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A La Carte (May 13)

monday

Today’s Kindle deals include a trio of books from Crossway.

(Yesterday on the blog: A Pastoral Prayer)

U.S. Adults Are Spending Big on Video Games

Gamers aren’t exactly who most people think they are. “The average American video gamer is 33 years old, prefers to play on their smartphone and is spending big on content — 20 percent more than a year ago and 85 percent more than in 2015, a report showed on Thursday.”

Youth and Church Membership—Or, Stop Baptizing Children into the Ether

“When we don’t keep baptism and membership close together, we turn membership into something unbiblical. So, unless you’re doing parachurch ministry among some remote tribe, baptism should accompany church membership.” I believe, as a baptist, this is the best way to understand the relationship between baptism and membership.

She Was the “Queen of the Mommy Bloggers”

Here’s the sad story behind the woman who was once queen of the mommy bloggers.

No, Georgia’s Heartbeat Bill Won’t Imprison Women Who Have Abortions

David French: “I expected activist resistance and protest against the bill. I expected radical voices to urge corporate boycotts of Georgia. But I must confess that I did not expect to see a series of stories with lurid headlines and fundamentally mistaken premises to go viral — and to stay viral for days.”

Keith & Kristyn are joined by John Piper, Tim Challies, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, D.A. Carson, Joni E. Tada, H.B. Charles, Andrew Peterson, Trip Lee, Jackie Hill Perry, Bob Kauflin, Fernando Ortega, Matt Boswell & 30+ other speakers for a three-day conference on building a Biblical understanding and creative vision for worship in families and churches. Aug. 19 – 21 in Nashville, TN. General registration closes May 23 – register today.

The Staggering Rise of the Church in Iran

“As we near the fortieth anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, however, we see that the prayers of many Christians over the years have been answered, and the climate in Iran is vastly different. The gospel has spread throughout the land in unprecedented fashion despite increased persecution of Christian believers. To use the words of the apostle Paul, ‘A wide door for effective work has opened … and there are many adversaries’.”

Giving Up Darwin

This is a fascinating article from the Claremont Review of Books which tells how David Gelernter came to see the fatal flaws in Darwinism. As Justin Taylor says, it’s “a wonderfully clear overview of the issues.”

101 Small Ways to Share the Gospel

Perhaps the real benefit to a list like this is so much the ideas themselves, but just the sense of how many different ways there are to share the gospel or otherwise initiate spiritual conversations.

Flashback: The Joy of Self-Discipline

When we associate discipline only with avoidance of negative outcomes we rob ourselves of a means God uses to promote our joy and ultimately our joy in him. Where would God have you develop a discipline for your joy?

Although my memory’s fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.

—John Newton

  • Men in the Image of Women and Women in the Image of Men

    Men in the Image of Women and Women in the Image of Men

    God made men and God made women. God made men distinct from women and women distinct from men. God made men and women equal in worth and value while also making them distinct in some purpose and function. It’s all obvious stuff, this—obvious matters of differences between the sexes.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 14)

    A La Carte: The healing of that old ache / Grounds for everyday smiles / A “quiet revival” in the UK / When Scripture gets stale / Praying when it feels like God isn’t listening / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A Less Busy Heart

    In the midst of our busy lives, we can sometimes wonder whether we really have the time to pray. Won’t prayer hinder our productivity? Won’t prayer keep us from getting done all the things we need to do?

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 12)

    A La Carte: Designer babies / The dragon and the rooster / Leper Christianity / Theologians against nature / Faithful and small / The missing heart of AI sermons / Douglas Groothuis books / and more.

  • Good News Rock Bottom

    Good News at Rock Bottom

    Life most certainly brings its challenges. Some of these are just little ruts along the way, some are deep and dark valleys, and some are lower still—the kind of rock bottom experiences that are so dreadful we wonder if we will be able to endure them with our faith intact.