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A La Carte (12/7)

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The Size of the Universe – WIRED takes a shot at helping us picture the size of the observable universe. Turns out it’s really, really big. “To try imagining how big, place a penny down in front of you. If our sun were the size of that penny, the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, would be 350 miles away. Depending on where you live, that’s very likely in the next state (or possibly country) over.”

Does Tech Feed Self-Centered Control? – One of the true joys of writing a book is seeing how other people interact with it and improve upon it. Paul Tautges has been doing just that. He looks at a particular bit of the book and says, “Let’s counsel ourselves by asking 8 idol-shattering questions about the love of control…”

Google: Behind the Numbers – Infographic du jour. Turns out that Google is big, too (but not quite as big as the universe).

Darwinism and the Next Generation – I enjoyed this article from Sean McDowell. I don’t advocate Intelligent Design, but what he says about Darwinism and materialism is really good.

Malcolm Gladwell: Collected – How did I not know about this set of books? Gladwell is an amazing author and these books are beautifully designed and illustrated.

Don’t Strive to Be Great – This is some great advice for preachers: don’t strive to be great. “What I am arguing against is the actual attempt to develop into a preacher with a reputation for being so unusually wonderful that people flock to you. There is a fine line here, to be sure: typically, gifted men attract larger audiences. Nothing wrong with that per se.”

Faithfulness is our business; fruitfulness is an issue that we must be content to leave with God.

—J.I. Packer

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (September 19)

    A La Carte: John Piper on brokenhearted boldness / Why didn’t Jesus defeat the Romans? / How do spiritually mature Christians handle suffering? / Is owning the libs a justification for lying? / Enjoying the beauty of prayer / and more.

  • I Am No Hero

    Lowest and Last of All

    The day will come when every man will stand before the Lord and be asked to give an account of his life. God makes clear the basis of this coming judgment: he “will render to each one according to his works.”

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    A La Carte (September 18)

    A La Carte: What if no one prayed for you? / How to pray when you feel like you can’t / Is that person male or female? / “If one member suffers…” / Ideas for better conversations / Huge Kindle sale / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 17)

    A La Carte: Who’s afraid of Romans 1? / You can only be what you can see / Are you a pastor who hurts people? / A holy life is the seed of evangelism / Thinking biblically in all areas of life / and more.

  • Shadow, Stream, and Scattered Beam Apologetics

    This week the blog is sponsored by Zondervan Reflective. This is an excerpt from Thaddeus Williams’ latest book on living out a radically God-centered systematic theology entitled Revering God: How to Marvel at Your Maker (Zondervan Reflective, 2024), featuring stories of Christian thinkers like Michael Horton, Fred Sanders, Joni Eareckson-Tada, John Perkins, Vishal Mangalwadi, and…

  • Did the Angels Laugh

    Did the Angels Laugh?

    You’ve got to hand it to the chief priests and Pharisees: They did their best. They did their level best to keep Jesus in his tomb. After successfully overseeing his execution, they remembered that he had not only predicted his death but also spoken of some kind of resurrection. Wanting to make sure his disciples…