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A La Carte (October 23)

monday

Good morning from Oakville. After a very enjoyable weekend in Louisville (spent mostly with Third Avenue Baptist Church) I’m glad, as always, to be back home.

Kindle book collectors will want to take a look at today’s roundup.

(Yesterday on the blog: Worship Round the World: Pressing On and Nearing the End)

The Question Your Kids Shouldn’t Be Asking

I agree with Melissa: This is a question your kids shouldn’t be asking.

The Origins of Deaconesses in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria

“We can learn from our brothers and sisters—their reading and applying of Scripture, and the roles and systems they built to facilitate ministry. Today, as local churches and denominations think about deploying men and women for ministry, there are patterns we can appeal to, some of which, for various reasons, dropped out of popular consciousness and church practice over the last century.”

Stream the Luther Documentary for Free

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg. Little did he know how God would use him to ignite a movement that would change the world. Witness the spark that set the Reformation ablaze by watching Luther: The Life and Legacy of the German Reformer. This documentary is freely available on Ligonier Ministries’ YouTube channel. You can also download the accompanying study guide for free. (Sponsored Link)

How Did Jesus’s Stories Get Passed On?

So how did Jesus’s stories get passed on, anyway?

Doug Wilson and Postmillennial Theonomy

I don’t often link to X (Twitter) but found this explanation of Doug Wilson’s eschatology especially helpful. “Postmillennial theonomists read the Great Commission differently. When it says, ‘Make disciples of all nations,’ they don’t read that to mean, ‘Make disciples out of the nations.’ For them, it’s literally, ‘Christ said to make Christian nations.’”

The Resilient Leader

“Although an important virtue of a leader, resilience is a characteristic every disciple of Christ is called to cultivate.” This article explains the importance of that virtue.

He Alone Does Great Wonders

“The authors of Scripture are unanimously in awe of the God about whom they are writing.” They most certainly were. And we ought to be as well.

Flashback: Young Christian: Give the Lord a Lot to Work With

Those easy and attractive things that are fun, that demand no effort, that keep you squarely in your comfort zone, and that trigger all the brain’s pleasure centers—these can keep you from doing what ultimately counts for so much more.

Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelms us.

—Jerry Bridges

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away a bundle of books for ministry leaders.  The Bundle includes: As you look at all things through the lens of the gospel, you’ll increasingly become the fully-formed follower of Jesus and servant of his church that you have been…

  • Trump, Trudeau, and the 51st State

    These are strange days in Canada. The incoming President of the United States has suddenly promised to slap a 25% tariff on cross-border trade—a tariff that has the potential to devastate the Canadian economy. Some suggest it could cost Canada a 3% hit to its economy and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (January 10)

    A La Carte: Dawkin’s gender dilemma / The worst of all possible worlds / Value character over performance / Is heaven a real place right now? / Last of the middlebrow Protestants / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

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    A La Carte: Discipleship in the Reformed world / Why Christians need to watch out for Jordan Peterson / The forbidden woman and the path to death / I’m no gambler / a firm foundation in an uncertain world / and more.

  • Thoughts on Digital Libraries in 2025

    Thoughts on Digital Libraries in 2025

    Do I have a library made up of thousands of books or do I have a library made up of a couple dozen? I suppose it depends on what you count as a book. It has been many years—at least 15, I think—since I decided to go all-in with ebooks, a decision I have stuck…

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    A La Carte (January 8)

    A La Carte: American religions / Is Eastern Orthodoxy the next big thing? / The danger of Driscoll in me / Identifying our parenting idols / True strength starts with weakness / and more.