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A La Carte (11/9)

A La Carte Collection cover image

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

  • Endure

    Why We Can Confidently Persevere in Prayer

    I remember the days when my children were younger and would ask me to give them something—then ask me again, and ask me again. At that age, they had no ability to gain or purchase these things for themselves, so they were entirely dependent upon their parents to grant their requests (which were usually for…

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    A La Carte (January 19)

    A La Carte: Learning to struggle / When “Stranger Things” stopped being strange / “If God Is For Us” / Reading as stewardship / A sermon you need to hear / Excellent Kindle deals / and more.

  • Not a Hindrance But a Prerequisite

    Not a Hindrance But a Prerequisite

    Many Christians feel they are too unholy or too sinful to participate in the Lord’s Supper. They come to the table downcast, convinced that their sin makes them unworthy. They may refuse to participate at all.

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    Weekend A La Carte (January 17)

    A La Carte: Look to and learn from older saints / Don’t overthink your problems / Rebellion / When there is no good church / Teens and popular music / Where the gospel costs everything / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    Enter to win 1 of 5 copies of Why We’re Feeling Lonely (And What We Can Do About It) and be encouraged by Shelby Abbott’s practical, biblical insights for young adults struggling with loneliness.

  • Gospel way

    Truths That Take on the World

    Christianity has a long history with catechisms—summaries of key doctrines that are arranged in a question-and-answer format. Traditionally, Presbyterians would be taught The Shorter Catechism, Dutch Reformed believers The Heidelberg Catechism, and Baptists one of the Baptist equivalents. Sadly, the use of catechisms began to decline as the years went by, so that it became…