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A La Carte (July 3)

A La Carte Thursday 1

Logos users, you’ll want to check out the Best Commentary sale since you can save up to 50% on a huge selection of great resources. Be sure to also take a look at the list of free and almost free books.

Today’s Kindle deals include a book for parents wanting to raise confident kids, one for people struggling with anxiety, and one for people who want to read some systematic theology.

(Yesterday on the blog: Is It Fair of God?)

In Defence of Silly Summers

Yes, it’s okay to allow your children to have a “silly summer!” “This summer, I’m prioritizing silliness over seriousness. No more reading charts. No more daily checklists. I will still pursue growth, but no more measuring progress. This summer, I want to be more of a dad than a dictator.”

The Gospel for Broken Bodies and Anxious Souls

This is an interesting and instructive explanation of how the gospel can help those who experience chronic illness.

How Can the Church Care for Its Disabled Members?

John Kwasny explains how churches can care for their disabled members (and, of course, their families). On a similar note, Sandra Peoples offers 10 Things You Should Know About Disability Ministry.

How to Survive Prosperity: On Ministry Scandals and David’s Fall

Owen considers people who fell into sin and says, “There is in many such instances a clear and unmistakable element: the men in question fell when they were doing well. They did not flame out of gospel ministry when they were barely surviving; they flamed out when they were prospering.” Prosperity, it seems, can sometimes be harder to navigate than adversity.

Relying on the Spirit When Meeting With the Grieving

“A big reason Christians feel ill-equipped (myself included) to help our grieving brothers and sisters is that we often rely on our own wisdom and strength to do so. Which, of course, falls incredibly short. Rather than remembering that there is a spiritual battle taking place, we show up without our armor. We forget to pray ahead of time or ask for the Spirit’s help. We assume that our own wisdom is sufficient.”

What Makes a Sermon Work

What makes a sermon work? Or perhaps better said, who makes a sermon work?

Flashback: Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life

…life is full of gaps, moments, and seasons when all we can do is wait—wait for clarity, wait for answers, wait for changes, wait for God to make his will clear to us and to others. The question is, what are we meant to do with these times?

The wheels of justice may seem to turn slowly, but they turn surely.

—Randy Alcorn


  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (December 20)

    A La Carte: How the West became pagan / Confronting an unspeakable truth / Freebirth in the age of hospitals / Sorrows keep getting more sorrowful / You may not see the fruit of your ministry / and more.t

  • Addiction

    Addiction and the Local Church

    Of all the pastoral issues a church can face, I think one of the trickiest may be addiction. In theory, churches are eager to provide a safe and welcoming environment for current or recovering addicts. Yet in reality, churches often feel ignorant and poorly equipped to deal with the reality of addicts and addictions and…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (December 19)

    A La Carte: A problem-filled world / When you get accused / Why is the Son called “Everlasting Father”? / An unpolluted heaven and nature / I wrestled a skunk once / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (December 18)

    A La Carte: Jane Austen’s faith / Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit / The rising tide of Islam / Life with a constant music soundtrack / Should everyone write? / and more.

  • ESV Expository Commentary

    The Best Complete Commentary Set for any Christian

    Those who are serious about collecting commentaries will almost invariably say that it is better to think in terms of individual volumes than complete series. And I agree: it is generally better to focus on acquiring the top three or four commentaries on each book of the Bible than to focus on collecting complete series.…