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A La Carte (August 27)

friday

Grace and peace to you today.

There’s a nice little collection of Kindle books from Zondervan on sale today.

On sale this week at Westminster Books is the excellent ESV Expository Commentary Series (which is ideal for preachers and non-preachers alike).

What It Would Mean to Overturn Roe

Carl Trueman: “The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that directly challenges our country’s abortion regime, will have repercussions far beyond the confines of abortion law. Should the Court’s decision in Dobbs overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, then the future of legal abortion in America will truly be transformed.”

Preaching the Funeral Sermon I Once Most Dreaded

This is a hugely encouraging article from Hershael York as he recounts his joy in preaching the funeral he had most dreaded.

Simulated Sunlight

“It is essential to distinguish between entertainment and something being able to hold our attention. When God grabs hold of you while reading his word, he may have your attention, but that is not entertainment. Something more profound is taking place. The goal of entertainment is to amuse. The purpose of corporate worship is to glorify God and commune with him. The problem happens in planning for worship services when the desire to delight is part of the equation.”

Christian, Here’s When You’re Allowed to Apply Scripture

Pierce Taylor Hibbs is concerned with the way many Christians are using Scripture. “Let me put it bleakly: vast tracts of Christians don’t actually know how to apply Scripture in popular forms of argument and everyday conversations. They have Scripture memorized; they can quote chapter and verse numbers; they even have an accurate understanding of the central message of Scripture, but they don’t know how to apply it. They don’t know how to use it with faithfulness to what the text really means and how it’s been fulfilled in Christ.”

A Bigger Perspective

Christina Fox: “Stepping back from my painting was a reminder that in my own life all I see is one small section of the picture God is painting. I need to step back from time to time to see it from a different angle. To get a new perspective. To see my life in light of the greater work of redemption God is doing in my life. To see it in light of eternity.”

You Have Permission to Slow Down

“Permission to slow down — perhaps that’s what you’re aching for again. Maybe you tasted it for a few weeks, or even months, when the pandemic hit, as event after event was cancelled. But now, with vaccinations in arms, and the collective rush to return to life as ‘normal’ (as much as that’s possible), you’re feeling the need again for life to move slower than the modern world seems to allow.”

The Long Walk Home

I really enjoyed reading Darla McDavid’s story of the long walk home.

Flashback: What Does Prophecy Offer that Scripture Does Not?

Scripture is not general communication from God to humanity, but deeply personal communication because it is empowered by the illuminating and applying ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The lessons which parents teach their children are not one-thousandth part so important, as the life they live before them day after day.

—J.R. Miller

  • Pleasure Obligation

    A Pleasure More Than An Obligation

    Christians are often portrayed as downcast and dour, as people who are trapped in a system of beliefs that robs them of joy and life. And with a bit of honest self-examination, we can probably think of times when we have fit the cliché.

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    Weekend A La Carte (March 14)

    A La Carte: The West’s strange genius / Healing the way women hurt each other / AI skeptics / The world after reading / What about the children? / What caregivers should know about dementia / and much more.

  • Sex and Self-Forgetfulness

    Sex, Self-Forgetfulness, and the Joy of Serving Your Spouse

    I often think there is a kind of paradoxical quality to sex within marriage. It’s paradoxical in that few things have greater ability to bring blessing (through its right use) or to bring cursing (through its misuse). Not only that, but few things bring greater joy to a marriage, and also, in so many cases,…

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    A La Carte (March 13)

    What happened to our pastor? / Youth ministry needs seasoned saints / God’s sovereignty when things don’t go as planned / Preach sermons that algorithms don’t reward / A pastor remains in Beirut / and more.

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    A La Carte (March 12)

    The grief ambush / Forgotten, and that’s good / The foibles and fallibility of Christian leaders / Welcome back, church planting / Weakness is not the enemy / Bad reasons to read the Bible / Bible and book sales.