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A La Carte (January 28)

A La Carte Collection cover image

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you on this fine day.

There is quite a variety of Kindle deals to browse through today. Marriage, parenting, pastoring—there’s a bit of everything.

Reaching the Lost Young Men

Samuel James has begun what promises to be an interesting series of articles about reaching lost young men. The first part expresses the need for holistic depornification.

The Painful Parts of Prayer

Kirsten recounts speaking to a Christian doctor and goes on to write about the painful parts of prayer. “I remember talking with him one day and he shared that it was difficult for him to pray for healing for his patients. He said he could easily pray that God would be near. He could pray that God would sustain. But having faith to believe that God would heal? That was difficult for him. He had seen and experienced far too much loss, both in his personal life and in his line of work, to pray with faith that God might heal.”

An UnChristian Response to the Fall of Our Enemies

You can learn a lot about yourself by your response to the fall of your enemies. “I have seen, in the name of Christ, delight in the face of tragedy. I have seen people cheer the deaths of their political enemies. Men and women are glad to see people die, so long as it’s people they disagree with. I have seen churches invaded and disrupted in the name of Christ. This is something to be expected from the world that lacks the Spirit of God, but not Christians.”

Doom-Scrolling Mozart

There is a good challenge in this article. “The internet gives us a false omniscience, presenting everything from everywhere to everyone at any time. But we are not God. We were not designed for omniscience. Not even the digital imitation. Yet here it is. Everything. All the time.”

Why Pastors Should Read Fiction

I resist the word “should” in an article like this since it seems to apply some level of moral oughtness, but I think the point stands just as well if we say “why pastors may be wise to read fiction.” “I suspect most of my readers won’t need convincing that ‘leaders are readers’ and that Pastors, whether paid or not, should be devoting some of their time to reading books that encourage their souls and to books that sharpen their minds.”

5 Characteristics of a Great Small Group Leader

I think at one time or another we have all benefited from a really good small group leader and struggled with a not-so-good one. Here are some characteristics of the good ones!

Flashback: What Can I Do To Repay My Debt?t

“Vain to pay the debt I owe, all the service I can do! Earthly good is far too low, earthly years are far too few!”

A short life is long enough to prepare for eternity.

—John Owen

  • Conform

    You Can Conform to Christ Even if You Don’t Conform to Me

    One of the aspects of the Christian faith that I find particularly perplexing is the freedom God gives his people to obey him in different or even opposite ways, so that one person’s obedience is another person’s disobedience. Even as two people take the same action, one might be obeying him and the other disobeying…

  • A La Carte (June 10)

    Does prayer make a difference? / Portrait of an abortionist / Pushing back against the black tax / Bring your whole self to work / Blessed are the weak / When service isn’t a transaction / A pastoral analogy / Bill C-9 will soon be law in Canada / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 9)

    Thawed embryos, reproductive rights, and the grey marshlands of ethical ennui / 14 World Cup stars who follow Jesus / The God of small churches / How a critical theorist influenced the sexualization of everything / When culture trumps strategy / Fasting and feasting / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Six Counsels for a Sending Church

    Sacrificial obedience to the One who sends is what it will take to reach every language. Join us October 14 to 16 in Dallas–Fort Worth for The Lord Who Sends as we reflect on God’s word and the lives of missionaries who followed the Great Commission.

  • The Two Kinds of Content You Consume

    The Two Kinds of Content You Consume

    At some point we all began to refer to articles and video as content. And today we are drowning in it! Here is a simple filter for telling content created to serve you apart from content created to serve its maker.

  • A La Carte (June 8)

    The humbling I needed / There must be blood / How to read the Bible when your heart feels cold / The delightful duty of married sex / Are we forgiven for the sins we can’t remember? / All things without complaining or arguing