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A La Carte (November 14)

Today’s Kindle deals include an interesting little mix of books.

Another Actress Accuses Kirk Cameron Of Treating Her With Respect

I don’t often link to the satire site The Babylon Bee, but this one is worth reading in the light of all the recent scandal in Hollywood.

Pastoring a Rural Church Isn’t a “Lesser” Ministry

Cheston Pickard speaks about important similarities in rural and urban churches to show that pastoring in the country is not a lesser kind of ministry.

Is There a Different Process of Church Discipline for Elders?

“Most people are aware of the process of church discipline outlined in Matthew 18 (vv. 15-18). In order to promote the purity of the church and the testimony of the gospel, Christians must ensure that the other members of their church are living in a way that reflects submission to Christ’s rule. If someone continues in serious and outward sin then they are to be put out of the church or removed from the membership by means of discipline.But a question often arises, concerning elders. Is there a separate process for the discipline of elders outlined in 1 Timothy 5?”

How Does Your Body Know You’re Full? (Video)

“Hunger claws at your belly. It tugs at your intestines, which begin to writhe, aching to be fed. Being hungry generates a powerful and often unpleasant physical sensation that’s almost impossible to ignore. After you’ve reacted by gorging on your morning pancakes, you start to experience an opposing force: fullness. But how does your body actually know when you’re full?” This video explains.

How to Secure Attendance at a Prayer Meeting

There is lots of wisdom here: “R.J. George wrote a three-volume set entitled Lectures in Pastoral Theology that contains a treasure trove of pastoral advice. In his second volume, entitled Pastors and People, he explains with wisdom, care, quaintness, and even some humor how a pastor should go about encouraging people to come to a prayer meeting.”

Conflict, Comfort and the Cross

“Last week, a gunman entered First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and killed 26 people, wounding 20 others. The massacre was brutal and left what will surely be scars on all of those who survived, many of whom were young children. Usually there is some sort of grieving period that decorum allows in the aftermath of such events, but as civilization abandons any pretense at care or compassion that grieving period is quickly disappearing.”

10 Things You Should Learn About Pride and Humility From Jonathan Edwards

“No one has spoken with greater clarity on the nature of both pride and humility than Jonathan Edwards. Here are ten things we can learn from him.”

Inventing the Christian Priesthood

Philip Jenkins begins to examine where the priesthood came from in the early church.

Flashback: Don’t Waste Your Ambition

Ambition is good, but it needs to be strengthened by at least two other crucial traits: character and self-discipline. When I look at your generation, I love the ambition I see, but want to encourage you to pursue the traits that will harness that ambition to the best and highest purposes.

Definitions of liberation not drawn from the Word of God will always fall short of true liberation.

—Carl Ellis Jr.

  • O Jesus I Have Promised

    Give Me Grace to Follow!

    Knowing that we can be self-deceived, we must examine our lives to ensure we are living as Christians are called to live—that we are putting sin to death, that we are coming alive to righteousness, and that we are finding ever-greater joy in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And always we must pray…

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    A La Carte (October 9)

    A La Carte: The normalization of slander / Doctrine and formation / Destructive relationships / Why Satan wants you to think you’re alone / Laughing at yourself is grace / and more.

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    A La Carte (October 8)

    A La Carte: A Christian response to polygamy, incest, and pedophilia / 10 diagnostic questions for you and your spouse / neither despair nor blind optimism / To confront or to cover / Did Jesus lie to his brothers? / Huge book and commentary sales!

  • What Is “The End” of Religious Liberty?

    This week, the blog is sponsored by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article is adapted from Jason G. Duesing’s chapel message, “A Portrait of the End of Religious Liberty,” given during the Spring 2024 semester at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College. You can watch the full message here.   The beautiful hymn in Philippians 2 tells of the humbling, sacrifice,…

  • We All Want More of God

    We All Want More of God

    We all want more of God. Anyone who professes to be a Christian will acknowledge a sense of sorrow and disappointment when they consider how little they know of God and how little they experience of his presence. Every Christian or Christianesque tradition acknowledges this reality and offers a means to address it.

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    A La Carte (October 7)

    A La Carte: Lighten my load or strengthen my back / Why Gen Z men are staying in church / Do hurricanes just happen? / Failure happens slowly before it happens suddenly / A tale of two wisdoms / Kindle deals / and more.