stuart Scott was asked how he would answer if someone who…
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NewsFeminists vs. transgenders? Why the Left is turning on itself.
In Judges 7 Israel is faced with a fearsome foe, and God decides to use that foe’s strength against it. Gideon and his 300 get to watch as…
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Pro-life – EuthanasiaEuthanasia and the folly of downward comparisons
Have you ever heard a euthanasia advocate argue that to force grandma to live in pain is to treat her worse than a dog? The…
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News
Saturday Selections – Feb 10, 2018
What does a kind husband look like? Some thoughts on the lies that husbands can tell about God in the way they treat their wives,…
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News26-year-old woman gives birth to 25-year-old girl
We start counting our age from the day of our birth, but if we think on that for a moment we realize that’s not, technically,…
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In a Nutshell
Tidbits – February 2018
Never a better time… It’s so easy to get caught up in what’s going wrong with the world that we can lose sight of all…
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Science – GeneralDNA: good discovery, bad agenda
What a difference 65 years makes. It was in April of 1953 that a one-page letter appeared in the journal Nature. Two young scientists believed…
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Pro-life – AbortionA person’s a person, no matter how small-hearted (or not so) pro-lifers might be
A new study, released in January by LifeWay Research is part of an effective rebuttal to a common pro-abortion argument. Pro-lifers are often accused of…
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Assorted4 reasons to remember your Creator in your youth
Our enemy says, “Youth for pleasure, middle age for business, old age for religion.” The Bible says, “Youth, middle age, and old age for your Creator.”…
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NewsChick-fil-A is always closed on Sunday… except when an ox falls into a pit
The American fast food chain Chick-fil-A is a favorite among Christians for the owners’ unwavering stand against Sunday opening. But it turns out this unwavering…
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NewsChip and Joanna Gaines and global warming
When Fixer Upper’s Chip and Joanna Gaines announced earlier this month that they were pregnant with child number five, the congratulations rolled in. Thousands of…
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Movie Reviews4 fun family-friendly films
Don’t know what to watch with the family tonight? If you have some younger children, here’s four possibilities that might just fit the bill. (And…