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A La Carte (12/7)

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The Size of the Universe – WIRED takes a shot at helping us picture the size of the observable universe. Turns out it’s really, really big. “To try imagining how big, place a penny down in front of you. If our sun were the size of that penny, the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, would be 350 miles away. Depending on where you live, that’s very likely in the next state (or possibly country) over.”

Does Tech Feed Self-Centered Control? – One of the true joys of writing a book is seeing how other people interact with it and improve upon it. Paul Tautges has been doing just that. He looks at a particular bit of the book and says, “Let’s counsel ourselves by asking 8 idol-shattering questions about the love of control…”

Google: Behind the Numbers – Infographic du jour. Turns out that Google is big, too (but not quite as big as the universe).

Darwinism and the Next Generation – I enjoyed this article from Sean McDowell. I don’t advocate Intelligent Design, but what he says about Darwinism and materialism is really good.

Malcolm Gladwell: Collected – How did I not know about this set of books? Gladwell is an amazing author and these books are beautifully designed and illustrated.

Don’t Strive to Be Great – This is some great advice for preachers: don’t strive to be great. “What I am arguing against is the actual attempt to develop into a preacher with a reputation for being so unusually wonderful that people flock to you. There is a fine line here, to be sure: typically, gifted men attract larger audiences. Nothing wrong with that per se.”

Faithfulness is our business; fruitfulness is an issue that we must be content to leave with God.

—J.I. Packer

  • The Breakthrough Prayer

    The Breakthrough Prayer

    I am certain you have had a time when the Lord has brought you to a sudden, unexpected point of repentance or resolution. Perhaps you’ve been fostering a sin, and while you may have known it was sin, you haven’t been willing to deal with it—to put it to death and come alive to righteousness.…

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    A La Carte (February 9)

    A La Carte: The challenge of Greek Orthodoxy / Overcoming the spouse bottleneck / A movement, not a business / Let it snow / Same-sex attraction / Heaven on earth / Kindle deals / and more.

  • In the Way of Temptation

    In the Way of Temptation

    We do not often speak of duty today, but Christians traditionally spoke of it often. In fact, Christians understood the means of grace as duties, responsibilities of every believer toward God. And while these duties are the means through which God provides us with his grace, they are also the means through which God guards…

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    Weekend A La Carte (February 7)

    A La Carte: Harder is not always holier / Is Claude my friend? / Christians and Nietzsche / Survivalist to convictional leadership / Wild, unorganized, and totally worth it / The songs I once found dreary / and more.

  • Invisible Grief

    Invisible Grief

    There is no path through this life that does not involve at least some measure of grief. This world is so broken that at different times and in different ways, grief affects us all. Some grief flows from what we loved and lost but other grief flows from what has never been and may never…

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    A La Carte (February 6)

    A La Carte: The need for father-scholars / Teach your kids what to think / The fading of the flower / Playing God with children / Softly break a bone / Kindle deals / and more.