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Weekend A La Carte (March 18)

weekend

My thanks goes to The Good Book Company for sponsoring the blog this week. I am so grateful for each and every one of the sponsors who help keep this site going.

Logos has a sale on my recommended bundle of commentaries. Also, be sure to keep voting in March Matchups.

Today’s Kindle deals include a good selection of titles.

(Yesterday on the blog: Now What?)

How the Side B Project Failed

Bethel McGrew writes about the Side B project. “The speed of this decline naturally prompts a question: Was there ever anything to salvage? In its current incarnation, are we witnessing a radical moral turn? Or are we witnessing the inevitable end of an inherently flawed project?”

Lessons in Waiting for Water

“It stands to reason that we who live with the comforts of a first-world society should be the spiritual giants of our time. Think of all of the ways God has blessed us with safety and freedom and opportunity. Imagine how much of our lives could be spent falling on our knees in gratefulness, devouring the Word with expectation for what He will do next. Consider how much time we have to study, to worship, to pray, to reflect on the goodness of God when we don’t have to struggle to survive.” But…

The Story Isn’t Finished

Sarah writes very openly here. “Most of my fifteen years of motherhood have been spent sitting outside or inside my precious child’s room, trying to protect him by keeping him (and I) safe as his illness turned him into someone he couldn’t control. Fifteen years of traumatic memories and experiences I must carry mostly alone due to its nature.”

What does it mean to rejoice always, even with all the evil in the world?

Sinclair Ferguson: “To rejoice always doesn’t mean that we rejoice in the evil. It doesn’t mean that we like suffering, although we rejoice even in suffering. The basic explanation is that we rejoice in all circumstances because we have a reason to rejoice—and that reason is our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Fears and Hopes We Sing in Lullabies

Nadya Williams writes about lullabies from her childhood. “So goes one of the melancholy lullabies I remember from my Russian childhood, and which I have been singing to my own children over the years out of habit, out of love, and out of the sense that at the end of the day, as they fall asleep, songs in a language they do not know still somehow speak more powerfully than spoken words in a language familiar to them.”

Love Letters of Scripture

This article considers the evident love in Scripture”s letters. “I want to have that kind of joy in my life. I want to rejoice in all that the Lord has given me with a humble spirit and a grateful heart. Paul’s letters are loving reminders of the gift of our salvation through belief in Jesus Christ.”

Flashback: It Takes a Church To Raise Your Child

The proverb demands more than allowing others to troubleshoot my children’s poor behaviour. It invites others to provide input into the development of their character.

Humility is the only soil in which true unity can grow. Only when Christ is more precious to us than our own reputations will we give up our petty rivalries and personal agendas. Only when his glory eclipses all else will we live for his cause and no other.

—Michael Reeves

  • Quiet Time

    The Quiet Time Kickstart

    We are all people of habits. To some degree, we are always battling to establish good habits while battling to supplant bad ones. This is true of us in many different areas of life and most certainly true in our spiritual lives. In fact, some have argued that when we describe the way we relate…

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    A La Carte (January 16)

    A La Carte: Why don’t we read the Bible more? / Did David rape Bathsheba? / To (almost) die is gain / Learn to pray the Bible / When you’re close to burnout / Called to freedom / and more.

  • How To Obtain a Plenary Indulgence in 2025

    How To Obtain a Plenary Indulgence in 2025

    I think we can sometimes fool ourselves into believing that the Reformation caused the Roman Catholic Church to abandon some, most, or all of the doctrine that was so concerning to the Reformers. We can sometimes believe that the Catholicism of today is materially different from that of the 16th century or that it has…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 15)

    A La Carte: iPhones, idolatry, and evil spirits / At my mother’s deathbed / Nothing to do but pray / Bible study tips for beginners / Jesus did condemn homosexuality / Please don’t sing “Imagine” at funerals / Kindle and book deals.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 14)

    A La Carte: Narcissus in public / A famous poet, KFC, and peace with my past / Does empowerment come from boudoir photoshoots? / Surrendering them to God / Sermon prep / Your plans for this year / and more.

  • 10 Reasons to Teach the Bible’s Big Truths to Children

    📖 Why teach children the big truths of the Bible? Moses commanded Israel to gather everyone—men, women, and little ones—to hear God’s law. Why? So they could “hear and learn to fear the Lord.” (Deut. 31:12-13) Children need the deep, rich truths of Scripture to know God, embrace the Gospel, and build a faith that…