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A La Carte (June 11)

A La Carte Collection cover image

The Lord be with you and bless you today, my friends.

(Yesterday on the blog: Young Man, Don’t Even Make that First Sports Bet)

The Blessing of Constant Curiosity

Scott is right that constant curiosity is a great blessing. “Curiosity keeps life from becoming boring and monotonous. Even as we crank through multiple weeks in a row of following the same daily routine, if we are.”

Church Discipline in the Digital Age

“For life in the church, things aren’t much different today than they were in the days that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians: the unbelieving world looks on and into the church and sees a group of hypocrites in part because we so often fail to discipline the church and in part because, when we do, we are prone to butchering people. If we want to be faithful to our mission as Christ followers, church discipline is simply not optional.”

Don’t Be Too Easy to Join

T.M. Suffield explains why your church isn’t too easy to join. “You cannot welcome people without a threshold for them to come over. If joining your church doesn’t mean anything—if there are no duties to being part of it—then it’s not possible to be part of it. As a result, it’s very difficult to welcome people, because you have nothing to welcome people into.”

Body Matters in Genesis

This article offers some helpful biblical truths about the human body. “The first human is not a disembodied being for whom a body is created, as if the body is just a container to hold our true self or a tool through which we can interact with the physical world. The body comes first. It is central to what it means to be human.”

The Local Church Is a Sandbox

“When we participate in the local church, the Holy Spirit changes us to resemble Jesus more. Think of church as a sandbox where we practice and experience the reality of our faith. Whether you picture a sandbox where children play and develop cognitive skills, or a sandbox in engineering terms where a product is tested and refined, the local church fosters growth and endurance.” That’s a useful analogy.

Seasons in a Pastor’s Life

Any interested in doing some more-involved reading may want to read the new issue of the 9Marks Journal. This one focuses on the different seasons in a pastor’s life.

Flashback: When God Interferes With Our Plans

God’s kind providence keeps us from being as sinful as we would otherwise be. So, Christian, thank God for his providence, and prepare to be amazed when, in eternity, God gives you the gift of seeing how often and to what extent he has kept you from sin.

Unity without the gospel is a worthless unity, it is the every unity of hell.

—J.C. Ryle

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    When the Shepherd’s Rod is … You!

    It is for good reason that so many Christians commit Psalm 23 to memory, for as it tells of the love of the Shepherd for his sheep, and as it describes the tender protection of his flock, it assures us that God is leading and guiding us through the dark valleys of our lives. “Even…

  • One Story Bible

    A Trusted and Helpful Guide To the Bible

    One of the best things I have ever done is to get into the habit of reading through the entire Bible every year—or almost every year, at least. While this necessarily involves sacrificing some depth, it involves gaining breadth. As I have read and re-read the Bible, I have come to a greater familiarity with…

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    A La Carte (September 12)

    A La Carte: Charlie Kirk / Shared custody laws are changing divorce / Silencing dissent and affirming delusion / Reading as rebellion / Abortion on Joe Rogan / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Charlie Kirk

    A La Carte: Charlie Kirk Special Edition

    When articles about Kirk flooded my app this morning, I knew his death was proving to be especially noteworthy. For that reason, I thought it might be worth putting together this special edition of A La Carte. I do so simply to provide a curated collection of articles written by people whose writing I follow…