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A La Carte (5/6)

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Consumer Debt Is Not Your Friend – Seth Godin explains why you need to get out of debt (or better yet, not get there in the first place).

Deacons Are Shock Absorbers – Thabiti’s got a roundup of the content from the latest edition of the 9Marks eJournal (which looks particularly helpful this time around).

Why Words Matter in Worship – Stephen Altrogge, who recently shared some ways to write really bad worship songs, responds to this common belief: “What matters most in a worship song is the heart behind the song. If it comes from a person’s heart and is a sincere act of worship, then it’s a good worship song.”

How Expositional Preaching Protects Pastors – “During the second T4G panel discussion Mark Dever and Al Mohler discussed evangelism, preaching, and the hesitancy among some Christians to speak openly on tough subjects like God’s judgment. The conversation moves from evangelism to a discussion of how expositional preaching helps steady the preacher against the temptation to avoid tough topics.” Tony Reinke provides a transcript.

What Happens When You Don’t Obey “Be Fruitful and Multiply” – “Japan had fewer youngsters celebrating Children’s Day for the 29th straight year Wednesday, highlighting concerns that the country may face difficulty finding enough workers and taxpayers to support a rapidly aging population.” (HT:Z)

I Can Only Imagine – In this review of the latest album from MercyMe i noticed an interesting fact: Their song “I Can Only Imagine” was recently awarded platinum status in the digital domain for 1 million downloads, a first in Christian music.

The Jesus Cookie – It’s delicious, I’m sure. But what exactly is the purpose of the Jesus Cookie?


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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,…