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Weekend A La Carte (December 19)

weekend

If you do some or all of your reading via Kindle, there’s a collection of deals for you to browse through today.

(Yesterday on the blog: Singing in the Dark)

Two Things You Can Take with You to Heaven

Greg Koukl explains the two things you can take with you to heaven.

The Incarnation: Its Relevance

William Boekestein: “To call the incarnation ‘relevant’ almost sounds patronizing. But we need to recognize the intimate connection between this important doctrine and personal piety.”

Learning from the Magi

“Among the parts of the birth narrative of Jesus, the Scriptural record of the Magi, coming from a distant land to seek, find, and worship the infant Christ, is far and away one of the most spiritually rich. The details surrounding it–though seemingly meager–are full of lessons that serve to build God’s people up in faith, while encouraging those who have never trusted in Him to do so.” Nick Batzig draws our attention to these characters.

Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth

And here’s another lesser-known part of the story. “There are some parts of the Christmas story that easily get overlooked, aren’t there? And Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (Lk 1.39-45), sandwiched as it is between the annunciation to Mary by Gabriel and Mary’s great song of praise, the Magnificat, is one of them. And yet as Luke begins his two-volume work designed to increase Theophilus’s assurance of the things he has been taught (1.4), this is one of the events he thinks is worthy of our attention. Why? What is so significant about this visit?”

God the Giver: Where Giving Is Meant to Go

Pierce Taylor Hibbs: “Gifts function in a sort of circle. I call it the giving circle. Gifts are obtained from a source, given by a giver, and then received. At least, that’s the hope.”

I’ve already linked to a couple of stories about this, but today will link to one more. Honestly, having worked with so many people who struggle so much with porn, I’m delighted to see the industry get exposed for what it really is and to begin to suffer the consequences.

Nazarene – What a Label!

We speak easily of “Jesus the Nazarene,” but perhaps without thinking much about the label.

Flashback: Sin Is Immaturity

Sin is iniquity, premeditated rebellion against God. And lately, especially as I’ve been examining my own life, I’ve also been seeing sin as immaturity. Sin is a failure to grow up.

The evidence of Christ’s mercy toward you is not your life. The evidence of his mercy toward you is his—mistreated, misunderstood, betrayed, abandoned. Eternally. In your place.

—Dane Ortlund

  • Undermines

    Undermining the Bible

    There is an entire sector of the publishing industry that is dedicated to undermining people’s confidence in the Bible. Many of these books shoot to the top of the bestseller lists with their novel conspiracies about the Bible’s origins, their theories about its hidden secrets, or their conviction that it is a mess of contradictions.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (December 14)

    A La Carte: Male and female forever? / The shortcomings of Jordan Peterson / The thief who steals joy / Letter to a progressive Christian / The weary world rejoices / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (Propempo International)

    This week the blog is sponsored by Propempo International. Missions on Point by David C. Meade, founder of Propempo International and Send Forward, seeks to spotlight the local church’s biblical role in world missions. Missions on Point awakens and challenges church leaders, missions leaders, missionaries, and everyone involved in the support and execution of missions…

  • Questions To Ask a Man Who Would Like To Marry Your Daughter

    Questions For the Man Who Wants To Marry Your Daughter

    It is the conversation every father of daughters anticipates having at one time or another—the conversation with the young man who has expressed interest in securing her hand in marriage and who now seeks dad’s permission. Apart from those few men who have been blessed with many daughters, most of us have just one or…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (December 13)

    A La Carte: Why I am not Catholic / Mastering your self / The Reformation moment is our moment / Is living together before marriage really a sin? / What if we let the Bible form us in 2025? / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (December 12)

    A La Carte: Christmas words and phrases you didn’t want to admit you didn’t understand / Godliness is attainable / Does God hate the sin but love the sinner? / Odd Christmas phrases / Quick to strategize and slow to pray / and more.