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A La Carte (9/27)

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18 People in My Truck – I love reading dispatches from the mission front.

Losing Is Good For You – “As children return to school this fall and sign up for a new year’s worth of extracurricular activities, parents should keep one question in mind. Whether your kid loves Little League or gymnastics, ask the program organizers this: ‘Which kids get awards?’ If the answer is, ‘Everybody gets a trophy,’ find another program.”

The Danger of Forgiving Yourself – “One of the more interesting teachings which has crept into the Christian world view is the idea of self-forgiveness. ‘You just need to forgive yourself’ is one of the standard ways this secular doctrine is put forth. I’m not exactly sure how it became such a supported teaching in the mainstream Christian consciousness, though I do have a pretty good idea of some of its secular counterparts.”

Oprah and Bell – “Eckhart Tolle. Rhonda Byrne. Elizabeth Gilbert. …Rob Bell? Yes, the moment has arrived. … Oprah has added Rob Bell to her list of must-read spiritual gurus.”

Behind the Blog – I enjoyed doing a brief interview with John. You can read it here, if you’re interested.

Christians and Social Media – Here are fifteen questions to ask about your use of social media.

We rob the gospel of its power if we leave out its threatenings of punishment.

—C.H. Spurgeon

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  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (February 28)

    A La Carte: Rhett & Link and cherry-picking Jesus / lost pieces of a good romance / New from CityAlight / Tim Keller was the king of endnotes / Lead a church without losing your soul / Do we ever stop grieving? / Book sale / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (February 27)

    A La Carte: Different than I expected / The indispensable inefficiency of prayer / Dumb church / Pleading the blood / Love songs and Christian marriage / Acts of God / and more.

  • The Quest for More

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    Somewhere deep inside, each one of us longs for more. We want more money, more authority, more followers, more of whatever it is that we find especially desirable or especially validating. “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,” says the Sage, “and never satisfied are the eyes of man” (Proverbs 27:20). We live within a vicious…

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    A La Carte (February 26)

    A La Carte: IVF is not pro-family / You’re not a machine / We need you to write / A shard, a sharpener, and sin / Wandering / Defining “nation” / Journaling Bibles / and more.

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    A La Carte (February 25)

    A La Carte: John Piper on AI sermons / David and Jonathan / You are a burden / Don’t preach a commentary / Why I complain / many Kindle deals / and more.