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A La Carte (2/5)

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We Already Have a Messiah – What is the role of celebrity in spreading the gospel? “In our human hearts, for some reason we are constantly seeking some legitimacy to the faith we proclaim to have. We perhaps think that if only there were enough famous people to endorse our religion then there might be revival that would break out. It even often times appears that if we can’t find good enough celebrities, then we will just exalt some of our pastors to celebrity status.”

Losing Adam – What happens if we lose the historicity of Adam? “Losing Adam means losing so much more besides. That is because losing Adam is likely to prove the beginning of losing our Bibles. Like the gardener who decides to trim his hedge, he finds that an aggressive cut at one point leaves a lopsided creation which requires further cuts here and there in order to restore a sense of balance and proportion to his judging eye.”

Desiring God Conference for Pastors – The 2013 Conference for Pastors is underway and you can catch the sessions via livestream. Today you can hear Jason Meyer, Tope Koleoso, John Piper and Darrin Patrick.

Should We Cheer for God? – “When you’re watching a football game and your team scores, what do you do? You Cheer! You burst out of your seat and pump your fist and yell and clap and slap five with those around you!. So why aren’t you like that toward God? You should express that same kind of excitement and joy toward Him!” Barnabas Piper pokes a hole in this line of reasoning.

Goodbye to the Penny – “Today marks the last day of Canada’s one-cent coin, as the Royal Canadian Mint starts to phase it out of circulation.” Finally!

America’s Baby Bust – This is a very interesting article that shows how America’s falling birth rate may well be her biggest problem right now. “The nation’s falling fertility rate is the root cause of many of our problems. And it’s only getting worse.” (Here is a dissenting take, if you like to read both sides of an issue.)

It is easier to cry against one-thousand sins of others than to kill one of your own.

—John Flavel

  • Pastoral Prayer

    The Pastoral Prayer: Examples and Inspirations

    Of all the elements that once made up traditional Protestant worship, there is probably none that has fallen on harder times than prayer. It is not unusual to visit a church today and find that prayer is perfunctory, rare, or absent altogether. If that is true of prayer in general, it is particularly true of…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 11)

    A La Carte: Pro-natalism / Why a good God commanded the destruction of the Canaanites / An encouragement to husbands / Pastoring, productivity, and priorities / I had a horrific childhood / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 10)

    A La Carte: Why we worry when choosing a Bible translation / Why Christian parents should resist school-issued devices / Take your worst to the table / The quickest to anger and the slowest to forgive / A big batch of Kindle deals / and more.

  • What Is God’s Calling For Me?

    This week the blog is sponsored by Reformed Free Publishing Association. Today’s post is written by William Boekestein, author of the  new book, Finding My Vocation: A Guide for Young People Seeking a Calling. William is a pastor and husband. He and his wife have four children: a college student, two high schoolers, and a…

  • Past Through Over Around

    Past Them, Through Them, Over Them, Around Them

    It is inevitable that we face times of difficulty and impossible that we escape them altogether. To be born is to suffer and to live is to endure all manner of trouble and trial. Just as none of us escapes death, none of us escapes all hardships. And when we face such hardships, we invariably…