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Weekend A La Carte (10/27)

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Hobbits, Hot Chocolate, Etc – Redeemed Reader: “Two weeks from today on Monday, November 5th, our Great Hobbit Read Along Adventure begins! We’ll cover two or three chapters of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien each week for five weeks, ending the first week of December, just before the release of the movie version by Peter Jackson. We hope it will be an exciting adventure for individuals, families and youth groups who choose to join us, with insights from a number of Christian authors and cultural commentators to help you get more from your reading.”

Above the Clouds – The beauty of God’s creation doesn’t stop at the clouds. Here’s a small collection of photographs from above the clouds.

The Moon Illusion – And while we’re above the clouds, here’s an interesting little video. Ever noticed that sometimes the moon appears to be big and sometimes it appears to be small? This video explains that this is actually an optical illusion and how to verify it.

The Reason We Are Sent – Mike Glenn reflects on a great quote from Bonhoeffer: “A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.”

Viking Fighting – It turns out that everything you learned from the movies about sword fighting has been dead wrong. I guess that should be no surprise. These guys show how it really would have been done and why only an idiot (and a dead one, at that) would do it any other way.

Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose…only (upon) the Beloved who will never pass away.

—C.S. Lewis

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    A La Carte (November 21)

    A La Carte: Lessons from Trump’s and Harris’s social media campaigns / What is my spiritual gift? / The messages we receive / 10 mistakes I’ve made in preaching / Big Kindle and book sales / and more.

  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

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    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.

  • What Grieves the Heart of God

    What Grieves the Heart of God?

    What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…