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Weekend A La Carte (September 11)

weekend

May the Lord bless and keep you this weekend as you serve him and delight in him.

As usual, there are some Kindle deals to look at.

(Yesterday on the blog: If You Could Go Back To Any Moment In Time…)

Even To Old Age and Gray Hairs

William Farley shares some thoughts on grandparenting. “Today’s influential grandparent recognizes that they face challenges previous generations did not. Old age is not respected, families are shrinking, and the desire to flee to permanent vacation tempts those with the resources.”

The Preaching Class with John Piper

“John Piper—co-founder of Desiring God, former preaching pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, and author of The Supremacy of God in Preaching and Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship—has recorded 19 mini-lectures on preaching (about 10 minutes each, for a total of about four hours). This is then followed by a two-and-a-half hour workshop where Piper is joined by three younger local preaching pastors to talk through various issues.”

Inviting Afghan Refugees Over for Dinner

While Afghan refugees are on so many minds, this may be a good time to read about ways to extend hospitality to people from the Middle East and Central Asia. “Statistically, most of these refugees will never be invited into a Westerner’s home for tea, dinner, or for a holiday. Imagine the powerful kindness, then, felt by a new refugee family who experiences an exception and is welcomed into your home – and the format of the evening is even somewhat familiar for them.”

Breaching the Weismann barrier

“A cardinal rule in biology is that the body cells and reproductive cells are separate in higher organisms.
This is called the Weismann barrier, after famous German evolutionist August Weismann who discovered it. It was he who first realized the difference between the reproductive cells and the body cells in higher organisms.” In this article (and video) Robert Carter explains how the barrier has been breached and what it means.

Do You Believe in Magic? Magic for Americans

Dave Hare finishes us an interesting look at magic as understand in an American and African context. “The greatest danger for Americans today is that we are tempted to act as though the spiritual does not exist. We are tempted to live as though people are our enemies. We are tempted to drug ourselves into ignoring the attacks of the Devil.”

Making Our Gardens Grow

Janie B. Cheaney: “Gardening is more than sweet resignation, though. It’s the creation mandate at ground level while rejoicing in (and struggling with) sun, soil, wind, and rain. It’s the wonder of a tiny, mighty seed and being front-row witnesses to our God’s prodigal abundance.”

Give Me Nineteen Men

“Where are we in missions to the Muslim world on this twentieth anniversary of 9/11? If we look only at surface realities, we may easily lose hope.” Mack Stiles tells us why we need not and must not lose hope.

Flashback: The Greatest Burden of Leadership

The burden of responsibility is light compared to the burden of insufficiency, inability, or just plain failure.

The clear message from Genesis to Revelation is either go to hell with your own righteousness, or go to heaven with the righteousness of Christ credited to your account by faith alone. Faith in Christ is saving; faith in anything or anyone else is superstition.

—Michael Horton

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    The Night Is Far Gone

    There are few things in life more shameful than sleeping when you ought to be working, or slacking off when you ought to be diligent. When your calling is to be active, it is inappropriate and even sinful to remain passive. This is especially true when it comes to contexts that are of the highest…

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    A La Carte (April 15)

    A La Carte: Personal reflections on the 2024 eclipse / New earth books / 7 questions that teens need to answer / Was there really no death before the fall? / How to be humble instead of looking humble / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Exactly the Purpose God Intended

    Exactly the Purpose God Intended

    General revelation serves exactly the purpose God intended for it—it reveals his power and divine nature. But, its message, while important, is insufficient—insufficient by design. Though general revelation tells us about the existence of God, it does not tell us about how to be reconciled to God.

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    Weekend A La Carte (April 13)

    A La Carte: The pain of being single; the love that holds me fast / The Christian response to cultural catastrophe / The reduction of public Bible reading / All Things (a new song) / Why should I go to church? / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (Moody Publishers)

    This giveaway is sponsored by Moody Publishers, who also sponsored the blog last week with Overflowing Mercies. Attention all Bible scholars, believers in the power of faith, and lovers of the Word! Learn about God’s divine mercy and compassion with our exclusive Bible Study Giveaway. Win the ultimate bible study library including Overflowing Mercies by…

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    How Should We Then Die?

    Euthanasia makes a lot of sense. At least in our culture at this time, it makes intuitive sense that those who are ill without hope for a cure or those who are in pain without likelihood of relief ought to be able to choose to end their own lives. Our culture assumes there are few…