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A La Carte (November 13)

tuesday

I’ve returned home from my recent journey to Asia, having spent time in China, the Philippines, and Korea. I was blessed to be there and am, as always, very glad to be home.

Today’s Kindle deals include actually just a single book. But it’s a good one!

(Yesterday on the blog: Four Categories to “Act the Miracle”)

How a Christian Witnesses with Good Deeds

D.A. Carson handles an important questions. “For a variety of reasons, Christians have lost this vision of witness and are slow to return to it. But in better days and other lands, the faithful and divinely empowered proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (who himself is the light of the world par excellence [John 8:12]) so transformed men that they in turn became the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).”

Let Your Internet Yes Be Your Real-Life Yes

Jared Wilson has been doing some great writing about the online life. “We weren’t designed to be double-minded. We weren’t made to playact, to posture. It’s impossible to keep The Persona from taking over. Whatever we put our heart into, whatever we worship, we will become. So if your online persona is abrasive, domineering, argumentative, critical, you don’t get to say for long, “That’s not really me.” You is who you is. Let’s take care that our online yes and no match up with real life, in the right way.”

Imperfections Make Sundays More Beautiful

“I’ll admit it: these human quirks and errors sometimes exasperate me. I’m here to focus on the Lord! Your awkwardness is distracting me from worship! So mutters my self-righteous heart. Perhaps the real problem isn’t with the clumsiness of others, but with our expectations for corporate worship.” Please do read this one and take it to heart!

I Am Ashurbanipal: King of the World, King of Assyria

“On December 20, 1853, an Assyrian from Mosul, in northern Iraq, wired the British Museum. Hormuzd Rassam, although only 27, had already made a brilliant name for himself. For seven years he had been excavating outside Mosul and studying at Oxford. His record had won him fame as the Near East’s first archaeologist. Now, five days before Christmas, he was sending news to the museum of an early present.”

Eric Chien 2018 Fism Grand Prix Act -Ribbon (Video)

Even if you aren’t a fan of magic tricks, this is one to watch. It is simply incredible up-close magic.

Battered by Donne: A Personal Appreciation of the Religious Poetry of John Donne

Donne has always been one of my favorite poets. “If you have studied John Donne at university you probably know him for his early (and racy) love poetry. But Donne had a very different career later in life becoming an Anglican minister, Dean of St. Paul’s cathedral and a passionate evangelist. His Christian poems are humble, honest about his own sin and frailty; and unashamed in the confidence they express toward Christ and His atoning death. “

How Does the Church Help With My Assurance?

This is a helpful look at how assurance and church membership work hand-in-hand.

Flashback: 9 Steps to Putting That Sin to Death

God is for you and loves to help you put your sin to death. It is his delight.

God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is the most loving thing. Anyone else who exalts himself distracts us from what we need, namely, God.

—John Piper

  • Expectations

    Why We Ask So Little of God

    Most Christians expect little from God, ask little, and therefore receive little, and are content with little. Though the Bible calls us to pray and though it promises that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,” we can still have very modest expectations of what God will accomplish through…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 19)

    A La Carte: Why man needs God / Why nails matter / Kids’ picture books / MLK’s famous letter changed a DC church / How to mentor / A tearless eternity / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    This weeks Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away a bundle of their best-selling Good Book Guides that are designed to guide your head and your heart through God’s word. Each Good Book Guide includes a concise leader’s guide in the back.  The Bundle includes: Giveaway Rules: You…

  • A Light on the Hill

    A Light on the Hill

    In early 2020, CHBC, along with almost every other church in the world, was forced to contend with the opening days of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time Caleb Morell was working as Pastor Mark Dever’s personal assistant. Dever tasked him with finding out how the church had responded to the Spanish flu epidemic a…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (April 18)

    A La Carte: John Piper on being a loner / Snapchat is harming children / The most radical thing / How not to be secular / Three commentary mistakes / Jesus, your sorrow-bearer / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (April 17)

    A La Carte: The vibe shift / The Jurassic Park principle of Christian freedom / This is what power looks like / Don’t stay in the puddles / The awkwardness of Easter / Kindle deals / and more.