Here are some good reads found this week:

Sometimes, Worship Should Be Hard. “We plan our worship services several months in advance. We choose themes for each service and discuss how to introduce them. Last Sunday, our chosen theme was ‘Our Good God.’ In the canon of worship themes we use, the goodness of God is not as difficult to explain as something like transcendence or immanence. But on Sunday, July 6, 2025, it was hard. As we filed into the church and greeted one another, nearly 100 people were still missing due to flash floods in Texas.”

Trying to Make Sense of Bad Things that Happen, HT to Challies. “Most people find it pretty easy to accept that the good things which happen are from the hand of God. But we find it hard to accept any bad, tragic, or painful experiences that come our way. Can they really be from God? Are they really under his governance? Can they really be for a good purpose? The Bible says, ‘Yes, they are. Yes, they can.'”

Boaz: A Pillar of Leadership. Boaz is one of my favorite OT people. “Boaz wasn’t a king, prophet, or warrior. He was a businessman and landowner, yet he exemplified godly leadership. His leadership wasn’t flashy, but it was faithful. It wasn’t about personal gain but about a godly impact. So, what made Boaz a leader worth emulating?”

Leviticus and the Right Hand of Fellowship, HT to Challies. “What we fail to realise is the catechetical nature of the book of Leviticus. As the centre point (and, I would argue, climax) of the Torah or Teaching, its goal is not to simply lay down a law to live by, or to provide fodder for debates over what verses we use. The goal of Leviticus is teaching. And it is hands on teaching much like that of a missionary landing in foreign culture.”

Staying Afloat in Summer. A mom of a newly-graduated high school student looks back at ways she wished she had handled summers.

When You’re Dreading Monday Mornings, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “Maybe you’re currently in a job you once longed for—even prayed for—and couldn’t wait to start, but now you have the Sunday scaries, dragging yourself out of bed on Monday morning only to count down the days until Friday. Or maybe you’re in a job you never really wanted but took out of necessity, expecting to move on to something different after a short time—but you haven’t. So what do you do when you’re no longer excited to go to work?”

Daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are
necessary parts of the Christian life.
We have to be continually reminded of what we believe.
C. S. Lewis