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A La Carte (July 30)

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Grace and peace to you today, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Unifying Power of Singing

I appreciate Andrew Wilson’s thoughts on the unifying power of singing–something we experience each Sunday!

Doxology

“We are warned about mountain top experiences, and the dangers they present. And I get it. In this life, we must eventually descend the mountain. We are also admonished to enjoy the journey. See the beauty. Squeeze the goodness out of life.”

We Remember Needed Words At The Right Time

Sylvia Schroeder: “God says exactly as much as we need through His Word. He brings it to our minds at the right time, and through it demonstrates His heart of love and compassion.”

Aiming Inside

This author reflects on studying James with students. “The thing that struck me as odd was that consistently when applying James’ wisdom to their lives, they aimed outside rather than inside. These are instructions given to the church, but their applications were always outside the church: how they could care for the poor in society, or love their friends, or tame their tongues on social media.”

Providing for the Household

Drew DiNardo’s article from the current issue of Tabletalk discusses the fact that the heads of Christian households must provide materially and not just spiritually. “Paul unequivocally states that not providing for the material needs of your family, if you are physically able, is tantamount to denying the faith and living like a pagan. This is a scathing indictment.”

Let the Guilty Lament

Ryan reminds us that it is not just the grieving who can and should lament, but also the guilty.

Looking for Your Role in God’s Kingdom? Start Here

Here’s a very simple guide to finding your role in God’s kingdom.

Flashback: 10 Issues To Work Through Before You Get Married

While courtship and engagement is, of course, the time to plan a wedding, it is also the time to plan a marriage. Here, drawn from the work of Jim Newheiser, is a list of issues to work through before you get married.

When we seek to abbreviate God-ordained waiting, we lose an opportunity to learn that he is the source of contentment.

—Glenna Marshall

  • 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.

  • Throw Out the Buoys

    Throw Out the Buoys!

    When I was young, my family owned a cottage on a lake. From a young age, I loved to head out in our little motorboat so I could explore that lake and the others that were connected to it. I could easily make a day out of slipping into little inlets to see where they…

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    A La Carte (January 29)

    A La Carte: Your phone habits / A guide for single women / JFK, conspiracy theories, and the Deep State / So what if you’re bored? / God’s a writer / Hard relationships / Kindle deals / and more.

  • 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.

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    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.