Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (April 12)

wednesday

Good morning from [groggily checks Google Maps] Brisbane, Australia, where I’m connecting on to the Pacific Islands. This trip has been good so far and is now past the halfway point.

Westminster Books is doing some spring cleaning and that has resulted in some good deals.

Today’s Kindle deals include a solid commentary on Romans.

A Constant Dying

“What do I mean? Dying for Christ takes a moment of extreme courage and resolve from the hand of God, but living for Christ requires a sustained courage that beats back the devil and the flesh daily. It’s a constant dying.”

What Is a Man? What Is a Woman? How Our Laws Should Define Male and Female

Justin Taylor is always the master at finding interesting material and helpfully summarizing it.

What does a true theologian look like?

What does a true theologian look like? Ligon Duncan gets an assist in defining it.

If Jesus Were Still Dead…

This is a simple but effective thought experiment.

3 Things You Should Know about John’s Gospel

“When we come to the gospel according to John, it is immediately apparent that, although it deals with the same subject matter, it has a distinctive angle. Instead of providing a synopsis of Christ’s life and work, it provides a selective overview highlighting the defining elements of who Jesus is and what sets Him apart as the only One who can rightly be acknowledged as ‘the Christ.’”

Christian fantasy after Tolkien: a Top 10

There is no one quite like Tolkien. But if you’ve read him and gotten interested in fantasy, here are some good next steps from Reformed Perspective.

Flashback: How to Encourage that Preacher

The faithful preacher is content to be forgotten so Jesus can be remembered. “I forgot all about you” may be one of the most encouraging things a preacher can hear.

God, through the perfect life, atoning death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, rescues all his people from the wrath of God into peace with God, with a promise of the full restoration of his created order forever.

—Ray Ortlund

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (November 27)

    A La Carte: John Piper on false teachings / Everything is television / Is it Satan or God? / The hard way is the easy way / Backward progress / Treat people like adults / and more.

  • New-and-Notablenov

    New and Notable Christian Books for November 2025

    Though the year is coming to its end, it’s not over yet! That means publishers still have some books to release—books we would not wish to overlook before 2025 gives way to 2026. Here are some of the ones I consider especially noteworthy. In each case, I’ve included the editorial description to give you a…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 26)

    A La Carte: The other side of human rights / Biblical literacy / A ramp out of the worry rut / The depressed Christian / Quick no, slow yes / Do you see eternity? / and more.

  • Support

    Would you Consider Supporting My Work?

    I have been blogging at Challies.com on a daily basis for well over 22 years now. That long commitment has allowed me to write thousands of articles and hundreds of book reviews while also sending millions of visitors to other sites through the daily A La Carte feature. While I’ve also written a number of books, through…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 25)

    A La Carte: Are you still gospel-centered? / Christian liberty / Triumph in trouble / Being faithful in little things / How we choose songs / I’m not sabbatarian / and more.

  • Danger

    The Danger of Defensive Sanctification

    There is a certain kind of sober-mindedness that seems to come over Christians as they age. It can flow from many sources, I’m sure, but I think it often arises from a kind of fear—a fear that they may not finish their race without some kind of a major stumble. After living the Christian life…