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A La Carte (February 9)

wednesday

The Lord bless you and keep you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include Alistair Begg’s excellent new book Brave by Faith.

Wordle and Our Longing for the Limited

Chris Martin reflects on an interesting cultural phenomenon: “The most consequential cultural phenomenon of this, the year of our Lord, 2022 is a once-a-day word game made by a computer coder for his significant other.”

Laughter 101: Why Humor Matters for the Christian Life

“How many philosophers does it take to explain a joke? Quite a few, as it turns out. And not only philosophers. Psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists have exerted themselves to explain exactly what makes people laugh. Although everybody understands intuitively what humor is, the concept of humor is still elusive, being difficult to define in a way that encompasses all of its facets.”

About Radius International Church-Planting Training

In this short video Brooks Buser, President of Radius International talks about church-planting training for missionary candidates going to unreached language groups. Learn how Radius can be a benefit to your church and mission candidates. (Sponsored Link)

Does the Woman Caught in Adultery Belong in the Bible?

“The story of the Woman Caught in Adultery (John 7:53–8:11) is arguably one of the most beloved Jesus stories in the New Testament … However, the story is missing from some ancient manuscripts of John, as noted already by early church fathers like Jerome and Augustine. For this and other reasons, a majority of modern scholars regard the passage as a later insertion, and some even want to remove it altogether from our Bibles.” Here’s one take on the passage…

Boycott China’s Winter Olympics? Many American Christians Agree

CT covers the issues of boycotting the Olympics because of China’s persecution of Christians, Uyghurs, and others.

I Was Patient Before Having Kids

Erik Raymond: “Recently a friend said, ‘I was much more patient before I had kids.’ Saying this tongue in cheek, he meant that he’s realized that since becoming a dad, he struggles with patience. Now we know that having children doesn’t evaporate the parent’s reservoir of patience they previously enjoyed. Instead, being a parent presents a new set of challenges that reveal a lack of patience that was already there.”

When Pressing “Unfollow” is Not an Option

“How does one navigate the complexities of the modern age? What do we do when an opposing point of view is not encountered on a screen, but rather, face-to-face? What do we do when a coworker disagrees with us on a matter we deem important? How do we interact with an instructor who promotes an idea different from our held beliefs?”

Flashback: God, Protect My Girls

One of my most common prayers for my girls is a prayer for their protection. Here is how I pray for God to protect them.

God is the best friend, but the worst enemy. If he can look men into their grave how far can he throw them?

—Thomas Watson

  • Happy Lies

    Happy Lies

    I’m quite certain you have heard of the New Age movement. Though its popularity seems to have crested and begun to wane some time ago, it continues to wield a good bit of influence. But I wonder if you’ve heard of another similarly-named but quite different movement called New Thought.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 28)

    A La Carte: Parenting is hard / The wildness of orthodoxy / Rubbing shoulders throughout eternity / Glorifying ourselves / The middle of somewhere / Is Roman Catholic baptism valid? / Excellent Kindle deals / and more.

  • Who Am I?

    It is not simply that we as a culture have lost our knowledge of God, but that in so doing we have also lost sight of ourselves. “Who am I?” is the question of the age.

  • Church cemetery

    If I Could Change Anything about the Modern Church

    I have often been asked what I consider the greatest weakness of today’s church or what I would change about today’s church if I could. Such questions make for good discussion at a conference Q&A session but they are also pretty much impossible to answer in a compelling way. It’s not like any of us…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 27)

    A La Carte: To men delaying marriage / A mother unknown / Steve Lawson update / Three essential values for effective teamwork / God is good even when he doesn’t do what we want / Kindle deals.

  • Closet

    How To Learn To Pray

    Christians are well-resourced with tremendous books that teach the theology and the practice of prayer. Many churches and ministries offer powerful classes that teach why we must pray and how we must pray. We are truly blessed.