A La Carte (September 2)

Sales & Deals

A new month has brought some new Kindle deals and today you’ll find some especially good ones by Jerry Bridges, Paul Miller, J.I. Packer, and others. I’m always amazed that such good-quality books can be had for such a low price.

Logos users, be sure to grab your free book of the month, Engaging with the Holy Spirit by Graham Cole. It’s also worth a look at the Super Sale, where you’ll find lots of good deals on commentaries and other resources.

Recommended Reading

I Joined a Violent Chicago Gang. Then a Church Moved Onto the Block. I enjoyed reading this account of a man getting saved after living a violent life. “I questioned how I had gotten to this point. How had I thrown my life away for people who had no regard for me? My situation was hopeless. I knew there was nothing I could do to change it. But all of a sudden, it occurred to me that God could change my situation. For years, I’d had conversations with church people about a God who could raise the dead to life. I thought of all the times a certain youth pastor had shared the gospel with me. And so, closing my eyes to my reflection, I prayed.”

Porn Brain Will Destroy Us. This is a difficult article to read, but it describes a reality we ought to be aware of. “What is new is the way that widespread access and addiction to pornography shapes and weaponizes a particular form of misogyny. Porn is like the artificial hormones that make factory-farmed chickens too heavy to walk: a modern innovation that supercharges depravity. Porn addiction’s effects on cognition and moral judgment are well documented, even if analyses of how porn warps social and political views are rare.”

Awake, My Soul Hymns are first and foremost devotional poetry, meticulously written with care and skill to awaken the soul and, in the words of Isaac Watts, “turn a divine meditation.” Though the church regularly sings hymns paired with the beauty of music, good hymn texts can stand on their own, and I have sought to reflect that in this book. Whether these hymns are familiar or new to you, the intention is for you to meditate on the truth and beauty of the lyrics. To that end, you may sing the hymns or simply read them. (Sponsored)

The Staggering Beauty and Burden of Church Life. “We are partway through a song. I am standing, along with everyone else, on an utterly normal Sunday morning church service. As I glance around the room, I am struck by a peculiar feeling that I will call the staggering beauty and burden of church life. In that moment, I glimpse just how meaningful an ordinary worship gathering is.” Phil Cotnoir’s article celebrates a beauty that we can experience every week if only we’ll allow ourselves to notice it.

You Don’t Have to Dread Your Vocation. Casey McCall explains why neither pastors nor the rest of us have to dread our vocations. “Teacher, do you rejoice in your trials? Do you habitually focus on the joys of your job rather than exclusively on the headaches? Do you see work as a way to honor and worship the God who made you in his image and redeemed you through his Son? What about you, stay-at-home mom? Every single day we engage in battle within our minds to apply the gospel to all of life. Which voice will be loudest?”

Oh, for Eyes to See the Greatest in the Kingdom. Dónal longs to see as God sees, which is to say, to see who is truly the greatest in the Kingdom. “The kingdom belongs to the children, the praying women hidden away, daily praying for people who don’t even know them. It belongs to those who with stuttering tongue pray from the heart, simply out of a heart to praise God. It belongs to those who look at their forefathers and long to be as faithful as them, and to those who say of those behind them, ‘they are better than I’.”

I’m Praying for You. Bethany Broderick offers some practical whys and hows on praying for others. “Prayer is intimate communication between a person and God, but it can also unify and encourage other believers. By letting someone know specifically how and when you are praying for them, you are not boasting about your prayer life. Rather, you are loving others through your intentional intercessions.”

New Book Releases

Publishers released a handful of new books this week. Here are a few that came my way.

Create in Me a Clean Heart by Matt Boswell. This book “reflects on the beauty of Psalm 51. In examining the chapter’s key themes of repentance, restoration, renewal, and response, Boswell offers a fresh, unhurried look into David’s heart and the Christian walk.” (Note: it’s on special at Westminster Books.)

Biblical Authority by Andrew M. Davis. “In an age of moral confusion and shifting values, many churches struggle to find clarity and conviction. Biblical Authority calls the church out of this culture of uncertainty and back to the trustworthy authority of Scripture.”

The Surprising Savior by Dave Furman. “Dave Furman shares his love and excitement for Christmas in an Advent devotional that explores the surprising ways God fulfilled his promises through the birth of Jesus.”

Flashback

I Know It Broke Her Heart. We as Christians ought to pursue every avenue of unity for the sake of our Father—for the sake of his joy, the obedience to his demands, and the accomplishing of his purposes.