Yesterday, as I was putting the final touches on today’s A La Carte, I was struck again by what a privilege it is to do this. So thanks for reading. I think this is an especially strong collection today, and I’m sure you’ll find something to read or watch that proves to be a blessing to you.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include books on changing, counseling, parenting, working, rising, and much else.
Recommended Reading
So Much of Parenting Is Just This Simple, Easy* Thing. This is a strong and moving piece of writing from Andrea Burke. “So much of parenting is holding the balance, arms stretched across chasms. So much we don’t say;
so much we wish we had. So much I can’t change; probably a lot I should change if I knew better. Swallow my pride, swallow a million words, spare them the lecture and step into the gaping empty room of silence with head nods and ‘Tell me more.’”
My Second Life (Video). This is a stunning video, and I think you’ll be glad you watched it. “In November 2020, Philip was diagnosed with ALS. Five years later, he is completely paralyzed and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. Yet within this season of profound loss, Philip and his family have discovered unexpected treasures—deeper relationship, shared presence, and a community that has carried them through.” When you hear people speak of “MAiD,” they are using the Canadian term for euthanasia (Medical Assistance in Dying).
Not Every Hurt Is Church Hurt: Discerning the Difference. Sheryl Jacob considers church hurt and has an important message about it: “Not every pain that happens in a church is ‘church hurt’ as we often frame it. Sometimes it is human sin, human immaturity, and human blindness. If we don’t learn to carefully separate those, we risk letting our wound reshape our entire view of God’s people.”
Why Family Businesses Still Matter (And Why the Church Should Care). I found this a really interesting consideration of the joy and importance of family businesses. “Where I live, those conditions are becoming rare as family businesses are thinning out. And when they do, the church is losing not only jobs and independent income, but one of the most natural training grounds for Deuteronomy‐6‐shaped discipleship.”
Help Her Go. Tim Keesee: “Ever since Mary Magdalene ran from the tomb to tell the disbelieving disciples, ‘He is risen!’ He is born again! God has used women — single and married — to take the good news of Christ’s resurrection to the ends of the earth. Sometimes, however, our sisters face greater difficulties finding acceptance, financial support, and even respect on their way to the field.”
4 Axioms for Leaders. “Axioms are like portable parables. Quick, memorable, and unpackable. There’s always more to say, explain, and caveat. But the point is to grab the point and go.” J.A. Medders offers four of them, all drawn from Charles Spurgeon, and explains why they matter.
Themelios
Themelios is The Gospel’s Coalition’s theological journal. TGC has just released a new edition, and it has lots of good, free content. This month’s theme is biblical theology, and it gets underway with an editorial about D.A. Carson’s influence on the field. As always, you’ll find a wide selection of thoughtful articles (27 of them) and book reviews (37), mostly geared to an academic readership. You can read it all online or download it in PDF format.
Flashback
The Great Man and the Local Church. We are thankful for preachers of extraordinary ability…But at the same time, we know that the cause of the gospel would grind to a halt if it were not for 10,000 preachers of average ability—the kind who step up to pulpits in living rooms, school gymnasiums, and little churches far out into the countryside.
Christ came in the world’s back door that we might enter heaven’s front gate.
—De Witt Talmage
