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A La Carte (December 5)

monday

Grace and peace to you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number of excellent devotionals from Crossway.

(Yesterday on the blog: Would You Consider Becoming a Patron?)

On Spiritual Dreams

I have read a number of different perspectives on Christians and “spiritual dreams.” This one, which I read over the weekend (and which is from a source I admire), was quite interesting to me.

An Open Letter to the Brothers I Went to Seminary With

I appreciated this open letter from a woman who attended seminary and who reflects on the men who attended with her.

If Christmas is just cultural, celebrate (or don’t) however you want

This is a good reminder that Christians don’t have to celebrate Christmas.

Brightest and Best (Video)

This great rendition of “Brightest and Best” features the Gettys and Ricky Skaggs.

Dealing with Difficult Decembers

“We spend so much time enjoying the nativity and celebrating the miracle of our Saviour’s birth, that we often forget to get excited and expectant once again for our Lord to come back.”

Chipping Away Our Confidence in Christ

Doug Eaton: “In the Christian life, there are times of rest and times of struggle, and what we do when the sun is shining will often determine how well we will fare when the rains fall and the winds blow. It is usually the pleasant times when self-confidence becomes exaggerated that many professing Christians tend to chip away at the rock upon which they stand.”

Flashback: Lost Is Her Treasure But Where Is Her Trust?

Let her not cling to him, Striving to fling from him, Death’s chilly hand, With its firm, frozen hold. Death has not made the choice, ’Tis but the Shepherd’s voice, Calling the little lamb, Back to its fold.

It’s pastoral malpractice to prescribe the law to penitent sinners as the source of a God-pleasing life. The law can direct and guide, but it cannot motivate or empower. The only legitimate motivation for the life of faith is not the law, but the gospel.

—Harold Senkbeil

  • The Phrase that Altered My Thinking Forever

    This week the blog is sponsored by P&R Publishing and is written by Ralph Cunnington. Years ago, I stumbled repeatedly on an ancient phrase that altered my thinking forever.  Distinct yet inseparable. The first time I encountered this phrase was while studying the Council of Chalcedon’s description of the two natures of Christ. Soon after,…

  • Always Look for the Light

    Always Look for the Light

    For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond.…

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    A La Carte (March 18)

    A La Carte: God is good and does good—even in our pain / Dear bride and groom / Sin won’t comfort you / Worthy of the gospel / From self-sufficiency to trusting God’s people / The gods fight for our devotion / and more.

  • Confidence

    God Takes Us Into His Confidence

    Here is another Sunday devotional—a brief thought to orient your heart toward the Lord. God takes the initiative in establishing relationship by reaching out to helpless humanity. He reveals himself to the creatures he has made. But what does it mean for him to provide such revelation of himself? John Calvin began his Institutes by…

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    Weekend A La Carte (March 16)

    A La Carte: I believe in the death of Julius Caesar and the resurrection of Jesus Christ / Reasons students and pastors shouldn’t use ChatGPT / A 1.3 gigpixel photo of a supernova / What two raw vegans taught me about sharing Jesus / If we realize we’re undeserving, suddenly the world comes alive /…

  • Ask Pastor John

    Ask Pastor John

    I admit it: I felt a little skeptical about Ask Pastor John. To be fair, I feel skeptical about most books that begin in one medium before making the leap to another. Books based on sermons, for example, can often be pretty disappointing—a powerful sermon at a conference can make a bland chapter in a…