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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

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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.