I’m the pastor of First Baptist Church Jackon in Jackson, Alabama. Once a week, I share a post titled “Article Roundup: Helpful Reads,” where I compile articles that I believe are beneficial for the saints who make up FBC Jackson. I am confident that these articles can also be helpful for followers of Christ around the world. Happy reading!

Are You Your Spouse’s Biggest Cheerleader? By Bob Lepine

This article challenged me. I want to be more careful with my words and strategically use them to edify and build up my wife. Maybe this article will challenge you, too. “Your marriage should be like the “Home on the Range,” “where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.” The best marriages are filled with grace that pours forth in enthusiastic encouragement for one another. That’s something worth cheering about.”

How Healthy is Your Soul? By Scott Hubbard

In this article, Scott Hubbard asks six questions that will help you diagnose your spiritual health. I should note that this article will probe the innermost parts of your soul. “The devil uses many weapons in his assault against our soul, but one of the most overlooked is simply time. We are changeable creatures in a long war, called to “resist the devil” not for a day or a week or a year but a life (James 4:7). And spiritual health yesterday does not guarantee spiritual health today. So, at the end of a new year, on the edge of another, let’s stop to take some spiritual vitals. How healthy is your soul?”

6 Ways to Find (and Protect) the Time You Need to Read Books By Tony Reinke

This isn’t a new article, but it is so beneficial that I wanted to share it again. If you want to do a better job of carving out time to read books in 2025, this is the article you need to read. “You don’t need to be a professional book reviewer to read a lot of books. And you don’t need to be brilliant either. But you do need to be purposeful and consistent. And if you can discipline yourself, you will find the time you need to read.”

Battered by Moses? Why We Still Need to Preach the Law By Jared Kenndy

I just started teaching through the Ten Commandments on Sunday evenings at FBC Jackson. This article covers some of the points I mentioned to our church family in my introduction to the Ten Commandments. “God’s law is a word of grace. But it’s a demanding word that graciously shows us that when we pursue life and salvation apart from Christ, we’ll always fail. It’s the gracious word that always batters the old sinful man and leaves him dead. And after it kills, the law is the gracious word that drives us away from ourselves to the perfect One in whom we’re given resurrection life.”

Biblical Optimism for the New Year By Randy Alcorn

A pessemistic Christian is an enigma. Christians ought to be the most optimistic and hopeful people on the planet. Our future is bright, indescribably and gloriously bright! “What we need is a perspective on our coming year that’s hopeful, yet grounded in eternal certainties. No Christian should be a pessimist. We should be realists—focused on the actuality that we serve a sovereign and gracious God. Because of the reality of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and His promises, biblical realism is, ultimately, optimism.”