Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (August 19)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Today’s Kindle deals include some excellent choices by Crossway that will help you get caught up in your doctrine. Also recommended is Michael Witmer’s Urban Legends of the Old Testament.

Pastor, Be What You Want to See

It would be difficult to over-express the importance of this principle. “Pastor, whatever you are, your church will eventually become. If you are a loudmouth boaster, your church will gradually become known for loudmouth boasting. If you are a graceless idiot, your church will gradually become known for graceless idiocy. The leadership will set the tone of the community’s discipleship culture, setting the example of the church body’s ‘personality.’ So whatever you want to see, that is what you must be.”

When Mom and Dad Quietly Cast Out a Demon

As this writer makes clear, dealing with demonic forces is not to be done as you see in the movies (or in various other Christian traditions).

Mom & Dad: Show Your Need

“‘I have one regret of how I parented,’ my friend told me. I leaned forward. My friend is a godly man married to a godly wife. He’s kind and gentle and wise. As an educator, he’s witnessed a lot of parenting, good and bad, in his day. His adult children have had their struggles but are good people. I would ask him for parenting advice in a second. What was his greatest regret?”

Gossip: A Sin That Is Sadly Indigenous To The Church

Sadly, it is true that gossip often seems to thrive within the local church (or the wider church, for that).

If I Were God

We all have these moments from time-to-time, don’t we—times when we are pretty sure we could do things better than God. “It’s easy to start second-guessing God and the way he has ordained things in this world. We see injustice, we see pain, we see tragedy, and we think: ‘If I were God, I don’t think I’d have planned it this way.’”

The Dangers of Idolizing a Wife

“Any love that leads a husband to disobey God, abdicate his responsibility, choose her over Christ in the moment of decision or the drift of a lifetime — such is not love from above. This age catechizes with romance novels and Romcoms, commends a carnal love, a love that pinches its incense before Aphrodite and Eros. As with Romeo and Juliet, it is a godless, idolatrous infatuation, a romantic suicide.”

Flashback: These Have Been Good Days, But Hard Times

God is good. Though I have had some moments of self-pity, I don’t think I’ve had as much as one moment of doubting God’s goodness or kindness or noble plan.

Jesus is the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God – He was lionhearted and lamblike, strong and meek, tough and tender, aggressive and responsive, bold and brokenhearted.

—John Piper

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (July 5)

    A La Carte: Let’s not rush to roles / Before you go to the nations / Children are not adults / Lia Thomas and a dark chapter for women’s athletics / No pit so deep / The first five years / and more.

  • how to lead your family

    How To Lead Your Family

    It’s no easy task to lead a family. It’s no small responsibility a man accepts when he gets married and begins a family with his wife. It is not an easy task, but it is a necessary one. And by God’s grace, it can be a joyful, fulfilling, and successful one. How To Lead Your…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (July 4)

    A La Carte: Love your country / Mending nets in the storm / The wordless book / What does yhwh mean? / Children deserve beautiful books / How not to abuse spiritual authority / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (July 3)

    A La Carte: Silly summers / Broken bodies and anxious souls / Caring for disabled church members / How to survive prosperity / Meeting with the grieving / What makes a sermon work / Logos and Kindle deals.

  • Is It Fair of God

    Is It Fair of God?

    It’s a question every Christian is asked to consider at one time or another: Is God fair to punish those who have never heard of Jesus Christ? There are many ways to consider the issue and many ways to answer.