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A La Carte (June 9)

A La Carte Collection cover image

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

  • Works and Wonders

    Works & Wonders (May 24)

    Interesting and uplifting content for Sunday: Proclamation rather than proof, Fill This House, On Rainbow Wings, strange sea creatures, a faith crisis, and more.

  • weekend 3

    Weekend A La Carte (May 23)

    Work will always matter / The rise of techno-feudalism / The gospel according to Karl Marx / The challenge of Eastern Orthodoxy / My manifesto on AI and religion / Steve McQueen, born again, set free / Cornfield baptism / 5 things most people don’t know about writing books

  • Authority

    How Men Can Use Their Authority Well

    There are few topics that have proven trickier to navigate than the topic of authority. We know we need authority to function as families, churches, and nations, yet there is something deep within our sinful humanity that causes us to rebel against it wherever it exists. We both want it and despise it. 

  • fri 3

    A La Carte (May 22)

    The ancient world had no word for child abuse / What I wish I had learned in theological college / Pray to the Lord of the harvest / What God is healing while not healing my health problems / Are you willing to show up? / Artificial preaching / Sales and deals / and more.

  • thurs 3

    A La Carte (May 21)

    One step becomes a three-day walk / Tolkien, foolishness, and the ordinary means of grace / The staggering beauty and burden of church life / Denominational health / Three truths to combat your news anxiety / Don’t do the Devil’s work for him / and more.

  • The Most Neglected Element of Worship

    The Most Neglected Element of Worship

    There are some elements of public worship that receive a great deal of attention. These elements are taught, practiced, rehearsed, and perfected until they are as good as they can be. In most churches, this includes the music, of course, and often the preaching. Why do these receive so much attention?