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A La Carte (April 24)

Today’s Kindle deals include a series of titles from Crossway that deal with deep theology.

God Desires To Bless You Infinitely More Than You Can Imagine

There’s an encouraging thought: “He has made an unbreakable, unchangeable promise to never stop doing good to us.”

The Quiet Plague of Painkillers

This one is from Desiring God: “Although heroin accounts for many such deaths, more familiar medications pave a path to heroin. Coincident with rising death rates, sales of prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone quadrupled between 1999 and 2010.”

When Anger Rears Its Ugly Head

“It happened again, at the end of a very long day with our young children, when my husband called on his way home from work and asked me how I was. I told him. And it wasn’t pretty. And when he got home I told him again. It was loud, it was thoughtless, and our kids witnessed it all.”

If the Arabian Empire Reunited (Video)

I enjoy this kind of what-if video. “The Arabian Empire once extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the border of India. It was the largest empire that the world had ever seen up to that point, so what would things look like if this empire was suddenly re-created today? Watch this video and satisfy your curiosity!”

3 Problems with the Benedict Option

Jesse Johnson points out 3 issues with the Benedict Option: “necessitates a revisionist view of history (which I’ll call a “racial” problem), lacks the gospel (or, the “Catholic problem”), and sacrifices religious freedom (a “Baptist” problem).”

Verses to Meditate on When Considering Missions

Here are some verses that are good to ponder if you are feeling that tug to missions.

African American Preaching

Barry York, who represents a Reformed Presbyterian denomination, considers why African American preachers are often such effective communicators. “Instead of the linear style of preaching common to Reformed churches, African American preaching is usually rich in themes that are woven into their discourse and which are meditated upon for an extended time.”

Flashback: Stuff Christians Say

We don’t all need to run around like young seminarians, thrilled with new words and assuming that everyone else shares that enthusiasm. But neither should we run away from them.

Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; wisdom is humble that she knows no more.

—William Cowper

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    A La Carte (March 19)

    A La Carte: How to know if you’re using God / The soul-poison of the little word ‘should’ / True, false, or heresy? / Truthful thinking is greater than positive thinking / Unless the seed dies / and more.

  • The Phrase that Altered My Thinking Forever

    This week the blog is sponsored by P&R Publishing and is written by Ralph Cunnington. Years ago, I stumbled repeatedly on an ancient phrase that altered my thinking forever.  Distinct yet inseparable. The first time I encountered this phrase was while studying the Council of Chalcedon’s description of the two natures of Christ. Soon after,…

  • Always Look for the Light

    Always Look for the Light

    For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond.…

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    A La Carte (March 18)

    A La Carte: God is good and does good—even in our pain / Dear bride and groom / Sin won’t comfort you / Worthy of the gospel / From self-sufficiency to trusting God’s people / The gods fight for our devotion / and more.

  • Confidence

    God Takes Us Into His Confidence

    Here is another Sunday devotional—a brief thought to orient your heart toward the Lord. God takes the initiative in establishing relationship by reaching out to helpless humanity. He reveals himself to the creatures he has made. But what does it mean for him to provide such revelation of himself? John Calvin began his Institutes by…

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    Weekend A La Carte (March 16)

    A La Carte: I believe in the death of Julius Caesar and the resurrection of Jesus Christ / Reasons students and pastors shouldn’t use ChatGPT / A 1.3 gigpixel photo of a supernova / What two raw vegans taught me about sharing Jesus / If we realize we’re undeserving, suddenly the world comes alive /…