From Timothy Keller’s Making Sense of God:

Christianity is the only religion that claims God gave up his freedom so we could experience the ultimate freedom — from evil and death itself.

A life poured out for others is more valuable than any spiritual gift or service that we can muster. Thomas Schreiner shares what is the best gift that we can give to missions.

But the best gift for any missionary—and for any Christian for that matter—is to be like Jesus, since Jesus is the paradigm of love (John 15:12–13). God is working all things for our good so that we will “be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). We’re most like Jesus when we live sacrificially as he did and when we pour out our lives for the sake of others.

Read the whole thing.

The apostle Paul encouraged the disciples to read the Old Testament:

For everything that was written in the past written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Romans 15:4).

Here are ten reasons why the Old Testament is important to Christians:

1. The OT was Jesus’s only Scripture and makes up three-fourths (75.55 percent) of our Bible.

2. The OT substantially influences our understanding of key biblical teachings.

3. We meet the same God in both Testaments.

4. The OT announces the very ‘good news/gospel’ we enjoy.

5. Both the old and new covenants call for love, and we can learn much about love from the OT.

6. Jesus came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.

7. Jesus said that all the OT points to him.

8. Failing to declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ can put us in danger before the Lord.

9. The NT authors stressed that God gave the OT for Christians.

10. Paul commands church leaders to preach the OT.

Read the whole thing.

A look at the two symbolic mountains in the book of Hebrews.

See the full-size image.

This week’s Monday music is an acoustic rendition of “Doxology”, posted in tribute to all our campus OYC sites in the United States. We have great campus OYC sites in State College (PA), Auburn (AL), Ashland (OR), Pullman (WA), San Luis Obispo (CA) and Eugene/Corvallis (OR).