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A La Carte (7/1)

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Church: Love It, Don’t Leave It
Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck are guest voices in the Washington Post, talking about the church. “Here’s what Bono, Oprah, and the guru speakers on PBS won’t tell you: Jesus believed in organized religion and he founded an institution. Of course, Jesus had no patience for religious hacks and self-righteous wannabes, but he was still Jewish. And as Jew, he read the Holy Book, worshiped in the synagogue, and kept Torah. He did not start a movement of latte-drinking disciples who excelled in spiritual conversations. He founded the church (Matt. 16:18) and commissioned the apostles to proclaim the good news that Israel’s Messiah had come and the sins of the world could be forgiven through his death on the cross (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:14-36).”


Free Christian Audio
This month’s free download from Christian Audio is Francis Chan’s Crazy Love, a book that is well worth reading and/or listening to.


My Canada Includes Canada
An opinion column from the Ottawa Citizen that may interest my fellow Canucks. “I will not, and vow I will never, call it “Canada Day” without inverted commas. It would not matter to me if every other living Canadian called it that without further thought. It continues to be Dominion Day, in my view: the patriotic anniversary of my own country. God Himself cannot rewrite history; I recognize no Act of Parliament that attempts to do so.”


The Worst First Page Ever
This may well be the worst opening page of a novel in all of human history. I think we can blame self-publishing for this monstrosity!


Death by Show Business
Jim Spiegel: “The death of Michael Jackson last week is in some ways a distinctively American tragedy. While there is nothing new under the sun about the soul-crushing effects of fame and fortune, the dynamics involved in the demise of the greatest pop icon of his generation are eerily familiar.”


Top Commentaries
Keith Mathison has completed his look at the top five commentaries on every book of the Bible. You can see a series roundup here.


  • Are We Living in the Last Days

    Are We Living in the Last Days?

    The world is a mess. The world is a mess and seems to be getting messier. I could draw up an inventory of all the wars and conflicts, the diseases and disasters, the rise of immorality and decline of virtue, but that would be to tell you what you have already observed and already know.…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (March 29)

    A La Carte: How to protect your kids from sexual abuse / Talk to God about what hurts / How’s your Bible reading plan going? / Resentment between men and women in the church / and more.

  • A Batch of New Books for Kids

    A Batch of New Books for Kids (and Teens)

    Every month I put together a roundup of new and notable books for grownup readers. But I also receive a lot of books for kids and like to put together the occasional roundup of these books as well. So today I bring you a whole big batch of new books for kids of all ages…

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (March 28)

    A La Carte: The case against the abortion pill / What I’ve learned about grieving with hope / Heartbreaking deception: teen girls, social media, and body image / Could podcasts save the church from stupidity? / Count it all joy / and more.

  • What God Wants You To Forget

    What God Wants You To Forget

    We are never far from reminding God of our credentials, of providing him with a curriculum vitae that lays out all we are, all we have been through, and all we have accomplished for his sake. We are never far from making the subtle turn from grace to merit, from what is freely given to…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 27)

    A La Carte: New music / Millennials and GenZ / Scotland’s new hate crime law / Cate Blanchett, Easter is for you / Why the Reformed pray for revival / What truly happened to Jesus on the cross? / and more.