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Weekend A La Carte (August 13)

Westminster Books has deals on a book meant to help you understand theology and one another that is meant to keep pastors from wavering.

(Yesterday on the blog: Tearing Us Apart)

A chat with Carl Trueman

I enjoyed WORLD magazine’s chat with Carl Trueman. Is he really learning the banjo?

How Ordinary Worship Is both Reverent and Relevant

This article lays out two errors in the way churches worship and says “on the surface, these two approaches to worship look very different, yet the reason for gravitating to either is usually the same. Fundamentally, what the searcher is longing for is something extraordinary, an escape from the suffocating ordinariness of their everyday lives. Only once they find that missing piece will they be able to experience the vital and vibrant Christianity that has evaded them thus far.”

5 New Stats You Should Know About Teens and Social Media

“How often does your teen use social media? What social media platforms are most popular among the students in your student ministry? Probably a lot, and probably YouTube and TikTok, according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.” This matters—perhaps especially to those of us who are raising teens.

Can the Devil Make Us Sin?

“How much of an impact does the devil have on our society today? How do we know whether something is an act of Satan or just our sinful nature?”

Look Until You See

Cass explains how she’s been learning to “exercise her wonder muscles.”

The Bible tells us the rest of the story about who we are

David looks to Francis Schaeffer to help us understand how the Bibles makes sense of the world.

Flashback: A Bunch of Good Reasons To Saturate Your Worship Services in the Bible

Just like removing too many elements of a pizza will call into doubt whether something still qualifies as pizza at all, removing too many elements of worship should call into doubt whether something still qualifies as a worship service.

If we as Christians are going to address sin, especially in other believers, it’s important that we address it specifically and with biblical categories.

—Shai Linne

  • Breath

    A Sudden Stopping of the Breath

    I recently encountered a poem I enjoyed and wanted to share with you. LeRoy Tate Newland was an American pastor, a missionary to Korea, and a poet. Among his poems is this brief reflection on the death of a Christian (which, appropriately, is titled “A Christian’s Death”). I hope you enjoy it as much as…

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    Weekend A La Carte (April 5)

    A La Carte: The Lioness, the Witch and the Wardrobe / Are people basically good? / Who gets to define a healthy baby? / Go, gently / Films that defined Christian politics / Rethinking our mission field / and more.

  • Sermon Introduction

    Three Levels of Sermon Introduction

    Though every sermon necessarily needs a beginning, it does not necessarily need a formal introduction. Though it has to begin somewhere, there is no rule that it must begin with some kind of story or illustration. A preacher can jump straight into his text if he so desires. Some do.

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    A La Carte (April 4)

    A LA Carte: Causes of division in the church / Union with Christians / The 1%-er rhetoric / Pray or sleep? / Distinguishing shame from guilt / Many more Kindle deals / and so on.

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    A La Carte (April 3)

    A La Carte: Never too late to learn how to pray / Walking with those who weep / Rethinking the role of pastor’s wife / What does the Bible mean when it teaches wives to submit? / Does God want some to go to hell? / Kindle deals / and more.