I’m the pastor of FBC Jackson in Jackson, Alabama. Each week, I post “Article Roundup: Helpful Reads,” sharing articles that I believe will benefit the saints who make up FBC Jackson and followers of Christ everywhere. Happy reading!

Dumb Will Do: Why Satan Doesn’t Need Heresy by Tim Challies

This is really good. Oftentimes, Satan’s assault on the church is subtle. “It struck me that day and has struck me often ever since that to harm a church, Satan does not need to make the worship services heretical. He does not need to replace truth with damnable error. He just needs to make the worship services dumb. He just needs to make them trite and vapid. He just needs to make them unserious. And eventually, the church will diminish in strength and decline in power and lose the presence of the Holy Spirit.”

Sin Makes You Stupid by Kevin DeYoung

Sin is irrational. It dehumanizes us. In other words, it makes us less like humans and more like beasts. “Sin doesn’t work by the rules of rationality. There is no rational calculation that can explain why men would throw away a lifetime of ministry faithfulness for a few moments of fleeting pleasure. The lusts of the heart do not submit to cold-hard facts. No one sets out on a sexual liaison because he weighed out the pros and cons of such behavior. Satan masquerades as an angel of light. He is a master at deceiving his servants, and sometimes we are masters at deceiving ourselves. You can count on it as an irrefutable law of fallen human nature: sin makes you stupid.”

Six Habits of Successful Bible Study by Jon Nielson

This will be advantageous for both beginners and seasoned readers of the Bible. “Developing these habits will help keep you on track in your study—paying attention to the text, avoiding rabbit trails, and doing everything you can to get the main point and the central application as God intended it. Let’s look at these habits.”

Male and Female Created He Them by Albert Mohler

Dr. Mohler commends Donald Trump for demonstrating courage and moral clarity through his recent executive order that prohibits biological men from participating in women’s sports. “President Trump knows that his orders will likely end up in court, and he seems to relish the possibility. He could have bought off his base with a policy that just pushed a bit against the activism. Let’s be honest. A more traditional Republican would have offered lip service and lit a candle. President Trump’s executive orders, thanks be to God, represent a blowtorch directed at the false gender ideologies.”

Ten Takeaways from the Life and Ministry of Jim Shaddix by David Platt

Dr. Shaddix was my preaching professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was an exemplary Christian man in the home, church, and academy. In this article, one of the men who knew Dr. Shaddix best, David Platt, reflects on his life. “I’m really looking forward to the day when I hug Jim again. On that day, I’ll join with many others praising God for eternity because we had the privilege of being one of Jim Shaddix’s children in ministry.”