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Weekend A La Carte (August 3)

This is my Kindle-free week. Things should be back to normal by Monday.

4 Reasons to Stop Grumbling

“The Bible shows that grumbling has been a problem for humans for a very long time—and that it’s not acceptable for Christians. Here are four biblical reasons why we should stick a lid on our complaints.” We probably all need a bit of help with this.

Why I Wish We Hadn’t Lived Together Before Marriage

These are just a few of the many very good reasons not to cohabit before marriage. “There was a lot I didn’t know at 19 (there’s a lot I still don’t know). While I wish we started our relationship differently, I’m thankful for what God has taught us through it. Eventually we did get married. But if I could sit down with a similar, bright-eyed 19-year-old girl, here are the reasons I’d tell her why I wish my husband and I hadn’t moved in together before tying the knot.”

Do Your Sermons Make Your Congregation Think You’re Angry?

It is important to call your congregation to obedience to God, but also important to commend God’s grace in their lives. “While our responsibility as preachers is to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness, to equip the saints for good works, I’m not convinced that every sermon needs to start out with such stern exhortation. Perhaps we could be more gentle as we begin our sermons and praise our listeners before we correct them.”

The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet

It’s important to know who has the most influence over society. TIME rounds up their picks for those who have the most influence online.

Inside China’s “Thought Transformation” Camps (Video)

Here’s just some of what goes on inside China’s camps.

The Faithfulness of Christ in the Little Things

Sinclair Ferguson: “It is a principle in Christ’s kingdom that ‘one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much’ (Luke 16:10). But in that kingdom, the Lord Jesus also practiced what He preached. His whole life illustrated ‘little-things faithfulness.’ The theme merits book-length treatment, and this brief essay is intended simply to encourage us all to notice some of the little things we may have tended to overlook in the life of the Savior.”

Katy – A Scottish Single Mother’s Story (Video)

Learn about Katy and what the Lord has done in her life.

Flashback: The Lingering Stench of Sin

We ought to labor to find the best possible solutions, to bring the deepest and truest healing. But we simply can’t expect there will be perfect solutions to messy problems. Not on this side of heaven, at least. The stink of sin always lingers.

The pastor is called to feed the sheep, even if the sheep do not want to be fed. He is certainly not to become an entertainer of goats. Let goats entertain goats, and let them do it out in goatland. You will certainly not turn goats into sheep by pandering to their goatishness.

—William Still

  • The Tallest Trees

    The Winds Blow Hardest Against the Tallest Trees

    Through the weekend had many questions about Christian leaders who fall. And I expressed that just as the winds blow hardest against the tallest trees, so temptations may press hardest against the leaders who rise the highest. Just as floods press against shallow roots, so seductive desires rise up against those whose fall would bring…

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    A La Carte (April 21)

    A La Carte: Toxic servant leadership / Taking our stress to the Lord / The problem with habits / Is it wrong for Christians to choose cremation? / Why does your church meet in a house? / Big book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • Expectations

    Why We Ask So Little of God

    Most Christians expect little from God, ask little, and therefore receive little, and are content with little. Though the Bible calls us to pray and though it promises that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,” we can still have very modest expectations of what God will accomplish through…

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    Weekend A La Carte (April 19)

    A La Carte: Why man needs God / Why nails matter / Kids’ picture books / MLK’s famous letter changed a DC church / How to mentor / A tearless eternity / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

    This weeks Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away a bundle of their best-selling Good Book Guides that are designed to guide your head and your heart through God’s word. Each Good Book Guide includes a concise leader’s guide in the back.  The Bundle includes: Giveaway Rules: You…

  • A Light on the Hill

    A Light on the Hill

    In early 2020, CHBC, along with almost every other church in the world, was forced to contend with the opening days of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time Caleb Morell was working as Pastor Mark Dever’s personal assistant. Dever tasked him with finding out how the church had responded to the Spanish flu epidemic a…