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A La Carte (December 28)

I was not able to track down any interesting Kindle deals for today, but we will hope for better things tomorrow. However, I did manage to track down some excellent articles and videos:

My Personal Philosophy of Open Air Preaching.

Geoffrey R. Kirkland shares his philosophy of open air preaching and evangelism.

Star Wars Movies Are Fun, Just Remember They Sometimes Contradict a Biblical Worldview

Randy Alcorn talks about Star Wars. “I am not a Star Wars naysayer, and it might seem self-evident that ‘these movies aren’t based on reality.’ But I’ve found that while almost no one ends up believing that the particular aliens onscreen really exist, matters of worldview are much more subtly conveyed. So I encourage parents to talk with their children about this, since many of them don’t yet have the filters in place to screen out what’s false.”

Should Christians make New Year’s Resolutions? (Video)

Dr. Hershael York answers these timely questions: “Should Christians make New Year’s Resolutions? Aren’t we commanded to not make oaths?”

What’s the Difference between Lament and Complaint?

“What’s the difference between lament and complaint? Or is ‘lament’ just a name we give to complaining when it’s in the Bible?”

Your ‘Free Time’ Isn’t Free

“Everyone loves free time, the time we have left after working and doing the things we have to do (sleep, bathe, do laundry, take care of the kids). ‘Free time’ is when we can finally do what we want. No one is telling us what to do; no one is demanding our attention. We can give our attention gladly to the things we love, or we can set leisure aside and keep working to get what we want. Whatever we decide, we’re in charge.” Sound good?

2017: A Christian Music Review

Jeremy Howard shares his roundup of what he considers the best Christian music that came our way in 2017.

Why Cynicism Is One of the Historian’s Great Gifts to the Church

This is really good stuff from Carl Trueman: “Some years ago, Phyllis Tickle likened Brian McLaren to Luther and the Emergent Church to the kind of paradigm shift that happens only once a millennium. The amazing thing was not that she said this; in a world shaped by the continual escalation of sales rhetoric, this kind of language is to be expected in advertising. No. What was truly amazing was that people actually took her seriously, friend and foe alike.”

Flashback: The Half-Trained Dog

We train ourselves for a while, but then grow weary when those last vestiges of the sin refuse to die, or when we realize that sin has much deeper and stronger roots than we had expected, or when we realize that we actually kind of like our sin. We end up half-trained, good enough Christians.

There are no citizens of the city of God who didn’t first arrive at its gates as refugees.

—James KA Smith

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    Weekend A La Carte (July 12)

    A La Carte: Where art thou Rob Bell? / The case against in vitro fertilization / Praying and weeping for those suffering in Texas / Greet each other with a holy hug / The example of Jimmy Swaggart / and more.

  • Thriving Marriage

    Thriving Marriage

    I have often wondered about the best time to write a book about marriage. When a couple is young, there is so much about marriage they have not yet experienced. They can still impart wisdom and teach lessons, of course, but there is so much of marriage that remains unknown to them. Yet when a…

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    A La Carte (July 11)

    A La Carte: Falling out of repentance / Tattoos as confession / The Epstein List and secret sins / Teaching generosity / Lessons from a former youth pastor / Bedbugs in the bowels of the city.

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    A La Carte (July 10)

    A La Carte: Questions for a maturing marriage / The lesbian seagulls that weren’t / But mommy, why? / A time to be tired / The modern rise of Stoicism / and more.

  • The Stranger

    The Stranger: A Short Film For You

    Based on a true story and inspired by the truth that character comes before competence, “The Stranger” is an honest, light-hearted and meaningful picture of what it means to truly serve others.

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    A La Carte (July 9)

    A La Carte: The singer who changed the course of my life / Stay on the line / Incompatible thick communities / Lulla-Bible? / The solution is not megachurch / Who were the Anabaptists? / and more.