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A La Carte (March 17)

Who’s Your Daddy?

“Christianity unapologetically places fathers (or father-types) at the head of the church and the table and the household, but commands that they lead with a servant’s heart with Christ as their model. The problems stem not from obeying the godly mandate, but from shirking it.” The article goes on to look at the problem of fatherlessness in literature.

A Willingness to Listen

Yes! This was one of my big takeaways from reading Black & Reformed. “Making your church more diverse is about more than just adding another shade to your elder board. It often means having a willingness to learn and be challenged by opposing viewpoints.”

The Theology of Donald Trump

Writing for Christianity Today, Michael Horton takes a look at the theology of Donald Trump. His unfortunate conclusion: “If the working theology of American spirituality is a combination of ‘moralistic, therapeutic deism’ (Christian Smith) and pragmatism (William James), then perhaps Donald Trump is after all exactly the right candidate for the moment.”

Punting Isn’t An Option

“I hear women talking about wanting to go deeper with God, so they buy books written by women who talk about their experiences of God. To me, that is robbing ourselves of a much richer treasure. If you want to go deeper with God, go to the source: the Bible. That is where you will see God, high and lifted up, exalted, in His glory. That will change you.”

This Day in 1780. 236 years ago today, Thomas Chalmers was born. Chalmers was a pastor, social reformer, and one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland. He preached the important sermon, “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.” *

When Faith Is Under Attack

This one-minute video (a sermon excerpt) is worth watching.

Your Meaningless Ministry

“We all want to succeed. We all want our efforts to mean something in the end, to be worth it when all is said and done. But when death comes knocking, I would hate to find I received my entire reward here on earth.”

In Praise of Administration

Put your hands together for the invisible administrators who make our lives so much better and our churches so much stronger.

Alexander

A healthy body that houses a sick soul is not something to be coveted.

—Eric Alexander

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    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…

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    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.

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    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,…