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A La Carte (September 8)

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The Public Reading of Scripture in Corporate Worship

Few things irk me more than a very poor public reading of Scripture. This article offers really helpful pointers on doing it right (and explains why we ought to make the effort).

Rosaria Butterfield on Sexuality and Identity

In this short video (less than 3 minutes) Rosaria Butterfield explains why we should not accept sexuality as a category of identity.

The Myth of Quality Time

I enjoyed this reflection on the importance of quantity, not merely quality, of time. “We delude ourselves … when we invoke and venerate ‘quality time,’ a shopworn phrase with a debatable promise: that we can plan instances of extraordinary candor, plot episodes of exquisite tenderness, engineer intimacy in an appointed hour.”

Faithfulness in Small Places

“As I speak in other churches, I find few that are impressive. Again, the people are great, and the ministry significant, but it always seems that things are humble, and that the real action’s taking place somewhere else. It’s tempting to wish that we were there, rather than in the small, humble places where we serve.”

HappinessPre-order Worthy: Randy Alcorn’s next major work, Happiness, releases on October 1. “In Happiness, noted theologian Randy Alcorn dispels centuries of misconceptions about happiness and provides indisputable proof that God not only wants us to be happy, He commands it.” Pre-order at Amazon.

The Drifters

Christianity Today has a neat article and photo gallery celebrating God’s hand in giving us phytoplankton. Yes, you read that right: phytoplankton.

How to Spot a Liar

It turns out that most of the old methods you’ve heard about are pretty much useless at spotting liars. “Forget body language or eye movements. There are much better ways to identify the deceitful.”

Un Petit Enfant

Sometimes I enjoy listening to worship music in other languages. Recently I came across Kim Tran (Faculté Jean Calvin) and have enjoyed his French worship songs.

Mohler

Hell will be filled with people who were avidly committed to Christian values.

—Al Mohler

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    12 Fresh Ways to Read Your Bible in 2025

    A new year offers a new opportunity—an opportunity to rethink and refresh the way you read your Bible. While some have found a pattern or habit they love and will never deviate from, others like to look for new ways to read, digest, and apply the Word. For those who may be interested in trying…

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    A La Carte (December 18)

    A La Carte: Grief and gratitude at Christmas / Navigating unwanted singleness / What the demons sang / Teach your teen about Christian freedom / Common interests / and more.

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    A La Carte (December 17)

    A La Carte: The Virgin Mary and modern therapeutic culture / Relational heresy and doctrinal heresy / The darkness does not win / How does God deliver from pain by pain? / Christmas with your adult children / and more.

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    Identity matters for at least two key reasons. First, understanding our identity—our true God-given identity—is vital to understand why we exist and what we’re to do in life, as it is likewise essential for framing a fitting perspective of others.

  • A Collection of Random Thoughts on Christian Living

    A Collection of Random Thoughts on Christian Living

    Not every thought makes a good article and sometimes an entire article can be distilled down to a single thought. For those reasons, I like to occasionally create what I have created here–a roundup of brief, random thoughts about Christian living. Some of these are original and some are drawn from articles I’ve written in…