Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (June 24)

monday

Today’s Kindle deals include some books from Crossway and a personal favorite by Richard Rogers.

Wokeness and Legalism

This is a very interesting look at how the secular woke movement is essentially a religion that is fatally flawed by legalism. “What does it mean to ‘become woke?’ It is to gain a special insight, right? How is that different from being born again? We Christians believe that this rebirth allows us to have a new relationship with God. In a sense we gain a new insight that we did not have before. In this way the talk about being woke mimics the talk about being born again. This is yet another way secular ideologies imitate systems of supernatural beliefs.”

The German Failure Teaches Us To Avoid The Danger of Over-Complicating Gospel Ministry

I think John is onto something here. “The vast majority of the work of the gospel in the world today is, as it always has been, done by relatively uneducated church members who love Christ, rely on the power of his Spirit, pray fervently, and have confidence that the simple gospel message declaring Jesus to be Lord is God’s power for salvation. They are the equivalent of the Allied Shermans, less sophisticated but adequate, and they get the job done.”

Mark Dever says “Matthias Media resources are faithful, fresh and of great help.” Some of the most helpful of their resources are on sale this week, including Trellis and Vine and How to Walk into Church. Matthias Media exists to partner with all Christians in making disciples. So, if you have a ministry need or a favorite disciple-making resource that isn’t on sale, call their team. They are very happy to give you ideas and extend the same discount for the resources you need.

How to Be a Better Tourist

Tourism is surging to new heights of popularity and it’s not always leading to good consequences. As you travel this summer, here’s how to be a better tourist.

How Celibacy Developed in the Early Church

How on earth did the early church (and, today, the Catholic Church) get so obsessed with celibacy? Robert Godfrey explains here.

India’s city where people come to die

This article highlights the deep sadness of false and hopeless religion. “Hindu scriptures say that dying here and getting cremated along the banks of the holy Ganges river allows you to break the cycle of rebirth and attain salvation. Funeral pyres burn incessantly at Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats, the steps leading down to the river, whose water, now grey from industrial and human waste, is believed to wash away the sins of even the worst transgressors.”

Not Pregnant, Just Fat

“The idea that my body had internal wisdom built into its DNA was antithetical to everything I had believed to be true about what it meant to nourish and cherish your body. Trust my bodily intuition when it comes to eating? You might as well ask me to scale Everest. I couldn’t remember a time when I had made eating decisions based on internal cues.”

The invention that saved a million ships

Add this to the list of places I’d love to visit. “The oldest operating lighthouse in France (construction began in the 16th Century, but beacons had existed there hundreds of years prior) and the world’s first to be built in the open sea, this imposing sentinel of white stone is a Renaissance masterpiece. Equal parts cathedral, fort and royal palace, this ‘Versailles of the Sea’ is a monument to history and maritime engineering.”

Flashback: Lessons I’ve Learned From False Teachers

When and where there are teachers of truth, there will necessarily be teachers of error. Perhaps the most surprising thing about false teachers is that we continue to be surprised by them.

We pursue sexual sin not because our hedonism is too strong but because our hunger for pleasure is so small we settle for a cheap imitation of the real thing: porn.

—Benjamin Vrbicek

  • Carney Trump

    How Donald Trump Upended Canadian Politics and Helped the Liberals Win

    On April 28, Canadians elected the Liberal Party of Canada to a fourth consecutive term. This is a rare feat for a political party in Canada and in this case, one of special significance, for just months ago, the Liberals seemed destined for near-complete destruction. The cost of living was spiking, the quality of life…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 30)

    A La Carte: Young men wanted / The glory and danger of apologetics / God’s guidelines for sex aren’t arbitrary / How much is our church worth? / People loved the darkness / and more.

  • Erics Greatest Race

    Releasing Today: Eric’s Greatest Race

    My new book releases today! Eric’s Greatest Race is a fully illustrated graphic novel that tells young readers the story of Eric Liddell, the famous Olympian whose steadfast courage and commitment to Christ has inspired generations of believers. It is my sincere hope that it will introduce a whole new generation to a man whose…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 29)

    A La Carte: Has the decline of U.S. Christianity finally stopped? / Holding space for joy and sorrow / No one ever hated his own body / Wisdom principles for Christian parenting / The article you don’t want to read / A new book / Kindle deals / and more.

  • The Pursuit of Virtue

    God’s character is the essence of virtue. The heart of virtue is to know the Lord and to become like him, as a child resembles her father. That is the goal, privilege, and destiny of the redeemed. #Sponsored

  • When God Plants an Acorn

    When God Plants an Acorn, He Means an Oak

    We stood together on the crest of a hill, a gentle breeze rustling the meadow around our feet. The fields ran gently downward until they met a creek that gurgled happily in its course. A few years prior, an acorn had somehow made its way to the highest point of this hill, carelessly dropped there…