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A La Carte (March 15)

friday

There are a few new Kindle deals that you may want to consider for your virtual connection.

(Yesterday on the blog: Exclusive Preview & Bonus Resources for A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible)

The Epic Hunt for a Lost World War II Aircraft Carrier

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this account of the search for the U.S.S. Wasp, a carrier sunk during the Second World War. “On Jan. 2 of this year, a research vessel called the Petrel set out from Honiara, on Guadalcanal, to find the Wasp. To locate a shipwreck — even a 741-foot aircraft carrier — it’s essential to have an accurate idea of where to start looking. The ocean is vast. You need to find the haystack before you can find the needle.”

If the Gospel is True, The Gospel is Urgent

Jen Oshman: “The Bible says my friendship with her is no mistake. You and I don’t accidentally fall into relationships, jobs, or neighborhoods. God ordains the “allotted periods and the boundaries of [our] dwelling place” (Acts 17:26). In other words, God determines exactly where and when you and I live, as well as where and when everyone we know lives. Our friendships are not cosmic accidents. They are ordained by God. But why does God ordain our relationships?”

Join Keith & Kristyn Getty (and friends) For Three Days of Theology, Artistry & Congregational Worship (Sponsored)

Sing!, the Getty Music Worship Conference, is taking place from August 19-21 in Nashville, Tennessee. It is open to everyone, but targeted specifically at pastors, musicians, and leaders, to help them build a biblical understanding and creative vision for congregational worship. It includes many favorite speakers and musicians: John Piper, Alistair Begg, Jackie Hill Perry, Andrew Peterson, and a whole lot more. You can get 15% off your registration between now and March 28 with promotional code CHALLIES.

What Happens in an Internet Minute

This is a revealing illustration of what happens every minute on the internet.

How Individualism Corrupts the Church’s Mission

This one is worth pondering. “In an individualistic culture, relationships are simply not the primary lens for understanding identity. And that’s a problem because individualism negatively impacts three areas critical to the Great Commission.”

Do I Need to Follow a Pattern While Praying?

I appreciate the answer, which is essentially “No, but it sure helps.” (I’ve written about this before in 4 Methods To Organize Your Prayer Life.)

The Disturbing Temptations of Pastoring in Obscurity

There are temptations specific to being in the public eyes and temptations specific to being out of it. “Leaving the limelight of high-profile ministry was supposed to remove the pride from my heart, or so I thought. But my heart didn’t feel dramatically different in this new setting. As the old saying goes, ‘Wherever you go, there you are.’ I thought I had escaped the temptations of celebrity ministry culture, but there were just as many temptations in my new setting of relative obscurity.”

MK: I AM Enough

You may enjoy reading about this missionary kid’s experience of trying to adapt to American life after being raised far away.

Flashback: 2 Things to Know About Killing Sin

We are not to command men to pursue morality without first encouraging them to pursue Christ.

Everybody wants to enjoy heaven after they die, but they don’t want to be heavenly-minded while they live.

—D.L. Moody

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    Are We Post Woke?

    It is too early to tell, I think, whether the “wokeness” craze has already peaked and even begun to slip into decline, or whether it’s just pausing to gather energy for another surge. What seems clear for the moment, though, is that it has lost at least some of its initial momentum, probably because it…

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    A La Carte (January 13)

    A La Carte: A cautionary tale / Raising hands in worship / Freshen your prayer life / Exposing adultery to the light / Reject the religion of efficiency / Kindle deals / and more.

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    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.

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    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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    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.