Who Are You When Only Your Family Is Looking?

One of the customs of our church is to thoroughly evaluate the men we call to be pastors and elders. Once we identify a candidate for the office, and once he has indicated his interest, we complete a thorough evaluation of his life and character. We work through a document that describes the qualifications the Bible holds out and asks whether he meets them or falls short. The prospective elder and his wife complete this evaluation first before the existing …

A La Carte (December 4)

Good morning. Grace and peace to you. Today’s Kindle deals include some good picks from Crossway. Also, Eerdmans has all of their commentaries on sale at an 80% discount. That includes the excellent New International Commentary on the Old Testament, New International Commentary on the New Testament, New International Greek Testament Commentary, and the Pillar New Testament Commentary. This pricing applies to Amazon US only. (Yesterday on the blog: Important Commentary Releases in 2023) Turning on the Lights on Sin “All around our world, darkness looms. …

Important Commentary Releases in 2023

As an avid collector of commentaries, I like to keep an eye out for new releases, especially when they are part of the various major commentary series. With the year coming to an end, I wanted to put together a roundup of the key releases from 2023. So here are some of the most interesting and most important commentaries released this year. Richard J. Phillips – Genesis 2 Volume Set (Reformed Expository Commentary). You can’t go wrong with the author …

Weekend A La Carte (December 2)

My gratitude goes to Children’s Hunger Fund for sponsoring the blog this week. CHF is a nonprofit that serves in 31 countries and seeks to “deliver hope to suffering children by equipping local churches for gospel-centered mercy ministry.” Westminster Books has lots of deals on books for kids. Today’s Kindle deals include several good options for collectors. Also, I will have more to say about this next week, but collectors of commentaries will want to know that Eerdmans has all …

Free Stuff Fridays (DBTS)

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by DBTS and they are going to give away ten copies of For the Sake of His Name by David Doran. Christ gave his disciples a monumental, yet simple task: make disciples of all nations. But what exactly does that command mean? How are we supposed carry it out? How does the local church figure in? And what’s the ultimate goal? The Scriptures provide answers. David Doran has written a collection of articles to ground us in …

You Are Still a Mother

There is no path through this life that does not involve hardship. There is no path through this life that does not involve sorrow and loss. One of the most common sorrows, the most common losses, is that of a child who dies through miscarriage or stillbirth. So many parents are familiar with the agony of losing a child they never truly got to know, yet loved with their whole heart. Writing specifically for mothers who have become members of …

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"Endurance is not a magic spell that falls upon the Christian. Endurance comes from knowing what God’s word requires, knowing who we are according to God’s word, and knowing that God’s word lasts when all else falters and fails." (Kevin DeYoung)

"Endurance is not a magic spell that falls upon the Christian. Endurance comes from knowing what God’s word requires, knowing who we are according to God’s word, and knowing that God’s word lasts when all else falters and fails." (Kevin DeYoung) ...

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"Pastor, do not let your vision for the church you want get in the way of God’s vision for the church you actually have!" (Jared C. Wilson)

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A La Carte (December 1)

The beginning of a new month is a good time to pause and remember this: That right now, at the very moment, the Lord is reigning from his throne. I continue to update Kindle deals on a near-daily basis. If you check in just once per day, it’s usually best to do so around 7 AM EST since that is around when I finalize the list for the day. Amazon often puts books on sale for just 24 hours, so …

New and Notable Christian Books for November 2023

November is not traditionally the greatest month of the year for book releases. This November, though, proved to be something of an exception as a number of publishers released new books just in time for the holiday shopping season. Here are my picks for this month’s new and notable books that may be of interest to Christian readers. In every case I’ve included the publisher’s description. The Pilgrim’s Regress: Guarding Against Backsliding and Apostasy in the Christian Life by Mark …

A La Carte (November 30)

As is the custom in December, Westminster Books has all ESVs at 50% off. That includes Journaling Bibles; Study Bibles; Children and Youth Bibles; Premium and Heirloom Bibles; Scripture Journals; and so on. Today’s Kindle deals include the excellent When Helping Hurts along with commentaries on Romans and James. (Yesterday on the blog: When You Poke God in the Eye) Reformer’s Syndrome “Among the many theological ailments that can strike in Reformed churches, ‘Reformer’s Syndrome,’ is one of the more …

