5 Relationships, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• 5 Relationships Every Christian Needs -- "A “Barnabas” is a peer, a friend who encourages you to be faithful to God."
• A Puritan Father and Son on the Proper Treatment of Wives -- "Matthew Henry..., whose exposition of the entire Bible is still in print today, found it instructive that God formed woman from the side of man."
• A Theology of Wine -- "Who drank wine in the Bible? Almost everyone."
• Confessions of a Recovering Pragmatic Pastor -- "To my surprise I discovered that the Bible actually had a lot to say about how to do church, far more than pragmatists want to admit...It lays out a robust theological vision for local church ministry, centered on the gospel, with very practical implications."
• Does Baptism Wash Away Sins? -- "People who believe in baptismal regeneration, including those in the Stone-Campbell movement, appeal to [Acts 22:16] as evidence that baptism washes away sins."
• Pennies from heaven? Overlooked provision in Republican tax bill has churches on edge -- "A largely overlooked provision in a massive tax bill signed into law six months ago requires churches and other non-profits to begin paying a 21 percent tax on fringe benefits such as employee parking..."
• Thai cave rescue: Boys from soccer team trapped asking about 2018 World Cup results -- "Video of the boys from inside the cave surfaced recently, showing each of them smiling, flashing peace signs and telling the world they're in good health."
• The Bible and the American Temperance Movement: Text, Context, and Pretext "Though the phrase 'total abstinence' originally referred to the forswearing of only distilled liquors, it eventually became shorthand for the creed 'total abstinence from all that can intoxicate.'"
• The Faith of John the Baptist -- "John the Baptist became quite the popular figure as more and more came to him, but he remembered his mission and didn’t seek anything more."
• The Juicy Truth of Biblical Wine -- "After examining the Biblical words for wine, the process and use of wine in Bible times, and the Biblical view of wine, one can designate two different types of wine in Scripture."
• The Lord’s Supper: Close, Closed, or In-Between? -- "Feel free to try to convince me with Biblical, exegetical, and theological arguments to leave my mediating position one way or the other in the comment section—or to support me in my mediation."
• The Lord's Supper: Wine or Welch's? -- "Both wine and grape juice are made from the same fruit and visually present the same message of Christ's blood. So, does it really matter whether we use juice or wine for the sacrament?"
• Unleavened Bread and Unleavened Drink -- "Any stage of the fruit of the vine, short of wine, produces a polluted picture. It is ONLY by the process of fermentation that the impurities of grape juice are completely removed."