Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (August 16)

A La Carte Friday 2

The God of peace be with you on this fine day.

Continue to check in for new Kindle deals and I’ll keep scouring Amazon for them. Today we’ve got books by Jerry Bridges, John Piper, and others.

Book Brief: The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson is a fast-paced, popular-level telling of the lead-up to the Civil War. He focuses especially on the Southern notion of honor and the fear of slave uprisings as among the keys that led to war. Recommended!

Believer, You Can’t. But Christ Can.

“Silently, your heart cries out to God in wordless groans that only He understands (Romans 8:26). Maybe it has already burst out from your heart like a powerful jet of water. Words erupt right up and out of your mouth in desperation, ‘I can’t do this Lord!’ It aches when you find that you are at the end of yourself. Strength gone. Self-sufficiency unmasked as the mirage that it has always been.”

From Orphanage to the Classroom: A Story of God’s Grace

This is such a neat story of God’s grace.

Growing Your Church Through Evangelism and Outreach

Learn six principles from J.A. Medders and Doug Logan in their new book, The Soul-Winning Church, to excite your church members about evangelism. Get 25% off with code SOULWIN. (Sponsored)

When Spiritual Disciplines Took Over My Life

Having spent time with Christians who deal with spiritual scrupulosity, I appreciate this article that describes the symptoms and some steps forward.

The Importance of Not Caring About Mark Driscoll

“50 years from now vanishingly few people will have any idea who Mark Driscoll was. They’ll also almost certainly have no clue who Andy Stanley was. Indeed, they will be wholly ignorant of virtually every celebrity pastor or evangelical influencer you can name, with perhaps one or two exceptions, but no more. So unless you have some very specific situation in which proper pastoral care requires caring about a certain celebrity, you should just stop caring.”

How God Used Suffering to Teach Me It’s a Blessing to Give and Receive

“It is paramount that we acknowledge everything we have is a gift from God. The job we hold, the home we live in, the money in our bank account, and even our able bodies. They are all given to us by a gracious God. He did not prosper us in this way so we could clutch tightly to the things we have, selfishly wanting more, unwilling to share. He has lavished us abundantly so we can bless others.”

3 Questions I Ask During Every Bible Study

These are good and helpful questions to ask when studying the Bible.

Flashback: Success Beyond What We Can Handle

When they gained the thing they had longed for, they lost the progress they had labored for. I have seen far more people ruined by success than by failure.

A god who is all love, all grace, all mercy, no sovereignty, no justice, no holiness, and no wrath is an idol.

—R.C. Sproul

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 4)

    A La Carte: The secular liturgy of “Goodnight Moon” / The case against vasectomies / Why the villagers ate our dog / Parenting teens / Puffins are not adorable / Why Bible citations seem sloppy / and more.

  • From the Rising of the Sun

    Rise with the Sun: A New Song with CityAlight

    It is a tremendous joy to tell you about a new song I have had the pleasure of creating with my friends from CityAlight—a song that wonderfully complements From the Rising of the Sun: A Journey of Worship Around the World.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 3)

    A La Carte: Holy ambitions / The global church and American worship / Are you correctable? / Gossip is global / Baptizing Bradley / Facilitate, not fix / Kindle and book deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (September 2)

    A La Carte: Displeasing your children / Let me Google that for you / James Dobson was right / Parents don’t get a 100% guarantee / Five reasons to consider amillennialism / Kindle deals / and more.

  • He Shatters the Jar

    We come into leadership thinking the kingdom advances through strong people using their amazing gifts to bear epic fruit. But God says, “Not really. When I want to shape a soul to lead, I bid him come and die. When I want my gospel to ring forth, I shatter the jar.”

  • Power

    The Mysterious Power of Male Sexuality

    Some of the best things in life are also some of the most dangerous. They are both beneficial and dangerous because they are powerful, and any kind of power can be used to accomplish great good or great evil. Consider the many biblical warnings about the tongue and how it can be used to build…