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Weekend A La Carte (September 5)

If you’re interested in an ESV Journaling Bible, Westminster Books has them half off for the week.

Today’s Kindle deals include mostly classics.

(Yesterday on the blog: Tips for Young (and Maybe Not-So-Young) Bloggers)

7 Takes About How Much I Intensely Dislike The Enneagram

I enjoyed reading Anne Kennedy because she makes me laugh (and think). “I hate it with the hatred I feel for the smell of pumpkin spice being pumped into the entrance of every grocery store, with the hatred of a thousand blazing suns, with all the hatred I nurture for whatever wretched insect that devoured my lilies this year. What number does that make me?”

Loose Change

This is a good little metaphor for the Christian life. “My grandfather was a salesman. His office was filled with normal and eccentric promotional items: pens, mini flashlights, stress balls, and small rubber change holders that when squeezed, pushed out loose pennies. He had boxes of miniature tools and calendars and paper weights, boxed mints, and heavy glass mugs with fancy frosted inscriptions that read ‘Your Logo Here’.”

Want Your Church to Enjoy Unity? Let the Gospel Do Its Dividing Work.

“When I became a lead pastor, I preached the gospel enthusiastically, but I didn’t understand its winnowing power or how positive that process would be. Like all pastors, I didn’t want division. I wanted unity and inclusivity. But that’s not how ministry works.”

North Korea’s New Push to Export Its Propaganda

This is an interesting look at now North Korea is using new media to export its propaganda.

What Happens When a Christian Dies?

“A Christian is a person who owns two homes. The home you are living in now is a temporary one, a ‘tent.’ But you have another home that is more enduring, more substantial. The date for your moving to your new home has not yet been given, but it is already known to God.” But what is this new home?

Quadruple Glory

“The Christian life is a life from glory to glory. Many of us may not see that right now. As we look around the state of the church—especially in the light of things such as social distancing and limited church fellowship and activities—we see weariness and heavy burdens. But do we see glory?”

The Grim Truth Behind The Pied Piper

Could there actually be some truth behind the legend?

Flashback: Simple Ways to Spark a Lukewarm Devotional Life

When your devotional life has grown cold you can do nothing better than pushing through it by not allowing yourself to stop. Reading and praying have their own way of sparking greater joy in reading and praying. Don’t allow your lack of interest to keep you from doing what you know is so good for your soul.

There is a burden of care in getting riches; fear of keeping them; temptation in using them; guilt of abusing them; sorrow in losing them; and a burden of account at last to be given concerning them.

—Matthew Henry

  • 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…