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A La Carte (August 16)

monday

Good morning. May grace and peace be with you today and in the week ahead.

I have listed a few new Kindle deals; besides the ones listed, Zondervan’s entire 37-volume Counterpoints series is marked down.

(Yesterday on the blog: A Parent’s Prayer for Obedience)

Of Minds and Machines : Transhumanism and the Christian

Christopher Brown has written an interesting essay on transhumanism. If you don’t know the term, you probably should.

Rejection That Cuts Deep

“I have come to believe that rejection and separation from your child is one of the most painful experiences to carry.” So says Kath Thomas. Many parents would tearfully agree.

5 Questions about Church Membership

Jonathan Leeman: “Let me start here: the local church is the authority on earth that Jesus has instituted to officially affirm and give shape to my Christian life and yours. Just as Jesus instituted the state, so he instituted the local church. It is an institutional authority because Jesus instituted it with authority.”

Redemptive Regret

Rut Etheridge III: “Maybe you’ve seen a meme that says something like this: ‘Don’t ever regret your past decisions. At one time, they were what you wanted.’ This emboldening counsel is no doubt born of deep pain. It offers emotional and ethical self-defense as we process a personal history of questionable choices. Yet this morality is, in every sense of the phrase, self-righteous. And self-righteousness is never a good means of self-defense.”

Seek Unity, Fear the Lord, and Wash Your Hands

“I’m in no way an expert on the medical aspects of COVID-19. What I do know is our enemy, Satan, loves to take moments of crisis and divide people by steering them toward extremes.” Daniel Seabaugh encourages Christians away from polarizing extremes.

10 Safeguards for Church Nurseries and Children’s Ministry

This is simple, common sense, and crucial stuff.

Why Afghanistan Is Impossible to Conquer (Video)

This video is a couple of weeks old and, hence, already out of date. Still, it helpfully explains why Afghanistan is impossible to conquer.

Flashback: The Power Over Christian Publishing We’ve Given To Amazon

We cannot be shocked when non-Christians are affronted or offended by genuinely Christian ideas. We cannot demand of non-Christians any more than of Christians that they violate conscience to sell materials they consider repugnant.

Do for duty’s sake what you cannot do as a pleasure, and you will find it becomes delightful.

—F.B. Meyer

  • Sing

    Singing Is Not Filler Time

    While it may be rare to find a church that dedicates a substantial portion of the service to prayers and Scripture reading, it would be rare to find a church that fails to dedicate a substantial portion of the service to singing. Christians love to sing, and we have always regarded it as an essential…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (November 29)

    A La Carte: What’s the point of longevity? / The 12-hour rule / Thank the Lord for the hard stuff / People aren’t homogenous blocs / Before you say no to childcare / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Black Friday

    Black Friday Deals for Christians

    Black Friday is upon us and with it the opportunity to save a bit of money as we shop for the holidays or build out our libraries. I have listed hundreds of deals below and will be adding to it throughout the course of the weekend. Note that I will update this list throughout the…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (November 28)

    A La Carte: Telling a better story / Stopped pipes and stubborn people / Avoid announcement prayers / Girls are less interested in marriage than boys / Changing a church’s culture / Black Friday deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (November 27)

    A La Carte: John Piper on false teachings / Everything is television / Is it Satan or God? / The hard way is the easy way / Backward progress / Treat people like adults / and more.