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A La Carte (March 31)

wednesday

Grace, mercy and peace to you today.

Logos users, this is the last day to get March’s free and very cheap books.

There are a few books listed in today’s Kindle deals.

When America Put the Bible on Trial

Stephen Nichols writes about the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. “On July 10, 1925, the eyes of the nation looked upon the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, as an all-star cast took the stage. Clarence Darrow played the lead for the defense team organized by the American Civil Liberties Union. William Jennings Bryan stepped in to assist the prosecution. There to chronicle it all was H.L. Mencken.”

Christianity Is About Saving Sinners

Kevin DeYoung reminds us that Christianity is about saving sinners. “To be sure, the work of Christ on the cross was multifaceted. In the death of Jesus, we have the conquering of evil, the defeat of Satan, and the example of perfect love. We can talk about more than sin and salvation when we talk about the cross, but we must not talk about less. For there is no good thing accomplished by the cross that was accomplished apart from the satisfaction of divine justice, the expiation of sin, and the propitiation of wrath.”

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Start a free trial of the new streaming service, AGTV, and see what you’ll enjoy when you sign up. AGTV provides hundreds of hours of Bible-based teaching as well as films like American Gospel, Luther, Calvinist, Christianity Explored, and Epic. (Sponsored)

Polishing Pennies

Andrea Sanborn: “‘Who is wise and understanding among you?’ James asks. ‘Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.’ Humility doesn’t trend well on social media metrics. But it counts in ways that are most important.”

How to Build Up Your Church

The new issue of the 9Marks Journal is dedicated to building up the local church. There are lots of articles filled with practical instruction.

Why Girls Become Boys (Video)

Abigail Shrier tells briefly why it is that so many girls are attempting to become boys. (I feel like I should add: Let’s see how long it is before the video disappears from YouTube.)

Leading in Prayer

In this article Paul Levy shares some practical instruction from Richard Bewes on leading prayers during the Sunday service. Much of it is really helpful, though I’d say feel free to ignore the bit about keeping prayers ultra-short!

Flashback: A Clean House and a Wasted Life

If you do the things God tells you to do, messes will inevitably follow. But take heart: According to the wisest man who ever lived, these messes are not proof of a wasted life, but of a productive one.

Grieving at the brokenness of this world points beyond to the life to come. If all our desires were satisfied here, why would we want Christ to return and establish his kingdom?

—Betsy Childs Howard

  • Mothering Against Futility

    The Futility of Motherhood

    Life is made up of so much that gives the appearance of being futile. There are so many tasks and responsibilities that we intellectually know to be important but emotionally feel to be fruitless. And if everyone struggles with this to varying degrees, I have it on good authority that mothers are prone to struggle…

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    A La Carte (January 31)

    A La Carte: Dune and female moral authority / Three lies that separate spouses / Sin makes you stupid / Can a fallen pastor be restored? / Evaluating Trump’s first week of executive actions / A future for the family / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • 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.