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A La Carte (March 15)

monday

Good morning and happy Monday. Grace to you today. I and my family are halfway through our 14-day in-house quarantine following our trip to the U.S. to see our daughter. It was worth it.

There are a few Kindle deals today.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Penitential Tear)

It Was Finished Upon That Cross

CityAlight released a beautiful new hymn over the weekend, just on time for Easter. I’m sure you’ll be blessed by it. “Death was once my great opponent / Fear once had a hold on me / But the Son who died to save us / Rose that we would be free indeed! / Free from every plan of darkness / Free to live and free to love / Death is dead and Christ is risen! / It was finished upon that cross.”

In the Name

Ed Welch: “A phrase like ‘in the name of Jesus’ is too crammed with meaning to be spoken with little awareness of what is being said.”

Cosmic Child Abuse (Video)

I’m just catching up with some of the clips from the documentary American Gospel: Christ Crucified and thought I’d share this one which refutes the idea that penal substitutionary atonement makes God into a cosmic child abuser.

Five Truths About the Body of Christ

“The Bible’s teaching about the church isn’t easy to grasp. The church is a ‘mystery.’ It is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we can really begin to understand it at all. But God wants us to know who we are, and so He teaches us through pictures, analogies, and images.”

The Most Lavish Promise of God? Immeasurable Joy in the Ages to Come

John Piper: “At every point of history (even before history), this universe is designed in God’s wisdom — and governed by God’s providence — to be a theater for the glory of God, manifest consummately in the glory of his grace, enacted through the glory of Christ, which shines most brightly in his suffering for undeserving rebels.”

Billions Of Cicadas May Be Coming Soon To Trees Near You

Be warned: “A big event in the insect world is approaching. Starting sometime in April or May, depending on latitude, one of the largest broods of 17-year cicadas will emerge from underground in a dozen states, from New York west to Illinois and south into northern Georgia. This group is known as Brood X, as in the Roman numeral for 10.”

Rain or Shine, He Showed Up

Erik Raymond reflects on death. “Cold driving rain pelted my umbrella as I shrugged my shoulders and held them, hoping to absorb another centimeter of comfort from my wool scarf. Looking around, I saw the grief on the faces of friends gathering to pay final respects to one who has recently passed from this life into the next.”

Flashback: 2 Things to Know About Killing Sin

This is the usual issue with persons attempting the mortification of sin without an interest in Christ first obtained. It deludes them, hardens them—destroys them.

While Satan has a genius in getting people into trouble, he has no genius for getting people out.

—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)

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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…