I hope my American friends and family enjoy their Memorial Day long weekend. If you do check in over the next couple of days, you will find my weekend edition of A La Carte tomorrow, and it will include some long-form content and think pieces. On Sunday, my Works & Wonders feature will share light and enjoyable content that is suitable for a Sunday.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include a few deals from Christian Focus and a handful of good general market titles.
If you’d like printed books, how about looking at Westminster Books, where you’ll find specials on James Ussher’s On the Nature and Kingdom of God and Annie Vanderheiden’s Cradled.
The Funnies
My friend Chris Martin maintains a Substack called The Funnies, and every Saturday he shares a few fun and silly things he found on the Internet—something I see as a modern equivalent to the comics pages that used to be in every newspaper. I asked him to share a couple with you.
Small print: The inclusion of someone’s “funny” here is neither an endorsement of that person nor a recommendation that you follow them on social media. Just laugh or roll your eyes and then move on.
Recommended Reading
The Ancient World Had No Word for Child Abuse. Matthew Cluraghty tells how the ancient world had no word for child abuse in its many forms. He then explains how we came to regard abusing a child as an especially heinous crime. “Girls and the weak and the inconvenient were abandoned in large numbers, most died. Some were found by slave traders and raised for labor or prostitution. A father had no particular moral obligation to the child his wife was carrying. The child’s right to exist was entirely contingent on his decision. And then there was the matter of what the Greeks called paiderastia.”
What I Wish I Had Learned in Theological College. I don’t think you need to be a pastor to benefit from reading what Michael Jensen wishes he had learned at theological college many years ago. “What should I have learned in college? Now, notice I haven’t said ‘what should they have taught me in college?’ They may have taught it, but I didn’t necessarily learn it! The business of studying is always a partnership between students and their teachers. And as an adult, I have to take responsibility to some degree for what I did and didn’t learn.”
Pray to the Lord of the Harvest. Here’s an interesting observation about the New Testament’s perspective on evangelism. “Praying is the most frequently enjoined gospel-promoting activity in the New Testament. Not preaching. Not giving. Not going. Praying.”
What God Is Healing While Not Healing My Health Problems. Those who have suffered through chronic health issues or who have otherwise prayed without a clear answer from the Lord may be encouraged by Bethany McIlrath’s article on what she has learned through a long season of waiting. “I’ve been praying for the Lord to heal me from significant chronic health problems for a long while now. I will continue to. In the meantime, I marvel at what He IS healing me from through this course of pain…”
Are You Willing to Show Up? “Recently, in a conversation with a friend, I learned I had deeply hurt her. It was not what I had done. It was what I had not done.” Susan Narjala affirms the importance of being present with those we love.
Artificial Preaching. Greg Morse: “From the beginning of time, the God of heaven and earth has declared war on all wisdom that ignores his own. He will tolerate no rivals when it comes to our trust. That’s what makes artificial intelligence such a danger to the Christian, and especially to the minister.” He draws an interesting biblical comparison that shows the danger of trusting in our own means instead of the Lord’s.
A La Quiz
Did you keep up with this week’s A La Carte and read some of the best articles I shared? Test yourself:
- Leonardo De Chirico made one especially interesting observation about Pope Leo’s attitude toward Evangelicals. What was it? (Find out)
- Casey McCall warned Christians about drawing the wrong lesson from the latest Evangelical scandal. What was the wrong lesson? (Find out)
- Jacob Crouch exhorted Christians to ensure they are not doing the devil’s work for him. What did he mean by that? (Find out)
Flashback
The Freedom of Embracing My Weaknesses. As important as it has been to learn who God has made me to be has been learning, admitting, and embracing who he has not made me to be.
The sooner we get out of the perils of this life, if our work be done, the better. No man is safe till he is dead. Better men than we have been wrecked, and at all ages.
—De Witt Talmage
