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A La Carte (7/22)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Background Information – Andy Naselli takes on this question: “Is ‘Background Information’ Ever Necessary to Understand the Bible?” “My answer is a cautious yes: ‘background information’ (which I prefer to call the historical context) is sometimes necessary for understanding the Bible accurately.”

Why is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa? – Conrad Mbewe: “I think that one reason why the Charismatic movement in Africa has been like a wild bushfire is because it has not challenged the African religious worldview but has instead adopted it. It has simply baptised it with Bible verses and Christian words that previously meant something totally different.”

Serengeti Lions – I really enjoyed this article from National Geographic: “They say that cats have nine lives, but they don’t say that about the Serengeti lion. Life is hard and precarious on this unforgiving landscape, and dead is dead. For the greatest of African predators as well as for their prey, life spans tend to be short, more often terminating abruptly than in graceful decline.”

An Interview With Russell Moore – Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post interviews Russell Moore, “In an interview at The Washington Post, Moore talked about racial injustice, the dangers of ‘chemical’ abortion and the importance of Christianity’s ‘freakishness’.”

Disciple-Making – I appreciate Erik Raymonds thoughts on discipleship and how it doesn’t have to be a formal program. “Here is my main point: disciple-making is ordinary Christianity. It is fundamental to it. Like learning to count and say your alphabet in the natural realm, there is scarcely any part of the Christian life where discipleship does not touch. In so far as Christianity is a community faith, it is a disciple-making faith.”

Flower Timelapse – This is pretty amazing.

What our Lord said about cross-bearing and obedience is not in fine type. It is in bold print on the face of the contract.

—Vance Havner

  • Works & Wonders June 7

    This week’s Works & Wonders offers: The wonder and the beauty, older and rarer, His Love, Ferrari Luce, The Covenanter Story, and cheese curds.

  • Weekend A La Carte (June 6)

    There’s a playbook for college, there should be one for marriage / Ben Sasse is teaching us how to die—and live—well / The biggest tell that something was written by AI / Why China got rich and India didn’t / AI slop is coming for your playlists / The blood cancer that became solvable /…

  • Davy and Natalie Lloyd

    Strong to the End

    You have probably heard of Davy and Natalie Lloyd, even if the names aren’t immediately familiar. In May 2024, you most likely heard the news about two young American missionaries to Haiti who, along with one of their Haitian colleagues, were brutally murdered by one of the many gangs that dominate the country.

  • A La Carte (June 5)

    Can Jesus really sympathize with my specific struggles? / View your past through the lens of God’s faithfulness / Nine marks of a healthy paragraph / When you have nothing left to give / The treasure chest at the train station / When you’re too weird to lead / Headlines / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 4)

    The pastor as anti-professional / On grieving when your loved one’s faith was ambiguous / God’s mercy in withholding wealth / Not mere memories: God’s sovereign purposes in every season / 10 theses on intercession / Bargatze’s ‘Breadwinner’ should be funnier / Podcasts / and more.