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A La Carte (July 3)

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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.

Amazon is offering an exceptional deal on the Kindle Scribe in case you’ve been waiting to get one. This is part of their early Prime Day deals in which they have a lot of their devices discounted. They are also having a 4th of July sale in case that’s of interest.

Today’s Kindle deals include Randy Alcorn’s The Goodness of God. I also did a quick poll to gauge interest in sharing general-market (non-Christian) deals and that seemed a popular option. Therefore, on a trial basis, I will provide some general-market titles as a separate list.

Jesus Calling and the PCA

I took some interest in the PCA’s debate about the book Jesus Calling, not least because I was named in the overture. Todd Pruitt explains what it is about and why he decided to vote in favor. This part is incredible: “Young’s ‘Jesus Calling’ books sold more than 45 million copies in 35 languages, making her the bestselling Christian author of all time.”

Divine Aseity (Video)

Kevin DeYoung has released another of his third theological explainer video. This one deals with divine aseity. The previous two are Divine Simplicity and Divine Infinity.

Why Do We Believe So Many Lies About Heaven?

Randy Alcorn: “Imagine you’re part of a NASA team preparing for a five-year mission to Mars. After a period of extensive training, the launch date finally arrives. As the rocket lifts off, one of your fellow astronauts asks you, ‘What do you know about Mars?’ Imagine shrugging your shoulders and saying, ‘Nothing. We never talked about it. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.; It’s inconceivable that your training would not have included extensive study of and preparation for your ultimate destination.”

Ancestor Worship in the Church

Paul Schlehlein writes about ancestor worship in the African church (and, along the way, touches on ancestor worship in the Western church). “In some ways, ancestor worship appears to be on the decline as Mercedes motor vehicles fill the roadways and technology engulfs African homes. The growth of nominal Christianity factors in too. But when times are desperate, some of the most wealthy, educated and even religious will fall back upon appeasing the swikwembu, driving back home to their villages on the weekend to follow the rituals, just to be safe. They’ll even attend church on Sunday.”

Dear Little One

I very much enjoyed this auntie’s open letter to her beloved nephew. (At least, I’m assuming it’s a nephew rather than a niece. But either way…)

Thoughts on Being a Christian Writer

Samuel James (who is both an author and an editor at a Christian publisher) offers some “completely unsolicited, totally anecdotal, but perhaps marginally helpful thoughts on being a Christian writer.” Having read them, I would say that are definitely helpful, not merely marginally so.

Flashback: Act Your Age!

It all sounded so cliché, so Millennial, but this was a real conversation with a real 30-year-old man, and I haven’t exaggerated a single word. He was growing older, but not growing up. He was progressing in years, but years behind in maturity.

Don’t let affluence make you impoverished of God.

—Jon Bloom

  • Petty Fight

    Petty Annoyances and Minor Insults

    I wonder if you are like me in that, as you look back on your life, you realize that most of the circumstances that have troubled you, most of the annoyances and disgruntlements, were produced by circumstances that were hardly worth noticing.

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    A La Carte (January 12)

    A La Carte: Happy 80th, John Piper / Practical principles for marriage / Benefits for daily Bible reading / Philip Yancey / Stingy-generous / From sermon to article / Kindle and Bible study deals / and more.

  • Table

    A Front Door and a Family Meal

    Baptism is a kind of front door to the local church, the God-ordained means through which a person identifies with Jesus Christ and formally comes to belong to Christ’s body, the church. Baptism is the church’s sign that this person is one of us, a brother or sister in the Lord, who has now been…

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    Weekend A La Carte (January 10)

    A La Carte: An elder’s authority / Don’t use AI to cheat in school / Against the algorithm / An age of outrage / What’s weird? / The good news about bad days / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    Enter to win a practical, gentle, and honest resource offering hope and help for parents of non-believing children.

  • Power

    Power Dynamics within Marriage

    Any well-taught Christian should be able to speak of God’s attributes and to distinguish between those that are communicable (shared with other beings) and those that are incommunicable (unique to God alone). Among God’s communicable attributes is power. God, who has ultimate power, distributes limited power among human beings. This power is given to us…