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A La Carte (7/19)

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Time and an Eternal Perspective – Carolyn McCulley offers reflections on the way we use our time. “My ambitions about productivity have to be reshaped by the idea that I’m simply a steward. I am responsible for investing and multiplying what I receive from the Lord because I will give an account to Him one day for my activities. What isn’t from Him is a waste of time.”

Wheaton’s Contraception LawsuitChristianity Today interviews Philip Ryken about suing the government over the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services mandate. It’s quite fascinating.

African Missionaries – Conrad Mbewe asks and answers this question of the church in Africa: “Why are we not sending out African missionaries?” What a joy it is (and will be) to see people of all nations taking the gospel to all nations.

Does God Love Us By Sending Pain? – This article looks at spanking and God’s discipline. “When there is no pain in discipline, there is a chronic unpleasantness in the home rather than acute pain. Discipline must be a memorable event; it is not effective as a low-grade unpleasantness”

State of the Sexual Union – “While unmarried Christians have been given practical reasons to avoid sex, what we lack is a compelling vision of marital sex as God’s good design. We have never heard the poetry within the command to practice chastity — the ‘yes’ that the ‘no’ protects. When it comes to sex, we suffer from a theological deficit.” I agree, though I wish they had quoted less from John Paul II, though, as there are others who would have carried their arguments better. Still, it is a very helpful article.

The Divine Institution of Marriage – Here is a “Christian plea for all to recognize the Lordship of Christ, the divine nature of the institution of marriage, and the ethical and moral dimension of how we live our lives today.”

We carry an insidious prosperity gospel around in our dark, little, entitled hearts.

—Matt Chandler

  • Inventory

    The Spiritual Gift Inventory I Believe In

    In many churches, it is standard practice to have Christians take some kind of a spiritual gift inventory. Through a series of questions that probe an individual’s interests, passions, and successes, these tests claim to help people discover the ways the Holy Spirit has gifted them to better love and serve his people.

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (November 15)

    A La Carte: The archishop’s resignation / A church-wide digital detox / 10 theories of the atonement / have salt in yourselves / The Plimsoll line / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (November 14)

    A La Carte: Is Stoicism a friend of Christianity? / 11 Theses on Instagram and the modern woman / The harvest is plentiful but the workers won’t stay / The unpardonable sin / Maybe you should talk to strangers / and more.

  • Marriage Happy Marriage Holy

    Marriage Happy, Marriage Holy

    God’s purpose in marriage is not to make us happy but to make us holy. Or so we have all been told. The truth is more complicated, of course, and I’m quite certain God means for marriage to cover both. The old Anglican liturgy says marriage “was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort,…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 13)

    A La Carte: Should Christians reject slavery and affirm same-sex marriage? / Can women be deacons? / You can’t life-hack your way to holiness / When your pastor thinks he’s brother molehill / When the seeing are blind / and more.