Good morning ECC family! Though I would prefer to be doing this in person, I’m thankful that God has a provided a way for us to communicate in these challenging times. As you all are probably aware, our services are postponed indefinitely. Until the Governor lifts the “shelter in place” order and allows us to have gatherings over 50 people, we will most likely be canceling our services. At this point, there is no definite date on when that will occur.
With that said, I would like to share some resources that have been made available during this time of crisis. These are intended to encourage, educate, edify, and uplift as we face this unusual and unprecedented time. Plus, we seem to have more time on our hands and the weather hasn’t quite turned yet. So, read, watch, listen, and pray as we watch God work in this challenging time.
Westminster Theology Seminary
Some of the faculty at WTS will be posting a weekly video discussing the COVID-19 crisis. Entitled Crisis, Christ, and Confidence, the purpose of the series “is to provide regular insight into the medical crisis through Greg's expert medical lens in the context of a Biblical perspective.” They have two, roughly 30 minutes, videos posted already. They can be found here.
Crossway
Crossway has long been known as a book publisher, but they have branched off and now include a number of resources from the authors they publish. The first link (here) is a podcast with Dr. Bob Cutillo where he “explains what's currently happening in the US and around the world; offers a broader perspective on how we should think about this virus in light of history and our Christian faith; and shares godly, practical advice to all Christians as we seek to trust God and love others well in these uncertain times.”
Additionally, Crossway has published a page with links to a variety of different resources. They have free e-books, articles, podcasts, Scripture memory cards, Bible reading plans, and deals on all their e-books (75% off!).
Westminster Book Store
WTS books is a ministry of Westminster Theological Seminary and is a fantastic bookstore. They have collected fifteen of their favorite chapters “that help us slow down and understand ourselves and our God in the midst of scary and uncertain times.” Here’s a list and link of the free downloads they’ve provided.
1. O Death, Where is Thy Sting? by John Murray
2. God's Grace in Your Suffering by David Powlison
3. The Promises of God by Charles Spurgeon
5. A Small Book for the Anxious Heart by Ed Welch
6. Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller
7. Untangling Emotions by Alisdair Groves & Winston Smith
8. Suffering by Paul David Tripp
9. Everyday Prayer by John Calvin
10. Created to Care, God's Truth for Anxious Moms by Sara Wallace
11. Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop
12. The Whole Armor of God by Iain Duguid
13. Pray Big by Alistair Begg
14. Anxiety–Knowing God's Peace by Paul Taugtes
15. Living Life Backward by David Gibson
Ligonier Ministries
Ligonier Ministries is the ministry of the late Dr. R.C. Sproul. They have recently made all of their teaching series free for online streaming. Also, their study guides for their teaching series are all available for a free pdf download.
Other Articles
COVID-19: Living by Probabilities or Providence? By Mike Emlet of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF).
The Gospel Coalition has an extended number of articles, podcasts, books, and other resources available on the Coronavirus and topics not related to our current crisis.
I’ve found the charts and graphs of Visual Capitalist to be informative and stimulating. Most of their recent work is related to the Coronavirus and a variety of related fronts. This is a global crisis and it helps to see how widespread the problem and the repercussions will be.
Tim Challies is a dedicated Christian blogger and provides a number of thoughtful, insightful articles on everyday topics. He centers his writing on theological topics, but dabbles in a variety of other fields and is worth a read as you have time. His website is challies.com. Recently, he published an article outlining some additional resources that have been provided by various organizations during this difficult time.
All of these resources can help us to be informed of what is going on in the world. Ultimately, our comfort and stability are not found in our (severely limited) understanding of this crisis, but in the Lord who rules all things. It’s amazing how such a sub-microscopic virus can impact hundreds of thousands of lives and bring seemingly unstoppable economies to a grinding halt. All of this, though, is not outside of God’s control or plan. We need to let this truth give comfort to our hearts and take advantage of the new (hopefully temporary) way of life this crisis has provided us. May the Lord bless us and keep us in the midst of this trial (Num. 6:24-26).