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A La Carte (December 15)

thursday

Grace and peace to you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include quite a nice little selection.

Westminster Books has a great deal on a new study Bible that looks quite interesting: The ESV Church History Study Bible.

(Yesterday on the blog: What I Long for More than Miracles)

One Hope for Our Mass Derangement

I recently commended Alistair Begg’s series on Romans 1 and biblical sexuality. He’s got an article on it at TGC that is drawn from that series and well worth reading.

God or Money: Detangling a Complicated Relationship

“Christians have a complicated relationship with money and gospel ministry.” Renee Zou provides some help detangling it in this article.

Putting the Mess in Christmess

“The history surrounding Christmas has been anything but peace on earth and goodwill toward men. While contemporary religious and cultural traditions may evoke a certain nostalgia for its celebration, its history is actually a mess! One big mess — with feverish disagreements, hostility, and even rioting.”

You Don’t Need to Apologize for Crying

“It isn’t uncommon for people to apologize for crying during a meeting. Why do you think this is the case? While it could be for a variety of reasons, two are especially prevalent.”

Hope > Optimism

Seth explains why hope beats optimism. “I’ve always been an optimist. I’ve got so much optimism I can be an optimist for you as well, if you want me to. I can believe all the best things about your future and mine. It comes naturally for me, so it’s no trouble. The only trouble with the whole thing is the trouble that keeps popping up and spoiling my optimistic outlooks. Sometimes everything doesn’t work out. Sometimes it’s not ok. Sometimes it’s not grand, it’s not good, and it’s not even fine.”

Broken Angels

Donna reflects on some of what she’s thinking and feeling as she approaches her first Christmas without her son.

Flashback: He Gives His Beloved Sleep

Of all the divine thoughts recorded in the pages of sacred writ, of all the promises God provides to humanity, perhaps none is more moving, none more blessed, none more needful than this: He gives his beloved sleep.

It is tempting to draw inward and focus on survival when life is hard. But remember that holding on to Christ is survival, and it’s how we let perseverance complete its work.

—Glenna Marshall

  • The Tallest Trees

    The Winds Blow Hardest Against the Tallest Trees

    Through the weekend had many questions about Christian leaders who fall. And I expressed that just as the winds blow hardest against the tallest trees, so temptations may press hardest against the leaders who rise the highest. Just as floods press against shallow roots, so seductive desires rise up against those whose fall would bring…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 21)

    A La Carte: Toxic servant leadership / Taking our stress to the Lord / The problem with habits / Is it wrong for Christians to choose cremation? / Why does your church meet in a house? / Big book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • Expectations

    Why We Ask So Little of God

    Most Christians expect little from God, ask little, and therefore receive little, and are content with little. Though the Bible calls us to pray and though it promises that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,” we can still have very modest expectations of what God will accomplish through…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 19)

    A La Carte: Why man needs God / Why nails matter / Kids’ picture books / MLK’s famous letter changed a DC church / How to mentor / A tearless eternity / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    This weeks Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away a bundle of their best-selling Good Book Guides that are designed to guide your head and your heart through God’s word. Each Good Book Guide includes a concise leader’s guide in the back.  The Bundle includes: Giveaway Rules: You…

  • A Light on the Hill

    A Light on the Hill

    In early 2020, CHBC, along with almost every other church in the world, was forced to contend with the opening days of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time Caleb Morell was working as Pastor Mark Dever’s personal assistant. Dever tasked him with finding out how the church had responded to the Spanish flu epidemic a…