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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

  • 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.