BCL Online Picks — September 4, 2025

September 4, 2025/BCL/BCL Online Picks

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Content overload? We get it. Here are Beautiful Christian Life’s recommended posts to encourage and equip you this week.

1. Is Every Sin the Same in God’s Eyes?

Over at Clearly Reformed, pastor and author Kevin DeYoung gives a thoughtful explanation of why “the Bible simply doesn’t make sense—not the Mosaic law, not the exile, not church discipline, not the frequent warnings of judgment for certain transgressions—if all sins are equally vile in God’s eyes. In fact, life doesn’t make sense if every sin is the same.”

2. Trump Salutes Sgt. Michael Verardo, Wounded Afghanistan Veteran Who Inspired Independence Fund’s Track Chairs

Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Verardo, an American hero and Purple Heart recipient who was severely injured in 2010 after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan, died on August 26, 2025. Verardo leaves behind the legacy of a life focused on sacrificial love, grit, perseverance, philanthropy, and gratitude for all he had. His wife, Sarah, personifies what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman. Be inspired by the Verardos in this Fox News article.

3. Helping Christian Students Keep Their Faith in College

Do you have Christian relatives or friends who are starting to attend secular college this fall? Are you worried about whether they will thrive spiritually amid all the intellectual challenges they’re sure to face? In this Canon Fodder article, theologian Michael J. Kruger gives a brief introduction to his helpful book Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christians Student on Keeping the Faith in College (Crossway, 2021). (Many thanks to The Aquila Report for bringing this article to our attention.)

4. You Probably Have a Good Pastor

Bad pastors make headlines quickly these days, but what about churches with members who have mistreated their pastor? In this Reformation21 article, pastor and Mortification of Spin podcast host Todd Pruitt shares why you probably have a good pastor along with practical steps we can all take to be good congregants.

5. The 11 Beliefs You Should Know about Jehovah’s Witnesses When They Knock at the Door

Have you ever spoken with a Jehovah’s Witness and struggled to give a concise biblical response to their false teachings? In this Gospel Coalition article, Crossway’s Justin Taylor shares a brief overview of eleven Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs and what the Bible actually teaches.

6. Deborah, Female Leadership, and the New Testament Church

People who think both men and women should hold authoritative office in the church often use Deborah, a prophetess and judge of Israel (Judges 4-5), to argue their position. Over at With All Wisdom, Derek J. Brown, Professor of Theology at Cornerstone Bible College, provides a thorough response to this egalitarian argument along with numerous biblical examples of why women don’t need to have ecclesiastical authority in order to have a vital role in the church.

7. Standing on the Apostolic Tradition

In 2 Thessalonians 2:15, the apostle Paul exhorts believers to “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” This helpful devotional from Ligonier Ministries explains why the traditions the apostles taught, in which the church is to always stand firm, are always authenticated by Scripture.