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A La Carte (11/20)

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Be the Church?
A long time ago I was part of a church that began to say “Don’t go to church; be the church.” Jeff Purswell has written an article showing why this is not good theology. “Now, despite the element of truth (God’s people are the church), there are all kinds of things wrong with this statement. But behind the words is obviously someone’s disappointment (and possibly disillusionment) with organized Christianity. And although I’d guess that many Christians would reject this false choice, their attitude to Sunday gatherings of the church may reveal a similar apathy.”


Praying Scripturally
Ligon Duncan is beginning what looks like an interesting series of blogs. It will deal with praying scripturally. “Few of us, probably, are satisfied with our private, family, and corporate prayer habits. And surely we all recognize that the Church of our day, at least in our land, is weak in the way of prayer. We do not pray often. We do not pray with Scriptural proportion, nor does our prayer much reflect the language and thought of the Bible. We do not pray fervently.”


The Personal Promise Bible
After a while I hardly even know what to say anymore. “Have you ever inserted your name as you read the Bible to make it more personal? Now you can experience the reality of God’s love and promises in a way you never thought possible. In the Personal Promise Bible, you will read your first name personalized in over 5,000 places throughout the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs, over 7,000 places throughout the complete Old and New Testaments.” So I could have a version of the Bible that translates 2 Peter 1:4, “By which He has granted to Tim His precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these Tim may become a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.”


The Bible by Numbers: Multiples of Eleven
Just for fun, here is a list of significant numbers in the Bible, each of which is a multiple of eleven.


15 Google Interview Questions to Make You Feel Stupid
Here are the kinds of questions you might be asked if you try to get a job with Google…


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    Weekend A La Carte (February 22)

    A La Carte: The ‘ordo amoris’ and immigration policy / Sin casts a long shadow / But For the Cross of Christ (a new song) / Don’t wait to be thankful / Prayers for scrupulosity / and more.

  • Either Or

    Either/Or or Both/And?

    It is sometimes difficult to know how to follow Jesus. It is sometimes difficult to encounter a situation, look to Scripture, and know how to live in a distinctly Christian way. Often it seems there are two options before us that appear to stand opposite one another. Do we respond by expressing truth or by…

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    A La Carte (February 21)

    A La Carte: The heavy seasons of life / Going against the grain / Should we call God mother? / If faithfulness isn’t the highest priority / A heart for adoption / and more.

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    A La Carte (February 20)

    A La Carte: Defining healthy masculinity / The women who disappeared / Dear older women / When leaders fall, are you next? / A Storm in the Desert / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Building Churches

    Building Churches Out of Other Churches

    What is your church really made of? Or perhaps better said, who is your church really made of? This is something we all do well to ponder from time to time, for there are good ways and bad ways, better ways and worse ways to fill a church.

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    A La Carte (February 19)

    A La Carte: Don’t let your fears hold back your children / Denominations in an age of online over-exposure / Full-circle prayers / Secret things and revealed things / Building habits / John Mark Comer’s view of God / and more.