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Weekend A La Carte (October 26)

weekend

Today’s Kindle deals include some new books and some classics.

The Porter’s Gate has a new album, Neighbor Songs, that you may enjoy.

(Yesterday on the blog: Protecting Your Children From Predators)

Here Come the Skinny Cows

“Conventional wisdom suggests that a church whose budget is not 100 percent supported by tithes and offerings is not sustainable. We believe, however, that a coming revolution in church economics will necessarily redefine the notion of church stability altogether, as an increasing number of congregations find they are not stable or sustainable by this definition.”

State of Servitude

Marvin Olasky gives his own version of the history of socialism. He’s not a fan.

How the Queen Travels (Video)

She doesn’t (always) travel in quite as much style as you might think.

How Do I Know if I’ve Been Predestined?

Jesse Johnson: “How does a person know if they have been predestined by God for heaven? The shortest answer to the question is also the best: Do you love Jesus? If so, then you have been predestined.”

We Are Not Omni-Anything

“We long for community, and we long to be like God. We want omni-autonomy and omni-presence in our relationships. Omni-autonomy is our desire to be individuals, not bound by another, and wholly separate from others. We want to be like God. Omni-presence is our desire to be everywhere, not bound by place or time, and wholly accessible to others. We want to be like God.”

Who Was Luke?

Here’s an interesting first-person mini-biography of Luke.

Banning Plastic Bags Won’t Save Our Planet

This article from The Globe and Mail helpfully shows how many environmental plans are actually more about optics than actually solving a problem. “We need to be honest about how much consumers can achieve. As with other environmental issues, instead of tackling the big-picture problems to actually reduce the plastic load going into oceans, we focus on relatively minor changes involving consumers, meaning we only ever tinker at the margins.”

Flashback: Be a Living Example of God’s Living Love

Your love needs to extend beyond your comfort zone. The church is to be a community of people who love one another despite differences, who love one another through differences.

It is not the bee’s touching of the flower, which gathers honey—but her abiding for a time upon the flower, which draws out the sweet. It is not he who reads most—but he who meditates most, who will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian.

—Thomas Brooks

  • Beauty

    The Greatest Beauty I’ve Ever Seen

    One of the great privileges of my life has been the opportunity to travel far and wide. While most of my travel has been related to either speaking at conferences or filming documentaries, my hosts have often invited me to deviate from the straightest course to explore and take in the area’s natural beauty. It’s…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 22)

    A La Carte: 15 ways to fight lust / Snowflakes / When everyone else is getting the blessings you want / Enough with the valorization of doubt / A culture of evangelism / Book sales / and more.

  • Spurgeon

    Must You Read at Least One Spurgeon Biography?

    I am not aware of a verse in the Bible that says every Christian must read at least one biography of Charles Spurgeon. Or every Calvinist, at least. But I also wouldn’t be completely shocked if it’s there somewhere and I’ve just missed it. And that’s because his life and ministry were powerfully unique in…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 21)

    A La Carte: What “love your enemies” does not mean / John Piper on reading providence / Talking to your Roman Catholic friends / What happens at prayer meeting? / Against executive pastors / Kindle deals / and more.

  • The Christian Standard Commentary: A Modern Commentary Steeped in Ancient Tradition

    The Christian Standard Commentary will encourage and equip God’s people to understand the text and live according to Scripture for Christ’s glory. The unique ancient-modern approach to the biblical text found in the CSC is a valuable resource for building up Christ’s church while encouraging God’s people to fulfill the Great Commission. As a commentary…

  • Finnegan

    Why I Haven’t Written A Whole Lot about My Grandson

    It has been two months since little Finnegan was born—two months since I became a grandfather for the first time. It only just occurred to me that I have said very little about this new reality, this new stage of life, this new member of our family.