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A La Carte (April 12)

Today’s Kindle deals include several titles from Christian Focus that are good at any time of year, but especially appropriate around Easter.

Benjamin Franklin’s Misplaced Hope of Resurrection

Vance Christie: “Franklin died doubting that Christ Jesus is God the Son, much less trusting in Jesus as his Savior from sin and the source of eternal life. Any hope that Franklin ever entertained of being resurrected ‘in a new and more elegant edition’ by God did not materialize.”

Missing the Maker in the Majesty

I, too, really enjoyed Planet Earth II, but made these same observations. “There’s almost religious reverence and wonder spilling from every scene, as if the producers themselves know that a greater purpose lies behind the beauty of the things they see—as if they know that all of this living magnificence is more than the result of time, chance, and natural selection, but have no One else to credit.”

Why Airlines Sell More Seats Than They Have (Video)

Now that overselling is in the news, Wendover Productions explains why this is standard practice among airlines. Also, overselling wasn’t actually a factor in United Airline’s recent problem, which should remind us how often the earliest news reports are inaccurate. (It was actually about needing to seat an extra flight crew on the flight.)

Praying for Families in Your Local Church

“The Lord calls all believers to pray at all times in the Spirit … and to be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (Eph 6.18). What a privilege. But it may appear to be daunting and a bit impossible to pray for everyone in your local church. Where do you begin? How do you start? What could be a helpful guide to aid you in praying for your local church?” Here are some suggestions.

Dads, Be Tender With Your Children

“This was discipleship, in its most Christ-like form. My dad has always had a big, friendly, lovable personality and plenty of opinions of his own. But, in those moments, he was meek and mild, yet filled with godly wisdom. He discerned what I needed to hear and how I needed to hear it. He sought to know me, and he listened when I talked. He was tender with me. Never hard or harsh or impatient.”

How Google Book Search Got Lost

Google certainly doesn’t lack in vision, but they do sometimes bite off more than they can chew. Sadly, Google Books may be one of those things.

God’s Choice, Not Ours: The Joys of Unexpected Friendship

What a sweet article on friendship. “It didn’t take long to realize we had a special friendship as women but also as couples and families. Our families continued to grow through birth, adoption, and foster care. And somewhere along the way, as friends and families, we unofficially committed to being in each others’ lives for as long as the Lord allowed.”

Flashback: The Seed of Divorce

The world, the flesh, and the devil are all committed to the destruction of marriage, and each of those enemies brings its own evil seeds. The question is not whether those seeds are or will be present in a marriage, but what we will do with them.

It is never humble to be hesitant where God has been clear.

—Mark Dever

  • A Batch of New Books for Kids

    A Batch of New Books for Kids (and Teens)

    Every month I put together a roundup of new and notable books for grownup readers. But I also receive a lot of books for kids and like to put together the occasional roundup of these books as well. So today I bring you a whole big batch of new books for kids of all ages…

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    A La Carte (March 28)

    A La Carte: The case against the abortion pill / What I’ve learned about grieving with hope / Heartbreaking deception: teen girls, social media, and body image / Could podcasts save the church from stupidity? / Count it all joy / and more.

  • What God Wants You To Forget

    What God Wants You To Forget

    We are never far from reminding God of our credentials, of providing him with a curriculum vitae that lays out all we are, all we have been through, and all we have accomplished for his sake. We are never far from making the subtle turn from grace to merit, from what is freely given to…

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    A La Carte (March 27)

    A La Carte: New music / Millennials and GenZ / Scotland’s new hate crime law / Cate Blanchett, Easter is for you / Why the Reformed pray for revival / What truly happened to Jesus on the cross? / and more.

  • New and Notable Books

    New and Notable Christian Books for March 2024

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new titles in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I…

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    A La Carte (March 26)

    A La Carte: God delivers from the suffering he ordains / The beautiful partnership of family and church / The end of religious liberty / On whales, menopause, and thanks to God / Ordinary women, extravagant gifts / and more.