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A La Carte (March 8)

thursday

Today’s Kindle deals include just a couple of minor books.

Logos March Madness marches on with 40% discounts on some commentary series.

Crossway has a free e-book copy of Calvin on the Christian Life if you’d like it.

(Yesterday on the blog: Christians Great and Small)

Spurgeon’s Orphanage: How One Woman Changed the World

“The story of Spurgeons Children’s Charity began in 1867, and was initially started as an orphanage for ‘fatherless’ boys in Victorian London. Ten years later, a girls’ wing opened. In 1979, the orphanages closed and gave way to the rise of a charity that continues to support vulnerable children and families across the country.”

C.J. Mahaney Withdraws from T4G

Yesterday C.J. Mahaney announced he’d be withdrawing from next month’s Together for the Gospel conference. Christianity Today reports.

Surrogacy for Money

Surrogacy is becoming increasingly common. Here’s why Christians ought to think about it very carefully.

How Many Minutes Should a 26–year–old Preach?

“Charles Spurgeon wrote, ‘We are generally longest when we have least to say. A man with a great deal of well–prepared matter will probably not exceed forty minutes; when he has less to say he will go on for fifty minutes, and when he has absolutely nothing he will need an hour to say it.’” I think we’ve all seen that happen, haven’t we?

How Do You Evaluate a Pastor?

“If we are thinking in summary terms of what a pastor is to be and do, we have a good start when we think in terms of him being godly and gifted.” These are basic but biblical categories to think in.

Facebook Really Is Spying on You

“Conspiracy theorists think Facebook has tapped your phone’s microphone to target ads by listening to your conversations. Truth is, it doesn’t have to.” Speaking personally, I don’t mind this form of advertising so much. If I’m going to see ads anyway (which I am) they may as well be relevant.

Intersectionality, the Dangerous Faith

Do read this one: “The demise of religion among American youth is greatly exaggerated. It turns out that America isn’t raising a new generation of unbelievers. Instead, rising in the heart of deep-blue America are the zealots of a new religious faith. They’re the intersectionals, they’re fully woke, and the heretics don’t stand a chance.”

What’s So Bad About the Passive Voice?

Writers (and others) may appreciate this essay. “The passive voice causes a lot of heartache for readers and writers alike. Somewhere along the line, you have probably been told to avoid passive voice. That’s not bad advice, except for the fact that sometimes the passive voice is exactly what you need.”

Flashback: Stop Calling Everything Hate

We need to resist this updated definition of “hate,” to keep the new, expansive form of the word out of the church. Otherwise, we risk confusing hatred with confidence about revealed truth—we need to have the ability to confidently declare what is orthodox and what is heterodox, what is consistent with the Bible and what is heretical.

Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord and shall we not receive evil? Shall we walk joyfully in the light and not patiently in darkness?

—Anne Dutton

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (July 16)

    A La Carte: Reading the Bible correctly / Understanding the time / Living wisely in a digital world / We’ll never get tired / You need gospel friends / God’s goodness to you / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (July 15)

    A La Carte: Sharing our struggles / The danger of inaction / “You don’t love your daughter” / A godly sense of humor / Three excuses for not reading your Bible / A closer look at Noah’s ark / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (July 14)

    A La Carte: Distorted doctrine destroys lives / Making sense of bad things / Be the Jonathan / A bridegroom of blood / Administrative sludge / Musical elements / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Prayer

    Spread Too Thin

    With so much to do, we can easily begin to wonder whether prayer is an appropriate use of scarce time. Wouldn’t it be better to give my attention to something that would let me cross something off my to-do list?

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    Weekend A La Carte (July 12)

    A La Carte: Where art thou Rob Bell? / The case against in vitro fertilization / Praying and weeping for those suffering in Texas / Greet each other with a holy hug / The example of Jimmy Swaggart / and more.

  • Thriving Marriage

    Thriving Marriage

    I have often wondered about the best time to write a book about marriage. When a couple is young, there is so much about marriage they have not yet experienced. They can still impart wisdom and teach lessons, of course, but there is so much of marriage that remains unknown to them. Yet when a…