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A La Carte (3/11)

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Sex in the Sermon – Melissa Kruger writes about the Bible’s frank discussions of sexuality. “While parents have a clear duty to initiate these discussions with their children, they also need the church to provide repeated input and guidance. Deliberate preaching of the ‘whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27) will naturally encourage parents to continue these important conversations. God’s Word is not prudish about sexuality. It is careful to illustrate the pitfalls and the trappings, as well as the beauty and the blessing.”

Identities – This is a fascinating photo gallery from a photographer who finds old portraits and then shoots their subjects in the same pose many years later. It so clearly displays the inexorable march of time. It makes me think of Ecclesiastes 11 and 12.

The Day of Atonement Was a Copy – “It is common to think of the Old Testament ritual as providing the model that Jesus’ priesthood subsequently copied and fulfilled.” Sinclair Ferguson explains that this is actually completely backward.

Japan’s Earthquake Before and After – Here is a series of before-and-after interactive images of Japan’s earthquake. You can click on each one to see the image fade from before (2011) to after (2013).

CBMW – Last week the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood made 5 big announcements. You may want to see the recap as they essentially reboot that ministry.

Google Hacked Our Imaginations – John Dyer writes about Google Glass (if you haven’t heard of it yet, you will very soon!) and how Google is trying to normalize something very unusual. It’s a very good article.

A Sweet Legacy – When I speak about technology I usually mention that almost half of young women check their cell phone before they get out of bed. In this article John Piper admits that he does the same, though for a pretty good reason.

Set a strong guard about thy outward senses. These are Satan’s landing-place, especially the eye and ear.

—William Gurnall

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    Weekend A La Carte (November 2)

    A La Carte: Coldplay’s prayer in Melbourne / Zombies, Heath Lambert, and gatekeeping biblical counseling / Keep the Feast (a new song) / Stop playing the numbers game / Squandering security / and more.

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    Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier)

    This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Ligonier Ministries, who also sponsored the blog this week.  Yesterday was Reformation Day, when many Protestants celebrate the sixteenth-century recovery of the biblical gospel. It was while Martin Luther was studying the book of Romans that he rediscovered the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So, today…

  • Daily Liturgy Devotional

    Why Not Use a Daily Liturgy for Your Devotions?

    Trends come and go. Certain habits or interests rise for a time, wane, then rise again, often at unexpected moments. One of the recent trends I have found particularly surprising and also particularly interesting is the rise (or re-rise, if you prefer) of liturgy. This may be liturgy within formal worship services of the local…

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    A La Carte (November 1)

    A La Carte: When a Berkeley feminist had three sons / The tragedy of IVF / What if I don’t feel forgiven? / Piper on how not to respond to suffering / What sola scriptura protects us against / Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    As October draws to its close, I wanted to ensure you know about at least some of the most notable books it brought our way. I did not see quite the quantity of new books I have seen in some previous months, but there were still some special ones. For each, I’ve provided the publisher’s…

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    A La Carte (October 31)

    A La Carte: What is the Reformation? / More than a list of problems / A surprising story / More than songs of praise / Do elders need to evangelize? / Preach the gospel / and more.