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A La Carte (November 27)

A La Carte Thursday 1

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends and family! May this be a day in which you truly give thanks to God for his many mercies. Check in tomorrow for my annual roundup of Black Friday deals for Christians.

Today’s Kindle deals include yet another roundup of books that should be of interest to Christian readers.

(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for November 2025)

What False Teachings Should Make Me Leave a Church?

We all know that false teaching may require us to leave a church. In this article, John Piper considers the kinds of false teaching that would require this.

Everything Is Television

This article is not by a Christian writer (so far as I know) but is really interesting in the way it shows how sooner or later all of our new media end up mimicking television. It offers lots of helpful food for thought. (On a somewhat similar note, this video: You didn’t lose your attention span. It was stolen.)

Is it Satan or God?

“There are multiple instances in the Bible where Satan (or an evil spirit) acts with malicious intent toward a human, but where the Bible indicates that God is working behind the scenes—even moving events toward the fulfillment of his purposes (which are always good and wise).” This is a crucial dynamic to understand.

Treat People like Adults

“I fear that, without really intending to, churches have a habit of infantilising people. We should treat people like adults.” I do not disagree with this!

The Hard Way Is the Easy Way

Reagan Rose: “It’s a lesson we have to drill into our heads: Every time we choose temporary comfort over doing the hard thing, we aren’t avoiding the pain; we’re just putting it off. Eventually, procrastination has to be paid back with interest. Laziness promises peace now, but compounds pain in the future. It makes the fool’s bargain of trading temporary discomfort for long-term regret.”

Backward Progress

Jacob writes about backward progress. “Backward progress is the progress that is made by reversing course. Just like the person who has to go backwards to make the correct turn, sometimes the only way forward is to turn around.”

Flashback: How I Review a Book

A question I often receive is this one: “Can you give me some advice on writing a book review?” …I typically use a loose formula that I think can be helpful and that often resonates with readers.

If you experience gratitude as a burden, you don’t know gratitude, because true gratitude is not an exertion of the will; it’s an overflow of a sense of being treated better than you deserve.

—John Piper

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (November 27)

    A La Carte: John Piper on false teachings / Everything is television / Is it Satan or God? / The hard way is the easy way / Backward progress / Treat people like adults / and more.

  • New-and-Notablenov

    New and Notable Christian Books for November 2025

    Though the year is coming to its end, it’s not over yet! That means publishers still have some books to release—books we would not wish to overlook before 2025 gives way to 2026. Here are some of the ones I consider especially noteworthy. In each case, I’ve included the editorial description to give you a…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 26)

    A La Carte: The other side of human rights / Biblical literacy / A ramp out of the worry rut / The depressed Christian / Quick no, slow yes / Do you see eternity? / and more.

  • Support

    Would you Consider Supporting My Work?

    I have been blogging at Challies.com on a daily basis for well over 22 years now. That long commitment has allowed me to write thousands of articles and hundreds of book reviews while also sending millions of visitors to other sites through the daily A La Carte feature. While I’ve also written a number of books, through…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 25)

    A La Carte: Are you still gospel-centered? / Christian liberty / Triumph in trouble / Being faithful in little things / How we choose songs / I’m not sabbatarian / and more.

  • Danger

    The Danger of Defensive Sanctification

    There is a certain kind of sober-mindedness that seems to come over Christians as they age. It can flow from many sources, I’m sure, but I think it often arises from a kind of fear—a fear that they may not finish their race without some kind of a major stumble. After living the Christian life…