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A La Carte (March 29)

A La Carte Friday 2

May God bless you today as you ponder the death of his Son, our Lord.

Crossway has just expanded and re-released the ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible and Westminster Books has it at 50% off right out of the gate in both hardcover and Trutone. I just received a review copy and am impressed with it.

I will update the Kindle deals page in the early AM.

(Yesterday on the blog: A Batch of New Books for Kids (and Teens))

How to Protect Your Kids From Sexual Abuse

Julie Lowe offers some very wise counsel on protecting your kids from sexual abuse. “Every child is different. Some are naturally more cautious or distrustful; others are carefree risk-takers. It’s helpful to know your children and to shape your conversations around what they need to hear and learn. But whatever your child’s bent, here are six ways you can begin to train them in safety skills.”

Talk to God About What Hurts

Paul Tautges has begun a series on trauma that is proving well worth the read. He means to answer questions like these: What is trauma What is it not? And how does God speak into the extreme suffering we may experience in this short life? (See here for part two of the series)

Just Checking in: How’s Your Bible Reading Plan Going?

“Well. Here we are. March is almost over, and you are three months into that reading plan you started. For some, this is the first time that you’ve attempted to read through the entire Bible. There is excitement and new zeal to read the whole thing. Whether it’s a year plan, a chronological plan, or something else, you’ve finally decided to buckle down and read God’s word for yourself. For others, this is the second or third (tenth?) time that you’ve decided to read through the Bible, and all the best intentions have been thwarted by some turn of events.”

Transcendence, Inc

Seth Lewis reflects on transcendence (true and fake). “True transcendence is a glimpse of something greater, something beyond—but if the world was only material and nothing more, that glimpse would only be a lie. In that case, every transcendent thing and experience would eventually fade into the same non-transcendent oblivion. But the fact that we have a word like this at all shows that we know there is more to reality than meets the eye.”

Resentment Between Men and Women in the Church: 4 Observations

This column by Samuel James will give you a lot to think about. He makes four significant observations about what appears to be a growing resentment between men and women in the church (and society around).

A Good Friday for Failures

Here is an honest Good Friday reflection from Cassie Watson. (See also Bad Friday by Joe Mayers and The Victorious Crown of Thorns by Sylvia Schroeder.)

Flashback: The Gap Between Our Greatest Grief and Our Greatest Joy

We have an eternity stretching out before us, endless ages in his perfect presence. With that in mind, how long is this stretch of time between our moment of grief and our moment of ultimate comfort?

Evil for evil is an edged tool which cuts the man who uses it: a kind of cannon which is most dangerous to those who fire it, both in its discharge and in its recoil.

—Charles Spurgeon

  • I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

    I regret to inform you, dear reader, that heaven tourism is back. The genre possibly never went away entirely, but it did at least disappear from the bestseller lists for several years. Sadly, it has returned in Gabe Poirot’s 18 Days in Heaven.

  • A La Carte (November 6)

    Don’t despise the red flags / Your thoughts are shaping your life / Can’t you just love everyone? / Selfies are not the self: forming embodied youth in a disembodied age / Effective altruists and the spreadsheet gospel / 4 Applications for the order of love—from the home to the ends of the earth /…

  • A La Carte (November 5)

    When you feel guilty about your giving / The missing piece in John Mark Comer’s quiet time / A manifesto for phone-free church / The pull of Rome / 4 Misconceptions about spiritual warfare / Slouching toward Narnia / Kindle deals, and more

  • A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

    A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

    Netflix appears to have fallen on hard times and I have some suggestions that I’d like to think would help it: cut the sex, nudity, and profanity, and gain back the viewers it’s long been alienating.

  • A La Carte (November 4)

    Can I love my enemies while addressing wrongs and protecting myself? / Is missions too costly for kids? / Don’t stock the pantry with temptation / Churches face a shortage of worship leaders / AI brought a mathematician to Ecclesiastes / Discerning between godly and worldly grief / Harvest in fearful times / and more.

  • This Week in Christian Books

    This Week in Christian Books (November 3, 2026)

    Tuesday is the day most publishers release their new books. Here is a look at the Christian books that came our way this week, including Prodigal Culture, Scroll Less Live More, and a graphic novel of Pilgrim’s Progress.