Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (February 1)

wednesday

As we venture into a new month it’s a good time to remember that right now, at this very moment, God is reigning from his throne.

Westminster Books has a deal on a helpful new resource book.

Ministry Is Tough: When Self-Care Becomes Self-Absorption

Interesting… “I wonder if in some cases the cultural shift toward self-care has led to a new set of wrong assumptions among those just entering ministry. If the generation before me assumed the need for overworking to the point that people had to insist on self-care and say ‘Stop and take care of yourself before you burn out,’ I wonder if the generation behind me will assume the opposite. We’ll assume the need for self-care to the point that others may need to insist on hard and strenuous labor, even when it hurts.”

Answering the Challenge of Back-Alley Abortions

“Now that abortion-choice advocates sense abortion rights are slipping away, there is a growing fear that women who can’t obtain abortions will resort to desperate measures to end their pregnancies. As a result, we’re seeing an uptick in classic pro-choice rhetoric—specifically, the challenge that women will pursue dangerous, back-alley abortions.” Here’s how to answer that challenge.

Who Killed the Prayer Meeting?

This is so true: “The American church is functionally prayerless when it comes to corporate prayer. Of course, a remnant does the hidden work of prayer, but in most churches corporate prayer doesn’t function in any meaningful way.”

Blogging Is Never Going Away

I agree with Chris on this: “A lot of us in the Christian space have, over the years, wondered, ‘Is blogging dead?’ Some have wondered if podcasting, especially, would kill the blog. Though I am biased, because I am a writer and a words guy in general, I have long said that the blog will always have a place in online content. I’ve said, often with skeptical responses, that blogging is never going away.”

Following God When You Feel Forsaken

“Sometimes it feels like God has forsaken us. We don’t hear his voice. We don’t feel his presence. We struggle even to see his hand at work in the world. We cry with the psalmist, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’.”

Secular Liturgies Leave Me Longing for More

Darryl recently experienced a kind of secular liturgy and writes: “I left the meeting aware of the ways that we’re being formed without knowing it. I felt sad that the gospel of self-fulfillment and self-empowerment is so commonplace and unsatisfying. I long for more: for a higher purpose than my own satisfaction, a truer compass than my own feelings and intuitions, a better way to deal with what’s wrong with my soul.”

Flashback: One Of The Ugliest Sights In The World

Yet as we address God as Father, we must not behave like children who are peevish or petulant. We must not make demands, we must not level accusations or provide ultimatums. We must always pray that God’s will will be done, that God’s wisdom will be showcased, that God’s glory will be displayed.

Our family in Christ will more than make up for any family lost when we pursue Jesus and the gospel.

—Jen Oshman

  • 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.…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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…