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A La Carte (December 29)

tuesday

After a couple of days of coming up empty-handed, I managed to track down some pretty good Kindle deals for today.

What God Tells Us to Remember

I thoroughly enjoyed this article that reminds us of those things God tells us to remember. “There used to be a saying on memes that went something like, ‘Don’t look back—you’re not going that way.’ However, though we shouldn’t live in the past, we benefit from considering it at times.”

Finish the Year Weak

Jared Wilson: “‘Finish the year strong.’ The clichéd exhortation is aimed at us all—the businessman trying to meet project deadlines and annual budget expectations, the student prepping for semester finals, the average Joes and Janes navigating holiday chaos with an eye toward some vague sense of individual improvement in the coming year.”

Can Our Prayers Change God’s Will? If Not, Why Pray?

I’ve often appreciated R.C. Sproul’s straightforward way of answering theological questions. That quality is on full display here as he answers a common question about prayer.

Before You Say Goodbye to 2020

“During this season, it might feel like drudgery to reflect on this unprecedented year, frightening, even. We’ve experienced hardship and struggles, seen hostility in people we never would have imagined, and known the startling pressure anxiety can wield on our minds. Looking back on this year is daunting; we don’t want to remember the dark moments, or the pain of navigating them.”

Expecting Less from Church

It can be freeing to expect a little less from church, as Ed Welch explains here.

Heaven: Rejoicing in Future Glory

The current issue of the 9Marks Journal is all about heaven. If you’re up for some slightly heavier reading, it’s free to read online or to download.

We Are Blind Without the Spirit

I think you’ll appreciate this reflection on the Holy Spirit.

Flashback: How To Make A New Year’s Resolution That Sticks

I have done a fair bit of reading on how to make resolutions work, and it turns out that though there are many reasons your resolutions may not work, the most common ones are easy enough to avoid. Here are some tips on making wise resolutions and on making them stick.

This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him.

—Elisabeth Elliot

  • Marriage

    To Those Who Married Poorly

    Some marriages are the stuff of fairytales. Some are not. Some husbands marry wives who respect them and some wives marry husbands who love them as Christ loves his church. Some do not. The sad fact is that some people marry well and some people marry poorly. 

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    A La Carte (January 7)

    A La Carte: Scott Adams / How you listen to sermons / Love the church you’re in / Defeating hypocrisy / Petra / Normalizing euthanasia / Kindle deals / and more.t

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    A La Carte (January 6)

    A La Carte: Motherhood is a mission, not an identity / What Betty Friedan got wrong about motherhood / Being a better ministry dad / Young men and looksmaxxing / New CityAlight song / Resolutions for Reformed Twitter / Kindle deals / and more.

  • How do we minister to parents with broken hearts?

    For every family in the church where the children seem to be well established in the faith, there will be another family where one or more of the children have deserted it… How can we help bring comfort to parents in pain?

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    A La Carte (January 5)

    A La Carte: 5 habits for better prayer / How do you stop a malevolent idea? / The freedom of a lower reading goal / You can’t trust your eyes anymore / Write a new song / and more.

  • It Pictures Something and It Accomplishes Something

    It Pictures Something and It Accomplishes Something

    Each of the ordinances has a distinct purpose and a distinct role in the life of the Christian. Baptism is an initiatory rite, a means by which a person publicly identifies with Christ Jesus—an occasion of joy and blessing not only for the person being baptized but for the entire church.