A La Carte (October 16)

Today’s Kindle deals include several volumes of the excellent Preaching the Word commentary series.

A Lost Diamond

“My dear wife of 53 years still wears her engagement ring continually, night and day. It was not an expensive ring, but the years had made it very precious to us both. A few days ago she got out of bed in the morning and realised that her engagement ring felt rough. On closer examination we discovered that a tiny diamond was missing from the ring, and we were stunned. We did not know when or where it had fallen, and we knew that the chances of finding such a tiny thing were slim. A thorough search yielded nothing.”

3 Reasons to Regularly Get Others to Preach

“Preachers love preaching, but they shouldn’t love it too much. A potential idol for preachers is the act of preaching. You can crave the pulpit too much. And while we preachers can talk to the sheep about not finding their identity in their work but in Christ, this is a word we preachers need to preach to ourselves.”

Willow Creek Chooses Co-Ed Pastors to Succeed Bill Hybels

Here is some unusual news from one of the most influential and mega of America’s mega-churches.

Growing Up with AI

“She then goes on to observe that the next generation will grow up surrounded by AI agents, so that the question will not be ‘Should we trust robots?’but rather ‘Do we trust them too much?’”

Welcome Everyone, Affirm No One

“In a culture that thrives on self-affirmation and self-determination, ‘showing grace’ now means accepting someone else’s definition of their own righteousness. Our age of expressive individualism leads us to find meaning in the identities we’ve constructed for ourselves, and then to expect (no, demand!) that others affirm our self-construction and give us their blessing.”

Pipe Up Pastor: Justification, Sanctification, Good Works, and Judgment

Kyle Borg explains a recent discussion by and about John Piper.

5 Things Not to Do in Your Marriage

My friend Elisha writes about marriage. “Even though earthly romance will always be imperfect, God transforms us with abundant grace and gospel hope as we live life alongside our spouse. As we navigate the joys and the struggles of the marriage relationship, here are five things not to do…”