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A La Carte (December 26)

A La Carte Thursday 1

I trust you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we did. The Lord is good to give us days to rest and simply enjoy his gifts.

It is a bit of a slow stretch for Kindle deals, but be sure to check in after 6:30 AM and I’ll see what I can find.

The Thief’s Good Works

Jackson Gravitt provides a couple of perspectives on the thief’s good works.

It’s a Wonderful Strife

“Shaping rock, shaping students; I’d be hard-pressed to say which is more difficult. Rock is less resistant to change and fights back far less often, but again, it’s just rock in the end. Students, while tough as granite at times, are well worth the effort – well worth the strife.” Josh reflect on this “wonderful strife.”

Hospitality: The Forgotten Qualification

“When considering the qualifications for elders, ‘able to teach’ is often recognized as the one qualification uniquely required for the office. Certainly, the unique role of elders centers on ‘the ministry of the word.’ But another qualification is often missed or underdeveloped, which is vitally supplemental to the teaching ministry.”

How Should I Spend My Time During the Final Days of the Year?

There’s an important challenge here. “Christians love to debate the final days on Earth, but few Christians discuss the final days of the year. Effective time stewardship is crucial during the last days of December because the way you spend this time will influence how you begin the new year. If done well, you’ll start 2025 with a burst of energy and enthusiasm. But if done poorly, you may start the new year feeling sluggish.”

Give Me Faith

Here’s a new poem that has a good message.

5 Lessons for New Church Planters

Church planters will benefit from these lessons.

Flashback: When I Get to the End of the Way

“By and by I shall see him and praise him, in the city of unending day, and the toils of the road will seem nothing, when I get to the end of the way.”

Legalistic remorse says, “I broke God’s rules,” while real repentance says, “I broke God’s heart.”

—Tim Keller

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (December 26)

    A La Carte: The thief’s good works / It’s a wonderful strife / The forgotten qualification / How to spend your time during the final days of the year / A new poem / Lessons for church planters/ and more.

  • Merry Christmas

    Merry Christmas, My Friends

    Merry Christmas, my friends. I trust you are enjoying this day, whether with friends or family or in solitude. As for us, we are having a quiet morning with just the three of us. Abby, Nate, and Finn will come by later in the day as will Aileen’s parents so we can celebrate and enjoy…

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    A La Carte (December 24)

    A La Carte: Holiday blues / Biblical justice requires strong rules of evidence / Christmas used to be perfect (then I grew up) / Praise God for boring days / What did Mary know? / In awe of the aged / and more.

  • No Matter How You Plan To Read The Bible In 2025 We Can Help

    This week the blog is sponsored by Into the Word and is written by Pastor Paul Carter. No matter how you plan to read the Bible in 2025, Into the Word wants to help! Into the Word began in 2017 with a simple mission: to help people read, love and live the whole counsel of…

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    Devotionals I Recommend For a New Year

    With 2024 quickly waning, many of us are beginning to think about a devotional approach for the year ahead. Some are looking for a resource that will serve as the main component of their devotions and others for something that will be merely supplementary. Either way, I’ve collected some of the resources I most recommend…

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    A La Carte (December 23)

    A La Carte: Christmas as crisis / How not to use AI / What gifts would wise women bring? / 5 habits that changed my life / Beauty and brokenness / Kindle deals / and more.