Good morning, my friends. Thanks for reading today’s A La Carte. I’m so thankful for the privilege of putting it together day by day, and I’m glad you’re willing to read it. I trust you’ll find something that blesses and encourages you.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include several books published by Christian Focus, along with several of John MacArthur’s later and lesser-known books (e.g., The War on Children, The Grace of Giving).
Recommended Reading
We have 10,000 Digital Guides; We Need Spiritual Fathers. Zach Hollifield draws a useful comparison between ancient Corinth and today. “You and I live in a digital Corinth, and we too certainly have ‘countless guides in Christ’. Podcasts, social media accounts, YouTube channels, book authors, Xers, Substackers, sermons from celebrity pastors we care for more than the ones coming from the pulpits at our own churches—we have countless guides in Christ. More countless than the Corinthians could have dreamed of.”
You’ll Never Regret That You Did the Right Thing. I often say “you’ll never regret the sins you don’t commit.” A positive way to express that is what Jacob Crouch communicates here: you’ll never regret doing the right thing. “Let me be the voice in your ear for a minute: Do the right thing. You will never regret that you did.”
Take Your Faith Deeper with Ligonier’s Grow App. We have access to more content than ever before, but how much of it is trustworthy? The Grow app from Ligonier Ministries offers carefully curated Bible teaching that has served Christians for decades. In addition to thousands of free resources to read, watch or listen to, Ligonier’s Ministry Partners can also access the notes from the Reformation Study Bible and the Ask Ligonier intelligent assistant tool to get reliable answers to pressing theological questions. Not a Ligonier Ministry Partner yet? Try these features for 30 days when you sign in to the app. (Sponsored)
Reformed Doesn’t Mean Robotic: a Case for Expressive Worship. Thembelani Maqajana writes about coming to Reformed convictions in theology, and then evaluating Reformed worship. “For many Africans, music and movement are naturally connected. Clapping, swaying, raising hands or moving rhythmically communicate joy, thanksgiving, celebration, and participation. We shouldn’t label expressive worship as mere emotionalism. The important question to ask, then, isn’t: ‘are people moving?’; but ‘what is motivating their movement, and is it consistent with biblical worship?’”
The Solitary Grief of Miscarriage. Luke Fong and his wife recently suffered a miscarriage. He writes about the solitary grief of it, but also encourages Christians to break the solitude by letting others into their sorrow. “Grief must be shared, regardless of whether one feels as though one is imposing on another by doing so. One thing my wife and I have learned, or are learning, through this experience, is that we have to trust that those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ do truly love us. We must trust that love can bear burdens, because love draws us out of our sorrow and into the truth that we are known and bound together in Christ.”
The True Voice of Aslan. In the context of the forthcoming Narnia movies, Steven West goes to the source, which is to say, to the works of C.S. Lewis, to discover the true voice of Aslan. “Both the vocal and physical characteristics of Aslan are significant and evocative, and they cannot be changed without fundamentally altering his character and Lewis’s intentional symbolism. Aslan’s voice, mane, and other physical features are not window-dressing details—they are an important part of Aslan’s character and significant for the holistic integrity of Lewis’s presentation.”
Sexual Intimacy in Marriage: Should You Schedule Time for Sex? I think a lot of couples ask this at one time or another: Should we schedule time for sex? I think this article from Harvest USA answers well. “While scheduling time for sexual intimacy may be a useful aid, it is by no means the primary driver behind thriving sexual intimacy in your marriage. You cannot expect that, simply because you have it on the calendar and both of you are committed to keeping this arrangement, it will automatically lead to deep satisfaction for you both.”
The Principal Portion
I have been enjoying J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke, which I’m both reading and listening to. These words recently jumped out at me.
Grace is the principal portion that we should desire for our children. It is a thousand times better for them than beauty, riches, honors, rank, or high connections. Until they have grace, we never know what they may do. They may make us weary of our life and bring down our grey hairs with sorrow to the grave! When they are converted, and not until then, they are provided for – both for time and eternity. A wise son makes a glad father (Proverbs 10:1). Whatever we seek for our sons and daughters, let us first seek that they may have a place in the covenant and a name in the Book of Life.
Many parents grow weary of waiting, but to such people Ryle offers this encouragement:
We must beware of hastily concluding that our supplications are useless – and especially in the matter of intercessory prayer in behalf of others. It is not for us to prescribe either the time or the manner in which our requests are to be answered. He who knows best the time for people to be born knows also the time for them to be born again.
Flashback
Would It Be Better to Take a Pay Cut Than a Church Cut? Wouldn’t it be better to be underemployed in a sound church than prosperous in a bad one? Wouldn’t it be better to have your kids in a slightly worse school system but in a dramatically better church?
There are not two versions of Christianity—the “basic” option, in which our souls are saved but our characters remain unchanged, and the “deluxe” option for those who are super-committed, which involves the hard work of becoming more like Jesus.
—Alistair Begg
