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A La Carte (May 2)

monday

Good morning, my friends. Grace and peace to you.

There are several interesting Kindle deals today, most of them related to church history.

(Yesterday on the blog: It Is No More Death, But A Sweet Departure)

Pornography and Church Discipline

“Because of pornography’s seriousness, churches are right to take serious steps to eradicate it from the life of a believer.” Garrett Kell tells if and when church discipline may be necessary for those who are deep into pornography.

A Happy Ending without an End

Randy Alcorn tells how he is doing several weeks after the death of his dear wife. “I do indeed sense His closeness. At the same time, grief and sometimes depression come upon me in waves. But they do not drive out Jesus or the Holy Spirit, both of whom indwell me (Romans 8:8-11). Nor can they separate me from God the Father.”

Living the good life

Andrée Seu Peterson reflects on aging (and Elon Musk).

Is the assurance of our salvation found in our faith or in our works?

The Ligonier Teaching Fellows discuss assurance of salvation.

Reflections On Ukraine, From A Survivor Of Sudan’s Civil War

David Fugoyo: “I lived most of my life in war in Sudan. It is one of the longest running civil wars in Africa (from 1983 to 2005). I faced countless trying moments. I was separated from my mother, siblings, and other relatives. I struggled to sit in class, hearing rumours of war every day. The culture of war and violence invaded daily life.”

Am I An Untouchable?

And finally, an interesting dispatch from India: “A few years ago, I was looking for a house to rent within my budget. To find a house within my budget, I thought all I had to do was to negotiate how much rent I could pay. That seemed logical and reasonable to me. Apparently, not in my town! As I went on a search to find a suitable house for my family, I repeatedly found two questions thrown at me by different house owners. To my utter shock and dismay, they would invariably ask me: ‘what caste do you belong to’? and ‘what do you do for a living’?”

Flashback: The Endearing Conceit of Young Men

I wonder if you have ever thought about the kind of courage—but also the kind of conceit—it takes for a young man to ask a father for the hand of his daughter. De Witt Talmage once considered this in a discourse on marriage and, frankly, his thoughts are hilarious.

Comfort from the Father cascades down into our lives so that comfort may cascade from our lives into the lives of others who are suffering. Comfort flows downhill.

—Mike Emlet

  • 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…

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    A La Carte (July 11)

    A La Carte: Falling out of repentance / Tattoos as confession / The Epstein List and secret sins / Teaching generosity / Lessons from a former youth pastor / Bedbugs in the bowels of the city.

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    A La Carte (July 10)

    A La Carte: Questions for a maturing marriage / The lesbian seagulls that weren’t / But mommy, why? / A time to be tired / The modern rise of Stoicism / and more.

  • The Stranger

    The Stranger: A Short Film For You

    Based on a true story and inspired by the truth that character comes before competence, “The Stranger” is an honest, light-hearted and meaningful picture of what it means to truly serve others.