Practicing effective Bible study on Psalm 3.
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What are the Psalms and what do they mean? Is it right for Christians to pray them to God? What about those ones calling down judgment on enemies? How does that jive with Christ telling us to "love" our enemies? Here's a little teaser: Righteous retribution is one of the glories of the divine character. If it is right that God should desire to exercise it, then it cannot be wrong for his people to desire him to exercise it. It may be objected that, while he claims retribution for himself, he forbids it to them, and that he has thereby forbidden all satisfaction in it to them. The fact is true; the inference does not follow. Inasmuch as retribution inflicted by a creature is forbidden, the desire for its infliction by a creature, or pleasure therein, is also forbidden; but inasmuch as it is righteously inflicted by God, it must be right in him, and must therefore be, when in his hand, a proper subject of satisfaction to the godly. —R. L. Dabney, 19th-century American pastor
 Alex McNeilly (CNCF campus director) preached this sermon on Tuesday, July 28, at 12:50 p.m., outside the Planned Parenthood abortion mill in Bloomington, Ind. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, President Obama made this prophecy: This is our first task—caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged. Did you hear that?
“Caring for our children” is “our first task.…That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.” What judgment was president Obama talking about when he said that we, as a society, will be judged? "You cannot overreact to the importance, the seriousness, and the horror of what goes on when babies are being murdered." —R. C. Sproul Jr.  In response to the recent SCOTUS decision on gay marriage, a Presbyterian pastor based in Portland encourages his people to hold any view they want to in regards to the decision. For those discouraged by the ruling, he reminds them that the Supreme Court of the United States has no obligation to honor God with their decisions: First, the Supreme Court is more or less codifying the will of the American people—the wishes of our friends and neighbors. This ruling is not judicial activism in the sense of forcing a minority decision upon a powerless majority. Secondly, we should remember that it's possible to hold views about what the Bible teaches without necessarily advocating for the government to hold those views. If we lived in a theocracy, when the government strayed outside of what the Bible commends and condemns then there would be a need, if not a moral mandate to remind the government of its foundational commitment to God's word. But, our government operates as a pluralistic democracy. And like God's people who were exiled to Assyria, Babylon, and Persia in the 8th–6th centuries, to expect our government to reflect our religious principles could be short-sighted. As Christians in Portland, we don't live in Jerusalem but in Babylon. This sentiment represents a trend among Christians to remove the authority of Jesus Christ from the public square…
In a recent blog post, Julie Rodgers indicates her predictable movement from believing that Christians can call themselves gay and still be Christians to plainly approving of same-sex romantic relationships. She writes, "I've become increasingly troubled by the unintended consequences of messages that insist all LGBT people commit to lifelong celibacy."
In Rodgers's mind, there appear to be only two possible ways of proceeding for the "gay Christian": either you commit to lifelong celibacy (the option insisted on by gay-harming Conservatives) or you give yourself to a same-sex "marriage." But are these really the only two options? Get ready for our study next week on the Old Testament prophets by reading and answering some questions about the book of Amos!
Practicing effective Bible study on Leviticus 16 —the Day of Atonement.
Have you ever read through the book of Leviticus? Isn't it messy? How are we supposed to interpret all the blood and death and bodily fluids and rules and regulations? What does the Old Testament Law have to do with us? Well, just about about everything. This handout should help.
 Prepare for Bible study next week by reading Leviticus 1–7. We're very excited to come together next week to learn about how we're supposed to read, understand, and apply Old Testament Law. Many Christians and non-Christians alike have difficulty when they come to these sections of Scripture. We need to grow in our understanding of these passages, and it's vital for us to learn what God has to teach us in them. Bring your questions and your concerns as we deal with issues like: What about all the blood and guts? Does this really have anything to do with me? It seems so boring!
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