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A La Carte (January 18)

Today’s Kindle deals include, well, not too much. It has been slim pickings recently.

Crossway is giving away free e-book copies of The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Porn Problem ).

When Preaching is Not Your Thing

“There are numerous books and articles available to help convince men to enter into or stay in the ministry. But, there is not much out there to help a man discern whether or not it’s time to pack it up. Here are a few things to consider when seeking to discern whether or not it’s time to move on.”

Baby It’s Cold Outside

“This chart depicts wind chill temperatures based on air temperature (°F) and wind speed (mph). The colour represents the minutes of exposure that is likely to result in frostbite.” I wish it was available in Celsius!

Inside a Pipe Organ (Video)

I had no idea there was this much going on inside a pipe organ. Fascinating!

A New Prophet Chosen for the LDS Church

“Yesterday, a new prophet of the 16-million-member Mormon church was announced. Ninety-three-year-old Russell Nelson will now serve as the 17th prophet and president of the LDS faith.” Here’s an explanation of what this means and why it matters.

Sobering Reflections on the Hawaiian Missile Scare

In a world where increasingly there is seemingly less and less stability, this article is a good and sobering reminder of what is important.

When Our Heroes Don’t Live Up to Their Theology

Thomas Kidd writes “For someone who specializes in 18th-century history, the question of slavery is an ever-present problem. As an evangelical, I deeply admire the work of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, but I can’t get around the fact that they both owned slaves. What do we do about flawed historical heroes like these?” We have all had such questions, haven’t we?

7 Things I Love about Liturgical Protestant Worship

Silverio Gonzalez writes, “Sometimes the idea of ‘formal worship’ scares people. I hope to make that less scary. The Protestant traditions include Anglicanism, Lutheranism, the Reformed, and Presbyterianism. Although these traditions have important differences, they reflect important similarities in the way they worship. I could feel more or less at home in any of these traditions. A liturgy is an order of worship in which God gives grace in the gospel and we respond in faith, hope, and love.”

How Pastors Can Model and Teach What God’s Word Says About Financial Stewardship

“How we manage God’s money is a central biblical subject of extreme importance. Hence, financial stewardship should be unapologetically addressed by Christian leaders—we who are called upon to declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ to the people He entrusts to our care.”

Flashback: It Is a Hurrying, Bustling Age

This morning I found myself reading some brief thoughts from J.C. Ryle on the importance of self-examination, and though his words were written in the late nineteenth century, they are perfectly appropriate to our day.

It grieves me to say this, but the primary reason people are in bondage to sin is because people are bored with God. One of Satan’s most effective tactics is to convince us that God is a drag.

—Sam Storms

  • 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…