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A La Carte (September 27)

wednesday

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Westminster Books is offering a deal on a new book by Paul Tripp—a book meant to help you embrace your Sundays.

And yes, there are more great Kindle deals today.

Robbers of Assurance? In Defense of the Puritans

Mark Jones pushes back against those who accuse the Puritans of robbing people of assurance. “To make a sweeping claim that basically amounts to warning people that the Puritans are dangerous to the soul (e.g., they rob one of assurance) reveals a stunning ignorance of their theology.”

3 Times You Should Disobey Authority

Jonathan Leeman: “What are the limits to our moral obligation to submit when someone possesses an ostensibly legitimate authority over us, like a parent over a child? Certainly there are limits. Remember, no human authority is absolute. Authority is always relative to the assignment given by the Authority Giver.”

If Sin’s Penalty Is Eternal, Why Isn’t Jesus Still Suffering?

“If the consequences of our sin against a holy God require eternal judgment, why did Christ suffer for no more than 33 years? Shouldn’t his sufferings also be eternal, if that’s what we deserve?” That leads to an interesting answer from John Piper.

Sounding an Alarm on Social Media Evangelism

Emmy Lopez sounds a warning against too freely using social media for evangelistic purposes. After all, no technology is entirely without negative consequences.

When Political Power Is Lost

“The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 will be seen as the last great public acknowledgment in the West of a transcendence that limits temporal power. In our secular age, religion is reduced to a privatized experience. The public square declares, ‘No heaven above us and no hell below.’ The Queen’s funeral, replete with the language of temporal power being given by God, threw down a challenge to the rulers of this age: there is a God in heaven.”

My Favorite Pastors

“I can listen to a thousand good sermons, but a sermon can’t keep watch over my soul. A podcast can’t shepherd. Not really. I can be helped, but nothing beats the actual commitment of local pastors in the local church.” I have linked to articles like this many times over the years, but I think it is always a helpful reminder.

Flashback: Thank You, God, That I Am Not Like Other Men

Comparison is the enemy of joy. Though we so readily compare ourselves with others, we discover that this fosters a deep unhappiness. What promises joy actually delivers misery.

It is said that the young must be allowed to sow their “wild oats.” I have noticed that those who sow their wild oats seldom try to raise any other kind of crop.

—De Witt Talmage

  • The Tallest Trees

    The Winds Blow Hardest Against the Tallest Trees

    Through the weekend had many questions about Christian leaders who fall. And I expressed that just as the winds blow hardest against the tallest trees, so temptations may press hardest against the leaders who rise the highest. Just as floods press against shallow roots, so seductive desires rise up against those whose fall would bring…

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    A La Carte (April 21)

    A La Carte: Toxic servant leadership / Taking our stress to the Lord / The problem with habits / Is it wrong for Christians to choose cremation? / Why does your church meet in a house? / Big book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • 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…