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A La Carte (July 2)

monday

Today’s Kindle deals include a few interesting titles. You may also want to check out this month’s general market deals and get some summer reading.

You’ll want to take a look at this month’s free audiobook from Christian Audio. You can also get a free course (and some discounted ones) from Logos.

Yesterday on the blog: On Renaming the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal)

Is There Anyone Praying For You?

This is a neat story about an unexpected opportunity to pray. You just never know how the Lord is working.

If It Be Your Will

Should we qualify our prayers with, “if it be your will?” R.C. Sproul provides an answer.

Christian, Rethink Your Public Speech

“Believer, if you truly relish a life of turmoil, public anger, boiling arguments, caustic debates and throwing out verbal darts like porcupine quills, you will genuinely help the cause of Christ by not identifying publicly as a Christian. I’m serious. We are in desperate need of Christian wisdom, but not barbaric untamed and undignified rhetoric. It’s doing us no good.”

The Story of Canada’s Weird Radio Laws (Video)

These odd regulations date back to 1971 yet continue to define Canadian radio.

Should We Celebrate the Fourth of July at Church?

This is probably a day late, but still worth considering. “The Fourth of July is just around the corner. Even now American churches are planning their Sunday service around it. Maybe they’ll include a patriotic hymn like ‘God Bless America’ or the national anthem. Maybe men and women in uniform will parade the American flag down the center aisle. Maybe a congressman or mayor will offer a ‘special word.’ I love patriotic music, fireworks on the National Mall, and the country they’re honoring. But I confess I’m not a fan of celebrating America inside Sunday’s sanctuary. It just might work against Jesus’s Great Commission.”

Wet Book Rescue (Video)

Here’s how to rescue a book that has been water damaged.

Seven Strategies for Fighting Envy

Envy is one of the ugliest sins. “Envy is a stingy and demanding master. It’s stingy because, unlike many other sins, there’s absolutely nothing pleasurable about experiencing it. Most sins bait the hook: lust offers excitement and escape, greed promises wealth and pleasure, gossip promises power and participation in the inner circle. And many sins are at least temporarily pleasurable (that’s why we do them).”

Flashback: The Danger of Coasting

I do not coast toward Christ, but toward self. When I stop caring, when I stop expending effort, when I allow myself to coast, I inevitably coast away from God and godliness.

God does not ask success or fame from us, but faithfulness.

—Juan Stam

  • weekend 3

    Weekend A La Carte (May 23)

    Work will always matter / The rise of techno-feudalism / The gospel according to Karl Marx / The challenge of Eastern Orthodoxy / My manifesto on AI and religion / Steve McQueen, born again, set free / Cornfield baptism / 5 things most people don’t know about writing books

  • Authority

    How Men Can Use Their Authority Well

    There are few topics that have proven trickier to navigate than the topic of authority. We know we need authority to function as families, churches, and nations, yet there is something deep within our sinful humanity that causes us to rebel against it wherever it exists. We both want it and despise it. 

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    A La Carte (May 22)

    The ancient world had no word for child abuse / What I wish I had learned in theological college / Pray to the Lord of the harvest / What God is healing while not healing my health problems / Are you willing to show up? / Artificial preaching / Sales and deals / and more.

  • thurs 3

    A La Carte (May 21)

    One step becomes a three-day walk / Tolkien, foolishness, and the ordinary means of grace / The staggering beauty and burden of church life / Denominational health / Three truths to combat your news anxiety / Don’t do the Devil’s work for him / and more.

  • The Most Neglected Element of Worship

    The Most Neglected Element of Worship

    There are some elements of public worship that receive a great deal of attention. These elements are taught, practiced, rehearsed, and perfected until they are as good as they can be. In most churches, this includes the music, of course, and often the preaching. Why do these receive so much attention?

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    A La Carte (May 20)

    The pastor who refuses to back down / The missionary with Ebola / Why we don’t trust pastors / Rushing our quiet times / The other side of seminary / The remedy, the problem, and the church / Why we need to interpret the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.