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A La Carte (January 13)

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Today’s Kindle deals include several books designed to help you understand and overcome various challenges to the Christian life (e.g. forgiveness or wayward children). You’ll also find a newer book by Tim Keller and a good one by Randy Alcorn. On the general market side, the Andrew Carnegie biography is excellent.

(Yesterday on the blog: Petty Annoyances and Minor Insults)

Rabbits and Social Media: A Cautionary Tale

I am convinced there are many people who would benefit from reading this cautionary tale. While it is set in a specific denomination, there’s a lot for everyone to consider. (On a similar note, see Answer Not a Kinist according to His Folly.)

Are Raised Hands in Worship Just Showing Off?

I appreciate John Piper’s wisdom here as he considers raising hands in worship. “Should Christians ever be concerned that lifting hands, closing eyes, or expressing emotion in worship might cross the line into practicing our righteousness before others? Or does worship fall into a different category?”

10 Ways to Freshen Your Prayer Life

There are some helpful tips here for freshening up your prayer life. “If you’re in a season where you want to try something new in your prayer life, here are ten ideas to get started.”

Book Brief. Those with an interest in the Second World War will enjoy An Army at Dawn, the opening volume in Rick Atkinson’s “Liberation Trilogy,” which follows the U.S. military in its three major European campaigns—North Africa, Italy, and Western Europe. It strikes just the right balance in being thorough but not exhaustive (and, therefore, exhausting). I’m looking forward to pressing on with the next two volumes in the series.

An Uplifting Story (Video)

I always enjoy the videos from the John 10:10 Project as they celebrate God’s extraordinary design in the natural world. This one celebrates something you’ve probably never thought about before (or if you have, only to be annoyed by it).

Exposing Adultery to the Light

Kyle Borg: “In a society saturated with sexual immorality — in entertainment, media, politics, and even churches — our moral instincts have become really desensitized. Few of us hate adultery with the seriousness it deserves. If we are to recover a biblical hatred for this sin and a biblical love for holiness and purity, we must shine God’s light on adultery from several angles.” (See also Randy Alcorn’s Moral Failings of Christian Leaders Should Make Us Examine Ourselves Closely.)

Reject the Religion of Efficiency

Samuel James tells us why it’s sometimes neither good nor wise to pursue every avenue for efficiency.

Flashback: Who Is the Greatest?

“Jesus doesn’t condemn the quest for greatness,” warns Piper. “He radically transforms it. Go ahead and pursue it, he says. But the path is down, not up.” Where is God calling you to go low?

The future is a series of small decisions to live the new life and not to fall back into the old.

—Sinclair Ferguson

  • 12 General Market Books I Have Enjoyed Recently

    While I am committed to reading and reviewing Christian books, I also enjoy reading a steady diet of books published for the general market. I suppose my interests lean toward history, but I do read other books as well. Here are a few of the titles I’ve enjoyed over the past couple of months.

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    A La Carte (February 12)

    A La Carte: When a crack becomes a chasm / That viral AI article / Artificial theologians / Christian witness in a divided world / Well our feeble frame he knows / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • Performative Grief

    Performative Grief

    We all know what it is to perform grief—to ensure that others are aware of our sadness by forcing them to see our sorrow. We may do this to gain their attention or compel their sympathy. We may do this because we make grief an idol and are only validated when others feel sorry for…

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    A La Carte (February 11)

    A La Carte: Life without a phone / “Yours Alone” (a new song) / Loving your wife through the rough patches / Godly mothers-in-law / All the answers / Kindle deals / and more.

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    A La Carte (February 10)

    A La Carte: John Piper on aging with joy / Lessons on money / Who we are when we disagree / Don’t be a discouraging Christian / Gender surgeries for minors / Church-loving children / Kindle deals / and more.