Skip to content ↓
A La Carte Collection cover image

On Friday evening I’ll be speaking at the 8th Letter Conference here in town. My task is to prepare a letter to the church in North America; this letter is to bring what I think is the message the church needs to hear. It is going to be a wide and diverse audience, I think, and I am looking forward to addressing it. Pray for me, won’t you, as I narrow in on exactly what I want to say?

The Gadarene – John Piper is about to release his first graphic novel (!) and Drew Blom has a couple of them he is going to give away. Here’s a video introduction to the book. You’ll have to visit the link above for your chance to win one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QeaaYEyrjQ?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999

The Ordinary Pastors Project – The Gospel Coalition is beginning what it’s calling The Ordinary Pastors Project. “The ordinary pastor is not alone in his discouragement. Overburdened and overworked, famous pastors must also deal with discouragement. But they have fans. And fan pages on Facebook. Their discouragement draws interviews and grabs the attention of book publishers. All this turns into an encouraging opportunity altogether foreign to the experience of the ordinary pastor.”

Fighting For Life – Here’s an interesting article by Lila Rose, the young woman who is waging war against Planned Parenthood.

Atheists Know Their Religion – This isn’t good. It also isn’t surprising. “A new survey of Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.”

Why All Good Christians Should Celebrate Halloween – The title is a little bit overstated, but I do enjoy most of what this blogger has to say about Halloween.

When Do I Tell My Kids About Sex? – This is a very helpful response to a question every Christian parent asks at one time or another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_eNrG-Ukmw?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999

People do not seek God. They seek after the benefits that only God can give them. The sin of fallen man is this: Man seeks the benefits of God while at the same time fleeing from God himself. We are, by nature, fugitives.

—R.C. Sproul

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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,…