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A La Carte (August 25)

Today’s Kindle deals include quite a few deals from a variety of authors: Alistair Begg, Francis Schaeffer, Nancy Pearcey, and so on.

Westminster Books has a great deal on the excellent Building Healthy Churches series of books from 9Marks.

(Yesterday at the blog I continued my series “Run to Win” with an entry titled Treasure Your Marriage.)

D. James Kennedy Ministries Sues SPLC over Hate Map

The sheer absurdity of having some of these groups labeled as “hate groups…” I’m glad to see them fighting back against this cultural insanity.

And So He Left

A sad story: “My husband and I had been married for 15 years and had three children, and were actively involved in the ministry of our local church. We were just another one of those “keen Christian couples” that are the heart of church life.”

Loving God With or Without Children

“One of the strangest and slowest pains in marriage is the longing for children who never come. Someone has called it ‘a strange grief that has no focus for its tears and no object for its love.’ When someone dies, there’s a sad day to remember, a sad place to visit, sad possessions to spark memories, sad photos to trigger tears.”

4 Lies that Cause Pastors to Neglect their Families

Pastors pretty much need to read this article. Non-pastors would probably do well to read it as well, since some of these things will apply to them as well.

The Power of a Dependent Father

So true: “But when you grow up and become a father, you realise how difficult life is; how weak and inadequate you are; how complex the world has become; how vulnerable you actually are; how few resources you have to care and provide for your family. Though some fathers in this world are very powerful.”

North Koreans Are Turning to Christ

If true, this is great news. And, honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising news. “Western Christians often assume underground churches are unable to reach people with the gospel, because of the severe restrictions placed on them. However a report in The Telegraph this week has claimed a growing number of North Koreans are rejecting Kim Jong-un as their god and are now more open to alternative belief systems, including Christianity.”

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery (Video)

You may enjoy this a capella rendition of “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery” as performed by Southern Seminary’s vocal ensemble.

Flashback: The 10 Greatest Hymns of All Time

As English-speaking Christians, we have a vast array of hymns available to us, and we each have our list of favorites. In my assessment, the best hymns are those that are universal and timeless, speaking to all Christians in all times, places, and situations. Here are my picks for the ten greatest hymns of all-time.

God’s faithfulness means that God will always do what He has said and fulfill what He has promised.

—Wayne Grudem

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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.