Are you zealous for Christ? Do you have a genuine zeal to live for him and to advance his cause in the world? Or have you lost the zeal that once marked you? Here, courtesy of Joel Beeke and James La Belle are 9 ways you may lose your zeal. Major in speculative religion. Speculative…
I haven’t been able to track down any Kindle deals that are particularly exciting or noteworthy, so I suppose I will wish you a good weekend, and get straight to some interesting links. An Earth More Beautiful than Beautiful Jared Wilson reflects on beauty, and beauty to come. How to End a Conversation Because we’ve…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by CBD Reformed. They’ve got some great prizes lined up this week. There will be 5 winners and each of those winners will receive the following books: In addition, CBD Reformed is offering a 4-day sale (September 18 – 21) on the following three products: Enter Here Giveaway…
As a Christian, as a pastor, and as a church member, I find myself at a lot of meetings. And more often than not, these meetings begin with prayer. I don’t often think about why we do this—we just do it. We pray before we do business, and we pray before we do ministry. As…
The Solar System This took a lot of effort and ingenuity: “On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends build the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits: a true illustration of our place in the universe.” The Desire to Be Desired This is good stuff from Ed Welch.…
Why do Christians suffer? Why aren’t Christians relieved from trouble, from pain, from suffering? If God is powerful and wise, why doesn’t he direct his power and wisdom toward more comfortable lives for the ones he loves and redeems? J.I. Packer helpfully addresses this in the ninth chapter of Knowing God and I have condensed…
Life Is Best Be sure to check out this new 13-episode program coming this fall. “Lives are at stake. Souls hang in the balance. Some Christians are engaged in the battle, most are not. Life Is Best will thoroughly equip and inspire you to join the fight for lives and souls.” Truths and Tips for…
I get the books. I read the articles. I see the news. Christianity seems ready to move on. And I realize anew: I am an old-fashioned kind of Christian. I believe in the Bible. I believe that it is clear, complete, sufficient, true, and without error. It is God’s revelation to humanity and demands my…
Tissue Sales or ‘Donation for Remuneration?’ WORLD has a description of the latest undercover video from the Center for Medical Progress. Apparently fetal tissue procurement companies that pay Planned Parenthood for pieces of aborted babies are making a “donation for remuneration…” 2016 Ligonier Ministries National Conference Ligonier Ministries just announced their 2016 National Conference. In…
He promised himself that he would not write a book about apologetics. Not yet. Instead, he would do apologetics. I appreciate that. I appreciate Os Guinness’ concern that he would not become a professional apologist and along the way neglect the actual work of apologetics. But now, after many years of doing such work, he…
Helpers for Unfinished Husbands “It might take many years of sanctifying marriage for a husband to learn Christlike headship, and even then it will be imperfect. Wives, as helpmates, come alongside their husbands in this unfinished work.” Don’t Lose Spiritual Disciplines for Fear of Legalism There are some good challenges in this article. “For fear…
This sponsored post was prepared by Matt Heerema of MereChurch. Without question, over the last decade the Internet has become the most important tool for communication within a community and to the world at large. Web sites, social media, effective use of email, and other such tools are a vital part of a church’s outreach.…
Somewhere along the way dating became too hard. There must have been a time when it was easy—people knew what was expected of them and how to behave (even if too often they just went ahead and chose not to behave). But today I talk to an endless succession of young people who are trapped…
10 Things you Can’t Expect from Church Volunteers Church leaders may benefit from reading this list. “Expect too little and they don’t see their contribution as important and flake out. Expect too much and risk losing the very people you desperately need.” Pastor-Scholar? Not Likely… Mark Jones does well at taking a contrary view, and…
In his book Fool’s Talk: Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion, Os Guinness portrays three types of fools in the Bible: The Fool Proper, The Fool Bearer, and The Fool Maker. I found it a fascinating discussion. There are three types of fool in the Bible, and Erasmus restored the way of the third fool…
Welcome to the weekend! And thanks for taking a little bit of it to read A La Carte. I post this just before heading to my church’s morning of prayer, an event I have been looking forward to all week long. Praying and praying together–these are precious gifts. Giving Your Pastor Feedback After a Sermon…
This week’s Free Stuff Fridays comes from a first-time sponsor: Bethlehem College & Seminary Press. BCS Press is the publishing division of Bethlehem College and Seminary and the curricula they sell have been produced by and used in the context of Bethlehem Baptist Church and its educational ministry, The Bethlehem Institute. Each of their curriculum…
Have we had enough yet? Have we had enough of these miraculous journeys to and from the afterlife? Apparently not. Today marks the release of the long-awaited movie adaptation of Don Piper’s bestseller 90 Minutes in Heaven. While tales about journeys to heaven (and hell) far pre-date Piper’s 2004 effort, he is the one responsible…
Planting Seeds of Truth in Your Public School This isn’t an article about where or how to educate your children, but about how to reach into public schools. “For many years, our public schools have been seen as battlefields. Nothing much grows on a battlefield, though. Instead, our schools should be viewed as gardens to…
It is easy to look at the world around us, the culture around us, the institutions around us, and to despair. It is easy to see all that is wrong, all that looks so dark and dangerous, and to lose our hope, to lose our confidence. I have been helped here by J.I. Packer in…