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A La Carte (April 8)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

There are some great picks in today’s Kindle deals including Kevin DeYoung’s Do Not Be True to Yourself and Kent Hughes’ Disciplines of a Godly Young Man. Also, today only, Tom Schreiner’s excellent book on spiritual gifts is on sale.

(Yesterday on the blog: Enough to Get Rebellious People Into Trouble)

6 Months Later, Israeli Pastor Says, ‘I’m Commanded to Love My Enemies’

I recently spent a delightful evening with David Zadok, a pastor in Israel, and was glad to read this profile of him at TGC.

7 Tips for Reading the Book of Revelation

Here are 7 useful tips about reading Revelation. “The temptation is to write off the book as impossible to understand and thus keep it closed. But doing so comes with significant loss. We understand why as we read the extraordinary promise in the book’s third verse…”

The Missionary Conference with Piper, Ferguson, and Lawson

Come and see how the Lord is building His Church around the world. Join John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Conrad Mbewe, Kevin DeYoung, Steven Lawson, and many others October 16-18 in Jacksonville, FL. Early bird pricing ends April 19. (Sponsored)

Fear and the Myth of “Safety”

“A few months ago, I read a blog in which some missionaries were talking about a difficult event that occurred with their children. In the comments on that post, a woman wrote something to the effect of: ‘If you have young children, it is clear: God has not called you to missions.’ I was not really surprised. People have asked us questions about our children throughout the years that belied the same assumption: missionaries are unable to keep their children safe on the mission field.”

Leadership In Your Home and Beyond

“I fear that our cultural understanding of leadership is going further astray from true leadership. We Americans seem to have a bizarre attraction to two types of leaders: celebrities and powerful communicators with bold, brash opinions. We judge leaders by the size of their platform.” True, though it’s not just Americans.

What Doesn’t Kill You Will Try Again

“I’ve heard it said, ‘What doesn’t kill you will probably try again tomorrow.’ That’s just life in a fallen world. The devil prowls around like a roaring Lion seeking those to devour, but GOD! God is stronger than the what ifs of tomorrow where the enemy tries to belittle you and turn you away from the Lover of your soul. God is the One who chases after you all the more. Will suffering try to over take us? Yes.”

Elders & Training

This article tells how elders within the local church ought to receive ongoing training—even if they aren’t on staff.

Flashback: What Kind of Men Does the Church Need?

Masculinity has become complicated…The culture has plenty to say about masculinity that is toxic, but far less to say about masculinity that is good and honoring. 

If you have suffered deeply, you are onto something that most people aren’t. You know that this life is flawed. Strangely, that is a good thing! Now allow that to move you toward God, to renew your faith in him and your need of him.

—Tim Lane

  • Works & Wonders June 14

    Works & Wonders: Bowing the knee or shaking the fist, 39 years to translate the Bible, And Can It Be, How to understand a trillIon, Landsat images, and World Cup covers.

  • Weekend A La Carte (June 13)

    Egg freezing is a booming business / Talk to the A.I. me / Is aging becoming optional? / Feminism and the Fall / The lie of living your truth / Moving on from the Christian Nationalism moment / and more.

  • An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    An Ideal Resource For Your Family Devotions

    There is a lot I miss from the days when our children were young. High on the list is family devotions. Nick once described our family as having a “Spartan-like commitment” to them, though I remember as much failure as success and as many misses as hits. Still, there’s no doubt that over the 26…

  • A La Carte (June 12)

    The curious case of extra resurrections / Are kids too expensive? / Why hot takes are the enemy of conviction / Piper on preaching outrage / A daily rhythm of prayer / Forgetting and pursuing / A La Quiz / The funnies / and more.

  • A La Carte (June 11)

    We lost the baby / The Bible is cessationist (and wondrous!) / Thinking about Eastern Orthodoxy: a primer for evangelicals / Virtue signalling in the church / What is God’s providence? / Restlessness / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Conform

    You Can Conform to Christ Even if You Don’t Conform to Me

    One of the aspects of the Christian faith that I find particularly perplexing is the freedom God gives his people to obey him in different or even opposite ways, so that one person’s obedience is another person’s disobedience. Even as two people take the same action, one might be obeying him and the other disobeying…