Weekend A La Carte (March 18)

Today’s Kindle deals include only a couple of minor deals. We’ll look forward to better things on Monday.

A Pastoral Letter to Myself (In the Case that I Fall)

This is very sobering and would make for worthwhile reading for anyone who is involved in ministry.

When Machines Go Rogue

Here’s an interesting one on the uncharted technological waters we’re entering. “What’s happening inside our algorithms? What happens when those algorithms control our cars and planes? Pretty soon, we may have no idea.”

Church Membership and Prescriptive Implication

This is a good article on how church membership is implied, even if not explicitly mandated, within the pages of the Bible.

TULIP and Reformed Theology: An Introduction

If you’re looking for an introduction or refresher on Reformed theology, this could be a good place to start.

Scandalized by the Substitute: A Response to Young and Gungor

Owen Strachan has written a response to Michael Gungor and William Paul Young, both of whom now deny penal substitution. “Don’t miss this: The most popular Christian writer in our time labels the biblical God a ‘cosmic abuser.’ Ancient false teaching returns.”

Weary Mom, Come to Me

I think a lot of weary moms could use this encouragement.

The Local Church Is More Awkward Than Your Facebook Wall

“In short, online communities present us with a noble temptation that stems from our inherent desire to actively love and share our lives with our neighbors. But our local congregations, however faulty and underwhelming they may be, remain the primary community that God calls us to invest ourselves in.”

Flashback: When I Am God

Each time I sin I make a statement about myself and a statement about (and against) God. Each time I sin, I declare my own independence, my own desire to be rid of God; I declare that I can do better than God, that I can be a better god than God. I took some time to think about how life changes when I am god. The results were not pretty.