BCL Online Picks — December 4, 2025

December 4, 2025/BCL/
Photo Credit: Arun Kuchibhotla on Unsplash

Photo Credit: Arun Kuchibhotla on Unsplash

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Why was Jesus baptized? What’s the problem with AI companionship? Why do bad things happen to “good” people? Has Christ been pushed to the margins of Christmas? Explore these questions and more in this week’s online picks!

1. Why Was Jesus Baptized?

In this Ligonier Ministries Things Unseen post, Sinclair B. Ferguson reflects on why Jesus submitted to baptism and what this moment reveals about his mission. With his characteristic clarity, Ferguson helps us see how this scene fits into the larger story of redemption, leaving us with a deeper sense of wonder at the wisdom of God’s ways. Keep reading here →

2. Your AI Lover Is an Idol

In this Heidelblog article, theologian R. Scott Clark cautions against treating AI companionship as a substitute for real communion. He notes that the rise of artificial intimacy exposes both our own vulnerabilities and the loneliness present within the church, reminding pastors, elders, and members alike of the call to know and care for one another. It’s a needed exhortation to resist synthetic “relationships” and lean into the genuine fellowship Christ gives his people. Keep reading here →

3. What I Feared, What I Found

In this Substack post, Kara Dedert writes honestly about walking through feelings of fear and guilt and discovering God’s care in unexpected places. It’s a gentle, hope-filled meditation that invites readers to consider how the Lord often meets us where we least expect. Keep reading here →

4. 48 Ways to Show Thankfulness

Pastor Sam Crabtree encourages believers to treat gratitude as a spiritual posture, not just a feeling. In this Crossway article he offers 48 concrete, God-centered ideas for expressing thankfulness in daily life, including thanking God for a good habit he has established in our life, thanking public servants, and quietly reflecting on common graces like sunrise and breath. The piece reminds us that thanksgiving isn’t just for holidays but should flow out of a grateful heart shaped by God’s mercies in Christ. Keep reading here →

5. Recovering Christ at Christmastime

In this short Ligonier Ministries article, theologian Sinclair Ferguson asks us to consider whether we have allowed the pressures and sentimental distractions of the season to push the Incarnation to the margins of our celebration. He urges Christians to recover a fresh affection for Jesus as the true center of Christmas—not only in December, but throughout the year. Keep reading here →

6. Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

In this For the Church article, Kaden Classen tackles the perennial question of suffering in light of God’s goodness. With clarity and biblical grounding, he shows why this question exposes both our assumptions about ourselves and our need to trust God’s justice and mercy. This is a thoughtful and biblically based for anyone wrestling with pain in a fallen world. (Many thanks to The Aquila Report for bringing this article to our attention.) Keep reading here →

7. Westminster Confession of Faith — Chapter 18, “Of Assurance of Grace and Salvation”

We never need to doubt God’s promises to us in Christ. In chapter 18 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the divines (the pastors, theologians, and laymen who formed the Westminster Assembly from 1643–1653) remind us in four succinct paragraphs that true believers can have real, Spirit-given assurance of God’s love, not by looking to inward feelings or works but by resting on Christ and his finished work on our behalf. Keep reading here →