Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (3/11)

A La Carte Collection cover image

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

  • An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    There is a lot I miss from the days when our children were young. High on the list is family devotions. Nick once described our family as having a “Spartan-like commitment” to them, though I remember as much failure as success and as many misses as hits. Still, there’s no doubt that over the 26…

  • A La Carte (June 12)

    The curious case of extra resurrections / Are kids too expensive? / Why hot takes are the enemy of conviction / Piper on preaching outrage / A daily rhythm of prayer / Forgetting and pursuing / A La Quiz / The funnies / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 11)

    We lost the baby / The Bible is cessationist (and wondrous!) / Thinking about Eastern Orthodoxy: a primer for evangelicals / Virtue signalling in the church / What is God’s providence? / Restlessness / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Conform

    You Can Conform to Christ Even if You Don’t Conform to Me

    One of the aspects of the Christian faith that I find particularly perplexing is the freedom God gives his people to obey him in different or even opposite ways, so that one person’s obedience is another person’s disobedience. Even as two people take the same action, one might be obeying him and the other disobeying…

  • A La Carte (June 10)

    Does prayer make a difference? / Portrait of an abortionist / Pushing back against the black tax / Bring your whole self to work / Blessed are the weak / When service isn’t a transaction / A pastoral analogy / Bill C-9 will soon be law in Canada / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 9)

    Thawed embryos, reproductive rights, and the grey marshlands of ethical ennui / 14 World Cup stars who follow Jesus / The God of small churches / How a critical theorist influenced the sexualization of everything / When culture trumps strategy / Fasting and feasting / Kindle deals / and more.