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Weekend A La Carte (October 12)

I’ve been blessed to spend the past few days in Hawaii to speak at the Pacific Church Leadership Conference. What a joy it has been to spend time with brothers and sisters from all across the region (and with Alistair Begg who is decidedly not from the region).

Today’s Kindle deals include a couple of classics and a few newer works.

(Yesterday on the blog: To the Young Man Who Has Been Asked To Preach for the First Time)

7 Reasons Tom Schreiner (Tentatively) Holds to Amillennialism

Justin Taylor tells why Tom Schreiner holds to an amillennial view of the end times, even if it is with some hesitation. “It would be hard to find a more gracious and humble commentator than Tom Schreiner. This is especially true when it comes to the controversy of what Revelation 20 teaches on the millennium.”

How Should We Describe David’s Sin With Bathsheba?

Here’s a very level-headed view on a hot topic this week: Whether David’s sin with Bathsheba amounted to rape.

Mapping America’s Fall Foliage

Here’s a great little map showing America’s fall foliage. (Being in Hawaii this week, I haven’t seen a bit of it!)

Ethiopia’s Evangelical Prime Minister Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Christianity Today reports. “Less than two years since taking office, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has helped Ethiopia achieve the kind of peace and reconciliation once deemed impossible, including resolving a border conflict with its East African neighbor Eritrea.”

A Better Tone

Joel Belz: “Not since the Civil War, some thoughtful observers are saying, has our nation been so divided. Never so polarized. Never with so many of its citizens set so bitterly against each other.” Whether that’s true or not, it’s clear that there is a lot of division at the moment.

Beto O’Rourke’s Plan to Destroy Churches

“On Thursday, during a CNN town hall devoted to LGBTQ issues, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was asked, ‘Do you think religious institutions like colleges, churches, charities—should they lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage?’ ‘Yes,’ O’Rourke said without hesitation, drawing applause from the Los Angeles audience.”

Why We Need Bible-Oriented—Not Entertainment-Oriented—Preachers

“Earnestness is the demeanor that corresponds to the weight of the subject matter of preaching. The opposite of earnest is not joyful but trivial, flippant, frivolous, chipper.” John Piper explains.

Flashback: 7 Things Your Church Needs From You

Commit to get to know people not like you. There is no reason you shouldn’t be able to say that some of your best and closest relationships are with people who are very different from you.

The knowledge of God, and the remembrance of his all-seeing presence, are the most powerful means against hypocrisy.

—Richard Baxter

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    A La Carte (November 5)

    A La Carte: Why women use pornography / I want God’s wrath on my enemy / Looking at photos with my mum / 10 things you should know about your conscience / I love being a pastor / and more.

  • A Beautiful 40-day Illustrated Devotional of Classic Literature

    This week the blog is sponsored by P&R Publishing. In the newest release by Leland Ryken, A Treasury of Nature, he joins great works of poetry, hymnody, prose, and art with accessible literary analysis. As Ryken says in the Introduction to his book: “The overall goal of this anthology is to enable nature to be…

  • Four Years After Our Hardest Day

    Four Years After Our Hardest Day

    Yesterday marked four years since Nick went to heaven. I find myself calling him “Nicky” more often now—a name I hadn’t used for him since he was a child. I wonder if it reflects that in some ways he is becoming dearer to my heart and younger to my mind. After all, I keep aging…

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    A La Carte (November 4)

    A La Carte: A reassured heart / Alistair Begg with biblical wisdom for voting / Unveiling the true nature of grumbling / Kevin DeYoung on double predestination / Kindle deals / and more.

  • 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.