Helpful links

Every morning I check a few different blogs. Whenever I come across an article that I think some members may appreciate, I save it and include a link in our weekly email. I will copy those links here for reference..​

• Koine is a WELS band that puts classic hymns to contemporary music. They are putting all their music online for free!! If you have ideas about how we could use their material, please let me know, especially if you're willing to play or learn to play guitar. 
• The Notable Podcast is probably the most highly recommended Bible study podcast I know of. It's two WELS pastors talking through books of the Bible. The only negative is that they have only gone through two books so far. But they are back to producing and going through the book of Job. 
• Ten passages to memorize for the hospital. 
• If you miss the Forward in Christ but don't want to pay for it, subscribing to the free biweekly WELS "Together" newsletter will still keep you up to date with WELS affairs. 
• Shouldn't I be happy? From WELS authors. 
• That Gillette ad and Jesus
• The best single-volume introduction to apologetics. I think reading this might give you confidence facing objections as you share your faith. 
• Why are young people dropping out of church? Ultimately, it's the devil, the world, and their sinful natures. But this gets into more specific issues. 
• Is evangelism harder than it used to be? Is this a trick question? Read to find out. 
• A good sermon on spiritual body building by my friend.
• A good sermon on being chosen by God by a well known WELS pastor.
• How Total Depravity Changed My Life
• Five Lessons from the Persecuted Christians in China
• Beating Bad Habits with a New Identity
• 2018's Top 10 Finds in Biblical Archaeology 
• You can trust the historical reliability of the gospels
• Christians get depressed too
• Lots of Bible reading plans
• Ideas on how to enact your new Bible reading plan
• If your Christmas Eve worship was elsewhere, you might have missed this very interested information about the original manger. 
• Is there any historical evidence for Caesar's census decree or the necessity of traveling back to your homeland? 
• A WELS blog recommends this video dramatizing the Christmas story. 
• Here is a weekly radio program/podcast produced by several WELS pastors, including my former roommate. 
• The unicorn of the sea declares God's glory. No, I haven't lost it. 
• This article relates how times our changing and Christians needs to adjust our assumptions. One quote really rang true: "There was a day when you could fairly safely assume that once young adults got married and had a child, they would automatically come back to church.Those days are gone or largely gone... The average unchurched person doesn’t think about going to church anymore than the average Christian thinks about going to synagogue. It just doesn’t cross their mind."
• Our own Anna Barton has started a blog.
• Bibles make great Christmas gifts, and Bible reading is a great New Year's resolution. Here are some good options:
  • Buy this Bible to read in one year
  • Or in two years
  • Or buy Bibles and other Christian books here
  • The Spirituality of the Cross (a good Lutheran book at the lay level)
  • Two books by a WELS professor defending the Bible and Christianity against common objections. Great for advanced teens or college students. 
• Family peace at the holidays from our WELS counseling organization
• Experiencing anxiety? You're not alone, and God has the answer.  
• Modern evangelicals are rediscovering the usefulness of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. We confess these frequently in church, and for good reason. 
• Hollywood is getting more and more anti-Christian. One WELS pastor asks, "Why am I giving them my family's money and attention?"
• In a similar vein, If you don't want your kids exposed to porn at an early age, cancel Netflix!!!
• Speaking of porn, we don't discuss it much in church even though statistically it's ruining American lives and marriages at epidemic rates. Here are some resources for those struggling. 
• Archaeology is slowly proving the Bible is right about King David (despite theories otherwise). Here's a video about recent developments. 
• How Jesus celebrated and fulfilled Hanukkah. 
• Possible evidence for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by a meteor.