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Weekend A La Carte (1/8)

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A La Carte has always been a Monday to Friday deal, but recently I’ve been thinking about also doing a weekend edition. I figure I’ll give it a try and see how it goes. So without any further ado, here’s the first ever Weekend A La Carte. Enjoy!

Letter from Guido – I recently came across this letter from Reformer Guido de Bres to his wife. He is about to die and writes to comfort her and to advise her on the future. It’s a beautiful, sweet, pastoral letter.

E-Book Sales – Between 3 and 5 million e-reading devices were activated in the week following Christmas. And millions of e-books were sold in the days following. It seems that we’re closer and closer to a tipping point here where e-books are going to surge past printed books.

God and the Big Bang – The Roman Catholic Church continues to give ground to evolution. “God’s mind was behind complex scientific theories such as the Big Bang, and Christians should reject the idea that the universe came into being by accident, Pope Benedict said on Thursday.”

Christian Communicator’s – Did you know that Jim Elliff’s ministry will send free books or other resources to pastors, teachers and ministry leaders? They offer some great books, so check out the offer and the conditions at the link.

The Relation of Church and Family – This article by Sam Waldron is a useful critique of some of the tenets of the Family Integrated Church movement. “In the last couple of decades a significant ecclesiastical trend has arisen out of the home-schooling movement which raises significant issues with regard to the relation of the church and the family. The movement I have in mind is associated with Vision Forum, Patriarch Magazine, and represented by the book by Eric Wallace, Uniting Church and Home, and the New Testament Restoration Foundation. The views of this movement are by no means homogeneous, but there is a sufficient commonality to ground a unified critique of their characteristic perspectives.” (Note: here’s a follow-up letter from Dr. Waldron)

Books I’ve Read – In case you’re interested, here are a few books I’ve read recently (continuing on with my love of books dealing with the Second World War): Ghost Soldiers (very interesting book, ideal for lazy Saturday afternoons), Berlin at War (quite an interesting study of Berlin and Berliners; probably a bit niche for most people), and The Third Reich at War (I didn’t get all the way through it as it becomes quite dense and repetitive; it’s largely a discussion of German atrocities).

Gospel Coalition Q&A – There’s lots of good content in this interview with D.A. Carson (if you’ve got an hour to spare on a Saturday!):

Gospel Coalition Q & A from Realityla on Vimeo.


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    A La Carte (October 21)

    A La Carte: The worst parenting advice / John Mark Comer’s cafeteria approach / Giants in the Bible / How a wife can help her husband / Social media and pornography / Book and Kindle sales / and more.

  • Bible writing

    If You Had Written the Bible

    Have you ever thought about what the Bible would be like if you had been in charge of writing or editing it? Whatever you would do, I am quite certain you would end up with something that would bear far more resemblance to a systematic theology text than the Bible we hold in our hands…

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    A La Carte (October 20)

    A La Carte: Assisted suicide / The future of Anglicanism / Busyness / When dad will not lead / When you are maligned / Surprised by his goodness / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Bible

    No Guarantee of Life and Vigor

    Many cold and lifeless churches testify to the fact that the mere presence of the Bible is no guarantee of spiritual life and vigor. Many churches have a Bible tucked neatly into every pew, but teach a message radically at odds with the words of that very Book.

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    Weekend A La Carte (October 18)

    A La Carte: The trans train / 3 kinds of forgiveness / It’s better to die / A helper corresponding to him / A former social-mediaholic / Honest church leadership / and more.