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This edition is sponsored by Aspen Group |
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Our eyes have been trained to first see the usefulness of the world. But we were made to take delight. |
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From senior editorial project manager Mia Staub: I am just now embarking on that busy time of life where every year brings another round of weddings. My record in a year is around three, but I know the years ahead will bring more and more. (I know someone who had three in one month!) As a woman in her mid-20s, I reserve a chunk of my travel budget for weddings, bridal showers, and bachelorette parties. I’ve also set aside some money for bridesmaid and wedding-guest dresses, hair, makeup, and heels. |
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This also means I have heard a fair share of wedding speeches and sermons, including ones about the depravity and challenges of marriage that Drew Brown discusses in his CT article published today. I have heard people talk about how the very thing that made a couple fall in love will be what the enemy will use to draw them apart. I’ve heard the joke "We’ve been happily married for 20 years. Happy 40th anniversary, honey!" at at least three different weddings. Podcasts, church sermons, and books on marriage have also emphasized the hard parts, and to be honest, it has started to obstruct my view of this sacred covenant. |
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On the one hand, marriage is not something to be naive about: As an outsider looking in and intending to get married, I know it is foolish to think it is all rainbows and roses. But I also want to be encouraged and expect the joys of marriage. I want to be rightly equipped both for the excitement and for the hardships. And if you want to be as well, Brown’s article is a good place to start. |
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Church spaces are more than just a place of gathering. They have the ability to drive discipleship, foster transformation, and build faith—which also means spaces that aren’t functional can be detrimental to your ministry. |
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For over 30 years, Aspen Group has partnered with churches to craft spaces that align vision with function—creating environments that steward your budget, strengthen your ministry, and stay adaptable. |
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Because when your church space meets today’s unique needs while remaining flexible enough to adapt to tomorrow’s changes, you’re better equipped to go farther and move faster on the mission God has called you to. Learn how your church building can become a catalyst for transformation at aspengroup.gloomedianetwork.com. |
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Today in Christian History |
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July 8, 1741: Colonial Congregational minister Jonathan Edwards preaches his classic sermon at Enfield, Connecticut: "You are thus in the hands of an angry God; ’tis nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction" (see issue 8: Jonathan Edwards and issue 77: Jonathan Edwards). |
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Navigate complex times with clarity and conviction. Join CT for trustworthy reporting, informed analysis, and thoughtful commentary through a biblical lens.
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From his home in Nazareth, Saleem Shalash has often heard the loud booms of Israel’s air defense systems intercepting Hezbollah rockets over the Haifa region. Since resuming large-scale attacks in…
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While staying in homeless shelters as a reporter, I heard dozens of stories of abuse, many of which I was able verify with court records and counselors. One person whose…
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"How do you know?" It may seem that a kindergartner, with a backpack that overwhelms her small frame and pigtails in perfectly even plaits on the first day of school,…
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Chukwuweike Gwam has dreamed of being a surgeon since he was a young boy. After 14 years of undergraduate studies, medical school, and residency, the recipient of Deferred Action for…
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While the internet seems consumed with political debate, as Christians, we must practice acknowledging cultural fissures and fractures while also placing our ultimate hope in God alone. Christ’s work invites us to work toward repair. As America observes its 250th birthday this year, we both celebrate the American experiment in democracy and speak honestly about it; as Justin Giboney writes in "America 250," "We must be able to critique and appreciate with impartiality." In her essay on notable books, Jen Pollock Michel calls readers to consider how freedom for (not just freedom from) is necessary. Also, historian George Marsden looks back at 1976, the year of the evangelical, and Bonnie Kristian examines Charlie Kirk’s legacy. We hope you’ll spend some time with Angela Lu Fulton’s feature "The Cost of Training Up a Chinese Child," about Chinese Christians who have kept their faith preeminent, and Emily Belz’s reporting on an Anglican church’s support of families healing a year after a school shooting. Whether you find yourself naming fractures or repairing fissures, we hope this will lower the cultural temperature, showing that our faithful work matters but also that Christ promises to make all things new. |
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