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Weekend A La Carte (November 4)

I am down South near Atlanta finishing up a marriage retreat. Lord willing I’ll be back home this evening. If you’re in the international terminal at ATL this afternoon, let me know and we’ll grab a coffee.

There are just a few Kindle deals today but they are on good books that rarely go on sale.

The Universe Should Not Exist

“Christian Smorra, a researcher at CERN, said, ‘All of our observations find a complete symmetry between matter and antimatter, which is why the universe should not actually exist.’” That blows my mind but is still plenty interesting.

Communism’s Bloody Century

This is a long but important and worthwhile read. “A century ago this week, communism took over the Russian empire, the world’s largest state at the time. Leftist movements of various sorts had been common in European politics long before the revolution of Oct. 25, 1917 (which became Nov. 7 in the reformed Russian calendar), but Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks were different. They were not merely fanatical in their convictions but flexible in their tactics—and fortunate in their opponents.”

What It’s Like to Learn You’re Going to Die

This is from a non-Christian perspective. “Nessa Coyle calls it ‘the existential slap’—that moment when a dying person first comprehends, on a gut level, that death is close. For many, the realization comes suddenly: ‘The usual habit of allowing thoughts of death to remain in the background is now impossible,’ Coyle, a nurse and palliative-care pioneer, has written. ‘Death can no longer be denied.’”

The Relationship Between Sin and Work

“The first chapters of Genesis are important to Christians for many reasons. Genesis 1-2 tells us what God originally intended for us as His creatures. Genesis 3 is vital in telling us what went wrong in the world. In short, the world has been cursed by the fall of Adam into sin. Interestingly, Adam’s sin involved a failure in his work. Called to exercise dominion over the other creatures, he instead permitted himself and Eve to be ruled by the crafty serpent.”

What Does it Mean to Be Missional? (Video)

Dr. Elias Medeiros talks about what it means to be missional.

Ask Ligonier

Here is an incredible new resource. “Maybe you’re teaching a lesson tomorrow. Maybe you just need a place to start. It’s good to know that you can always ask Ligonier. For over 40 years, Christians have been looking to R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries for clear and helpful answers to theological questions. Now you can ask those questions as they arise, confident that our team will quickly provide a clear and concise answer. When you have a question, just ask Ligonier.”

We Don’t Need the iPhone X

It has been interesting to chart people’s growing frustration with the current state of mobile technology. (There may be a bad word or two in this one.)

Flashback: A Quiz on the Doctrine of Scripture

How well do you know the doctrine of the Scripture? How well do you know what the Bible tells us about the Bible? This short thirty-three question quiz is designed to help you find out.

95 eBooks Sale

My thanks goes to Zondervan for sponsoring the blog this week.

Addiction to social media will make you aware of everything and wise about nothing.

—Matt Smethurst

  • Disappointment

    The Practice of Accepting Disappointment

    One of the most important habits you can develop is the habit of accepting that life is full of disappointments. One of the best ways to grow in contentment is to accept the inevitability of discontentment. One of the ways you can be most joyful in life is to be realistic about life, to know…

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    A La Carte (October 28)

    A La Carte: How to steward money in marriage / Regrets in parenting / The temptation of temptation / Our common purpose / How much should Christians tithe? / Huge Kindle sale / and more.

  • Prayer for a Son

    A Father’s Prayer for His Son

    Every father knows the importance of praying for his children. Yet every father also knows that at times it can be difficult to know what to pray. I recently found a sweet prayer in an old book and thought I would share it with you, dad, so you can pray it for your son. Take…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (October 26)

    A La Carte: Who are “the least of these?” / Where is Jordan Peterson on his spiritual journey? / A new Getty song / Christianity is not colonial / Reexamining sacramental life for Baptists / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier Ministries)

    This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Ligonier Ministries, who also sponsored the blog this week.  Are you saved? This is the ultimate question, but it won’t make much sense unless we’ve also asked ourselves what we need to be saved from. In a word, the answer is God. Ligonier Ministries is offering the ebook…

  • Bad Guys

    Could I Be One of the Bad Guys?

    Here is something I have been considering over the past few days: Every one of us acknowledges there is a lamentable lack of unity among Christians today. Yet none of us seems to consider that we ourselves may be the cause of that disunity, or at least contribute to it. In our minds, it is…