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A La Carte (September 28)

tuesday

May the God of love and peace be with you today.

There is a short list of Kindle deals today.

(Yesterday on the blog: Thank You, God, That I Am Not Like Other Men)

If There’s One Thing We Can Offer, It’s Authenticity

“As I’m writing this, I have just seen one of those promo videos from a larger church talking about all the great stuff people can plug into. It was full of youngish, cool people (I assume) talking about how great the church is and all the cool stuff you can do with them. There were special training routes, lots on with a big emphasis on the friendships you can make with loads of other people at a similar age and stage.” We’ve probably all seen videos like that and been tempted to compare…

Hair Pressing Time

I always enjoy Darla McDavid’s stories from a childhood that was very different from my own.

What’s Allowed in Married Sex?

Here’s Ray Ortlund on an important question. “Let’s rethink our married sexuality. Let’s throw off the complications that are claiming too much of us. Let’s go back to what our Lord would be glad to bless in our married sexual experience.” (See also John Piper: Should Couples Use Role-Play in the Bedroom?)

How Do I Grow in the Fear of God and Decrease in the Fear of Man? (Video)

“The more our minds are consumed by the majestic holiness of God, the less we will be intimidated by mere men. From our 2021 National Conference, Steven Lawson and Derek Thomas consider the importance of cultivating the fear of the Lord.”

For the Church that is For the World

“Biblically understood, there is a lot more involved in ‘going to church’ than simply attending a worship service. The gospel is designed to remake our entire souls, reorienting us away from ourselves and instead around God and others.” Jared Wilson explains.

Sustained Creativity By the Power of the Spirit

“I love creativity, whether I see it in a sunset, a painting, a novel, or a piece of music. Something deeply spiritual occurs in me when I behold the creative work of another or set about the task of creating something myself. I’m merely hypothesizing here, but I think creativity is both enhanced and sustained by the Holy Spirit, even into old age, when we surrender to Christ and live for God’s glory.” Maybe or maybe not. But it’s still an interesting thing to ponder.

Flashback: No One Believes in Social Injustice

…“it’s no good having the same vocabulary if we’re using different dictionaries.” And when it comes to social justice, that’s exactly what’s happening—we are drawing definitions from different dictionaries.

To endeavor to lift our own souls by our own strength is as absurd as to attempt to lift our bodies by grasping hold of our own clothes.

—Theodore Cuyler

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    A La Carte (January 7)

    A La Carte: Why pray for protection when suffering keeps coming? / Is the sea of faith coming back in? / How the gospel is transforming a prison / Why preaching requires a human touch / Errors to avoid / Kindle and audiobook deals / and more.

  • Your Breath Stinks

    Your Breath Stinks

    Have you ever had one of those experiences when you’re speaking to somebody and begin to notice that their breath is bad? And not just bad, but really bad—so awful that you find yourself discreetly trying to step back to get out of the line of fire. Even as you do your best to remain…

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    A La Carte (January 6)

    A La Carte: How I am getting my mind back this year / Be the kind of person the world needs / Never too busy to pray / A deeper faith / Preparing for the storm / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Zealous but Misguided

    In his letter to the church at Rome, the apostle Paul expresses his sorrow about some people who were zealously religious yet tragically misguided. “I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God,” he says, “but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2).

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    Weekend A La Carte (January 4)

    A La Carte: What does the Bible say about remarriage? / Are you your spouse’s biggest cheerleader? / What is a man and what is a woman? / For the most part, we need to stop the claims of government overreach / Find purpose in mundane work / and more.

  • To Be a Woman

    To Be a Woman

    I sometimes wonder what future generations will make of the modern West here in the early decades of the 21st century. I sometimes wonder what they will think of us when they discover that one of the defining questions of our age is also one of the most straightforward: What is a woman? Yet an…