A La Carte (May 15)

Welcome to today’s A La Carte, where I help you break free from the algorithm by carefully curating news, articles, and information that is of interest to people just like you.

Reminder: I am giving away a $100 Westminster Books gift card this weekend. I will choose someone randomly from among new and existing subscribers to my newsletters.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some good picks like Derek Thomas’ Heaven On Earth and Sharon Dicken’s Relationships.

The Lexham Geographic Commentary series is a helpful resource, and it’s on sale right now at Westminster Books.

Recommended Reading

A Tough Means of Grace: Profiting From the Rebukes of Others. Derek Brown: “Our ability to receive rebuke from others is a quality essential to our making enduring progress in our walk with Christ. There are no two ways around this truth: either we will readily receive correction and enjoy the fruits of godly wisdom, or we will entrench ourselves against reproof and gradually harden our hearts to our soul’s peril.”

In Defense of Purity Culture. Like me, Ben Hicks has seen many people criticize purity culture. Yet he thinks it is important to also remember that it wasn’t all bad. “Despite the arrows being flung at the movement, despite the total collapse of its preeminent prophet, and despite the seeming success of the sexual revolution, I stand on the side of purity culture. Not because it was a perfect movement, but because it was a good movement. And because, like the sexual revolution, it never really went away. Instead, it became embedded in our Christian subculture, and I think that’s a good thing.”

You Can’t Love the Church in the Abstract. This is important: You can’t truly love God’s church unless you love an actual local church. “What do we say about the congregation? Is it a venue for a weekend worship experience? Is it a social pact I enter only as long as it remains obviously and immediately beneficial to me? Is the congregation a sort of spiritual convenience store peddling religious goods and services—unless (and until) I find another one up the street that offers better deals? Based on behavior I have observed, these attitudes remain prevalent in many congregations.”

Does a Promiscuous Past Affect a Christian Marriage? It disturbs and dismays me that Brittany Allen has had to write this series of articles explaining why promiscuity does not permanently mar a person or make them unsuitable for marriage. Do we really believe in the gospel or not!? She continues to press her case in this entry. “There are earthly consequences to sexual sin that can affect a marriage. If I said there weren’t, I’d be a liar. So, let’s look at the claims and understand the true dangers. But if you’re someone who walked a path similar to mine, stick around because there is so much hope. I promise.”

The Lord of the Traffic Jam. Stephen Jones lays out some of the realities of Toronto’s extremely terrible traffic and then says this: “But none of these statistics are as big a challenge in my daily commute than my own sinful heart. I find that my commute is the most difficult environment in which to remember that I am in fact a Christian. Even in gridlock, I am an ambassador for Christ, called to shine the light of Christ to my half a million neighbours.”

Is a Divorced Couple Free to Remarry Each Other? I appreciate a lot of what Jim Newheiser teaches about divorce and remarriage (like in his book Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage). In this article, he takes on a big question: If a couple has divorced one another but reconciled, could they remarry one another?

Hillsong, Elevation, Bethel

I enjoyed this episode of The Pastor’s Heart, which takes on a question many have asked: Should we sing Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation songs in evangelical churches?

(Can’t see it? Click here)

A La Quiz

Did you keep up with this week’s A La Carte? Test yourself:

1. How many daily hours of screen time is Gen Z averaging today, according to Taylor Berry? (Find out)
2. What did Rebekah Matt describe as the most awkward part of prayer (yet also possibly the most important)? (Find out)
3. What did Kyle Strobel describe as the missing Reformed doctrine for spiritual formation? (Find out)

Flashback

Two Lives Blending Into One Life. “Let both hearts throb with the same joy and share each pang of sorrow. Let the same burdens rest on the shoulders of both. Let the whole life be made common.”