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Weekend A La Carte (June 5)

I’d like to express my gratitude to Radius for sponsoring the blog a number of times so they could let you know about their great upcoming (live and in-person! or live-stream if you prefer) conference featuring John Piper, Mark Dever, and my good friend Harshit Singh, among others.

May God bless and keep you as you serve him and worship him in the weekend ahead.

Today’s Kindle deals include some Saturday classics and whatever else I can track down in the morning.

(Yesterday on the blog: Marvin Olasky’s Lament for a Father)

Little Screens and Corporate Worship

H.B. Charles Jr: “The apps on our devices make life so much easier. But they make worship more difficult. Cells and tablets distract you from the truth, fellowship, and service that should characterize corporate worship.”

A New Paradigm For Pastors

Here’s one for pastors to ponder. “Pastor, if you aren’t seeking to build your closest friendships within your church, you cannot expect to lead a church filled with strong relationships. You can expect to lead a church that looks like you.”

When Repetition is a Good Thing

I quite agree that we can sometimes be just a little unfair when it comes to the value of repetition. “I don’t know about you, but I have a hard head. And on top of that, sometimes I need to read or listen to something more than once for my thick skull to cooperate. Whether there are too many distractions or my mind is elsewhere, the repetition helps me. And I think it helps others, too.”

Pastor, Be One In A Thousand

Here’s another for the pastors, and perhaps especially those in an African context. “It is not enough to possess a leadership position. We ought to embody the kind of leaders that God desires: ‘faithful, reliable, caring shepherds.’ I pray that God would raise up these sorts of leaders in the African Church. I pray that you will be this ‘one in a thousand’ pastor in your context.”

A Day in the Life of a Flavour Inventor

Somehow in all this talk of flavors I see the handiwork of a God who loves variety and who loves us to experience pleasures.

The Redefinition of the Family

Al Mohler explains how the growing normalization of polygamy and polyamory threatens to totally redefine “family.”

Flashback: The Bible’s Three Big Lessons on Debt

Debt is not always wrong, but in most cases it is inadvisable. It is the better part of wisdom to avoid debt whenever possible, to enter it with only the utmost caution, and to discharge it at the earliest opportunity.

Do you wish to grow in grace and be a devoted Christian? Be very sure, if you wish it, you could not have a more important question than this—Do you pray? I ask whether you pray, because neglect of prayer is one great cause of backsliding.

—J.C. Ryle

  • Educated, Free, Wealthy, and Privileged

    We are an educated people with high standards of literacy. We are a free people who enjoy religious liberty. We are a wealthy people with unlimited access to a nearly infinite quantity of Bibles. We are a privileged people who may not realize how blessed we are.

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    Weekend A La Carte (November 2)

    A La Carte: Coldplay’s prayer in Melbourne / Zombies, Heath Lambert, and gatekeeping biblical counseling / Keep the Feast (a new song) / Stop playing the numbers game / Squandering security / and more.

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    Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier)

    This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Ligonier Ministries, who also sponsored the blog this week.  Yesterday was Reformation Day, when many Protestants celebrate the sixteenth-century recovery of the biblical gospel. It was while Martin Luther was studying the book of Romans that he rediscovered the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So, today…

  • Daily Liturgy Devotional

    Why Not Use a Daily Liturgy for Your Devotions?

    Trends come and go. Certain habits or interests rise for a time, wane, then rise again, often at unexpected moments. One of the recent trends I have found particularly surprising and also particularly interesting is the rise (or re-rise, if you prefer) of liturgy. This may be liturgy within formal worship services of the local…

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    A La Carte (November 1)

    A La Carte: When a Berkeley feminist had three sons / The tragedy of IVF / What if I don’t feel forgiven? / Piper on how not to respond to suffering / What sola scriptura protects us against / Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    New and Notable Christian Books for October 2024

    As October draws to its close, I wanted to ensure you know about at least some of the most notable books it brought our way. I did not see quite the quantity of new books I have seen in some previous months, but there were still some special ones. For each, I’ve provided the publisher’s…