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A La Carte (August 13)

monday

Today’s Kindle deals include a handful of titles you will probably want to take a look at.

(Yesterday on the blog: An Update, a Journey, and a Vacation)

How (What) to Pray for Your Grandchildren

“Just a few years ago I remember praying that my husband and I would be grandparents one day. Within five years of that prayer we were blessed with five children that would call us grandpa and grandma. Each child is a unique and special gift from God and we not only have the joy of having them as part of our lives, we also have the privilege and responsibility of praying for them.”

Why the Left Is So Afraid of Jordan Peterson

I was surprised to read this in The Atlantic. It’s rather insightful. “There is no coherent reason for the left’s obliterating and irrational hatred of Jordan Peterson. What, then, accounts for it? It is because the left, while it currently seems ascendant in our houses of culture and art, has in fact entered its decadent late phase, and it is deeply vulnerable.”

Are We All ‘Harmless Torturers’ Now?

This is worth thinking about. “When we think of the savagery of social media, we often think of awful individual behavior — death threats and rape threats; the release of personal information, including home addresses and the locations of the victim’s children; vicious lies; and the like. Harmless Torturers never go that far; we just like, retweet and add the occasional clever remark. But there are millions of us, and we’re all turning the dial.”

Bathsua Makin and the Education of Women

I enjoyed this brief biography of a woman I hadn’t heard of until now. “As the news challenge us to think biblically about the place of women in today’s world, it might be useful to remember there was a time when women were discouraged from reading, studying, and thinking independently. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to the translation of Scriptures in local languages was often reinforced by an apparently appalling thought, ‘Even women will read them!’”

4 Truths I Learned From Brain Surgery

“Each of these truths I learned were only possible because they were connected to a providence that oversees and sustains my life. God is always in control. God is always good. He is for me and not against me. For that reason and many others here are four truths I learned (and continue to learn) from my brain surgery.”

Bill Hybels and the Future of the Church After #ChurchToo

This one is worth reading and then pondering. “Revelations of scandal and coverup in the Catholic church have been trickling out for years. Televangelists have been exposed as counterfeits. And megachurch and movement leaders in the evangelical church like Mark Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, and Tullian Tchividjian have experienced their own reckonings for abuses of power. But these were not enough to shake us, evidenced in remarkably quick restorations inspired by a cheap form of grace.”

He Has Done All Things Well

You will enjoy this theological reflection from Jared Wilson.

Flashback: Why We Love to Read

Sometimes you need to do a lot of reading to come away with one really good idea. Some books yield nothing but nonsense; some yield nothing but ideas you have come across a thousands times before. But then, at last, you find that one that delivers. There is such joy in it. Such reward.

The purpose of confessing our sins is not to render us miserable by simply reminding us what great sinners we are. It is to remind us of what a great Savior we have.

—Iain Duguid

  • Breadth and Depth

    Breadth and Depth

    One of the key principles of properly understanding and applying the Bible is this: Scripture interprets Scripture. Christians sometimes speak of “the analogy of faith” to express the fact that we have properly understood one part of the Bible only when we have interpreted it in the context of the whole Bible.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (October 5)

    A La Carte: Reminders for parents of wayward children / Those who make them become like them / Suicide pods and the trivialization of death / Thoughts on pastors’ pay / What does it mean to preach Christ? / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away a bundle of books for Christians who want to deepen their relationship with God. The Bundle Includes…. Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time. When you enter, you permit The Good Book Company to send you marketing emails which…

  • Everyday Gospel

    Everyday Gospel

    We are not lacking when it comes to daily devotionals. To the contrary, there are more options than we could possibly read in a lifetime. Yet not all daily devotionals are created equal, so it can be difficult to find a good one—one that is worthy of a full year’s attention.

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (October 4)

    A La Carte: When are two people really married? / Hope for women in a post-Roe world / Who causes suffering? / When our foundation falters / When you fear your best days are behind you / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (October 3)

    A La Carte: Let’s stop the kid jokes / The fathered universe / The Gettys’ modern hymn movement / Reading is fundamental / When internet culture becomes the culture / Kindle deals / and more.