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A La Carte (December 7)

monday

Today’s Kindle deals include a massive list of deals. If you’ve got a Kindle, today’s a good day…

(Yesterday on the blog: No Hope Without Christ’s Righteousness)

Sanctorum Communionem

“As I stood there in that big echoey room, I sighed and considered all that has not gone on in there since March. ‘I believe the communion of the saints.’ Those old ancient words. Credo… sanctorum communionem. I walked over to the wall and noticed the calendars had also not been updated: MARCH APRIL MAY. We keep a quarterly schedule on the wall on white board calendars. They were all still in place. Birthdays and anniversaries and events had gone by.”

The Crisis of Christian Celebrity

David French has an important article about the crisis of Christian celebrity. In the background is a long New York Times article about Carl Lentz of Hillsong fame.

Christmas in a Minor Key

“Since our society so regularly confuses Christmas with the superficial, it is no wonder many people decide to opt-out when life is hard, but this misses the point of Christmas altogether.”

The Children of Pornhub (The World’s Biggest Porn Site)

I don’t know if you should read this one or not. On the one hand, it’s explicit at times. On the other hand, how else can people be awoken to the horrors of pornography—the violence, the rape, the pedophilia—unless people are told what porn is really about? So when the New York Times covers it, even as imperfectly as they do here, it is worth noting and perhaps even supporting with a click. If, with all that in mind, you’d like to read it, click here: The Children of Pornhub.

Bill C-6: What the Criminal Ban on “Conversion Therapy” Means for Churches in Canada

Canadians will want to be aware of this. “Across Canada, in various provinces and municipalities and now in Parliament, laws have been proposed (and most have passed), outlawing ‘conversion therapy.’ Christians should be concerned. As ARPA Canada explains in its policy report on conversion therapy, the devil is in the details: how one defines conversion therapy determines how good or bad such a ban would be.”

Wary of Words on the 1%

“From a collective and societal level, the 1% rhetoric is supremely dangerous. It is the seedbed of classism, and bloody revolution. Here’s the unfortunate secret: by definition, there will always be a one percent. And it will always feel like they have a lot more than you. The pre-occupation with this as an unfairness, as an injustice, leads inevitably to reaching up in order to tear down, rather than reaching down in order to bring up.”

Plan to Be Interrupted

Scott Hubbard: “At one time, I thought the best test for our faith in the sovereignty of God was our fidelity to the five points of Calvinism. But lately I’ve wondered if a different test might be more appropriate: how we respond to the interruptions, inefficiencies, and unforeseen delays strewn throughout our days.”

Flashback: Sexual Revolution, Same Old Revolution

…the sexual revolution is a movement of hate in the guise of love, a movement of destruction in the guise of justice.

Such as will not have Christ to be their king to rule over them, shall never have his blood to save them.

—Thomas Watson

  • Works and Wonders May 17

    Works & Wonders (May 17)

    Works & Wonders features Nate Bargatze vs. Beyoncé, Eric Church & Jonathan Haidt, houses for €1, “Gone Away with a Friend,” hymn sings, a Sunday devotional, and more.

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    Weekend A La Carte (May 16)

    Long form and think pieces on Ben Sasse’s miracle drug / The tragedy of Mrs. Dr. Seuss / Birthrate collapse / 30-minute meetings / Your Gen Z employees / The clippening / One awkward moment / Chatfishing / and more.

  • Gods Great Big Global Church

    Teach Your Children About God’s Great Big Global Church

    My new book releases today, and I would love it if you’d buy a copy for the children in your life! God’s Great Big Global Church, a beautifully illustrated picture book, will introduce them to 10 kids and their churches from all around the world.

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    A La Carte (May 15)

    A tough means of grace / In defense of purity culture / You can’t love the church in the abstract / A promiscuous past and a Christian marriage / The Lord of the traffic jam / Divorce and remarriage / Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (May 14)

    Angels / Dimensions / A Christian view of UFOs / Having a baby has slowed me down / What you can’t give your children / Performative busyness / His Father’s Son / Natural theology / Deals / and more.