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A La Carte (March 10)

A La Carte Collection cover image

If you’re interested in some theological reading, you may want to take a look at Westminster Books’ sale on the series Short Studies in Systematic Theology.

Today’s Kindle deals include a few excellent options from P&R, all of which were published in the past year. Managing Your Households Well is especially helpful, and many will also enjoy Wisdom for Fighting Sin.

(Yesterday on the blog: Grief Can Pull Spouses Apart (but God Can Hold Them Together))

We Are All Dwight Schrute Now: The Rise of the Facebook Deputy

Justin D. Detmers writes about the kinds of conflict we so often see online. “Like you, I’ve been watching friends and acquaintances go after one another online with the same recycled takes on the latest predictable—or conveniently manufactured—controversy. … The cynic in me asks: Who appointed you? Who authorized you—doomscroller, catechized by cable news—to determine when immigration becomes immoral, how election security is assessed, which historical narratives deserve canonization, or which media outlets are to be labeled heretical? What, exactly, qualifies someone for this level of cultural adjudication?”

Three Reminders for Christian Parents

Christian parents are likely to find these reminders helpful as they consider how to help their children come to know and love the Lord and his church. “Cultivating a love for the church does not come from formulas or quick fixes. It comes from parents who genuinely love Christ and his people and who trust God to work in their children’s hearts. Just as that little girl absorbed love for the church as she listened and drew, our children are quietly taking in what we treasure. Our steady delight in the people of God becomes, over time, the picture they carry with them.”

Happy Wife, Happy Life?

Cindy Pickett considers the common phrase, “happy wife, happy life” and insists, “This phrase isn’t biblical, and if we’re not careful, accepting it as a principled excuse for passivity can disrupt God’s design for marriage.”

What to Do When Scripture Feels Dry (YouTube)

Greg Koukl and Amy Hall speak to those who may love apologetics but who don’t have nearly so much love for reading the Bible.

A Good Tired

Daniel Darling: “Can hard work become idolatrous? Yes. For men, often the work can be a sort of fig leaf to hide from familial responsibility. Work, when it’s in the center of our giftedness, can be so intoxicating that it can be hard to break away from. We can work ourselves to the point where we are not stewarding our bodies. All these things are warning signs that our vocation has supplanted the giver of work as the object of our worship. And yet, I want to say to myself and to anyone reading not to be ashamed of long days, of some nights, and of a life spent at the plow.”

Getting Organized for the Glory of God

Justin Huffman says rightly that, when it comes to our obligations as Christians, “Good intentions, or a merely mental assent to a biblical obligation, will not do. There must be a purposeful plan, a careful stewardship of the time and energy and money and people that God has placed in your life in order to accomplish the crucial purposes for which God has entrusted them to you.”

Flashback: How to Be a Good Christian With Minimal Effort

God knows you’re at a really expensive time of life right now—kids playing sports, getting braces, and going off to college—so do your best for now and commit to giving more in the future. That’s just wise financial planning.

The absence of sound doctrine and the presence of false doctrine will always lead to sinful behavior.

— John MacArthur

  • A La Carte (June 26)

    IVF and the fractured right / Who should be admitted to the Lord’s Supper? / Dying a slow death well / Moral plausibility structures / Should children serve before belonging? / Skillet’s “Monster” / Child euthanasia / Kindle deals for Christians.

  • A La Carte (June 25)

    Felix Nmecha / Political bias in AI bots / What Jesus meant by “judge not” / Adding value to the world / Always because of God’s glory / Death is the ultimate perspective / Think more biblically / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 24)

    The Phoebe hoax / Drawing the complementarian line / When they walk away / God is good … and kind? / I thought healing would look different / Un-self-conscious little boys / and more.

  • Prime-Deals

    Prime Day Deals for Christians

    Amazon’s annual Prime Day deals are here, and for those of us who use Amazon anyway, it’s a time to get some deals. You’ll find items on sale across all categories. Of course, my interest is in books and, thankfully, there are lots of great deals to be had (in printed, not Kindle editions).

  • A La Carte (June 23)

    Sovereignty and my murdered friend / Murder in disguise / Raising kids in the faith is simpler than you may think / Where are the young men? Ministry and the crisis of formation / The design of feet on display at the World Cup / We are the witnesses / Being the best you can…

  • A La Carte (June 22)

    Why this temptation? / Running out of time / Let me dwell / The mirage of the influencer-pastor / Marks of growing disciples / Christ is praying for you / Your recommendation / Kindle deals.