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A La Carte (July 11)

As you may know, it’s Prime Day at Amazon, so there are lots of deals to be had. You’ll find many of their Kindle devices deeply discounted (Voyage, Paperwhite, etc). They are also offering a deal where if you buy an Amazon book, 40% of the price is returned as a credit toward another printed or Kindle book.

Today’s Kindle book deals include an interesting list of titles meant to help you think.

How To Pray for Your Pastor

You do pray for him, right? “Pray for your pastor,” says Mel Duncan in this article. “Pray as if your very life and those you love depended upon it.”

Five “Fake News” Stories That People Believe about Early Christianity

Michael Kruger: “Given this rash of ‘fake news,’ I thought it might be interesting to observe that an analogous phenomenon can be seen in the study of early Christianity. There is quite a bit of ‘fake news’ out there regarding the person of Jesus, the origins of the church, or the development of the Bible . Even though such ‘news’ as no factual basis, it is believed by an uncomfortably large number of people.”

Live HD Earth

NASA allows you to sit back and watch live HD footage from the international space station as it orbits the earth.

Is Wonder Woman a Good Example of Biblical Womanhood?

This is a long article, but a rewarding one. The author interacts with people who proclaim the movie (or character) Wonder Woman a great role model or a picture of a complementarian woman.

Sloth Doesn’t Just Mean Sleep

Important: “A sluggard doesn’t have to be a sleeper. While the Bible has sleep as the favorite past-time of the sluggard it also paints a broader picture. The sluggard is really the one who is doing something other than what ought to be done in that moment to the glory of God.”

Why Jane Austen Endures

Jane Austen’s work endures, at least in part, because of her word choice. “Her novels, reasonably successful in their day, were innovative, even revolutionary, in ways her contemporaries did not fully recognize. Some of the techniques she introduced — or used more effectively than anyone before — have been so incorporated into how we think about fiction that they seem to have always been there.” But there was more to it than that.

The Hidden Rules of the Puritan Fashion Police

“Puritans, being Puritan, gave sumptuary laws a particularly moral cast. Dressing in a simple manner meant avoiding the sins of pride, greed, and envy, especially for women.”

Flashback: No Bible, No Breakfast

I cringe just about every time I hear “No Bible, no breakfast.”

Craving human affirmation is a no-win proposition. Those who don’t receive it are miserable. Those who do receive it only want more.

—Shai Linne

  • Other side of the Wall

    On the Other Side of the Wall

    A story is told of a convalescent woman and the lovely vine that grew in her yard. Confined to her property during her long recovery from an accident, she turned her attention to the little plot of ground behind her home. She planted the vine on a cool spring morning, dreaming of the day when,…

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    A La Carte (November 22)

    A La Carte: John Mark Comer / Praying imprecatory Psalms / The news media is broken / John Piper on seeing God / No good deed will remain hidden / Pre-Black Friday sales / and more.

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    A La Carte (November 21)

    A La Carte: Lessons from Trump’s and Harris’s social media campaigns / What is my spiritual gift? / The messages we receive / 10 mistakes I’ve made in preaching / Big Kindle and book sales / and more.

  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

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    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.