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A La Carte (June 12)

monday

Good morning from Brazil where I am beginning to make my homeward journey after a successful week recording another episode of Worship Round the World.

Today’s Kindle deals include some high-quality devotional resources.

(Yesterday on the blog: Restful Blissful Ignorance)

Christianity Challenges the (Stoic) Spirit

I’m glad to see this examination of the growing popularity of stoicism. “Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, Cameron Hanes, David Goggins, Jocko Willink. What unites them? They’re gurus of a new self-help philosophy and lifestyle: grind yourself to the bone to achieve greatness.”

Scooby Doo, Oxfam and The Sexular Age

Stephen McAlpline: “Let’s call this The Scooby Doo moment. You know the show that started in the 70s? Crazy kids in a van called The Mystery Machine, with a dog called Scooby Doo (Arf-Arf!)? Always turning up at haunted houses or the like, exposing the evil criminals hiding behind scary ghoul masks, or dressed up as werewolves. I’m sure those kids were all on Scooby snacks.”

The Making Of Andy Stanley: Pastors Son, Turned Renegade Preacher (Video)

Honest Youth Pastor has put together a helpful video on Andy Stanley.

Are Things Getting Worse?

It’s easy to believe that the world is getting worse and worse. But is it really?

Nine Ways I’ve Seen Mark Dever Disciple Men and Raise Up Leaders

“What does Mark Dever do to disciple men and raise up pastors in the context of the local church? Here are nine points that Mark has publicly shared are his practices, with some of my own reflections as someone who has benefitted Mark’s discipling and observed its effects on others.”

Death is not fun

Mark Loughridge says “we often make jokes when we are nervous or don’t know how to react to something serious. We’ve probably all done that. That’s what this is. Our society has lost the ability to be serious about serious things. We have elevated the trivial and trivialised the serious.”

Flashback: On Helping Your Wife Become Like Christ by Identifying Her Every Fault

“At their most unimaginative moments, husbands try to help spouses be like Christ’s perfected bride by identifying their wives’ faults with clinical precision.” But there is a better way.

When a sin is pardoned, it is gone—it is gone out of the books, it is gone out of the memory, it is gone out of existence.

—De Witt Talmage

  • 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)

    A La Carte: Coldplay’s prayer in Melbourne / Zombies, Heath Lambert, and gatekeeping biblical counseling / Keep the Feast (a new song) / Stop playing the numbers game / Squandering security / and more.

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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…

  • Daily Liturgy Devotional

    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…