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A La Carte (November 25)

wednesday

Westminster Books has put together a Christmas Gift Guide that may help guide your shopping.

Today’s Kindle deals include some good picks from Crossway and a volume in the excellent God’s Word for You series.

Critical Race Theory, Part 1

If you’ve wondered about John Piper’s perspective on Critical Race Theory, you can find out in these special episodes of Ask Pastor John.

Always Two There Are

“A couple of posts ago, I talked about whether church should be thought of more as a family (or community) or as a society (or enterprise). I ended up arguing that both were important, and needed to be held together. And this got me thinking. Have you ever pondered just how many different aspects of Christian teaching are exactly like this—consisting of two truths that need to be held together at the same time?”

Church Comorbidities

“Comorbidities. Preexisting conditions. These words rank up there with unprecedented in a competition for word of year in 2020. Prior to March of 2020, few of us ever used the word unprecedented, we didn’t speak of preexisting conditions, and we may not have even knew what a comorbidity was.” Here’s how comorbidities may apply to the church…

The Maddening Paradox of Leadership

Dan Doriani reflects on leadership today. “Pastor feel more emotional pressure, toil longer, and seem to accomplish less than ever before. In this setting it is tempting for pastors to believe they have a uniquely difficult calling. In fact, leadership is always difficult, always paradoxical, for pastors, politicians, business folk, and more.”

Why I Write: Thoughts on Joy and Obedience

I can identify with this. “Our motivations often have more layers than we realize. But if we set aside the sinful, self-serving motives lurking around the edges of a Christian’s heart, I’d say one of my primary motivations for writing is joy. I really do enjoy tinkering with words that point people to God. I’ve heard a famous Christian author say that for him, writing is like eating ice cream, not a ‘have to’ but a ‘get to.’ I feel the same, although it wasn’t always this way.”

6 Ways Confessions of Faith Promote Church Health

This article lists some of the ways that confessions can foster church health.

Robert Rundle, the First Protestant Missionary in the Canadian Prairies

A couple of days ago I picked up a little book about Robert Rundle, the first and perhaps most prominent Protestant missionary to the Canadian prairies. At the very same time Clint Humfrey provided this helpful little biographical summary of the man and his ministry.

Flashback: 4 Common Critics and Constructive Ways to Respond to Them

In his book The Heart of the Preacher, Rick Reed lists four common critics and offers appropriate and constructive ways to respond to each of them.

Our loving Lord is not just present, but nearer than the thought can imagine – so near that a whisper can reach Him.

—Amy Carmichael

  • Epic

    My Epic Documentary Series Is Now Free to Watch

    In 2020 I teamed up with Zondervan to release Epic: An Around-the-World Journey through Christian History. This is a two-part product that takes the form of an illustrated book and a ten-part documentary video series. Epic is ideal for group studies, homeschool curriculum, and enjoying either alone or with the whole family. I am pleased…

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    A La Carte (May 8)

    A La Carte: Slouching toward Saul / Did the Jews kill Jesus? / The growing boredom toward movies / Expecting temptation before it comes / 5 things prayer has the power to do / A good neighbor / Book sale / and more.

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    A La Carte (May 7)

    A La Carte: How to love every version of your wife / A Christian’s perspective on AI / If God is sovereign, why pray? / Summer break and the challenge of home / Assessing the arguments for and against physician-assisted suicide / and more.

  • Do You Practice

    Do You Practice?

    There is little we are called to in life that is purely intuitive. There is little that truly matters to our lives, yet comes to us innately. To the contrary, almost everything that is important and almost everything that matters requires practice. What matters most in life is love. We are called to love the…

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    A La Carte (May 6)

    A La Carte: A response to John MacArthur’s statement on mental health / How much should churches pay their pastors? / Love is no longer my god / The fatally friendless father / Fear of missing out / Keeping watch / Kindle deals / and more.

  • As He Reaches Toward Us

    As He Reaches Toward Us, We Reach Toward Him

    When it comes to our growth as Christians, there are two related truths we need to understand and keep constantly in mind: Advance in the Christian life, which is to say advance in our relationship with God and advance in being like God, comes by a combination of God’s work and our work.