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A La Carte (July 25)

thursday

We happen to have arrived in Amsterdam in the middle of a heat wave. It’s beautiful here but, wow, is it ever scorching hot!

Westminster Books has deals on books by R. Kent Hughes, including a new edition of his classic Disciplines of a Godly Man.

(Yesterday on the blog: An Interview with Keith Getty)

The FAQs: What You Should Know About Purity Culture

With purity culture back in the news (following news of Josh Harris’s separation), Joe Carter has one of his FAQs.

I’m So Glad Our Vows Kept Us

This is a tremendous bit of writing. “My husband’s hand moves to mine as the minister begins to speak of vows. Many years ago, we were the young couple making promises, and by now I’ve come to know his hand as well as my own. The arc of each knuckle, the round of each fingertip—these are as Braille to me, chapters in the book I’ve learned by heart.”

Communication with Missionaries: Striking a Healthy Balance

“All believers are called to die to themselves, take up their cross, and follow Christ. For missionaries this may mean getting off Facebook and stepping out of the comfort of one’s home culture, that God might receive all praise.”

Stop Pastoral Self-Appointments

While this pertains primarily to Africa, it has relevance elsewhere as well. “It is a well-known fact that state governments in Africa are deciding that enough is enough and are moving in to arrest the rot taking place, largely in Charismatic churches. The stench cannot be ignored any more. This has already begun to happen in Kenya under President Uhuru Kenyatta. South Africa and Zambia are also preparing legislation. It will not be long before other African nations join in.”

The Case for Wine in Communion

I’m interested in seeing how different churches think through using wine or an alternative in the Lord’s Supper.

What is the Aim of Christian Writing?

Cody Cunningham: “How do I evaluate whether or not I’m writing for God’s glory, regardless if it’s a blog article, a sermon, or song lyrics? As we read, as we edit, and as we share on social media, it comes down to this question…”

They Tried to Start a Church Without God. For a While, It Worked.

The Atlantic reports on the not-so-shocking lack of success of churches for Atheists. “For religious communes, the more sacrifices demanded, the longer they lasted; however, this connection didn’t hold for secular communes. The implication, Norenzayan said, was that challenging rituals and taxing rules work only when they’re part of something sacred; once the veil of sacrality is removed, people no longer care to commit to things that demand their time and dedication.”

Flashback: How an Emerging Church Pastor Inadvertently Changed My Life

He pointed to a series of ten hardcover volumes, said he wouldn’t be needing them anymore, and asked if I’d like them. I took them as well. They were ten volumes of sermons by Charles Spurgeon.

When the Word is hidden in the heart the life shall be hidden from sin.

—Charles Spurgeon

  • 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.