Browse Worthy: The Best of the Best

by Barry York

I like to call them the "BBB" - Big, Bad Bloggers.  You know, the ones who publish regularly, frequently, and with great quality. Spending time at their sites never feels like a waste of time.  These are the ones the "bbb" - bitty, baby bloggers like us - look up to.  Here at _Gentle Reformation _we try to highlight the best of the best around the web a time or two each month.

Anyway, here's some of their recent and most helpful material.

How to Offend a Room Full of Calvinists - Tim Challies picks up the old question of "How you can believe in predestination and still be committed to evangelism?" and applies it in a personal and very convicting way.

Triviality of Trivialities - Surely you have had someone you know unexpectedly start gushing about how much they like Joel Osteen, leaving you feeling like any quick response you might offer would be akin to stomping on their teddy bear? David Murray is working his way through Osteen's Your Best Life Now, offering thoughtful responses to its teaching. With links at the bottom to this series, this is a good resource for helping others to stop drinking the Osteen Kool-Aid.

Theological Primer: Eternal Sonship - In his engaging, concise writing style, Kevin DeYoung is offering 500-word summaries on important doctrines of Christianity.  These posts are great reference material, helpful to those who need some touch-up review or an introduction to send to a young disciple.  At the bottom of his article are links to other doctrines he has addressed.

Downton Abbey: What Are Americans Really Watching? - Even if you are one of the few who are not watching it, Al Mohler will give you a fascinating cultural analysis of the historic period on which _Downton Abbey _is based.  Read it for an interesting way to discuss Christianity the next time your friend starts talking about the show.

The Surprising Good News of Hell, Judgment, and Holy War - Trevin Wax reviews the book _The Skeletons in God's Closet _by Joshua Ryan Butler, which is an apologetic for the topics listed in the link.  This post, along with this follow-up link, not only will make you want to buy the book but will show you why you do not need to be ashamed of these hard doctrines.

Deflategate - You cannot even skim the news without hearing about the Patriots and the charge of cheating for their use of deflated footballs in the AFC Championship game.  Even if you do not care about the Super Bowl, R.C. Sproul Jr. encourages us to look at our own cheatin' hearts in a gospel way.

Christians Watching the Super Bowl? - While we are on the subject of the Super Bowl, _R__eformation 21 _contributor Mark Jones offers some helpful meditations on this question.