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A La Carte (December 27)

monday

I will be on a holiday blogging schedule this week, which means there will be only A La Carte posts. Normalcy will resume next week!

Today’s Kindle deals are headlined by some titles from Crossway.

(Yesterday on the blog: When I Get to the End of the Way)

What if I Don’t Want to Rejoice?

“Humans are natural rejoicers. Not only do we love rejoicing but we do so all the more with others. And yet, there are many times we simply do not want to rejoice. Though the Bible tells us to ‘rejoice in the Lord always,’ we find ourselves doing the exact opposite. How are we supposed to rejoice when life gets rough?”

Canada’s conversion therapy ban commits six secular sins

This is an interesting look at Canada’s Bill C-4 and the sins it commits. “Canada’s Bill C-4 bans ‘conversion therapy.’ But the bill is bad. How bad is the bill? It’s so bad that it, for lack of a better word, sins. It sins against democracy, freedom, truth, reason, and other goods. (Consider these secular sins that may or may not include sins against God.) Bill C-4 sins so badly that, if there were a fiery pit for bad bills, it should be thrown into it.”

The Evil of Earthly-Mindedness

“If one characteristic could describe the Puritan movement as a whole—apart from their personal piety—I believe it would be the Puritans’ ability to penetrate both heart and mind. Their knack for bringing conviction to the stubborn, hope to the hopeless, and relief to the weary and heavy-laden ought to serve as the gold standard for any who aspire to the ministry of the Word. Oh, that gospel minsters in the modern day would speak to the heart as the Puritans did in theirs!”

Love Undeserved & Unsought

This is a deeply personal article from Andrew Kerr.

Top Ten YouTubes of 2021

Here is one that is just for fun. Every year Denny Burk rounds up this top-ten YouTubes of the year that was.

There are no real unprecedented times

I’d tend to agree that we are a little bit too free to describe our times and circumstances as “unprecedented.”

Flashback: The Beautiful Ordinary

… all across the world, thousands of ordinary pastors will preach ordinary sermons to ordinary people, and through these sermons they will communicate the most powerful, extraordinary news of all.

The beginnings of mercy are encouragements to us to pray for the completing of it.

—Matthew Henry

  • 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.