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A La Carte (June 9)

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Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Today’s Kindle deals include some books meant to help you grow in your understanding of evangelism.

When Did Hitler Replace Jesus as the Reference Point for Good and Evil?

“Before the war, Jesus Christ was the most potent moral figure in Western culture. You don’t have to look hard for evidence when you travel around Europe today. Just take in the medieval art and visit the ancient churches. In town squares where bells tolled on Sunday mornings, even non-Christians measured themselves according to Jesus’s example of love. He set the moral standard in his sinless life.” But that all changed after World War II.

Why Young Women Fear Dating

I think Jonathon Van Maren is onto something important here: That many young women fear dating because of what they have seen in pornography. “I am increasingly convinced that only by targeting that industry can we begin to heal the gender divide, because as long as porn consumption is normative, relationships will be risky and genuine trust and intimacy impossible.”

The Mass Trauma of Porn

This article strikes a similar note: “These days we talk a lot about trauma. We worry about the impact of words, we agonize about our parenting, we inspect every inch of our childhoods. But one trauma being tragically ignored, potentially lasting trauma, changing the minds and souls of children, is porn.”

Kim Riddlebarger writes about several Christian books that were proven to have unintended consequences.

Pentecostal not Provincial

“To be provincial is to be narrow minded. It is to think just of your little province, your little corner of the world. To be Pentecostal is the opposite. It is to have an expansive view of the church and to be on mission to the whole world. At Pentecost Jesus sends the church out the door not just to Judea, but to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

Eight Years Later: Her Name is Sarah…

“This week, I was given an unexpected and priceless gift. After I said my name to introduce myself to a stranger, her eyes widened as a smile broke across her face, and she said, ‘You’re Sarah’s mom!’ My heart leapt in my chest. It had been so long since I heard those precious words together, ‘Sarah’s mom.’”

Flashback: It’s Not a Life of Ease

Each of us will encounter adversity and adversaries, and each of us will have to wage war against our fearsome foes— the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

Persecution often does in this life what the last great day will do completely—separate the wheat from the tares.

—Lord Milner

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (June 9)

    A La Carte: Hitler and Jesus / Why young women fear dating / The mass trauma of porn / Christian books with unintended consequences/ Pentecostal not provincial / Her name is Sarah / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Praying together

    We Neglect it at Our Peril

    We know that prayer is a crucial discipline for the individual believer, but how often do we consider that it is also a crucial discipline for the assembled church? The Bible prescribes only a few elements for local church worship, but among them is prayer.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (June 7)

    A La Carte: The most important quality in church musicians / Don’t make friends with doubt / The midlife spiritual plateau / There’ll be no sighing there / Because Jesus said so / and more.

  • The Tech Exit

    Help Your Family Make a Tech Exit

    We are now several generations into digital living, several generations into learning to live with the constant presence of connected mobile devices. For most of us, it is rare that we are beyond the glow of a screen or outside the influence of an app.

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    A La Carte (June 6)

    A La Carte: No chance of survival / I just don’t get why she’s sad / Trusting God after losing everything / We rehearse the acts of the Lord / The ministry of prayer / and more.