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A La Carte (11/9)

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It’s Tuesday, and Tuesdays are a strangely busy day for me. So without further ado, let’s get to today’s A La Carte links:

T4G via Hip Hop – I don’t know that anyone could have predicted the Calvinist resurgence we’ve seen in recent years. And even if someone could have predicted it, I don’t know that he would have foreseen the accompanying movement within the world of Christian hip hop. Erik Raymond writes about a recent show he took in and the ways in which it encouraged him.

Be Rare – Part one of this series has drawn my attention. Parts 2 and 3 will follow today and tomorrow. “While I was out running (er, jogging leisurely) this afternoon, two words popped into my mind. They were (you guessed it) ‘be rare.’ Shortly after I moved to California, a friend spoke those words to me over the phone. She said, ‘Leanne, be rare.’ I don’t remember much of anything else that we talked about those six-ish years ago, but those two words stayed with me. Today, they returned to the forefront of my mind and I wanted to share some thoughts with you.”

Interview with Ken & Joni – I don’t often listen to audio interviews, but I enjoyed this one with Ken and Joni Tada. It’s great to hear of their great love for one another and the way that God has sustained them through her fight with cancer.

1 Timothy 2:12 – Denny Burk takes a look at the rendering of 1 Timothy 2:12 in the new NIV (2011). “There is a reason why countless articles and even an entire book have been written on the interpretation of this single verse. In many ways, this verse is the most disputed text in the debate. It is clear that Paul is prohibiting something, but just what he prohibits has been fiercely contested.”

An Average Family’s Gas Prices – There’s probably something a little bit obsessive in a guy who tracks the price his family pays at the pump over a long period of time. Nevertheless, here it is. It’s amazing to see how the prices fluctuate. I remember those carefree days in the fall of 2008!

Twenty Untranslatable Words – Here’s a list of twenty words from around the world that just don’t lend themselves to easy translation. Like Jayus, an Indonesian word that refers to “a joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh.” I could use that word sometimes…

A letter may be written, when it is not sealed; so grace may be written in the heart, and the Spirit may not set the seal of assurance to it.

—Thomas Watson

  • Optimistic Denominationalism

    Optimistic Denominationalism

    It is one of the realities of the Christian faith that people love to criticize—the reality that there are a host of different denominations and a multitude of different expressions of Christian worship. We hear it from skeptics: If Christianity is true and if it really changes people, then why can’t you get along? We…

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    A La Carte (April 24)

    A La Carte: Growing in hospitality / What happens when the governing authorities are the wrongdoers? / Transgender meds for kids? / 100 facets to the diamond of Christ / Spiritual mothers point us to Christ / and more.

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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.