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A La Carte (January 13)

thursday

Grace and peace to you, my friends.

Today’s Kindle deals include two good books I don’t think I’ve ever seen on sale before.

(Yesterday on the blog: Don’t Be Reckless With What Others Count Precious)

The Vertical, Horizontal, and Inward Realities of Sin

“Sin is never done in isolation. In fact, there are vertical, horizontal, and inward effects of it.” David Qaoud explains.

How Paul Measured the Missionary Task

This article makes some good and useful points about the missionary task.

The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

“‘Imaginary gardens with real toads in them.’ That’s how one writer has described the parables of Jesus. They are imaginative stories, but they relate to real life. They are imaginary gardens, but they have real toads in them. Often those toads are us.” This is a short but helpful look at one of those parables and an explanation of why establishing context is so important to the task of interpretation.

The Success Of Others

Seth considers all he sees of others through social media and asks, “how does my own life measure up to theirs? Is my life still important if it doesn’t include the same kinds of successes that I see other people achieving and enjoying? If they reach higher and go further than I do, am I just one more loser bringing up the rear in some kind of cosmic reality show competition?”

How Much Can the Most Famous Dead Sea Scroll Prove?

Here’s a look at some of what we learn from the most famous of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

What Are Your gods of 2022?

Sylvia Schroeder considers the old god Dagon and what we can learn from a strange story in 1 Samuel.

Flashback: The Greatest Christians and the Most Visible Gifts

…is it possible we tacitly communicate that some gifts are better than others, that some are more desirable than others, that some are more essential than others? Is it possible we suggest that the greatest Christians are those with the most visible gifts?

The cross and tomb are where we are invited into the kingdom, and where chaos begins to be transformed into peace.

—Alistair Begg

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    Weekend A La Carte (February 1)

    A La Carte: The rise of the right-wing exvangelical / A tested faith / Are we alone in the universe? / No one’s born to preach / Associate pastor, it’s good to be second / Why Christians care about submission and authority / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (Boyce College/D3)

    Pastors and Parents are always on the lookout for good discipleship resources for teens. You just might be the person who wins these items for free through the D3/Boyce College Giveaway.

  • Mothering Against Futility

    The Futility of Motherhood

    Life is made up of so much that gives the appearance of being futile. There are so many tasks and responsibilities that we intellectually know to be important but emotionally feel to be fruitless. And if everyone struggles with this to varying degrees, I have it on good authority that mothers are prone to struggle…

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    A La Carte (January 31)

    A La Carte: Dune and female moral authority / Three lies that separate spouses / Sin makes you stupid / Can a fallen pastor be restored? / Evaluating Trump’s first week of executive actions / A future for the family / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable Christian Books for January 2025

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of books in January and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I have…

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    A La Carte (January 30)

    A La Carte: Small injustices / Is it necessary to be a church member? / How to make friends at college / My letter about a transgender teacher / Prayerless theologians / Deepening fellowship / Kindle deals / and more.