Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (June 16)

wednesday

Good morning. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.

Westminster Books is doing a little spring cleaning and that has led to some pretty good sales.

There’s a reasonable list of Kindle deals today with more coming tomorrow.

Sometimes I Think I Hear Singing

This is a wonderful bit of writing. “I wake in the night to the moon rising, hushed, over the lake. I sense it there, in the soft lapping of water, in the cattails whispering in the breeze. I drive to an ordinary errand, on an ordinary day, and quietly, tenderly, feel a weight lift in my spirit.”

The Context of The Great Commission is a Miracle

“As the saying goes, ‘familiarity breeds contempt.’ The more accustomed we are to someone or something, the easier it is for us to be unimpressed. We can even become cynical.” Erik Raymond shows how this may be true of the Great Commission.

Why Our Secular Age Needs Ecclesiastes

This is a fantastic article about Ecclesiastes. It will make you want to read Ecclesiastes again!

The Strange Tale of the Identical Twin’s Mirrored Mansion

This is a bizarre and fascinating story of two eccentric twins and the house they built.

Book Hoarding

“Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance of books does his life consist of his library.” Jim Elliff has a little parable about book hoarding.

What Is Biblical Self-Care?

This is an interesting one from Eliza Huie. “To understand self-care biblically we need to look at it rightly. The best way to approach self-care is through the lens of stewardship.”

He Has Heard

Chris Thomas: “Maybe you have been in that situation where you have poured your heart out to another, yet at the end of the conversation, you went away thinking, ‘They did not hear me.’ But, oh how your soul sings when you feel that your heart’s cry has been truly heard! It makes all the difference. God has heard.”

Flashback: Consecutive Exposition Is Not the Only Way

While God makes it clear that we must preach the Word, he does not specify one method over the other. I wonder if we have veered too far in one direction.

Those are not likely to be skillful or faithful keepers of the vineyards of others who do not keep their own.

—Matthew Henry

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    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.

  • What Grieves the Heart of God

    What Grieves the Heart of God?

    What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…