Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (March 19)

thursday

I said yesterday that despite the urgency of the epidemic, I am trying to find articles on other subjects. That was especially difficult to for today, but I did find at least a few. Then I’ve also provided some top articles on COVID-19 from Christian and nonChristian sources.

Today’s Kindle deals include a few more good picks.

Here’s a reminder that my book and documentary series Epic: An Around-the-World Journey Through Christian History releases in a couple of weeks. Please do consider pre-ordering it from Westminster Books who is offering it at a great price.

(Yesterday on the blog: Preparation Is Not Panic and Confusion is Not Chaos)

10 Ways in which this Coronavirus Pandemic Can Be for Our Good

Brian Najapfour writes about some of the ways that this pandemic can be for our good (just as God promises in Romans 8:28). (See also 10 Gifts I Pray God Gives The Church Through The Coronavirus, The Prosperity Gospel in a Time of Plague, and About Those Viral Graphs.)

Why Covid-19 Is Worse Than the Flu, in One Chart

We really need to stop making too-simple comparisons between this virus and the flu. Here’s why. (See also How Soap Kills the Coronavirus)

Worth A Lot of Sparrows

Jim Elliff: “What a person is worth is no small matter. We live in a culture addicted to self-esteem. We are always wanting to know what we are worth. If everybody despises me, then I feel a certain right to be depressed. Living as a valueless individual sends some people over the bridge or to the institution.”

Guides for Kids and Middle-Schoolers to Take Notes During the Sermon

Here are some guides for your kids as they listen to sermons (at home for now, in many cases).

The Kettle War

Until now, I had never heard of The Kettle War. “The Kettle War of 1784 was a quintessential David versus Goliath story. A formidable naval fleet of the Holy Roman Empire faces a lone battleship, underpowered and hopelessly outnumbered, yet comes back defeated. In the short battle, lasting less than a day, only a single shot was fired, and the only casualty was a soup kettle.”

‘I Long to See You’ – the Glory of Contingency

“I have been thinking about the place of contingency in Christian ministry, and the strategic weight that the Lord himself appears to place upon it. Thinking biblically and pastorally about contingency might help in some way to assuage the pain and anguish of those who wrestle with the disruption that churches will inevitably face.”

Who Owns America’s Gas Stations? (Video)

CNBC explains how it all works.

Flashback: It Takes a Church To Raise Your Child

It takes a church to raise a child because it is in the church that our children find a whole community of adults who love them, who have a deep concern for them, and who are eager to see them come to faith and grow in godly character.

There’s nothing and no one who compares to our God. And this truth provides strength to our hearts. Our flesh may fail, our hearts may fail, but we will endure because God is the strength of our heart.

—Trillia Newbell

  • Free Stuff Fridays (Matthias Media)

    This week the blog and the giveaway have been sponsored by Matthias Media. Matthias Media is hosting Evangelize 2024 in Denver, Colorado on October 7-9, 2024. We have partnered with 10ofThose, Calvary Family of Churches and Vinegrowers to help you raise the evangelistic temperature at your church. We want to motivate and equip people to…

  • When Christians Disagree

    When Christians Disagree

    Wouldn’t it be nice if Christians only ever got along? Wouldn’t it be grand if all the discord we see in the world around us was completely foreign to the church? Wouldn’t it be heavenly if believers ever only experienced peace? I suppose it would be heavenly and, therefore, more than we can realistically hope…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (July 26)

    A La Carte: Therapy and bug men / How to have joy in hard times / Can a single pastor date in his church? / Life from barren ground / Shulamith Firestone was a prophet / Different ways of reading people we disagree with / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (July 25)

    A La Carte: What does it mean to die with dignity? / Did Paul endorse slavery? / Forgiveness in marriage / 5 ways to pursue contentment / The immense value of encouragement / and more.

  • Maybe We Make Meditation Too Difficult

    Maybe We Make Meditation Too Difficult

    Of all the Christian disciplines, it is my guess that meditation may be the least practiced—though I suppose fasting might have something to say about that. Most people diligently make time to read the Bible and pray. And yet, while most people have good intentions when it comes to meditation, it so often seems to…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (July 24)

    A La Carte: A mother to me, too / Never look your age? / Nine reminders for the struggle with body image / A ruler who trusts in Yahweh / No, I will not stop calling the church a family / Criminalizing sexual ethics / Bible journal sale / Kindle deals / and more.