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A La Carte (July 29)

thursday

Good morning. May the Lord bless and keep you today.

Logos users may want to check out the new deal on books by Zondervan. Many great resources are deeply discounted.

Today’s Kindle deals include lots of good books from Crossway, most of them geared to teens and young adults.

(Yesterday on the blog: Settlers in the Land of Love)

Samuel James shares a not-so-hypothetical short story.

When I Lived In A Barn

Seth Lewis includes a couple of great insights in this short article. “Beautiful things can’t make souls more beautiful. And valuable things can’t make people more valuable.”

Respecting Gas Station Attendants and The Importance of Toilet Shoes

I know I’ve said it before, but cross-cultural insights like these fascinate me. “I’ve been spending a lot of time this summer with *Darius, one of the faithful local men who is a part of our church plant. Darius has a wonderful gifting – that of a person who is becoming truly bicultural. People like him are able to function well in two or more very different cultural settings without rejecting either culture. They make great students if their teacher is, like me, from another culture. They also make wonderful teachers themselves, since they still deeply value their home culture and are willing to explain it.”

Should I Go on Mission?

Stephen Kneale has some simple guidance for people considering a short-term mission trip.

Distracting Ourselves to Death

“We all tend to do this. Whether we search on our phones, in our careers, or in our family life, we seem to be looking for something. It is as if an eternal ache has been implanted in our hearts.”

Teachable

“I spend most of my time teaching, but if there was one thing I wish I could teach people, it’s ‘teachability’! Teachability is a precious quality, that’s hard to cultivate. It’s like a large, highly absorbent sponge that soaks up all the water around it. It’s a spirit of learning, that is alert, keen, and hungry for the truth.”

Flashback: How To Respond to Social Media Enemies

Jesus tells you how to relate to people who harm you or who want to harm you, and his instructions provide crucial guidance as you relate to online enemies. He gives you a collection of verbs, a collection of actions to take: Love, do, bless, pray. Their verbs are hate, curse, and abuse; yours are love, do, bless, pray.

The sum and substance of the preparation needed for a coming eternity is that you believe what the Bible tells you, and do what the Bible bids you.

—Thomas Chalmers

  • Prayer

    The Reward They Longed for They Received

    Jesus, who knew what was in the heart of men, warned of the hypocrisy of those whose prayer life is only ever public. “When you pray,” he said, “you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (May 17)

    A La Carte: Generalizations are not stereotypes / Hospitality and reaching the dechurched / Essential lessons for pastors / The rise of Islam and the resilience of the church / Gossip and godly church / Fear takes you where grace has not yet gone / and more.

  • Planted in the Word

    Planted in the Word

    There are a lot of Bible study guides out there. However, the need is not nearly saturated because there are also a lot of Bible readers, many of whom study the Word carefully and repeatedly throughout their Christian lives. For that reason, we cannot have too many guides to assist in reading, understanding, and applying…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (May 16)

    A La Carte: The role of dance in Christian worship / A community for broken homes / Our reason for missionary risk / The longings of the human heart / I’m not a handyman / Affluence, regret, identity crises / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (May 15)

    A La Carte: The clever move of Leo XIV / People expect church to be churchy / Don’t let TikTok disciple your kids / Playing God with children / Overcoming barriers to hospitality / Real men sing / and more.