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A La Carte (January 27)

Today’s Kindle deals include The Faith of Christopher Hitchens, an interesting and excellent book. There are also a number of titles related to abortion.

Logos has put together a list of their most popular products for 2016. Quite a lot of them are for sale, so it’s worth giving the list a look.

The Awkward 17th-Century Dating Practice

If you’ve ever read about Jonathan Edwards, you’ve read about the bizarre practice of bundling. Atlas Obscura has just written a great article on a dumb practice.

A Plea for Pastoral Prayer

“Pastoral prayer—the part of the worship service where a pastor stands before the congregation and leads them in prayer as part of the worship service—seems to have fallen on hard times.” Indeed. It’s increasingly rare to find any substantial prayer in a church service.

2016: The Year in Language

Google has done a neat job in putting together a display of 2016’s top rising words. “These 10 words led the pack: Triggered, Shook, Juju, Broccoli, Woke, Holosexual, Shill, Gaslighting, Bigly, and SJW.”

Make America Unified Again

Bruce Ashford highlights 3 social divisions that America will need to overcome to become a unified nation.

Only 1 in 7 Senior Pastors Is Under 40

Here’s an interesting and important report from Christianity Today. “As clergy live longer and stay in ministry longer, the average age of Protestant senior pastors has risen to 54—a decade older than 25 years before, when the average age was 44.” There’s lots more to chew on in the report.

This Day in 1839. 178 years ago today famed English authority on hymns, John Julian, was born. His undoubted masterpiece is the monumental “Dictionary of Hymnology” which was published in 1892. *

The Surprising Ingenuity Behind “Goodnight Moon”

Here’s the sad, surprisingly story behind that book you probably memorized when your children were tiny. I think I can still recite most of it.

The Early Symptoms of Spiritual Danger

This is an important pastoral word from Sinclair Ferguson. Is it possible that you are showing some of the early symptoms of spiritual danger?

Pray With Your Spouse 31 Day Challenge

Couples may be interested in participating in Mike Leake’s 31-day challenge to pray with your spouse.

Flashback: 13 Ways You Waste Your Money

Money has many ways of disappearing. Here are a few of them.

Sin is not superficial to us, a mere flesh wound. It is a deep distortion, a twisted hostility toward God and his reign over us.

—Sinclair Ferguson

  • Maybe We Make Meditation Too Difficult

    Maybe We Make Meditation Too Difficult

    Of all the Christian disciplines, it is my guess that meditation may be the least practiced—though I suppose fasting might have something to say about that. Most people diligently make time to read the Bible and pray. And yet, while most people have good intentions when it comes to meditation, it so often seems to…

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    A La Carte (July 24)

    A La Carte: A mother to me, too / Never look your age? / Nine reminders for the struggle with body image / A ruler who trusts in Yahweh / No, I will not stop calling the church a family / Criminalizing sexual ethics / Bible journal sale / Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (July 23)

    A La Carte: Connection and commitment / When your mind gets stuck / Prayer postures in the Bible / Fading with age / Does God care about how I work? / 7 essential things to know about God’s holiness / and more.

  • Evangelize 2024: Growing a Church That Proclaims The Gospel

    This week the blog is sponsored by Matthias Media. Does your evangelistic passion match the New Testament call to proclaim Christ’s name to all people? God calls on us to partner with him in “hastening the coming of the day of God” (2 Pet 3:12) by laboring to make people ready for that day, having…

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    A La Carte (July 22)

    A La Carte: No facts or evidence required / Unity is not the same as total agreement / Christians and magic / Beware of local cults / In the school of contentment / Books by Jen Wilkin / and more.