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Weekend A La Carte (May 2)

First off, my thanks goes to The Elisha Foundation for sponsoring the blog this week. Be sure to check out their new and free video-based training for individuals and churches.

Today’s Kindle deals include some excellent classics. Meanwhile, Logos users will probably want to download this month’s free book, a commentary on Isaiah. Perhaps also check out their monthly sale.

(Yesterday on the blog: Finding the Right Hills to Die On; note that Westminster Books has this book on sale.)

5 Insights Into Your Feelings Under Lockdown

Peter Mead: “As we live through this lockdown, we are being given a unique opportunity to observe ourselves under different and difficult circumstances. It is as if we are in a laboratory, with lots of normal elements taken out of our lives. What we may be discovering is that we are experiencing emotions in a way that we are normally too busy to notice.”

Mincaye Is Now with Jesus

Randy Alcorn shares the news. “On Tuesday afternoon, Mincaye, the former warrior who in 1956 speared to death Nate Saint and Ed McCully, two of the five missionary martyrs in Ecuador, passed from this life to the next. A member of the once fierce Huaorani tribe, Mincaye had come to Christ, and was a transformed man, a delightful brother who was a joy to be with.”

Corona Blues

There are some really helpful resources here for individuals and organizations, though the primary audience is pastors. “Rather than being a restful break from the normal round of meetings and commitments this time has felt pressured and fretful. How can shepherds really know what is happening amongst the flock when we are physically separated from them? It’s no wonder that emotions have fluctuated.”

Why Evangelicals Must Engage Roman Catholicism

Leonardo De Chirico: “As I speak to different audiences and at various conferences, the question comes back over and over again: why should Evangelicals bother engaging Roman Catholicism? Let me suggest four reasons.”

We Are All Shut-Ins Now: 3 Lessons I Don’t Want to Forget About Ministry to Shut-Ins

“We are all shut-ins now. We are home but we have found just how exhausting it can be to be home all of the time. The daily grind begins to get at us mentally and socially in a way we never expected. We are restricted, but hopefully we have learned some empathy in our restrictions.”

Few Churches Gathered, More Moved Online in April

Facts & Trends rounds up some interesting data from Lifeway Research on how churches have changed and adapted in the past two months. As 2020 dawned, could anyone have imagined a scenario in which only 4% of American churches would meet on Sunday, April 19?

Pastoring in a Pandemic

9Marks is putting together a collection of articles about pastoring in a pandemic. They’ve got articles for pastors facing burnout, pastors who are live-streaming (and who are not live-streaming), for churches who are wondering how to celebrate communion, and so on.

Flashback: If Only I Had Been Saved By Merit!

One of the hardest tasks for every Christian is to deeply believe and forever remember that we’ve been saved by grace. One of the sweetest disciplines for every Christian is to meditate upon the grace that God extends to the undeserving.

God cares much more about our character than about our competencies. He cares much more about our works being good works—works done in holiness, in love for others—than about the sheer volume of works we accomplish.

—Geoff Robson

  • O Jesus I Have Promised

    Give Me Grace to Follow!

    Knowing that we can be self-deceived, we must examine our lives to ensure we are living as Christians are called to live—that we are putting sin to death, that we are coming alive to righteousness, and that we are finding ever-greater joy in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And always we must pray…

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    A La Carte (October 9)

    A La Carte: The normalization of slander / Doctrine and formation / Destructive relationships / Why Satan wants you to think you’re alone / Laughing at yourself is grace / and more.

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    A La Carte (October 8)

    A La Carte: A Christian response to polygamy, incest, and pedophilia / 10 diagnostic questions for you and your spouse / neither despair nor blind optimism / To confront or to cover / Did Jesus lie to his brothers? / Huge book and commentary sales!

  • What Is “The End” of Religious Liberty?

    This week, the blog is sponsored by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article is adapted from Jason G. Duesing’s chapel message, “A Portrait of the End of Religious Liberty,” given during the Spring 2024 semester at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College. You can watch the full message here.   The beautiful hymn in Philippians 2 tells of the humbling, sacrifice,…

  • We All Want More of God

    We All Want More of God

    We all want more of God. Anyone who professes to be a Christian will acknowledge a sense of sorrow and disappointment when they consider how little they know of God and how little they experience of his presence. Every Christian or Christianesque tradition acknowledges this reality and offers a means to address it.

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    A La Carte (October 7)

    A La Carte: Lighten my load or strengthen my back / Why Gen Z men are staying in church / Do hurricanes just happen? / Failure happens slowly before it happens suddenly / A tale of two wisdoms / Kindle deals / and more.