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A La Carte (May 3)

monday

Good morning! Grace to you and peace.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Endearing Conceit of Young Men)

Humility on the Opinion Front

This is a really good call for humility when it comes to opinions (and other things).

Tithing in Financially Tight Times

“Your bank balance hovers near zero. Your job feels like it’s hanging in the balance. You can’t see how you’ll pay those bills. And yet you just heard your pastor encourage the congregation to think hard about how much they should give. By which he meant everyone, not just the wealthy. So how on earth can you think about giving money away when it seems like you can’t hold onto enough of it in the first place?”

Why Did the First Humans Live for So Long?

I really enjoyed John Piper’s take on why the first humans lived so much longer than we do today.

What Will Become of Atheism?

The latest newsletter from Esther O’Reilly reflects on other people’s reflections about the demise of the New Atheism. “Speaking as a denominationally homeless but decidedly conservative Protestant, I didn’t expect to find myself in 100% agreement with a secular Marxist hot take on Christianity vs. Atheism. But it’s 2021, so here we are.”

How to Protect Your Church from Abusers

This is a fairly basic (but important!) guide to protecting your church from abusers.

Church Membership Among Former Mormons

I hadn’t ever considered the special difficulty a church would face in persuading former Mormons to value church membership. This article explains it.

Endurance in the Christian Life

Amber Thiessen takes a current sorrow (another lockdown) and uses it to reflect on the Christian life. “The Christian life is all about endurance: Persevering, learning, and growing.”

Flashback: If Only I Had Been Saved By Merit!

One of the hardest tasks for every Christian is to deeply believe and forever remember that we’ve been saved by grace. One of the sweetest disciplines for every Christian is to meditate upon the grace that God extends to the undeserving.

It is harder to slander people in public when we’ve prayed for them in private.

—Dustin Benge

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 26)

    A La Carte: Every pinch of pain has purpose / China closed Christian bookstores / Watch for the thing after the thing / For everything there is a time / Showers of blessing / What Pope Francis can teach us about preaching / and more.

  • What Makes You Beautiful

    What Makes You Beautiful

    I have often thought of a conversation that took place when my girls were little. Abby was perhaps 5 or 6 at the time and Michaela just working her way through the “terrible twos” (which for our kids always happened when they were three or four). A stranger saw me interacting with them one day…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 25)

    A La Carte: John Piper and ChatGPT / Who’s praying for your wife and kids? / When your dreams include sin / Are you called to ministry? / Our feet shall tread this place again / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 24)

    A La Carte: He cares for us / Will the pope to go heaven? / An easy Christian faith / The good we cannot see / Chickens, elephants, and freedom / When we skip the prophets / Kindle and book deals / and more.

  • Francis

    Did Francis Prove To Be “The Humble Pope?”

    Francis’ time as pope has come to an end and already many are attempting to define his legacy. Was he a reformer? Was he a progressive? Was he an apostate? Perspectives are wildly varied with some honoring him as the greatest pope of modern times and some dishonoring him as a disgrace to the office.