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A La Carte (May 8)

A La Carte Collection cover image

Good morning from somewhere in Ohio. Aileen and I are making our way down to Louisville where, tomorrow, both Abby and Nate will graduate from Boyce College!

Westminster Books has a new book for sale this week: Sighing on Sunday. It is a book meant to encourage the weary.

Today’s Kindle deals are headlined by Clint Watkins’ Just Be Honest.

Slouching Towards Saul When Selecting Leaders

This is a good and useful phrase I think: Slouching towards Saul. “Pastors, what do you look for when you’re seeking to identify a leadership candidate? Do you see how the Lord sees? Or do you, like Samuel, slouch towards Saul?”

Did the Jews Kill Jesus?

Kevin DeYoung offers his take on a pressing question. “Isn’t it the case that the Bible repeatedly affirms that the Jews as a people were responsible—perhaps uniquely responsible—for killing Jesus?”

Pastoral Wisdom from Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin

Brian and Ronnie’s new book, The Unhurried Pastor, was written to encourage ministry leaders as they navigate the challenges of long-term ministry. Get 25% off with code CHALLIES. (Sponsored)

The Growing Boredom Toward Movies

John Perrit writes about a phenomenon you may have noticed as well—that even while you watch a movie, you like to split your attention with a second screen. What does this say about us? And should we be concerned?

See Through Enemy Eyes: Expecting Temptation Before It Comes

This is such good counsel: “Ask the question, If I were Satan and desired to destroy my soul, how would I do it? Really consider it, first, because it will help you better know yourself. Second, because Satan is considering you and means to exploit every possible means to your damnation.”

5 Things Prayer Has the Power to Do

“We often hear the phrase, ‘There is power in prayer,’ but what does prayer have the power to do?” Here are five things prayer has the power to do.

A Good Neighbor

“Many people don’t want the Ten Commandments chiseled into a big chunk of marble and installed in their public space. Many people don’t want the Ten Commandments required of them by civil law.  But anyone would be happy to have a neighbor who keeps these commandments.” Which is interesting to think about, isn’t it?

Flashback: One Woman in the Right Mightier than Four Hundred Men in the Wrong

There are many characters in the Bible who display extraordinary character in extraordinary circumstances. Among them is Abigail, whose story is told in 1 Samuel 25.

Doctrine severed from practice is dead; practice severed from doctrine is just another form of self-salvation and self-improvement. A disciple of Christ is a student of theology.

—Michael Horton

  • Works and Wonders November 8

    Works & Wonders (November 8)

    This week’s Works & Wonders: the power of God, Nikon’s microscope photos, three Come, Thou Founts, a brain-injured musical genius, and Prepare Him Room live.

  • Weekend A La Carte (November 7)

    The Hutterites’ guide to technology / Searching for jobs, Gen Z feels like it’s staring into ‘the void’ / The gospel according to Peter (Thiel) / Scientism and the allure of control / Can science explain sparkling rivers? / What led to Christianity Today’s crisis?

  • 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.