On this day in history: In 1649, England’s King Charles I was beheaded. In 1798, the first brawl in the U.S. House of Representatives took place. Congressmen Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold fought on the House floor. In 1847, the town of Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco. And in 1933, The Lone Ranger was heard on radio for the first time. The program ran for 2,956 episodes and ended in 1955.

The Best Coffee Roasters In All 50 States – Considering the source, I would take this with a grain of salt. However, it does feature a list of some pretty good coffees to try in my V60.

Inside the Budapest Escape Room That Started the Worldwide Craze – Hungarians seem to be super good at solving puzzles, from Rubik’s Cubes to escape rooms. This is an insightful look into the mindset of a nation captivated with solving puzzles.

Why We Love To Read – This is a true statement for me. I love to read. But I have never stopped to ask why. This was a very intriguing article form that perspective.

Lost In Light – The pure night sky is something we hardly ever see, due to the amount of light pollution we generate. This is a very fun video to watch. Full screen it and enjoy.

Today In Church History
On January 30, 1750, Jonathan Mayhew preached a sermon from his Boston pulpit, calling for the repeal of the stamp act and leading to the stamp riots that followed. John Adams credited him as providing the spark that ignited the American Revolution. Read more about him here.

What To Do When You Are In A Spiritual Dry Spell – We have all experienced times in life where we felt spiritually dry. It feels like a struggle just to maintain a relationship with God. Here are some great suggestions on what you can do when those times happen.

Looking Ahead To The Likelihood Of Increased Persecution in America – One of the questions I hear occasionally is concerning persecution, and if it will ever happen in the US. I personally think that we can expect it to come, in some fashion, eventually. Randy Alcorn gives some great reasons why he thinks so as well.

8 Reasons To Preach Through Books Of The Bible – After more than two decades in youth ministry, I moved to a preaching/lead ministry. I have been preaching weekly for almost four years now, and I have found that I greatly prefer to preach through books of the Bible, much more that topical sermon series. This article does a great job of articulating why this is such a great idea.