Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (March 15)

monday

Good morning and happy Monday. Grace to you today. I and my family are halfway through our 14-day in-house quarantine following our trip to the U.S. to see our daughter. It was worth it.

There are a few Kindle deals today.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Penitential Tear)

It Was Finished Upon That Cross

CityAlight released a beautiful new hymn over the weekend, just on time for Easter. I’m sure you’ll be blessed by it. “Death was once my great opponent / Fear once had a hold on me / But the Son who died to save us / Rose that we would be free indeed! / Free from every plan of darkness / Free to live and free to love / Death is dead and Christ is risen! / It was finished upon that cross.”

In the Name

Ed Welch: “A phrase like ‘in the name of Jesus’ is too crammed with meaning to be spoken with little awareness of what is being said.”

Cosmic Child Abuse (Video)

I’m just catching up with some of the clips from the documentary American Gospel: Christ Crucified and thought I’d share this one which refutes the idea that penal substitutionary atonement makes God into a cosmic child abuser.

Five Truths About the Body of Christ

“The Bible’s teaching about the church isn’t easy to grasp. The church is a ‘mystery.’ It is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we can really begin to understand it at all. But God wants us to know who we are, and so He teaches us through pictures, analogies, and images.”

The Most Lavish Promise of God? Immeasurable Joy in the Ages to Come

John Piper: “At every point of history (even before history), this universe is designed in God’s wisdom — and governed by God’s providence — to be a theater for the glory of God, manifest consummately in the glory of his grace, enacted through the glory of Christ, which shines most brightly in his suffering for undeserving rebels.”

Billions Of Cicadas May Be Coming Soon To Trees Near You

Be warned: “A big event in the insect world is approaching. Starting sometime in April or May, depending on latitude, one of the largest broods of 17-year cicadas will emerge from underground in a dozen states, from New York west to Illinois and south into northern Georgia. This group is known as Brood X, as in the Roman numeral for 10.”

Rain or Shine, He Showed Up

Erik Raymond reflects on death. “Cold driving rain pelted my umbrella as I shrugged my shoulders and held them, hoping to absorb another centimeter of comfort from my wool scarf. Looking around, I saw the grief on the faces of friends gathering to pay final respects to one who has recently passed from this life into the next.”

Flashback: 2 Things to Know About Killing Sin

This is the usual issue with persons attempting the mortification of sin without an interest in Christ first obtained. It deludes them, hardens them—destroys them.

While Satan has a genius in getting people into trouble, he has no genius for getting people out.

—De Witt Talmage

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (February 17)

    A La Carte: Abstaining from communion / Get married young / When the world shifts under your feet / Eliminating envy / Messiah complex / Making temptation flee / Kindle deals / and more.

  • How to Evangelize and Disciple in a “Live Your Truth” World

    Our culture lacks any coherent, unifying worldview. We’ve moved on from post-truth postmodernism to “Live your truth” metamodernism, where good vibes matter more than consistent ideas. In this world, few see the conflict between “trans-affirming” and “pro-woman.” And the same person using mushrooms to aid spiritual “connection” tells us to “trust the science” about human…

  • AI

    A Simple Way To Ensure You Use AI Well (And Not Poorly) 

    Every new technology introduces both benefits and drawbacks to its users and to the wider culture. The world being what it is, there are always plusses and minuses, so that even as a new tech gives with one hand, it takes away with the other. We are quickly learning that Artificial Intelligence is no exception…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (February 16)

    A La Carte: God is glad to forgive you / Gen Z needs this doctrine / The draw of Eastern Orthodoxy / Rest for the restless / Finding love after loss / Kindle and book deals / and more.

  • Duty

    For Our Good, Not For Our Bondage

    Matthew Henry once said that when we are out of the way of duty, we are in the way of temptation. Yet Jerry Bridges warns that the spiritual disciplines are privileges to be used, not duties to be performed. So are they duties or are they not?

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (February 14)

    A La Carte: Satan wants you alone this Sunday / The discipline of unlearning / Asking a pastor to step down / Holy humor / Intentional thankfulness / and more.