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A La Carte (July 8)

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May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Did Jesus Tell Us to Give to Every Panhandler?

I think John Piper does a good job of answering this. “At the last judgment — I’ve thought about this many times — I think Jesus will be much more prone to commend lavish generosity to the undeserving than he will be to commend how shrewd we were in keeping for ourselves our few dollars rather than giving them away. I just can’t imagine Jesus saying, ‘Wow, you were especially good at being shrewd at not being taken advantage of.’ I don’t hear anything like that in Jesus’s teachings.”

When Technology Harms Discipleship

“Years ago before social media, televangelists and online ministries people would walk to a pastor’s home for advice. If they didn’t think it was such a serious matter they’d share with a friend or a few in the fellowship. But life has changed. We now live on one end of the city and go to church on the other side. Our favourite men of God live in a different continent from us. We send our prayers across the seas with a small gift to make sure they are answered. And anonymity means we can share very personal issues to strangers and get advice from people removed from our local context.”

Win Free Admission for Two: 2023 Ligonier National Conference

Ligonier Ministries is offering free admission to ten pairs of winners at their 2023 National Conference, Stand Firm. Taking place in Orlando, FL, on March 23–25, 2023, this conference will encourage Christians to live courageously and without compromise amid changing times, finding stability in the eternal truth of God’s Word. Enter the giveaway today for the possibility of being randomly selected to win free entry for two people.

Even if you aren’t selected to win admission to Ligonier’s 2023 National Conference, you can still save on your registration with the early-bird discount for a limited time.

Please note that free admission to the conference does not include travel or lodging expenses. (Sponsored Link)

Why Washed in the Blood of Christ is Better Than in my Washing Machine

This article helpfully compares one kind of washing with another.

3 Steps to Examining Your Faith

Here are some helps to obeying in the Bible’s admonitions that we examine our faith.

Who Knew When We Said “I do?”

How many of us really know what we’re doing when we say “I do?”

Was Jesus in the Grave for Three Days?

Lots of people have wondered why there appears to be a contradiction here.

Flashback: My Great Daily Challenge As a Christian

Why do I fail to live the way I want to live, the way God tells me to live, the way God enables and equips me to live? What is the great daily challenge?

I had rather die a Covenant-keeper, than live a Covenant-breaker.

—Christopher Love

  • General Market Books

    10 General Market Books I Enjoyed in 2025

    While the bulk of what I read every year is published by Christians and for Christians, I do also enjoy reading books for the general market. On that note, here are 10 of the general market books I read and especially enjoyed in 2025.

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    A La Carte (December 24)

    A La Carte: Brain implants / Recovering Christ at Christmastime / How to create sabbath / Things I didn’t know about marriage / A true baptism / and more.

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    A La Carte (December 23)

    A La Carte: A generation’s boredom / The joy of making discoveries / John Piper’s devotional life / Sermon criticism / Enduring shame for the cause of Christ / Kindle deals / and more.

  • The Collected Best Christian Books of 2024

    The Collected Best Books of 2025

    I probably don’t need to tell you how much I love books in general, and Christian books in particular. One of my favorite times to be a reader is in mid-December when people begin to share their picks for the top books of the year. I collect all of the lists written by sites or…

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    A La Carte (December 22)

    A La Carte: The new David movie / The ghost of Christmas never / It isn’t night for the moon / Evangelism targets / Made in God’s image / What Jesus came to do / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Pastoral Prayer

    A Pastoral Prayer

    Our Father in Heaven, we are gathered here this morning like children gathered before the feet of their father. We want to begin this new day with you. We want to begin this new week with you. Before we do anything, before we go anywhere, before we engage in work, school, or even play, we…