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A La Carte (October 17)

tuesday

Astute readers would have noticed that I posted today’s A La Carte yesterday which means, I suppose, that I’m posting yesterday’s today. How confusing…

Today’s Kindle deals include some classic novels and a number of other books.

(Yesterday on the blog: If God Utters Any Complaint At All)

5 Ways the World Would Be Worse Without Christianity

“In 2007, God Is Not Great, a bestselling book by the late Christopher Hitchens, denounced Christianity as being violent, hateful, and inimical to human flourishing. Today, similar claims are reiterated by those who condemn Christianity as the religion of the oppressor class. Christians are instructed to ‘check their privilege’ and ‘do the work’ to repudiate Christianity’s toxic legacy. But what would the world really be like without Christianity?”

The Power And Pitfall Of Vulnerability

Lara explains the power and the pitfall of vulnerability (both online and in the local church).

An Assessment of Andy Stanley’s Unconditional Conference

These are strong words: “If I wanted to quietly mainstream pro-gay theology and transgender ideology into the evangelical church, I would create this conference. It’s the perfect vehicle.”

The Real War

“Some of us remember when the world’s suffering was relegated to one hour on the nightly news. We watched a sober-faced newscaster recount famines and wars and disasters in far-off places with sorrow in our hearts, and then we returned to a sink full of dishes or our algebra homework and the horror faded as the immediate pressed in. Now, though, we have the internet.” Yes, that was then and this is now.

Remember That You Prayed

There’s an important application in this one: Don’t only pray–also remember that you prayed and what you prayed.

Healing Words or Sword Thrusts?

“If your tongue habitually spews forth words of death in the form of discouragement, anger, or jealousy, then you must realize that it’s a heart issue before it’s a tongue issue. You can try to control the tongue, but it will be driven by what’s in your heart. No amount of self-discipline can kink the hose between what’s in your heart and what comes out of your mouth.”

Flashback: What You Can Take With You Into Eternity

As Job exclaimed in the depths of his misery, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” But as J.R. Miller reminds us in this old quote, there actually is one thing we can take with us.

Never think that you have so much to do that you have not much time for prayer. An hour’s work done in the quiet, secret power of the Spirit is worth more than a day of your own efforts. Keep the roots watered.

—Charles Ebert Orr

  • Not a Complimentary Gospel

    It Is Not a Complimentary Gospel

    I think we have all felt the temptation to modify the gospel, to preach a gospel that is inaccurate or incomplete. I think we have all felt the desire to avoid the reproach that may come upon us when we preach the whole gospel and true gospel—the gospel that is so very bad before it…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 6)

    A La Carte: A warning about having children / Leave church a little tired / Making virtues out of what isn’t virtuous / Is Exodus a myth? / A theology of leisure / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 5)

    A La Carte: Why women use pornography / I want God’s wrath on my enemy / Looking at photos with my mum / 10 things you should know about your conscience / I love being a pastor / and more.

  • A Beautiful 40-day Illustrated Devotional of Classic Literature

    This week the blog is sponsored by P&R Publishing. In the newest release by Leland Ryken, A Treasury of Nature, he joins great works of poetry, hymnody, prose, and art with accessible literary analysis. As Ryken says in the Introduction to his book: “The overall goal of this anthology is to enable nature to be…

  • Four Years After Our Hardest Day

    Four Years After Our Hardest Day

    Yesterday marked four years since Nick went to heaven. I find myself calling him “Nicky” more often now—a name I hadn’t used for him since he was a child. I wonder if it reflects that in some ways he is becoming dearer to my heart and younger to my mind. After all, I keep aging…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 4)

    A La Carte: A reassured heart / Alistair Begg with biblical wisdom for voting / Unveiling the true nature of grumbling / Kevin DeYoung on double predestination / Kindle deals / and more.