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A La Carte (January 28)

A La Carte Collection cover image

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you on this fine day.

There is quite a variety of Kindle deals to browse through today. Marriage, parenting, pastoring—there’s a bit of everything.

Reaching the Lost Young Men

Samuel James has begun what promises to be an interesting series of articles about reaching lost young men. The first part expresses the need for holistic depornification.

The Painful Parts of Prayer

Kirsten recounts speaking to a Christian doctor and goes on to write about the painful parts of prayer. “I remember talking with him one day and he shared that it was difficult for him to pray for healing for his patients. He said he could easily pray that God would be near. He could pray that God would sustain. But having faith to believe that God would heal? That was difficult for him. He had seen and experienced far too much loss, both in his personal life and in his line of work, to pray with faith that God might heal.”

An UnChristian Response to the Fall of Our Enemies

You can learn a lot about yourself by your response to the fall of your enemies. “I have seen, in the name of Christ, delight in the face of tragedy. I have seen people cheer the deaths of their political enemies. Men and women are glad to see people die, so long as it’s people they disagree with. I have seen churches invaded and disrupted in the name of Christ. This is something to be expected from the world that lacks the Spirit of God, but not Christians.”

Doom-Scrolling Mozart

There is a good challenge in this article. “The internet gives us a false omniscience, presenting everything from everywhere to everyone at any time. But we are not God. We were not designed for omniscience. Not even the digital imitation. Yet here it is. Everything. All the time.”

Why Pastors Should Read Fiction

I resist the word “should” in an article like this since it seems to apply some level of moral oughtness, but I think the point stands just as well if we say “why pastors may be wise to read fiction.” “I suspect most of my readers won’t need convincing that ‘leaders are readers’ and that Pastors, whether paid or not, should be devoting some of their time to reading books that encourage their souls and to books that sharpen their minds.”

5 Characteristics of a Great Small Group Leader

I think at one time or another we have all benefited from a really good small group leader and struggled with a not-so-good one. Here are some characteristics of the good ones!

Flashback: What Can I Do To Repay My Debt?t

“Vain to pay the debt I owe, all the service I can do! Earthly good is far too low, earthly years are far too few!”

A short life is long enough to prepare for eternity.

—John Owen

  • A La Carte (July 16)

    Gen-Z revival / Devotional material that hinders spiritual growth? / Does the day end in night / When you cannot sing, let the church sing for you / Three prayers for prodigal children / The ordinary and enduring gifts of the Spirit / and more.

  • Harder to Change

    I’m Finding It Harder to Change

    As 2026 began, I decided to change up my devotions. I have followed roughly the same pattern for the last 15 or 20 years and thought it would be nice to freshen things up a little bit. It went poorly.

  • A La Carte (July 15)

    Hell’s evangelistic appeal / Sleepless nights / Was the multiplication of the early church a miraculous movement? / When evangelism is dispiriting / The fiery darts / In praise of a sending church / Preparing for ministry / and more.

  • A La Carte (July 14)

    Should you marry her anyway? / Be sure your sin will find you out / How can we be ready to meet the Lord? / Aging is a series of relinquishments / Making the Christian life more complicated than it needs to be / Happy birthday to you! / Sales and deals / and more.

  • Virtuoso

    Everything I Might Have Been

    The world can feel unfair when we ponder all we might have been. But God sovereignly places each of us exactly where we can best serve and honor him.

  • A La Carte (July 13)

    Does the church need your worship song? / God’s plan for your prayers / Guard your women’s ministry against false teaching / When we despise ordinary help / Inspire others to be better Christians / Bowing our heads to the providence of God / Kindle deals / and more.