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A La Carte (January 8)

friday

Good morning. The God of peace be with you all today.

Here’s your occasional reminder that at SquareQuotes.church you’ll find a huge collection of the daily quote graphics I share each day. You can download them, print them, share them, and so on.

Today’s Kindle deals include a number of volumes in the John Stott Bible Study series.

A Call for Content Creators to Cultivate Discernment

I hope content creators will heed this call to cultivate true discernment. “Beautiful language, by itself, does not encompass all that it means to write well as a Christian. Christian writers must labor not only to write what is true but also to write in a manner that adorns the truth.”

When Things Look Bleak…

Nick Batzig: “Like many other Christians, I am deeply concerned about the direction in which our country has been moving and the speed at which it continues to move. The murder of the unborn, the celebration of every form of sexual immorality, the increase in public acts of violence, perpetual discrimination, sex trafficking, and a rise in religious intolerance certainly top the list of moral evils over which we should grieve.”

Church Planting in Forgotten Urban Neighborhoods

Gospel-centered church planting has been flourishing for decades—except among the urban poor. New England Urban (NEU) Church Planting aims to bridge that gap and equip church planters to build gospel-rich churches among New England’s poorest urban neighborhoods. Learn more and register for our upcoming online conference: Urban Hope: How Gospel Churches Bring Hope to Forgotten Neighborhoods. Febuary 5-6, 2021. Use the code CHALLIES for a 20% discount. (Sponsored Link)

Closer to Islam than to Liberal Christianity

Even here in Canada I’ve had experiences like this one: “We stood there awkwardly as the laughter died away. I looked at Henry and at my new Egyptian friend, realizing in that moment that we had more in common with one another than we did with all these chuckling church-goers. In fact, we lived in a different world. As a believer, I had more in common with my Muslim friends like this Egyptian than I did with many of my own countrymen who claimed to be Christians. What a strange and tragic thing.”

Isn’t It Cruel to Force a Woman to Keep a Child She Can’t Afford to Raise, or to Give up a Baby for Adoption?

Randy Alcorn answers a common charge made against those who are pro-life.

Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God

David Steele’s review of this new (and really problematic) book is an opportunity to teach and celebrate lots of precious truths.

Why Did God Harden Pharaoh’s Heart? A Case for Divine Ultimacy

If you’re interested in a longer read, perhaps consider this article from Phil Gons.

Flashback: Head Knowledge = Good. Heart Knowledge = Good.

Christianity is and must be a faith that involves the mind just as it is and must be a faith that involves the heart. The problem comes when there is a radical disconnect between the two.

What God takes from me is less than I owe him, and what he leaves me is more than I deserve.

—William Gurnall

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    A La Carte (April 23)

    A La Carte: Climate anxiety paralyzes, gospel hope propels / Living what God has written / How should I engage my rebellious child? / Satan hates your pastor / How to navigate our spiritual highs / The art of extemporaneous preaching / and more.

  • The Path to Contentment

    The Path to Contentment

    I wonder if you have ever considered that the solution to discontentment almost always seems to be more. If I only had more money I would be content. If I only had more followers, more possessions, more beauty, then at last I would consider myself successful. If only my house was bigger, my influence wider,…

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    A La Carte (April 22)

    A La Carte: Why my shepherd carries a rod / When Mandisa forgave Simon Cowell / An open mind is like an open mouth / Marriage: the half-time report / The church should mind its spiritual business / Kindle deals / and more.

  • It Begins and Ends with Speaking

    It Begins and Ends with Speaking

    Part of the joy of reading biography is having the opportunity to learn about a person who lived before us. An exceptional biography makes us feel as if we have actually come to know its subject, so that we rejoice in that person’s triumphs, grieve over his failures, and weep at his death.

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    Weekend A La Carte (April 20)

    A La Carte: Living counterculturally during election season / Borrowing a death / The many ministries of godly women / When we lose loved ones and have regrets / Ethnicity and race and the colorblindness question / The case for children’s worship services / and more.

  • The Anxious Generation

    The Great Rewiring of Childhood

    I know I’m getting old and all that, and I’m aware this means that I’ll be tempted to look unfavorably at people who are younger than myself. I know I’ll be tempted to consider what people were like when I was young and to stand in judgment of what people are like today. Yet even…