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A La Carte (September 5)

wednesday

Today’s Kindle deals include a whole stack of solid books.

This is another reminder that I’ve got a Spanish blog that is updated with articles and videos several times a week. Pass it on!

(Yesterday on the blog: EPIC: Switzerland)

The Social Justice & the Gospel

Yesterday marked the release of The Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel which I know you’ll benefit from reading.

Why Pastors Should Consider Preaching (At Least) 5 Minutes Shorter

Kevin DeYoung: “While guest preaching in a church several years ago I asked the senior pastor how long I should preach. He replied, ‘Five minutes shorter than you think.’ He wasn’t trying to be mean. His advice was tongue-in-cheek. But it was also partly serious. He went on to add that he’d rarely heard a sermon that couldn’t have been better by being five minutes shorter.”

A Baseball Dream 30 Years in the Making Washed Away

There is something so tragic, so human about this. “In the middle of it all, the entire, emotional ordeal that would come to define his career, in the midst of the literal storm that was drenching the Eastern Seaboard on the afternoon of Sept. 5, 2006, and the perfect, figurative one that was conspiring at that moment to make him the victim of the cruelest bit of circumstance the inherently cruel game of baseball could possibly produce — in the middle of all that, Brian Mazone, anxious, restless, bored, headed to the dugout to see the skies for himself.” (Note: There are a couple of swear words in the article.)

Columns from Tabletalk Magazine, September 2018

The September issue of Tabletalk considers the Christian life as a life lived between two worlds. Many of the articles are free for you to read online.

Is It God’s Will to Always Heal?

“Theology has consequences. And bad theology always produces bad consequences. My friend Alex experienced those cruel consequences firsthand. Sadly, there aren’t enough people correcting and rebuking this false teaching.” It’s amazing how false teaching can so quickly lead to cruelty.

Poetry of the Air

I enjoyed this little look at how some of the best poets “of the air” have been the sons of pastors.

The Bible Condemns American Slavery

This looks like a promising series from the Cripplegate blog. “It is very important for Christians to be able to say this clearly: American slavery is clearly condemned by the Bible, without equivocation or qualification. The Bible is a perfect book in the sense that it contains all that is necessary for life and godliness, and this includes all of the ethical information needed to navigate the cultural complexities of this world in a way that honors both Christ and the image of God in man. The Bible does not condone American slavery and it certainly does not regulate it. It forbids it.”

Flashback: Thank God For Your Job (Doesn’t Matter What Your Job Is!)

Why don’t you take a bit of time to thank God for your labors. No matter what they are, they are evidence of his kindness and mercy toward you.

Show me a professing Christian of whom all men speak well, and I’ll show you a man who is probably unfaithful to his Lord.

—Gresham Machen

  • Idleness

    Neither Idle nor Idolatrous

    As a new Lord’s Day dawns, it seems fitting that we remind ourselves of the power and purpose of the precious privileges of hearing from God, speaking to God, and belonging to God. As Christians through the centuries have pondered these means of grace, these key habits of the Christian life, they have always felt…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (January 24)

    A La Carte: Who is rich and who is poor? / The new rise of stoicism / A new hymn / When your daughter becomes a mother / The fruit of kindness / How we worship / and more.

  • The Humility Project

    The Humility Project for Men

    I have lots of good memories from the various conferences I have been to through the years, but there is one that often stands out. I was one of many speakers at a counseling conference and, at some point, the speakers were invited to join together for a group activity. We were given the option:…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (January 23)

    A La Carte: Escaping the touchscreen trap / A censorious spirit / John Piper on the best religion / The evil of envy / The men God uses / Managing email well / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (January 22)

    A La Carte: Suffering as spiritual formation / Save the humanities from the slop / Dying to give / Someone is getting played / Using gifts or burning out? / Preparing to pray / and more.