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Weekend A La Carte (November 5)

Weekend A La Carte

Today’s Kindle deals include: The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien, Double Play by Ben Zobrist, The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible by Bruce Metzger, and The Creation Answer Book by Hank Hanegraaf.

Do You Pray Enough?

This is so important: “Guilt is a terrible motivator for any behavior, except repentance. We cannot sustain ongoing spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, from a sense of guilt. That’s not what guilt is designed to achieve, and it’s why feeling bad over not praying enough will never turn us into men and women who ‘pray without ceasing.’”

What Parents Fear

Here’s an interesting one from the UK: “Almost a quarter of religious parents are not passing on their faith to their children for fear they will be alienated at school, a survey has revealed.”

What Jesus Didn’t Say

This is good: “In that moment, Jesus defied all expectations. No doubt his fans expected a great sermon from this now-famous hometown boy-turned-rabbi. His detractors hoped for a flop, and those who knew him well readied themselves to pat him on the head afterwards with cloying words…”

5 Key Apologetics Questions

Amy Hall lays out five questions young people most need to think through and solidify in their own minds before they go out into the world.

The Productive Benefits of Journaling

The Todoist blog has some good thoughts on the benefits of journaling.

This Day in 1858. 158 years ago today the Patons landed on Vanuatu. Having been warned of cannibals, John reponded, “If I can but live and die serving and honouring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether my body is eaten by cannibals or by worms.” *

5 Damning Inconsistencies In Transgender Dogma

Glenn T. Stanton: “Gender theory is pure ideology. It is not based in any science or logical objectivity. Its proponents literally make it up as they go along, based solely on the way they wish nature were.”

Freedom From the Tyranny of Hyperspirituality

Yes. Too many people are utterly bogged down by the tyranny of hyperspirituality.

Long Before Twitter, Martin Luther Was a Media Pioneer

This is an interesting one from the New York Times.

Flashback: Smilingly Leading You to Hell

Christians can be nice, but so too can unbelievers. The Holy Spirit may help us be nice, but niceness is not necessarily proof that we are living in the Spirit and by the Spirit. Some of the most evil people are also the nicest people.

Martin Luther: All for the Gospel

I’m thankful to Ligonier Ministries for sponsoring the blog this week with “Martin Luther: All for the Gospel.”

God made us to sleep so that every day he can remind us that he manages things just fine without us.

—Kevin DeYoung

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    A La Carte (April 23)

    A La Carte: Climate anxiety paralyzes, gospel hope propels / Living what God has written / How should I engage my rebellious child? / Satan hates your pastor / How to navigate our spiritual highs / The art of extemporaneous preaching / and more.

  • The Path to Contentment

    The Path to Contentment

    I wonder if you have ever considered that the solution to discontentment almost always seems to be more. If I only had more money I would be content. If I only had more followers, more possessions, more beauty, then at last I would consider myself successful. If only my house was bigger, my influence wider,…

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    A La Carte (April 22)

    A La Carte: Why my shepherd carries a rod / When Mandisa forgave Simon Cowell / An open mind is like an open mouth / Marriage: the half-time report / The church should mind its spiritual business / Kindle deals / and more.

  • It Begins and Ends with Speaking

    It Begins and Ends with Speaking

    Part of the joy of reading biography is having the opportunity to learn about a person who lived before us. An exceptional biography makes us feel as if we have actually come to know its subject, so that we rejoice in that person’s triumphs, grieve over his failures, and weep at his death.

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    Weekend A La Carte (April 20)

    A La Carte: Living counterculturally during election season / Borrowing a death / The many ministries of godly women / When we lose loved ones and have regrets / Ethnicity and race and the colorblindness question / The case for children’s worship services / and more.

  • The Anxious Generation

    The Great Rewiring of Childhood

    I know I’m getting old and all that, and I’m aware this means that I’ll be tempted to look unfavorably at people who are younger than myself. I know I’ll be tempted to consider what people were like when I was young and to stand in judgment of what people are like today. Yet even…