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A La Carte (6/15)

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Five for Father’s Day – I meant to do this last week, but never mind–there is still time to order before Sunday. Here are five books you may want to get for dad this Father’s Day: one, two, three, four and five.

Sometimes It’s Just Plain Hard – Denise Spencer, wife of the late Michael Spencer, writes about Michael’s death. She shares the false hope of a “beautiful” death and contrasts that to the harsh reality. “Michael’s illness was just plain hard. I’m not complaining; it could have been a thousand times worse and I know that. Yet from the day he got sick in late November until he died on April 5, he never again had even one good day. His life became throwing up in a bucket or trying to sit perfectly still so he wouldn’t throw up. My life became driving him to medical appointments in the dead of winter through rain and sleet and snow and fog and sometimes all of the above. I’ll condense the story for your reading enjoyment. Michael got worse. Life got harder. Then he died.”

How Soccer Explains the World – Writing for Scriptorium, Allen Yeh shares some interesting reflections on soccer. Like this one: “Football is nationalism. Unlike the Olympics or other sporting events, the World Cup is hosted by a country, not a city. This breeds tremendous national unity, not just provincialism. So, while it is Rio de Janeiro who will host the 2016 Olympics, it is Brazil who will host the 2014 World Cup. Huge difference. The whole country unites under one flag during the World Cup.”

5 Favorite Koinonia Posts – The editors of Zondervan’s blog list their 5 favorites Mounce articles.

The Religious Lives of Young Adults – Maybe this ought to be filed in the “Well, duh” file. But I think it’s still good to have reaffirmed: parents are massively influential in the religious lives of their children. “We live in a culture where mothers and fathers hover over their children in school, on athletic fields and even on social media sites such as Facebook. Yet why do so many parents take a hands-off approach to religion and spirituality, setting youth adrift in crucial areas of moral reasoning and finding meaning in life?”


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  • Discernment

    What Does a Discerning Person Do?

    Some Christians seem to be specially gifted when it comes to spiritual discernment. Others take a special interest in discernment and expend the hard effort of growing in the discipline of it. But they may sometimes wonder: What should I do with this discernment?

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    A La Carte (May 19)

    A La Carte: Dangers of theological controversy / No confidence? No problem! / The goodness of gardening friends / Jeff the low stakes prophet / Hurting people / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Prayer

    The Reward They Longed for They Received

    Jesus, who knew what was in the heart of men, warned of the hypocrisy of those whose prayer life is only ever public. “When you pray,” he said, “you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen…

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    Weekend A La Carte (May 17)

    A La Carte: Generalizations are not stereotypes / Hospitality and reaching the dechurched / Essential lessons for pastors / The rise of Islam and the resilience of the church / Gossip and godly church / Fear takes you where grace has not yet gone / and more.