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A La Carte (December 20)

thursday

There isn’t much to report for Kindle deals, though don’t skip yesterday’s list since it was pretty amazing.

Logos users: Base packages are on sale until the end of the year. There’s a flash sale on some solid Zondervan products. And there’s just a lot of other stuff on sale.

(Yesterday on the blog: 10 Ideas and 10 Tips for Family Devotions in 2019)

Since God Is Father, We Have Fathers

Wyatt Graham establishes the proper order. “When we hear God called Father, we think of biological fathers. If we had a good father, we may perceive God as someone good like dad was. But if we had a bad father, then calling God Father may sour our understanding of God. And while fathers on earth are analogies of the Father in heaven, we should affirm that human fathers do not define God as Father. Actually, fathers receive their name from God who was already the Father before he created the world.”

Reading Scripture Rightly

There’s some wise counsel here that pertains to our Bible study. “In some odd cases, the meaning of the first statement is turned on its head and all the potency is excised from the text by our propensity to blend all seemingly contrary thoughts together. As we read, we say, ‘Christ does not really mean we are to give up our possessions because in this place He says that some believers are wealthy.’ So as we read we are denying the statement before we let it say anything to us. And, without intending to do so, we are telling ourselves and perhaps others that it would have been better if Jesus would have said something much more benign.”

Does an Eternal Hell Call Into Question God’s Love? (Video)

I really appreciated this answer to the question.

2018: A Christian Music Review

Every year Jeremy Howard makes up an extensive list of the best Christian music of the year. You may enjoy listening to some of his top picks.

Salvation by Way of Everything You Would Rather Avoid

Stephen Kneale explores God’s unexpected ways of bringing his people to himself. “So how can it be that a Catholic caused my friend to find the Biblical Jesus? That was the means God used to set my friend on a search for the Biblical Jesus. And in their search for the Biblical Jesus, they happened to walk into a Biblically faithful church who taught them about him. My friend didn’t come to imbibe the demi-gospel of Catholicism because of that Catholic priest; they came to accept the Biblical gospel because they went searching for Christ as a result of the kindness of that particular priest. God can use whatever means he wills to bring about his purposes.”

An Open Letter to the Depressed Christian at Christmas

Perhaps this will speak to you if you’re feeling sad or depressed at the approach of the Christmas season.

What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370? (Video)

It remains such a mystery.

Flashback: A Christmas Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Nativity Story?

How well do you know the nativity story? This short quiz is designed to help you find out!

The call of God does what the call of man cannot. It raises the dead.

—John Piper

  • 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…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (April 18)

    A La Carte: John Piper on being a loner / Snapchat is harming children / The most radical thing / How not to be secular / Three commentary mistakes / Jesus, your sorrow-bearer / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (April 17)

    A La Carte: The vibe shift / The Jurassic Park principle of Christian freedom / This is what power looks like / Don’t stay in the puddles / The awkwardness of Easter / Kindle deals / and more.