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A La Carte (11/30)

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And another month draws to a close. I may have said something like this at the beginning of November (or October or September). But somehow it feels like the pace of life is accelerating, like time is just going by at a ridiculous rate. If you have figured out a way of slowing down time, do let me know.

Touching Sensitive Areas (TSA) – Doug Wilson does a great job in this article. You may need a thesaurus. “If they were worried about terrorists, they would be looking for terrorists, and not for my nail clippers. Their procedures are risible, their hubris astounding, their reasons justifying that hubris minimal, and their folly incandescent.”

ESVs On Sale – For the next couple of days Westminster Books has all of their ESVs 45% off. That includes pew Bibles and the paperbacks that are great for handing out in large quantities.

A Bully Finds a Pulpit – This article from the New York Times points out one of Google’s major failings: it doesn’t distinguish between good press and bad press. Therefore either one can help people rise through the rankings. And that in turn means that some people will deliberately seek to generate bad buzz. Which, as you can appreciate, isn’t a good thing.

The Zuckerberg Revolution – This article offers some good thoughts on the printing press and social media. The author suggests that social media have increased the volume of our communications yet diminished the substance of them.

Pray! App – I haven’t had time to use it yet, but this app looks useful. It’s meant to be used in organizing prayer requests in a simple, logical, efficient way. I’m not nuts about using technology for things like this, but that’s preference more than law.

What I receive for my ministry is not a tenth of what I could readily earn in an engagement infinitely less laborious and harassing than my present position; although, be it added, I would not leave my ministry for ten thousand worlds.

—C.H. Spurgeon

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    A La Carte (November 21)

    A La Carte: Lessons from Trump’s and Harris’s social media campaigns / What is my spiritual gift? / The messages we receive / 10 mistakes I’ve made in preaching / Big Kindle and book sales / and more.

  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

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    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.

  • What Grieves the Heart of God

    What Grieves the Heart of God?

    What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…