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Weekend A La Carte (November 25)

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My gratitude goes to BJU for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their upcoming CoRE Conference which will appeal especially to those involved in counseling.

Yesterday I shared a long list of Black Friday deals. I updated the list a number of times throughout the day and most of the deals remain active through the weekend.

Find Your Fathers in Christ: Advice for Younger Men

“Over the last twenty years, I’ve had several great fathers in the faith. These men of God reached down to invest in me, and were far enough ahead of me that they could guide, challenge, and spur me on.” Marshall tells what he learned from them and encourages young men to find similar mentors.

How to Prevent a Spiritually Dry December

Ryan Higginbottom: “While there’s nothing wrong with any of these seasonal extras, here’s the truth I tend to miss. My experience of Christmas will be far deeper and more joyful if I’m connecting my activities to the Biblical truths of Christmas.”

Do You Know What Your Child Is Being Taught about Sex?

Jonathan Noyes says that “many public schools have settled for teaching your students what to think, not how to think. In the process, the pursuit of truth is abandoned for an ideology, and any speech against that ideology is stifled.” This being the case, it’s especially important for parents to be aware and be involved.

Bible people don’t want to say more or less than the Bible does

Stephen Kneale, who recently explained why he doesn’t believe the Bible mandates physical discipline (but rather permits it) goes on to describe a broader principle. “I think many of us are very quick to baptise and sanctify our applications, assuming the form of what we do is necessarily what scripture prescribes, when the most we can really say is this is alegitimate, permissible application rather than the specific requirement on all believers.”

Saved to Do Good and Love Others: Why I Do Homeless Ministry

“I didn’t get to share the gospel even once. I didn’t get to tell people that God loved them. That Jesus died for them. Friendly conversations would more often than not become one-sided where I couldn’t get a word in.” Despite this, Adam explains why ministry is valuable, even when it doesn’t lead to direct opportunities to share the gospel.

Biblical Manhood Versus Traditional African Manhood

“In the African traditional culture, there are a lot of things that define manhood.” This article at TGC Africa explains biblical manhood over against traditional African notions of it.

Flashback: How To Get Things Done: Deal With Interruptions

Dealing with interruptions requires an awareness that God is sovereign and you are not. When you trust a sovereign God you know that no interruption has caught God by surprise. This frees you from outbursts of anger or depths of despair.

We’re not adrift in chaos. We’re held in the everlasting arms. And this makes a difference. We can be at peace and we can accept.

—Elisabeth Elliot

  • Foremost false teacher

    The World’s Foremost False Teacher

    In the days since Pope Francis died, I have seen a number of Protestants write about his legacy. Some of these writers have expressed great appreciation for him while others have expressed great concern. The reactions to these articles, and especially the critiques, have been interesting to me. Some people have expressed dismay that their…

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    A La Carte (May 5)

    A La Carte: Do you see the Holy Spirit? / Joy in a doom-and-gloom news cycle / Comfort when we least expect it / How to get people to be friends with machines / The internet perpetuates our spiritual dementia / Kindle deals / and more.

  • The Dark Shadow on the Short Grave

    The Dark Shadow on the Short Grave

    As the great Friend of children stooped down and leaned toward the cradle, and took the little one in his arms and walked away with it into the bower of eternal summer, your eye began to follow him, and you followed the treasure he carried, and you have been following them ever since. And instead…

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    Weekend A La Carte (May 3)

    A La Carte: When the world seems to be winning / Carson, Keller, Piper / Honesty over performance / Those who walk with sorrow / Why God allows temptation to remain / Failing and falling / and more.

  • Schools of music

    The Three (or Four) Schools of Singing

    I have heard it said that there were traditionally three different schools of singing: French, German, and Italian. I lack the musical knowledge to confidently distinguish between them, but my understanding is that the French school values vocal clarity and agility, the German school values vocal power and drama, and the Italian school values clear…