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A La Carte (December 24)

tuesday

Today’s Kindle deals include just a couple of books. Maybe people don’t buy books on Christmas Eve.

What are the essential ingredients of a true church? (Video)

It’s important to know the historic marks of a true (versus a false) church.

The Closed Lid

“Throughout the Bible, God uses illustrations to teach His people specific truths about Himself. Sometimes it’s about His character, sometimes it’s instruction on how to relate to Him, and sometimes it is to remind us of the ways in which He proves His love and care for us.”

Remember the good old days when it was Christians who wanted Harry Potter banned?

How the tides have turned…

How one company changed the way we watch television

It’s interesting to consider how entertainment has been utterly transformed over the past decade. Netflix has taken the lead.

The Problem With My Christmas Traditions

“Ask anyone in my family and they’ll tell you—probably with a wry smile—how much I love traditions. I want things to be done like they always have been. Especially at Christmas.”

VFX Artist Reveals the True Scale of Atoms

This is kind of a neat way of illustrating the microscopic world.

WHAT WAS THE STAR AND HOW DID THE WISE MEN KNOW TO FOLLOW IT? (SPONSORED)

“What was the star and how did the wise men know to follow it? These are questions people are curious to have answered, especially this time of year. During the Christmas season, many who are hostile to anything Biblical, won’t object to hearing about the ‘Christmas Story’. Often, they welcome it with curiosity! When would be a better opportunity for some undercover evangelizing than when gathering with our friends and family during Christmas week?”

A Thrill of Hope

Jared Wilson: “I don’t know where this Christmas week finds you, but it may be in a very darkened place. Emotionally, psychologically, or spiritually you may feel dry and despondent. Christmas feels thin to you, hollow. The sentimentality of the holiday is a weak antidote for what ails you. I want to urge you for a moment to look beyond the wrapping to the Gift. You can find hope this Christmas.”

Flashback: Why We Know So Little About Jesus’ Birth

When it comes to the birth of Jesus, we get all the details we need to understand one thing with the utmost clarity: Jesus comes as the least.

So great and boundless is God’s wisdom that he knows right well how to use evil instruments to do good.

—John Calvin

  • a One-Talent Christian

    It’s Okay To Be a Two-Talent Christian

    It is for good reason that we have both the concept and the word average. To be average is to be typical, to be—when measured against points of comparison—rather unremarkable. It’s a truism that most of us are, in most ways, average. The average one of us is of average ability, has average looks, will…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 17)

    A La Carte: GenZ and the draw to serious faith / Your faith is secondhand / It’s just a distraction / You don’t need a bucket list / The story we keep telling / Before cancer, death was just other people’s reality / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 16)

    A La Carte: Why I went cold turkey on political theology / Courage for those with unfatherly fathers / What to expect when a loved one enters hospice / Five things to know about panic attacks / Lessons learned from a wolf attack / Kindle deals / and more.

  • The Night Is Far Gone

    The Night Is Far Gone

    There are few things in life more shameful than sleeping when you ought to be working, or slacking off when you ought to be diligent. When your calling is to be active, it is inappropriate and even sinful to remain passive. This is especially true when it comes to contexts that are of the highest…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 15)

    A La Carte: Personal reflections on the 2024 eclipse / New earth books / 7 questions that teens need to answer / Was there really no death before the fall? / How to be humble instead of looking humble / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Exactly the Purpose God Intended

    Exactly the Purpose God Intended

    General revelation serves exactly the purpose God intended for it—it reveals his power and divine nature. But, its message, while important, is insufficient—insufficient by design. Though general revelation tells us about the existence of God, it does not tell us about how to be reconciled to God.