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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

  • Weekend A La Carte (June 13)

    Egg freezing is a booming business / Talk to the A.I. me / Is aging becoming optional? / Feminism and the Fall / The lie of living your truth / Moving on from the Christian Nationalism moment / and more.

  • An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    There is a lot I miss from the days when our children were young. High on the list is family devotions. Nick once described our family as having a “Spartan-like commitment” to them, though I remember as much failure as success and as many misses as hits. Still, there’s no doubt that over the 26…

  • A La Carte (June 12)

    The curious case of extra resurrections / Are kids too expensive? / Why hot takes are the enemy of conviction / Piper on preaching outrage / A daily rhythm of prayer / Forgetting and pursuing / A La Quiz / The funnies / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 11)

    We lost the baby / The Bible is cessationist (and wondrous!) / Thinking about Eastern Orthodoxy: a primer for evangelicals / Virtue signalling in the church / What is God’s providence? / Restlessness / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Conform

    You Can Conform to Christ Even if You Don’t Conform to Me

    One of the aspects of the Christian faith that I find particularly perplexing is the freedom God gives his people to obey him in different or even opposite ways, so that one person’s obedience is another person’s disobedience. Even as two people take the same action, one might be obeying him and the other disobeying…

  • A La Carte (June 10)

    Does prayer make a difference? / Portrait of an abortionist / Pushing back against the black tax / Bring your whole self to work / Blessed are the weak / When service isn’t a transaction / A pastoral analogy / Bill C-9 will soon be law in Canada / and more.