Consider Your Legacy

There is something almost absurd about inheritances in a world of financial abundance and increased lifespans. The Baby Boomer generation has worked hard and saved diligently, stuffing away untold billions in savings and retirement accounts, with the hope of leaving their children in a comfortable financial position. Meanwhile, in the West, lifespans are increasing, and many of those Boomers will live long into their 80s and 90s. By the time they die, their children will be grown and well-established in …

A La Carte (July 27)

Today’s Kindle deals include a handful of titles that may be worth a look. Also, Amazon has a one-day sale on leather journals and portfolios. Maybe it’s time to get back into journaling? Actually They Don’t Just Hate the Church, They Hate Jesus “At least we’re cutting to the chase now in our culture. At least we’re cutting through all the cant about how the problem we have is that people hate the church but deep down really love Jesus. …

Four Sources of Discord in Your Church

Every church is at every time in danger. Every church is in danger of disruption and disunity when Christian turns on Christian or Christian turns away from Christian. In Paul’s letter to Titus he offers four sources of discord and warns us to avoid them (“But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.”). Here, for your consideration, are four sources of disunity that may just exist in your church. Foolish Controversies. …

A La Carte (July 26)

Today’s Kindle deals include a few Christian titles as well as a collection of award-winning general market books. Be sure to check out the deals this week from Westminster Books. 12 Spurgeon Quotes for When Parenting Feels Hard We can all use some encouragement from time to time. Our Cultural Waterloo Carl Trueman: “With Trump in the White House, Christian colleges have four, maybe eight, years in which the cultural and political tide might not flow as strongly against them …

A Practical Guide to Culture

Christians have an interesting relationship with culture. Culture is a word we love to use, but one we rarely pause to define. We speak of culture’s dangerous encroachment on the church, of our need to avoid it, engage it, or redeem it. But what is this culture thing anyway? It happens to be the subject of an excellent new book by John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle. A Practical Guide to Culture is meant to help those who are helping the …

A La Carte (July 25)

Today’s Kindle deals include a few titles you might want to add to your collection. A Brief History of the Altar Call “By the mid-20th century, altar calls had become a staple of evangelical and Baptist life in America, especially in the South.” But where did that thing come from in the first place? Progressivism’s Peak Lunacy This is, indeed, lunacy. But I fear we’ve got a ways to go before it hits its peak. But the point Matthew Hosier …

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Book Reviews

A Practical Guide to Culture

A Practical Guide to Culture

Brett Kunkle

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From The Seahawks to Seminary

I first met Tyler Sykora when he was part of a discipleship group at Midwestern Seminary I was co-leading with one of our profs. A thoughtful but soft-spoken guy, I was impressed by his easy-going nature and disarmed by his bookish demeanor. I was not surprised to learn that he was assisting Christian George as a Research Assistant in our Spurgeon Library. I now attend the same church as Tyler and his wife Samantha (and their due-any-minute daughter Adeline Rose), and he is one of the residents in the Pastoral Training Center I’m directing there. But one evening during a conversation in my home, I was surprised to learn something new and almost-as-cool-as-the-Spurgeon-Library about Tyler.

Control Your Sexuality

This whole series titled “Run to Win“ had its genesis in a number of real-world conversations. In one, a woman told of her struggles with her husband. She considered herself a caring and attentive wife who over many years had done her best to respond to her husband’s frequent requests for sex. Yet even when she responded positively, she found his desire was rarely quenched, and within hours he would be after her again, grumbling and dissatisfied if she declined. …

A La Carte (July 24)

I’m back! I enjoyed a much-needed relaxing week with my family in Newfoundland. We went straight from there to Muskoka Bible Centre where I am teaching for the week. But as of today it’s business as normal at the blog, which means the return of A La Carte. Here we go… Today’s Kindle deals include several excellent picks from Crossway. A High View of Marriage Includes Divorce This really needed to be said, and I’m thankful to Rebecca VanDoodewaard for …

Letters to the Editor (Commentaries, Rape on Television, Funerals, Hospitality, etc)

Letters to the editor continue to roll in. My gratitude goes to each reader who takes the time to write in. Here are a few of the most noteworthy I’ve received recently. Letters on Logos New Testament Commentary Collection I recently purchased your NT commentary recommended bundle on Logos, and my, what a deal! I hope you and Logos can partner together on an OT commentary set in the near future. Thanks! —Matthew D, Arlington, VA Tim: Yes, it is …

Wanting It Enough

I want to have 10 percent body fat. I set that goal a while ago and even managed to get really close to reaching it. But eventually I found out that I want to have 10 percent body fat just a bit less than I want to have 13 percent. There’s a key difference between the two: While 13 percent requires moderate effort to gain and retain, 10 percent requires strict discipline. I soon learned I just didn’t want the …

A Quick Fix for Low Self-Esteem

Sometimes it happens to even the best of us. We aren’t watching for it, we aren’t expecting it, but suddenly it overwhelms us like a tsunami. In a moment we’re plunged into the depths of sorrow and despair. Now we find ourselves grappling with negative thoughts, we realize we’ve lost confidence in our abilities, we have let go of all sense of self-worth. This is the plague of low self-esteem and none of us is immune. What can we do …

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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

Guard Your Health

As a young man, I often heard older people talking about their declining bodies and failing health. I grew weary of hearing them tell how their strength had diminished and how their aches and pains had increased. They insisted that they used to be able to eat anything they wanted without ill effect, but now practically every food gave them indigestion. Whereas they once had the ability to sleep soundly under any conditions, now any unusual circumstance would keep them …

Doers and Delegators

We tend to associate the highest godliness with the humblest service. Jesus proved his holiness when he stooped to wash the filthy feet of his disciples. He proved his submission to God when he willingly faced the unjust suffering of the cross. In both cases, it is what Jesus did that displayed his godly character. This is the heart of what Christians refer to as servant-leadership, of displaying the highest kind of leadership through the lowest acts of service. Successful …

An Army Without Supplies

I am an avid reader of books related to the Second World War. In my estimation, no conflict in history has been more interesting than this one. It has generated a wealth of fascinating stories and riveting accounts of unbelievable heroism. And even though countless thousands of books have already been written, new ones pour off the presses every day. Not nearly all the good stories have yet been told. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of these stories have recounted …

Master Your Finances

I have a love-hate relationship with money. I love the good things money can accomplish. I love how it can be used to provide for my needs and the needs of my wife and children. I love how it can be used to support God’s work in the world. I love being the contributor and the recipient of financial generosity—there is much joy in cheerful giving and grateful receiving. Yet I hate the way money can hold me captive, the …

A La Carte (July 17)

This is going to be the sole A La Carte this week. I am on vacation for the next seven days and, as part of that, will not be doing all the daily reading and linking that’s part of A La Carte. They will resume, as normal, a week from today. However, I’ve got brand new articles queued up all through the week and hope you’ll enjoy those. I’ll be back online in a week! Today’s Kindle deals include a …

Writing Great Books for Kids (and Reading Great Books To Kids)

Parents love to buy their children good books. Christian parents love to buy their children good Christian books. Thankfully, we are well-served with excellent titles geared to children. Many of them come from the pen of Marty Machowski. I recently asked him about writing great books for kids (and reading great books to kids). I hear often from people who dream of writing a book for kids. Yet I know from speaking to publishers that it’s one of the toughest …

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