Paul Tautgus begins our week’s collection with You Were Chosen by the Father in Counseling One Another. His brief study of Ephesians 1:14 is so much more than an academic exercise in theology, however, and it most assuredly isn’t dry! The closing paragraph brings it all home in an encouraging and uplifting way.

Don’t miss The Center of the Universe by Clint Archer in The Cripplegate. He continues his series on Christ’s nature and deity with amazing examples. As last week, this installment not only provides solid theology, but it inspires awe and worship of our wonderful Lord!

How do you know you can trust what I write in this blog? Hopefully, you check it against Scripture. In her essay, Paul: What does it mean to be a Berean?, Elizabeth Prata of The End Time takes us back to the account of Paul’s ministry in Berea to show us how the people there verified his preaching. It’s great instruction on how we should filter whatever teaching we encounter.

Reprising an article from June 22, 2018, Michelle Lesley wants to know: Is the SBC’s Tent Big Enough for ALL Marginalized Christian Women? I understand that not all my readers are Southern Baptists, but the problems she outlines here extend to other denominations and even non-denominatial churches. The women Michelle references indeed suffer marginalization. Will churches and denominations listen to the concerns we have?

Why didn’t I post each of the essays on those women of the Middle Ages who gained celebrity as mystics that Elizabeth Prata wrote in The End Time last week? She wrote five of them (including an introduction), which would have dominated Saturday Sampler and excluded the other fine articles I wanted to feature. But she opens Medieval mystics: Conclusion with links to all the previous installments in the series. If you’re too busy to read them, she has a podcast where she reads each essay, so you can listen while driving or doing chores.

Many evangelicals think doctrine is boring and irrelevant. Clint Archer’s Meeting your Maker: Christ & Creation defies that erroneous assumption by showing Christ’s relationship with creation and how false religions distort that relationship. This post, if properly understood and applied, will do more than equip you to answer heresy; it will enhance your adoration of the Lord Jesus Christ!

In Growing 4 Life, Leslie A shares insights on The Apostate Church with a helpful history on how the visible church declined over the past century or so. She includes interesting observations and encouragement toward a Biblical response to the situation. I suggest reading her article in conjunction with Elizabeth Prata’s Can you be an ‘ex-Christian’? for a fuller understanding of apostasy.

Jason A. Carter contributes to the Reformation 21 blog with his analysis of Two Temptations for the Post-Covid Church. I hope his article will help you avoid both spiritual heart failure and spiritual nerve failure.

I greatly appreciate Tim Challies for writing Keys To Knowing God’s Will for Your Life this week. If Christians would simply follow the Biblical principles that he lays out, they could significantly reduce the anxiety they feel about major life decisions.

Some people erroneously teach that baptism is necessary in order to be saved. Tedd Mathis of tedddmathisdotcom muses On Baptism and Acts 2:38 with evidence from the Bible that baptism can in no way be a prerequisite to receiving God’s forgiveness. Take a few moments to read this brief but helpful study.

Most of us struggle to “set our minds on things above” as Colossians 3:1-2 commands. Andrew Kerr, in his column for Gentle Reformation, paints a picture of True Heavenly-Mindedness for us to consider. Heavenly-Mindedness might be more down-to-earth than you think.

Continuing his series on the proper use of commentaries on the Knowable Word blog, Peter Krol asks Which Voice Delights You Most? I absolutely recommend this post as probably the heart of this entire series. Please don’t overlook this wonderful and encouraging discussion of where commentaries fit in to healthy Bible study.

One of my favorite memories from my three months in Wales is visiting the ruins of a 12th Century castle. So Like a Ruined Castle by Tim Challies caught my eye. Challies makes a marvelous analogy between castles and the state of humanity.

We’ve all encountered Jehovah’s Witnesses, and most of us (if not all of us) have fumbled and stuttered as a result of their verbal gymnastics. Thankfully The Cripplegate features Christology for Visitors by Clint Archer to help us use Colossians 1:15 to show Scripture’s presentation of Christ’s deity. This post is a handy resource for dealing with anyone who tries to deny that Jesus is God. I’ve bookmarked it on my computer for further study — you might want to do the same.

Sharing her discoveries on That Elusive Contentment, Leslie A of Growing 4 Life tackles an issue common to women. With her typical transparency, Leslie begins by confessing her own battle with a chore she doesn’t enjoy, testifying that God used her daughter to adjust her attitude. She then takes us to the Bible and leads us in applying it to our struggles with discontentment.

