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A La Carte (December 11)

friday

Westminster Books has discounts on some Puritan books, including the ever-popular The Valley of Vision.

Today’s Kindle deals include a good one on friendship along with a couple of pocket guides.

The Surprising Ministry of Encouragement

Ray Ortlund: “Encouragement is what the gospel feels like as it moves from one believer to another. The ministry of encouragement, therefore, isn’t optional or just for people with a knack for it. Real encouragement has authority over us all. It deserves nothing less than to set the predominant tone of our churches, our homes, our ministries. So, let’s think it through. And then, let’s get after it.”

The Triumph of the Modern Self: A Conversation with Theologian Carl Trueman

I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion between Al Mohler and Carl Trueman on the subject of Trueman’s latest book.

The Sad Irony Of Celebrity Pastors

This article is written by a non-Christian which is exactly what makes it so interesting and challenging. “I am not religious, so it is not my place to dictate to Christians what they should and should believe. Still, if someone has a faith worth following, I feel that their beliefs should make me feel uncomfortable for not doing so. If they share 90 percent of my lifestyle and values, then there is nothing especially inspiring about them. Instead of making me want to become more like them, it looks very much as if they want to become more like me. That, sadly, appears to have been true of Lentz and his celebrity acquaintances.”

Tudor Networks

If you, like me, are convinced that the Tudors are about the most fascinating family in history, you may enjoy this amazing visualization that traces correspondence during the Tudor period.

Core Convictions about Prayer

Here’s an article that will help you brush up on the basics of prayer.

Hungry

“We sat cross-legged, in soft pajamas, hair upswept and faces washed clean, before our hall meeting. I had only been in college for a few weeks. I glanced at the girls around me, surprised at our fast-deepening friendships. The personalities on our floor were an exquisite blend, and we were getting along famously.”

Who Are the 7 Spirits in Revelation?

“Who are the seven spirits in Revelation? This question arises in the opening lines of John’s vision in which he refers to ‘the seven spirits who are before [God’s] throne’. The seven spirits are named again in Jesus’s message to Sardis, as well as twice in the throne-room scenes. Some scholars have argued that the seven spirits are borrowed from Jewish ideas about Yahweh’s seven chief angels, or perhaps the Greco-Roman idea of a plurality of spirits that bring wisdom and knowledge. However, I will argue that the seven spirits represent the Holy Spirit, for three main reasons.”

Flashback: Believing the Worst of Those Who Love Me Most

When I ponder the cross I see that I don’t love because I don’t yet understand how much I have been loved. So I look to the cross again. And again.

Know that it is not the knowing, nor the talking, nor the reading man, but the doing man, that at last will be found the happiest man.

—Thomas Brooks

  • Considering Sparrows

    Considering Sparrows

    Explore how Kevin Burrell’s Considering Sparrows brings birds, Philippians, and the joy of following Jesus together in a warm, accessible work of ‘ornitheology.’

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    A La Carte (March 27)

    Protestants and the pill / Pastoring the scrupulous conscience / Ben Shapiro mocked this couple (so Ray Comfort interviewed them) / Made lonely by holiness / Two pressures of age / Teaching teens digital discernment / and more.

  • Gods Great Big Global Church

    Announcing: God’s Great Big Global Church

    Coming soon: God’s Great Big Global Church—my new children’s book that introduces kids to ten churches around the world and the joy of worshiping God together. Pre‑order is now open.

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    A La Carte (March 26)

    Decisions in the room / What does the Bible say about demons? / Why rationalists are asking AI to read their future / Tiny changes, massive payoffs / Stop scrolling and start singing / Kindle and commentary deals / and more.

  • Marriage

    When Your Spouse Stops Being Your Project

    Many marriages stall at the same point: each spouse convinced the breakthrough will come only when the other finally changes. What if the real breakthrough begins somewhere else?

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    A La Carte (March 25)

    Embracing slow sanctification / Men are lost / Your attention isn’t failing, your environment is / Notes on justice / Ships passing in the night / It is Christ who saves, not Christians / and more.