Things Worth Noticing: 5/6/22
Practical Polytheism, The End of Roe, Sibling Harmony
Friends,
Greetings from a stormy Middle Tennessee.
Of course, I can’t complain. Earlier this week I learned that our former home just north of Chicago had only 1 day of sunshine in the past 42 days! Sorry, Illinois friends, but we’ve been enjoying the sun liberally since we moved here in November.
All gloating aside, I do apologize for last week’s absence. Perhaps I start calling this a weeklyish newsletter… Without further ado, here are this week’s things.
Beware the Both-And
This week, I’ve been preparing to preach on the First Commandment (Ex 20:3). One of my go-to resources has been Jen Wilkin’s insightful little Ten Words to Live By.
Wilkin is an excellent communicator, and this book does a wonderful job of elucidating the Ten Commandments for the Christian life.
What I appreciated most this week was Wilkin’s description of the Christian’s everyday battle with practical polytheism,
Like Israel, we affirm that there are no other gods verbally and intellectually, but not practically. Practically, we live as polytheists. Our idolatry is a "both-and" arrangement: I need God and I need a spouse. I need God and I need a smaller waist size. I need God and I need good health. I need God and I need a well-padded bank account. In our minds, we rationalize that the "both-and" still offers God some form or degree of worship, so everything must be okay. Yet, according to Genesis and Exodus, to cease to worship God alone is to corrupt any worship still offered to him.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a Christian who would deny those words, yet we all continue to battle with the “both-and.” May the words of 1 John 5:19-21 stand guard between us and our practical polytheism:
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
It’s Time for Roe to Go
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve surely heard the news about this week’s Supreme Court leak and the reversal of Roe and Casey that, Lord willing, we will see in June.
As I shared with my congregation earlier this week, the end of Roe will be just the beginning of a new era in the fight to protect innocent life. Christians need to praise God for the progress made, pray that it would continue, and prepare to become more consistently pro-life than ever before.
You can find that pastoral letter here.
When Siblings Harmonize
I don’t know if it’s genetic or it’s because they grew up singing together or something else, but to my ears there’s just no better vocal sound than when family members sing harmony. That’s why I was delighted to discover this brand new album from Three Shipps somewhere on my news feed this morning:
The instrumentation is minimal, the songs are groovy, and the harmonies are tight. This band is somewhere in the neighborhood of the Civil Wars and Nickel Creek with hints of southern gospel and bluegrass—that is to say, pretty darn cool.
Enjoy!
Finally, Presented Without Comment
That’s it for this week. I pray you all have a blessed weekend, especially the moms—biological, spiritual, or otherwise. I hope you’re well celebrated and honored this weekend, but may we never forget the worship and glory due to that perfect heavenly Parent from whom all our earthly mothers take their cue.
In Christ alone,
Kenny