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A La Carte (January 11)

A La Carte Thursday 1

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.

You’ll find a number of one-day-only Kindle deals today.

(Yesterday on the blog: I Feel At Home in Your Church)

Five Fears of Old Age: Finishing Our Race by Future Grace

John Piper has written a powerful and comforting article for older Christians. “Dear older saint, I need to join you in the fight against the fears of aging, and to do so by faith in future grace. There are five fears that we will likely walk through together. God has given us antidotes for each in his word. These antidotes work through faith, and without faith they won’t work. But by faith they will work, and fear will be overcome, and we will go to be with Jesus in due time without walking in fear during our last season. That’s my confidence.”

I Changed My Mind About Social Media: Why I Decided to Quit

Reagan Rose explains why he decided to permanently quit social media. And while none of us are obliged to follow his example, we’d all do well to at least consider his reasoning. “In this post, I will explain what led me to this decision, why I didn’t do it sooner, and specifically how I thought about the choice to leave social media as a Christian seeking to steward my life well for the glory of God.”

How Holy Are You?

How holy are you? Stephen Kneale helps you evaluate yourself in light of Scripture.

Leaving Christianity: How an Old Man Helped Save My Faith

I really enjoyed reading this sweet tribute to an ordinary/extraordinary man. It gets off to an interesting start: “When I was in 10th grade, the Power Team came to my church.  They were a group of powerlifting Christians who went around from mega-church to mega-church, lifting weights and smashing bricks in order to bring ‘glory to Jesus.’ I was excited to see them “perform/preach,” but I was mostly excited that my friends and I got to work out with the Power Team at Gold’s Gym one day between their nightly sessions.”

Foreign Territory

Mindy Belz has a moving article about life after the loss of her husband. “For months now finding solid ground has eluded me. The rules of the road feel broken. I wake in a house I’ve lived in for nearly 40 years with my husband and family, but I wake alone. The sun rises to greet me, and the dog waits for breakfast and a ball throw, but I float, suspended in this familiar but strange world—watching as though for the first time normal rhythms I once gave no thought to. They appear part of someone else’s life.”

Putting the New Papyrus of Jesus’ Sayings in Context

Few of us have the expertise to be able to assess the significance of newly-discovered manuscripts. Ian N. Mills looks at one titled P.Oxy. 5575 to explain why it’s not as groundbreaking as some people are claiming. “My goal here is neither to minimize the importance of this new piece of early Christian literature nor to exaggerate the evidence for similar works but, rather, to help the reader understand P.Oxy. 5575 by setting it into a larger comparative context.”

Flashback: Would It Be Okay For Me To Be Angry With God?

Paraphrasing one of her favorite authors she said “It’s okay to be angry with God about this. It’s okay to tell him exactly how you feel about him right now. Let him have it. He doesn’t mind.”

The world will laugh with you when you laugh, and romp with you when you romp, but it will not weep with you when you die.

—De Witt Talmage

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    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.

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    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.

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    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.