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Weekend A La Carte (July 30)

May you know the Lord’s blessings this weekend!

My gratitude goes to Getty Music this week for sponsoring the blog this week. Be sure to download your free Family Summer Hymnal filled with sheet music and MP3s for 20 Getty Music songs!

Today’s Kindle deals include a biography along with a few other picks.

(Yesterday on the blog: A Mid-Summer Family Update)

Does God Ever Tempt Us to Sin?

John Piper draws some important distinctions in his answer.

If God Knows Everything, do we have free Choice?

“If God knows everything, you basically have five types of explanations when it comes to free choice in saving faith…” Wyatt Graham outlines them.

The Value of Knowing Both Sides

“This skill—the skill of articulating both sides of an issue—is one that is in short supply in American culture. Most debates that we observe on television consist of two people trying to outshout and demonize each other. This is because it is much easier to dismiss opposing arguments than it is to understand them.”

Comedy Pet Photo

This is just for fun—the finalists from the 2022 Comedy Pet Photo competition.

Raiding Monticello

Janie Cheaney: “To make everything about one thing—whether racism, class warfare, democracy, or socialism—is to diminish all things. Only one idea is big enough to be about everything, and we worship Him so we don’t have to worship earthly heroes.”

Jesus is Not Ashamed of Subjects of Church Discipline

“Jesus instituted church discipline both to maintain the holiness of the church and to remind his people that he forgives them as they repent of their sins and submit to his lordship. We often focus on the first aspect—admonishment over sin that could end in excommunication. While this should get our attention and produce holy sobriety within us, it’s not the whole story. “

Flashback: Foster Your Friendships

You need friends to temper your weakness, to challenge your sinfulness, to comfort your sorrows, to speak truth into your tragedies.

Let’s admit that we are not enough, and turn to the God who is.

—Jen Oshman

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