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A La Carte (2/5)

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The Bible – CNN covers Mark Burnett and his miniseries The Bible (which I’m sure you’ve been hearing about). The hotel I was in on Sunday night didn’t offer the History Channel so I didn’t get to see it. Melinda Penner of Stand to Reason offers some positives and some negatives.

Peace that Trumps Tribe – From Kenya: “We sincerely plea for peace in the weeks following these elections. We may be divided on whom we want to be the next president, but we are united in echoing this prayer in our national anthem: ‘May we dwell in unity, peace, and liberty.’ And we call on Christians from across the world to echo this prayer for peace. Pray for peace that is not just superficial or temporal, but a lasting peace that finds its root and foundation in the preaching of Jesus Christ crucified.”

It’s Better to Be Faithful – Mark Altrogge says it’s better to be faithful than gifted. “There aren’t many superstars in the kingdom of God. Not many have super gifts. Most of us are just average. Gifted in small ways. But if we are faithful to use the gifts we have and serve in whatever ways we can, God will increase us.”

The Most Essential Life Skill – David Murray, in a similar vein, writes about the most essential life skill. “Those who are teachable, and remain so, usually succeed. The unteachable usually fail. I’ve seen that in business, I’ve seen it in the ministry, I’ve seen it among students, and I’ve seen it in my children.”

Were They Drowning? – Bill Mounce takes a really helpful look at a well-known story from Jesus’ life and asks why the translators inserted just one little word.

Tales From the Dugout – Baseball fans may enjoy this discussion with Albert Pujols, Barry Zito and Josh Hamilton, three Christian ballplayers.

Sermons are dangerous things. None goes out of church as he came in, but either better or worse.

—George Herbert

  • 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…