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A La Carte (December 16)

wednesday

Logos users, remember to check out the 12 Days of Logos. The deals include a bunch of my recommendations for OT commentaries, a number of complete commentary sets (NICOT, Welwyn, etc), and the complete NSBT set. There are some really good deals to be had.

Think You Know the Christmas Story? Here are Five Common Misconceptions

Michael Kruger, a New Testament scholar, addresses five common misconceptions about Christmas.

Is Christmas a Pagan Rip-off?

Meanwhile, Kevin DeYoung answers this question: Is Christmas a pagan rip-off?

Give the Gift of AGTV

Christmas is fast approaching, and what better way to love your friends and family than with sound, biblical teaching. You can gift someone the new streaming service, AGTV, for just $5.99 a month or $64.99 for a year, so they can watch films and documentaries like American Gospel, Luther, Calvinist, Christianity Explored, and Epic. (Sponsored)

Vaccines and the Christian Worldview

Al Mohler has written a long article about the COVID-19 vaccine and its implications for Christians. “What should Christians think about vaccines and their use? What ethical and theological questions arise? Do the COVID-19 vaccines bring unique moral questions? What does the Christian worldview have to say about the entire set of questions? Let me offer seven points for consideration.”

Thoughts on My Anxiety

Todd Pruitt: “I have assembled a few thoughts on anxiety which I hope will at least help sufferers make sense of what they are experiencing. I also hope that those who do not struggle with anxiety chronically will gain a little insight into the lives of those who do.”

Shepherds Abiding in Their Field, Keeping Watch

“Picture a couple of shepherds. They’re just watching the sheep under the stars, like they have for years, maybe decades. And two of the guys, buddies, lean against a boulder, watching the flock. Two months earlier they were leaning against that same rock, like they had so many times before, and one shepherd — let’s call him Sal — says to the other, ‘Hey, Ernie.’ (Let’s pretend the other guy’s name is Ernie.) And Ernie says, ‘Yeah?’ ‘Do you ever sit and think to yourself,’ Sal says, ‘if any of that Messiah stuff is true?’” Jared Wilson imagines it…

Lessons for the Hospital

Kathryn Butler: “Whatever the circumstances, illness can stir up fears we never knew we harbored. Although medication can dull our pain, and therapies can slow cancer in its march, no pat answers can sponge away such fears. The wounds course too deep, and the nightmares linger too long after we’ve awoken from anesthesia.”

Flashback: The Visionary Worrywart

Where a visionary has an optimistic view of the future based on his ability to see current patterns and predict a better alternative, a worrier sees the future in great detail, but always in gory detail.

Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules.

—Jonathan Edwards

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    A La Carte (January 15)

    A La Carte: Young people are turning to the Bible / What conservative young men need / Justifying self-gratification / The influence of reading / On boredom / and more.

  • Remember

    It Doesn’t Matter What You Remember

    I have a memory like a … what do you call it? That thing in the kitchen you use to sift the stuff you want from the stuff you don’t. A sieve! That’s it. I have a memory like a sieve. I joke about it at times, and about how I have to outsource remembering…

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    A La Carte (January 14)

    A La Carte: Always being right / Sex advice for newlyweds / Making Christianity look good / Soul care / Stop straining for shortcuts / When writing feels like a chair / Rare Kindle deals / and more.

  • Post Woke

    Are We Post Woke?

    It is too early to tell, I think, whether the “wokeness” craze has already peaked and even begun to slip into decline, or whether it’s just pausing to gather energy for another surge. What seems clear for the moment, though, is that it has lost at least some of its initial momentum, probably because it…

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    A La Carte (January 13)

    A La Carte: A cautionary tale / Raising hands in worship / Freshen your prayer life / Exposing adultery to the light / Reject the religion of efficiency / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Petty Fight

    Petty Annoyances and Minor Insults

    I wonder if you are like me in that, as you look back on your life, you realize that most of the circumstances that have troubled you, most of the annoyances and disgruntlements, were produced by circumstances that were hardly worth noticing.