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A La Carte (7/19)

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Time and an Eternal Perspective – Carolyn McCulley offers reflections on the way we use our time. “My ambitions about productivity have to be reshaped by the idea that I’m simply a steward. I am responsible for investing and multiplying what I receive from the Lord because I will give an account to Him one day for my activities. What isn’t from Him is a waste of time.”

Wheaton’s Contraception LawsuitChristianity Today interviews Philip Ryken about suing the government over the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services mandate. It’s quite fascinating.

African Missionaries – Conrad Mbewe asks and answers this question of the church in Africa: “Why are we not sending out African missionaries?” What a joy it is (and will be) to see people of all nations taking the gospel to all nations.

Does God Love Us By Sending Pain? – This article looks at spanking and God’s discipline. “When there is no pain in discipline, there is a chronic unpleasantness in the home rather than acute pain. Discipline must be a memorable event; it is not effective as a low-grade unpleasantness”

State of the Sexual Union – “While unmarried Christians have been given practical reasons to avoid sex, what we lack is a compelling vision of marital sex as God’s good design. We have never heard the poetry within the command to practice chastity — the ‘yes’ that the ‘no’ protects. When it comes to sex, we suffer from a theological deficit.” I agree, though I wish they had quoted less from John Paul II, though, as there are others who would have carried their arguments better. Still, it is a very helpful article.

The Divine Institution of Marriage – Here is a “Christian plea for all to recognize the Lordship of Christ, the divine nature of the institution of marriage, and the ethical and moral dimension of how we live our lives today.”

We carry an insidious prosperity gospel around in our dark, little, entitled hearts.

—Matt Chandler

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    A La Carte (December 9)

    A La Carte: Reforming generosity / Let the young man come to church / Your wife is beauty / Combating imposter syndrome / Be known, not impressive / Dan McClellan / and more.

  • AI Slop

    The Rise of AI Book Slop

    We often hear these days of “AI slop,” a term that’s used to refer to the massive amounts of poor-quality AI-created material that is churned out and unceremoniously dumped onto the internet. This was once primarily artistless artwork and authorless articles, but has now advanced to much bigger and more substantial forms of content.

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    A La Carte (December 8)

    A La Carte: A plea to older women / Let someone serve you in suffering / Why AI writing can’t compete / Influencers / The hidden danger in online sermons / Discipling young people / Excellent Kindle deals / and more.

  • Hymns

    Pitch Perfect and Tone Deaf

    God commands us to sing. Yet while some of God’s people are gifted singers, the plain fact is that others are not. In any congregation, it’s likely that some have near-perfect pitch while others are functionally tone-deaf. Those who struggle to sing may be self-conscious, tempted to stay quiet or to do no more than…

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    Weekend A La Carte (December 6)

    A La Carte: Rightly ordered desires / Ordinary wonders / For my good, not my comfort / Make room for special-needs families / Christmas spirit / Wisdom rarely makes you famous / and more.