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A La Carte (April 24)

Today’s Kindle deals include a series of titles from Crossway that deal with deep theology.

God Desires To Bless You Infinitely More Than You Can Imagine

There’s an encouraging thought: “He has made an unbreakable, unchangeable promise to never stop doing good to us.”

The Quiet Plague of Painkillers

This one is from Desiring God: “Although heroin accounts for many such deaths, more familiar medications pave a path to heroin. Coincident with rising death rates, sales of prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone quadrupled between 1999 and 2010.”

When Anger Rears Its Ugly Head

“It happened again, at the end of a very long day with our young children, when my husband called on his way home from work and asked me how I was. I told him. And it wasn’t pretty. And when he got home I told him again. It was loud, it was thoughtless, and our kids witnessed it all.”

If the Arabian Empire Reunited (Video)

I enjoy this kind of what-if video. “The Arabian Empire once extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the border of India. It was the largest empire that the world had ever seen up to that point, so what would things look like if this empire was suddenly re-created today? Watch this video and satisfy your curiosity!”

3 Problems with the Benedict Option

Jesse Johnson points out 3 issues with the Benedict Option: “necessitates a revisionist view of history (which I’ll call a “racial” problem), lacks the gospel (or, the “Catholic problem”), and sacrifices religious freedom (a “Baptist” problem).”

Verses to Meditate on When Considering Missions

Here are some verses that are good to ponder if you are feeling that tug to missions.

African American Preaching

Barry York, who represents a Reformed Presbyterian denomination, considers why African American preachers are often such effective communicators. “Instead of the linear style of preaching common to Reformed churches, African American preaching is usually rich in themes that are woven into their discourse and which are meditated upon for an extended time.”

Flashback: Stuff Christians Say

We don’t all need to run around like young seminarians, thrilled with new words and assuming that everyone else shares that enthusiasm. But neither should we run away from them.

Knowledge is proud that she knows so much; wisdom is humble that she knows no more.

—William Cowper

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  • 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,…