When You Poke God in the Eye

Have you ever been poked in the eye? Or have you ever gotten a speck of dust in your eye and learned how it takes just the tiniest piece of grit to cause the severest amount of pain? The smallest particle of dirt has the ability to incapacitate the biggest and strongest of men when it lodges in his eyeball. The eye is fragile and precious and we rightly guard it from harm. There are a number of places in …

A La Carte (November 29)

The God of peace be with you today. B&H has slowly but steadily been discounting the Kindle editions of every volume in their Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series. Several more volumes are on sale today along with some other titles. Ten Reasons Why Church Membership Is Biblical Mitch Chase: “Is church membership biblical? Yes. The reason is that the biblical nature of church membership is established from a variety of passages and considerations. Here’s a cumulative case of ten reasons why …

A La Carte (November 28)

May the Lord be with you and bless you on this fine day. There is a good little list of Kindle deals today. I have also included a list of some popular general market titles that have been discounted for the day. (Yesterday on the blog: How Long Has It Been Like This?) On Culture War, Doug Wilson, and the Moscow Mood This is a really solid, helpful article from Kevin DeYoung in which he expresses his concerns with Doug …

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Book Reviews

You Are Still a Mother

You Are Still a Mother

Jackie Gibson

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Why is Charitable Giving Important?

This week the blog is sponsored by Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF), a nonprofit seeking to “deliver hope to suffering children by equipping local churches for gospel-centered mercy ministry.” Serving in the United States and 31 other countries, CHF seeks to help the local church reach suffering children and families in their communities with both physical help and spiritual hope found only in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the questions I get regularly starts something like, “I’m just a… …

How Long Has It Been Like This?

It is an experience I have had and, in all likelihood, one you have had as well. I have gone to the doctor to tell him about some pain, some illness, some ailment, and he has asked, “How long has it been like this?” Sheepishly I’ve had to admit, “It has been months” or “It’s been like that for a year.” And, like a dad who is disappointed in his child, he has had to tell me, “You know, if …

2023 Cyber Monday Deals for Christians

Black Friday is behind us and that brings us to Cyber Monday, another opportunity to track down some good deals. I spent a good bit of time hunting around for bargains and am sharing them here. You may notice that some of them are the same as the Black Friday specials while others are entirely different. Amazon Amazon has discounts on thousands of items. Of interest to me is their Kindle e-readers (and other devices) which are on sale today. …

A La Carte (November 27)

Good morning. Grace and peace to you. Today I have put together a long list of deals for Cyber Monday. There are some significant discounts to be had! Today’s Kindle deals include some seasonal books from Crossway along with quite a number of other options. (Yesterday on the blog: Proven Faith Is More Precious than Gold) The Purpose and Limits of a Husband’s Authority I wish I had read this article when I was much earlier on in marriage. Husbands …

Proven Faith Is More Precious than Gold

It can be difficult to make sense of our trials as we endure them. But the Bible always assures us that our difficulties are never purposeless but always in some way purposeful. God is always using them to accomplish something good. This is the theme of this short devotional reflection from my friend Paul Tautges (and drawn from his new book Remade). ❖ The simple gold ring on my left hand is priceless to me. It is my most valuable …

Weekend A La Carte (November 25)

My gratitude goes to BJU for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their upcoming CoRE Conference which will appeal especially to those involved in counseling. Yesterday I shared a long list of Black Friday deals. I updated the list a number of times throughout the day and most of the deals remain active through the weekend. There are a few Kindle deals as well. Find Your Fathers in Christ: Advice for Younger Men “Over the last twenty …

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My Books

Do More Better Cover

Do More Better

by Tim Challies

I wrote this short, fast-paced, practical guide to productivity to share what I have learned about getting things done in today’s digital world. It will help you learn to structure your life to do the most good to the glory of God. Read More