Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (November 17)

thursday

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

(Yesterday on the blog: Let’s Hear It For the Failures)

Measure Your Heart of Thanksgiving

“I don’t know what your Thanksgiving season looks like. I sincerely hope you find thankfulness a happy overflow of God’s blessings this year. I hope your home fills with joy and laughter. But there are times in every person’s life when thanksgiving is an act of trust, when the measure with which we are measured tries our hearts.”

American Church, Don’t Listen to Eric Metaxas

This review engages with Eric Metaxas’ latest book. This is quite a group of people Metaxas calls out! “Metaxas doesn’t hesitate to call out pastors he judges to be weak, timid, cowardly, or so ‘theologically fussy’ (44) that they don’t join his movement. Men like Tim Keller, Alistair Begg, John Piper, and John MacArthur are not Bonhoeffer-ish enough for Metaxas (11, 44).”

Where did Satan come from? (Video)

Guy Richard (sort of) answers in this short video. (I say “sort of” because he perhaps discusses the origins of evil a bit more than of Satan.)

The Current State of Complementarity

John Piper discusses the current state of complementarity by discussing two statements: Nashville and Danvers. “Danvers confronts women who intend to be pastors, while Nashville confronts women who intend to be men. Danvers confronts men who are unwilling to lead their wives; Nashville confronts men who can’t lead their wives because they don’t have one — they are ‘married’ to men.”

The Serious Business Of Laughing At Myself

“If I can’t embrace my own smallness, my own humiliations, and my total dependence on the God who made me, then my pride has grown out of control. That’s a serious problem. And sometimes the solution is as simple as having a good, long laugh at my own little self.” Quite right.

The Gospel Never Does Nothing

What’s the one thing the gospel never does? Nothing.

Flashback: 3 Parenting Myths We Are All Tempted To Believe

“Our job is to discharge faithfully the duties God has given to us, leaving the results in God’s hands. Our goal is not ‘successful’ parenting per se, but faithful parenting.” This is a sweet, liberating truth.

The pastor doesn’t know what interventions to provide for a distressed soul until he first listens to that soul.

—Harold Senkbeil

  • The Dutiful Introvert

    The Dutiful Introvert

    I am aware that the categories of introvert and extrovert are not described or even hinted at within the pages of the Bible. My understanding is that the terms arose from the mind of Carl Jung and were popularized through his teachings—teachings that oppose Scripture in a host of ways.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 4)

    A La Carte: Bill Gates, Spurgeon, Muslims, and Bible memory / When borders change, stay settled / Be still and know / Suicide—when hope runs out / What’s wrong with a “rule of life?” / An upside down guide to high school / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 3)

    A La Carte: Why old men plant trees / When resilience and grit aren’t enough / How to ask a girl out / URL vs IRL ministry / A rare brain cancer / Same song, brand new verse / Kindle deals / and more.

  • I Know It Broke Her Heart

    I Know It Broke Her Heart

    I know it broke her heart. I know it broke her heart to see her boys at odds. God had given her just two sons and from infancy to adulthood they were at odds. They were not like some brothers who have spats and then make up or who struggle with one another but still…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 2)

    A La Carte: Writing prayers for others / Is it okay to seek heavenly rewards? / Unbelieving child and qualified elder / What does the Bible say about demons? / Healthy grief / So many Kindle deals / and more.

  • An Honest Man and an Open Bible

    An Honest Man and an Open Bible

    Tozer once said that “an honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly,” and Psalm 19 provides a clear example from the life of David. His closing words are a prayer for each of us…