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A La Carte (August 8)

There are some noteworthy Kindle deals today. They include NIV Application Commentary on each of the gospels; The Spirit of Revival by R.C. Sproul; God’s Grand Design by Sean Michael Lucas; Heaven on Earth by Stephen Nichols; A God Entranced Vision of All Things by John Piper; The Attributes of God by A.W. Pink * and a few others. Get them here.

Should Christians Save for Retirement?

Randy Alcorn asks some good questions: “Is this reasonable planning, exercising foresight as Proverbs commends? Or is it an alternative to trusting God, a backup in case God doesn’t come through? How is maintaining a generous retirement plan fundamentally different from the rich fool storing up for his later years to live out his life in comfort and security?”

Emotions Are a Language

Writing specifically for counselors, Ed Welch says to “Think of emotions as a language. They say something—something very important—and part of our job is to figure out what they are saying.”

John Piper’s Prayer

“Last Sunday morning, at around 11:30, an entire family entered heaven together. Jamison and Kathryne Pals and their small children were driving from Minneapolis to Colorado for final preparations as missionaries to Japan. … Tragically, the entire family died at the scene, including Jamison and Kathryne, both 29, and their three young children, 3-year-old Ezra, 23-month-old Violet, and 2-month-old Calvin. … John Piper was asked to deliver the pastoral prayer. Here’s what he said.”

Pedophilia as a Sexual Orientation

Denny Burk writes about a new book that seems to be part of a new movement to normalize pedophilia. It does this by considering it a sexual orientation.

Are We Reaching the End of World Records?

This question is asked around the time of every…single…Olympics. And somehow records continue to fall.

Throwing Sheep Into a Pit

Yes! An Egyptian visitor was expressing something like this to me at church yesterday: “We don’t rest to maximize our productivity later. We rest to remember that our worth does not hinge on our productivity.”

The Bible Is Not Boring

Ryan Higginbottom: “If God’s word seems boring, there’s either a problem with the reading or the reader.”

Flashback: The Book Glutton

Here is some counsel I offered on libraries, book collections, and book gluttons.

Smith

If God gave you the whole world, but did not give Himself, that would not be enough. He is more than all the world to His people.

—Colin Smith

  • Grounded in Grace

    Your Kids Need You To Help Them Build Their Identity

    It has always been important that children establish their identity. From the time kids are young, they are being formed in a host of ways and gradually coming to terms with who they are and who they will become. Historically, identity arose from outside—from the people they came from, the place they were born, and…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (September 13)

    A La Carte: Will God forgive my worst sin? / Seeing dignity instead of misery among the poor / Aging graciously / How edgy are you? / What Trump should have said to Kamala / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (September 12)

    A La Carte: Our greatest tool for reaching the West again / Ordained or allowed? / One for the misfits / If the Twin Towers fell after Twitter / How to get over it when you taught poorly / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Pastoral Prayer

    The Pastoral Prayer: Examples and Inspirations

    Of all the elements that once made up traditional Protestant worship, there is probably none that has fallen on harder times than prayer. It is not unusual to visit a church today and find that prayer is perfunctory, rare, or absent altogether. If that is true of prayer in general, it is particularly true of…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 11)

    A La Carte: Pro-natalism / Why a good God commanded the destruction of the Canaanites / An encouragement to husbands / Pastoring, productivity, and priorities / I had a horrific childhood / and more.