Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (December 16)

wednesday

Logos users, remember to check out the 12 Days of Logos. The deals include a bunch of my recommendations for OT commentaries, a number of complete commentary sets (NICOT, Welwyn, etc), and the complete NSBT set. There are some really good deals to be had.

Think You Know the Christmas Story? Here are Five Common Misconceptions

Michael Kruger, a New Testament scholar, addresses five common misconceptions about Christmas.

Is Christmas a Pagan Rip-off?

Meanwhile, Kevin DeYoung answers this question: Is Christmas a pagan rip-off?

Give the Gift of AGTV

Christmas is fast approaching, and what better way to love your friends and family than with sound, biblical teaching. You can gift someone the new streaming service, AGTV, for just $5.99 a month or $64.99 for a year, so they can watch films and documentaries like American Gospel, Luther, Calvinist, Christianity Explored, and Epic. (Sponsored)

Vaccines and the Christian Worldview

Al Mohler has written a long article about the COVID-19 vaccine and its implications for Christians. “What should Christians think about vaccines and their use? What ethical and theological questions arise? Do the COVID-19 vaccines bring unique moral questions? What does the Christian worldview have to say about the entire set of questions? Let me offer seven points for consideration.”

Thoughts on My Anxiety

Todd Pruitt: “I have assembled a few thoughts on anxiety which I hope will at least help sufferers make sense of what they are experiencing. I also hope that those who do not struggle with anxiety chronically will gain a little insight into the lives of those who do.”

Shepherds Abiding in Their Field, Keeping Watch

“Picture a couple of shepherds. They’re just watching the sheep under the stars, like they have for years, maybe decades. And two of the guys, buddies, lean against a boulder, watching the flock. Two months earlier they were leaning against that same rock, like they had so many times before, and one shepherd — let’s call him Sal — says to the other, ‘Hey, Ernie.’ (Let’s pretend the other guy’s name is Ernie.) And Ernie says, ‘Yeah?’ ‘Do you ever sit and think to yourself,’ Sal says, ‘if any of that Messiah stuff is true?’” Jared Wilson imagines it…

Lessons for the Hospital

Kathryn Butler: “Whatever the circumstances, illness can stir up fears we never knew we harbored. Although medication can dull our pain, and therapies can slow cancer in its march, no pat answers can sponge away such fears. The wounds course too deep, and the nightmares linger too long after we’ve awoken from anesthesia.”

Flashback: The Visionary Worrywart

Where a visionary has an optimistic view of the future based on his ability to see current patterns and predict a better alternative, a worrier sees the future in great detail, but always in gory detail.

Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules.

—Jonathan Edwards

  • 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,…