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A La Carte (March 29)

Today’s Kindle deals include a relatively new book by John Piper, a good one by John MacArthur, and a few other picks.

We’ve Lost Our Vocabulary of Wonder About Heaven

Randy Alcorn: “By losing our vocabulary of wonder, I mean that we’ve come to think of Heaven as utterly immaterial and non-physical, a home suited for body-less angels, not real people. Floating in clouds while strumming harps isn’t anybody’s idea of a great time.”

No, You’re Not Welcome To Our New Church Launch!

I love this: “Not beating about the bush, let me give you this blog in a sentence: Thanks SO much for supporting our church plant. But unless you’re local to Gracemount, please, please, please DON’T come to our church launch on Easter Sunday.”

Why We Think Outhouses All Had Crescent Moons in Their Doors

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the classic symbol of an outdoor toilet was probably just made up.

You Might Be a Pharisee If …

“The odds are good that someone, somewhere, at some point has called you a Pharisee. The odds are even better that you’ve slapped that label on someone else.” Here’s what it really does and does not mean.

The Spiders Will Eat Us All

Here are interesting facts about spiders that you probably don’t want to know.

A Friendly Critic on the Best New Resource for Charismatics

I really appreciate Steve Timmis’s review of Practicing the Power by Sam Storms. “Practicing the Power reflects a form of the reductionism it critiques. It sets out to challenge its readers to faith and expectancy, yet it inadvertently encourages them to be satisfied with something less than the New Testament Christianity it claims to espouse. It’s a form of revisionism.”

Did Jesus Ever Experience Doubt?

Denny Burk answers a recent article in the New York Times where the author finds comfort in the fact that Jesus at times experienced doubt.

Flashback: What the Law-Keeper Cries to the Gospel-Lover

It is simple enough to look at other people’s religious observances and stand in judgment. But we would be remiss if we did not look for ourselves here. Even Christians are prone to hedge ourselves around with rules. It’s as if grace is so foreign a concept to us that we simply cannot or will not believe it, and instead flee back to the law.

Men are opposed to God in their sin, and God is opposed to men in His holiness.

—J.I. Packer

  • Are You Binding the Wound or Aggravating It

    Are You Binding the Wound or Aggravating It?

    One of the privileges we have as Christians is the privilege of caring for one another—of blessing one another in our difficulties and comforting one another in our sorrows. In such “one another” ministry we represent God and extend love and mercy on his behalf. This is a precious and sacred ministry that falls to…

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    A La Carte (March 26)

    A La Carte: The Jesus Geezers and Gene Hackman / Prayer is our fuel / John Mark Comer / On failure / Get grace, give grace / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (March 25)

    A La Carte: Gen Z’s spiritual anxiety / Would you sell out Jesus for $4.37 billion? / Men need friendship, not just accountability / Building healthy relationships with your teens / The pastor’s wife / Sales and deals / and more.

  • Crash and Burn

    When Christians Crash and Burn

    The pictures quickly made their way around the world—pictures of an aircraft lying upside down in the snow just beyond runway 23 at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. On February 17, Delta flight 4819 landed hard, shearing off the right wing and flipping over before finally sliding to a stop. Remarkably, despite the crash and subsequent…

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    A La Carte (March 24)

    A La Carte: Wokeness as a tax / The religion of wellness / Freckles, thigh gaps, and beauty / The 50 most edifying films / If I have matching dishes but not love / The Bible and sexuality / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Pastoral Prayer

    A Pastoral Prayer

    Every now and again I like to share an example of a pastoral prayer from Grace Fellowship Church. I do this because there are few examples of pastoral prayers online and I thought these may serve to inspire themes, passages, or ideas as other pastors and elders prepare to lead their churches in prayer. Please…