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A La Carte (April 22)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Just a week to go before my new book Eric’s Greatest Race becomes available. You can pre-order it at Amazon or Westminster Books!

Today’s Kindle deals include Ray and Jani’s Ortlund’s To the Tenth Generation, which is on sale for the first time, I believe. You’ll also find a systematic theology, several books on evangelism, and quite a bit more.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Winds Blow Hardest Against the Tallest Trees)

Francis (1936–2025), the Pope Who Made the Roman Church More ‘Catholic’

Leonardo De Chirico has written an obituary for Pope Francis. “Francis shook the Catholic world with a whirlwind of change: in symbols (wearing a silvery metal cross), in status (living in a simple apartment at Santa Marta), in language (speaking as a country priest), in posture (approachable by all), in tone (relational and warm), in style (undiplomatic and direct), in pastoral openness (blessing homosexual people and admitting divorced people at the Eucharist).”

The Last of the Four

Brandon writes about the heartbreaking task of clearing out his daughter’s room. “It’s been nearly three years since my youngest died, but we finally reached the point where we could handle changing her room.”

Yes, Jesus Was Crucified With Nails

This is another excellent response to Christianity Today’s recent article about the cross, “which featured a subversive argument, a spirit of revisionist speculation, and evinced poor editorial stewardship.”

Why Does John Mention That He Outran Peter to Jesus’ Tomb?

Have you ever wondered why John mentions that he outran Peter to Jesus’ tomb? It’s a small detail but perhaps an especially important one.

The Mystery of ‘The Call’

“Throughout the history of the Church, I’m not sure if there has been a term more detrimental to the completion of the Great Commission than the phrase ‘the call.’ The confusion surrounding this term and the hesitancy of thousands of potential gospel workers to move forward without a clear ‘call’ is tragic. How this term came to have such power in the realm of missions is hard to say, but there is no doubt about its effect on many people’s minds.”

Just a Little Bit

Rachel writes about those times we sin “just a little bit.” “Where have I tried softening sin to make it seem more comfortable, more approachable? Where are you willing to add ‘just a little bit’ to something to make it seem okay? Where are you willing to cave in for ‘just a little bit’ more?”

Flashback: The Birds, The Bees, The Awe, The Wonder

“The talk” is a time to help your children marvel at God’s good design and to see the evidence of his handiwork behind it. Your task is not just to convey the necessary facts, but to convey the appropriate wonder.

Are there not millions of us who would rather go sleeping to hell; than sweating to heaven?

—Thomas Watson


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    Christianity under the progressive gaze / Why Christians must reject the conspiratorial mind / Wise people strive to be wiser / The pro-life movement’s midterm reckoning / How evil works / Preaching in paragraphs / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Works and Wonders November 8

    Works & Wonders (November 8)

    This week’s Works & Wonders: the power of God, Nikon’s microscope photos, three Come, Thou Founts, a brain-injured musical genius, and Prepare Him Room live.

  • Weekend A La Carte (November 7)

    The Hutterites’ guide to technology / Searching for jobs, Gen Z feels like it’s staring into ‘the void’ / The gospel according to Peter (Thiel) / Scientism and the allure of control / Can science explain sparkling rivers? / What led to Christianity Today’s crisis?

  • I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I regret to inform you, dear reader, that heaven tourism is back. The genre possibly never went away entirely, but it did at least disappear from the bestseller lists for several years. Sadly, it has returned in Gabe Poirot’s 18 Days in Heaven.

  • A La Carte (November 6)

    Don’t despise the red flags / Your thoughts are shaping your life / Can’t you just love everyone? / Selfies are not the self: forming embodied youth in a disembodied age / Effective altruists and the spreadsheet gospel / 4 Applications for the order of love—from the home to the ends of the earth /…