A La Carte (7/26)

One thing I love about John Piper is the passion he brings to, well, pretty much everything he does. A couple of years ago he and I went out for a quick bite to eat after a conference and he asked a bunch of questions about Twitter; he was considering getting an account (or, actually, making public his existing account) and was wondering how Twitter could be used for ministry. He brought passion to Twitter and, not surprisingly, his feed has become a must-follow. In this blog post [2] he offers some explanation of what Twitter has meant to him.

Oslo Killer’s Religious Views [3] - Michael Horton: “At least 76 people are dead after Anders Behring Breivik massacred campers on an island off the coast of Oslo, Norway. Finally, the media has a face and a name for making its heretofor unjustified claim of moral equivalency between conservative Christianity and Islam. Religion may be fine as long as it's private, and you don't really believe the key teachings of any one in particular.”

Listen to Them or Lose Them [4] - My mother has written an article over at the True Woman blog. If you’ve got daughters, you should definitely give it a read. “Daughters. How we long for them and love them. But what exhausting little creatures they are! Ask almost any parent and I think you will hear the same thing. They love to talk … and talk … and talk.”

Heaven Is For Real [5] - This book continues to sell in the millions. It has even hit the top of the charts here in Canada.

Polygamy [6] - Further proof that the same kind of logic that allows marriage to extend to homosexuals must also work itself out in polygamy. 

Prayer Transforms Sermon Prep [7] - One for the preachers: “I know you pray for your sermon at least once a week. As you’re walking toward the front on Sunday morning, prayers are flying thick and fast: Help! You know people need to hear something more than an inspiring thought or tip. They need to hear from God. And if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen through you. So you pray! But beyond that moment of truth each week, and beyond asking God to give you understanding and a heart for your people, does prayer play a role in your sermon preparation?”

Romantic Pornography [8] - This is an issue a lot of people are discussing today. It’s a good one to talk through. “As a Christian mom to four school-age children, I find myself often challenging the culture. Many times this means helping my children learn to engage wisely with it. As a single mom, helping my kids to think rightly about the God-given, necessary, and wonderful differences between the genders is a subject matter I pay special attention to. So maybe it's for my children's sake most of all I use the term ‘romantic pornography’ to describe most romantic comedies.”

Salsa and Submission [9] - Thabiti (and Mrs. Thabiti) find lessons in an unexpected place.

The nature and end of judgment must be corrective, not vindictive; for healing, not destruction. —John Owen