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A La Carte (May 17)

monday

Good morning! The Lord be with you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: Weeping Goes Forth the Sower)

Why Confessions Matter

Do confessions matter? And if so, why? This article will answer both questions.

When Reeling In Empty Nets Means You’re Doing Everything Right

This is a neat reflection on Peter and Andrew’s empty (and then very full) nets.

Fossilised Preaching?

“Most preachers are familiar with the diagnostic question: Could your sermon have been preached in a mosque or a synagogue? It’s a helpful question that pinpoints whether or not we have been remotely Christ-centred in our preaching—is it in actual fact a Christ-ian sermon? I want to propose another diagnostic question (albeit of a secondary nature)…”

Trusting God for Our Children’s Safety

Barbara Harper: “In our early married days, I remember a woman sharing during prayer meeting a need for her children and how God answered. She commented, ‘It’s one thing to trust God for my needs—it’s another thing to trust Him for my children’s.’ It’s true: we’d much rather struggle with a need or loss or illness ourselves than see our children do so. But it’s through such things that we all grow and learn dependence on God.”

If You Feel Weary in Prayer

Don’t we all feel weary in prayer from time to time? “There’s a DIY project laying dormant. At one point, I was all in; I’d gathered supplies, done a bit of research, and eagerly dove in. As the work progressed, the paint color wasn’t quite right, I hadn’t sanded enough and in all the disappointment, my optimism deflates, and the project collapses. Sometimes prayer is like my project, beginning with momentum, but then moving forward, we encounter so many issues to pray through, especially in these challenging times.”

How Old Should ‘Elders’ Be? The Hebrew Roots of Church Leadership

“Who are ‘the elders’? The term sounds strange in modern ears. For those not raised in the church, or not raised in churches with ‘elders,’ it can be a perplexing term. Who are these ‘elders’ I hear about? Do they meet in secret?” David Mathis answers.

The Day I Should Have Kept My Mouth Shut

There’s a pretty good chance you’ve got a “should have kept my mouth shut” story like this one…

Flashback: How Many Loves Have You Experienced Today?

The God who loves created a world of love. What a pleasure it is to live in this world, his world, and to experience love as both a giver and a receiver of its infinite forms.

God gives us His grace in the hour we need it. If we worry about the future now, we double our pain without having the grace to deal with it.

—John MacArthur

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