Skip to content ↓

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

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 21)

    A La Carte: Lessons from Trump’s and Harris’s social media campaigns / What is my spiritual gift? / The messages we receive / 10 mistakes I’ve made in preaching / Big Kindle and book sales / and more.

  • Finn

    I’m a Grandfather!

    Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 20)

    A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 19)

    A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.

  • What Grieves the Heart of God

    What Grieves the Heart of God?

    What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…