Denny Burk makes a careful analysis on Overturning Roe and the Attempt To Delegitimize SCOTUS that we really ought to read. Obviously, we’ll have to keep praying until abortion is totally abolished. Still, Burk’s words help us understand where we are in this battle to save unborn children.

Even if you don’t have children, check out Beautiful Motherhood: A Mother’s Day Bible Study by Michelle Lesley. Her studies don’t spoon feed women, so plan to budget time to work through her questions. You’ll learn a few things that could enhance your mothering capabilities.

Please read It was never an option on the Flawed and Faithful blog. It’s a moving and tender testimony of one mother’s courageous choice to put her children before her own convenience.

On Counseling One Another, Paul Tautgus enumerates Ten Reasons We Should Pray for the End of Legalized Abortion. He supports all ten points with the Word of God, including his concluding one emphasizing God’s compassion toward those who have participated in this evil. If you’re not convinced that abortion must be abolished, I hope you’ll prayerfully consider his arguments.

Continuing his series on using Bible commentaries, Peter Krol of Knowable Word cautions us that The First Commentator to Plead His Case doesn’t necessarily have the right definitive understanding of the passage he exposits. Find out why reading a plurality of commentaries gives us a healthier approach to studying God’s Word.

Leslie A published The Sick Toddler on Growing 4 Life late last Saturday, so I decided to sneak it into this week’s curation. We all need this wake up call to take spiritual medicine, even (or perhaps especially) when it’s distasteful.

Taking on a popular idiom, Ryan Higginbottom of Knowable Word writes Context Matters: My Cross to Bear. American culture has really watered down that idea of bravely suffering, and Ryan brings us back to Jesus’ original intent in saying His followers must take up our crosses. The true meaning of the maxim isn’t as comforting as many people suppose.

Present-day women’s ministry looks vastly different from how women in the New Testament ministered, according to The End Time author Elizabeth Prata. She demonstrates her point in Women’s ministries then and now, using gentle humor and a good grasp on God’s Word.

Do you ever wonder about the spiritual armor Paul describes in his Ephesians 6? If so, read Clothed in the Armor of Christ by Cindy Matson at Bible Study Nerd for a wonderful look at this famous passage. You might be a little surprised at Cindy’s perspective on the topic, but think about it. That’s all she asks.

I’ve been reading Flawed and Faithful for a number of weeks, and I like what I see! Her recent article, Why The Law of Attraction is Demonic, gives a clear warning against popular philosophies that promise power over circumstances. As someone who toyed with the occult and New Age teachings before I came to Christ, I appreciated this sound counsel. Even if you’ve never been tempted in this direction, the information she supplies can be useful as you witness to people.

Over at excatholic4christ, Tom reminds us that Sanctimonious dumbness is at best a poor evangelistic strategy. His words make me think about some of the things I post on Twitter. As I recall, Jesus never condoned self-righteous attitudes or behavior.

Easter may be over, but we can continue drawing insight from the Resurrection narrative. For example, Andrew Kerr writes Dispelling Unbelief in Gentle Reformation to explain why people reject the Gospel so easily and what we can do to encourage them toward faith.

I know I’ve already shared one essay by Elizabeth Prata this week, but Satan is a good counterfeiter fits so well with Andrew Kerr’s post that I couldn’t justify neglecting to include it. As an added bonus, you could use the Scriptures Elisabeth gives to start your own topical Bible Study on Satan. I’d guess that such a study would ultimately teach you more about God’s truth.

Throwback Thursday: Let Me Count the Ways: 75 Ways Women Can Biblically Minister to Others by Michelle Lesley comes amid increasing debate on Twitter. Even women who once held solid Biblical positions have migrated to the egalitarian camp, demanding that churches elevate women to authority. Michelle thankfully brings us back to reality by listing ministries that women can do without violating God’s Word.

SlimJim of The Domain for Truth lets us peek at some preliminary notes he’s taken in preparation for a sermon he’ll preach in the future. In these notes, he points to the truth that Prayer is mightier than the Sword as he reflects on Exodus 17:8-16. You’ll get helpful teaching on prayer, but also a glimpse into the hard work pastors do to bring us God’s Word each Sunday. Maybe his article will even inspire you to pray for your own pastor.