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Weekend A La Carte (January 13)

A La Carte Collection cover image

My gratitude goes to TMAI for sponsoring the blog this week. They are inviting you to attend their annual symposium where you’ll hear from Paul Washer and Steve Lawson. “What exactly is needed for effective missions work? Which components are necessary? Where are the best books, best programs, or best examples for missions?” This is what they will consider.

Today’s Kindle deals include some newer books and some older ones.

(Yesterday on the blog: Love the Ones Who Drive You Crazy)

The Dress

Kristin writes movingly of her daughter and her upcoming wedding. She celebrates her daughter and also offers her some wise counsel.

In Praise of Prudence: What the Cardinal Virtues Can Teach Us About the Splintering of Evangelicalism

Kevin DeYoung has written a long-awaited followup to his article from a few years ago in which he argued “that many of the old networks and alliances had fallen apart and that four new ‘teams’ had emerged.” He offers a lot to think about!

Will Following My Heart Set Me Free?

Caz Dodds considers and counters “a story that our culture loves to tell: that success in the world means presenting your truest self, pushing off what society tells you to be, to be you. It’s almost like that’s the meaning of life. You are free to be yourself.”

Sustained in the Fire

“I’m thankful God that has sustained me, but sometimes I don’t want to just be sustained, I want to be delivered,’ I confessed to my husband. It’s difficult to admit such thoughts because as a Christian, I know that God is working in my trials and I do believe he has a purpose. But there are days when I struggle to see beyond the pain and, in my humanity, my present feelings cloud my eternal perspective. Some days – I want to be rescued, rather than sustained. I want relief now.”

Why We Need the Bad News of Israelite History

Gary Edward Schnittjer explains why the Bible doesn’t skip from creation and fall directly to Calvary. In other words, he explains why we need to know all that bad news about Israelite history.

Book Allowance

I think this article would benefit from less “should”—a word of moral right and wrong. That aside, I do think there is wisdom in ensuring that pastors have easy access to the resources they need to really thrive in their preaching ministry.

Flashback: I Still Do: A Marriage Course for the Middle Years

It has been my observation that churches tend to invest a fair bit of effort in preparing couples to begin a healthy marriage, but perhaps a little less in helping couples sustain a healthy marriage.

The gospel is as free as the air you breathe.

—C.H. Spurgeon

  • The Power of a Single Snowflake

    The Power of a Single Snowflake

    There are blessings that come with living in a part of the world that sees four distinct seasons. There are trials, too, like when the days are scorching or the nights are bitterly cold. But if I were to leave this part of the world, I know I would miss the seasonality of Southern Ontario…

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    A La Carte (October 22)

    A La Carte: AI will tell you to get divorced / Glorifying God with our words / The fork in the road / Children’s ministry / Successful parenting / Giving without worrying / and more.

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    A La Carte (October 21)

    A La Carte: The worst parenting advice / John Mark Comer’s cafeteria approach / Giants in the Bible / How a wife can help her husband / Social media and pornography / Book and Kindle sales / and more.

  • Bible writing

    If You Had Written the Bible

    Have you ever thought about what the Bible would be like if you had been in charge of writing or editing it? Whatever you would do, I am quite certain you would end up with something that would bear far more resemblance to a systematic theology text than the Bible we hold in our hands…

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    A La Carte (October 20)

    A La Carte: Assisted suicide / The future of Anglicanism / Busyness / When dad will not lead / When you are maligned / Surprised by his goodness / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Bible

    No Guarantee of Life and Vigor

    Many cold and lifeless churches testify to the fact that the mere presence of the Bible is no guarantee of spiritual life and vigor. Many churches have a Bible tucked neatly into every pew, but teach a message radically at odds with the words of that very Book.