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A La Carte (January 8)

wednesday

Today’s Kindle deals include a pretty good selection of books that cross a bunch of different categories.

A Timeshare in Babylon

This matters. “Sexual sin is not a merely ‘personal sin’, a kind of foible of our personality, a misfiring of our biology, but it is a declaration of allegiance, it is the purchase of a timeshare in Babylon. As Christians, when we sin sexually, we are handing in our heavenly passport to the offices of a hostile embassy, we are taking up the traditions of a city which is not our home, we are reserving ourselves a villa in a territory from which we are called to come out and be separate.”

Beyond the Panicky Headlines

WORLD has an illuminating interview with George Friedman, chairman of Geopolitical Futures about what happened (and what might soon happen) in Iran.

The FAQs: United Methodists Propose a Plan to Split Their Denomination

And speaking of sexual sin, the United Methodists have made a proposal to split their denomination over it. Joe Carter has the FAQ. “Last Friday, a group of leaders within the United Methodist Church (UMC) unveiled a proposal that would allow the denomination to split into two or more new denominations, representing the conservative or “traditionalist” faction and the LGBT-affirming factions.”

Packages of Life (Video)

“The remarkable cone of a knobcone pine tree is both an impenetrable vault and a launch pad for flying seeds that can restore a devastated forest. Watch an incredible provision for life and evidence for intelligent design in this fascinating video.”

Facing Reality

Scott Watkins deals with the importance of facing reality. “I need help to see reality. I need God and others around me to point out where I’ve engaged in self-deception or reality distortion. If left to myself, I am prone to imagine things differently than they really are.”

What Was God Doing before Creation?

“While we obviously cannot fully comprehend what God was doing ‘before’ creation, God did reveal some details about His pre-creation activity in Scripture. This helps us to understand His nature, as well as His relationship with and His plans for creation.”

A Good Funeral is a Blessing to the Soul

Isn’t a good funeral such a blessing to the soul? “I walked away from the funeral convicted, encouraged, and blessed. Sure, sadness pricked my heart, yet it was overwhelmed by the other emotions. When God ordains an end to the number of my days will I have lived a life that encourages and challenges others to love Jesus and love Jesus more daily? Will I be remembered as one who was never satisfied with the life he had and was always looking toward the next thing? Will I be remembered as a man of prayer?”

Flashback: Head Knowledge = Good. Heart Knowledge = Good.

I believe we need to affirm the importance of believing what is true without disparaging the facts and knowledge necessary to even know what is true. Head knowledge is good; heart knowledge is good.

It is not the disappearance of our anxieties that makes us most fully human; it is that we call out to the Lord on good days and bad days.

—Ed Welch

  • Educated, Free, Wealthy, and Privileged

    We are an educated people with high standards of literacy. We are a free people who enjoy religious liberty. We are a wealthy people with unlimited access to a nearly infinite quantity of Bibles. We are a privileged people who may not realize how blessed we are.

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    Weekend A La Carte (November 2)

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    Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier)

    This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Ligonier Ministries, who also sponsored the blog this week.  Yesterday was Reformation Day, when many Protestants celebrate the sixteenth-century recovery of the biblical gospel. It was while Martin Luther was studying the book of Romans that he rediscovered the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So, today…

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    Why Not Use a Daily Liturgy for Your Devotions?

    Trends come and go. Certain habits or interests rise for a time, wane, then rise again, often at unexpected moments. One of the recent trends I have found particularly surprising and also particularly interesting is the rise (or re-rise, if you prefer) of liturgy. This may be liturgy within formal worship services of the local…

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    A La Carte (November 1)

    A La Carte: When a Berkeley feminist had three sons / The tragedy of IVF / What if I don’t feel forgiven? / Piper on how not to respond to suffering / What sola scriptura protects us against / Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    As October draws to its close, I wanted to ensure you know about at least some of the most notable books it brought our way. I did not see quite the quantity of new books I have seen in some previous months, but there were still some special ones. For each, I’ve provided the publisher’s…