Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (September 3)

thursday

I’ve been hearing good things about Paul Tripp’s new book Lead. It’s on sale this week at Westminster Books. Some of his other titles are discounted as well.

There’s quite a good list of Kindle deals today that spans a few different genres. (Also, if you’re shopping for school supplies, they’ve got sales on them today.)

(Yesterday on the blog: When Unanimity is the Enemy of Unity)

Thinking in Public with Albert Mohler — A Conversation with James Lindsay

I recently reviewed and recommended the book Cynical Theories by James Lindsay and Helen Pluckrose. In this new edition of Thinking in Public (the first ever video edition!) Dr. Mohler has a discussion with Lindsay. Highly recommended!

Academics Are Really, Really Worried About Their Freedom

This Atlantic article by John McWhorter seems to nicely complement that edition of Thinking in Public. “Our national reckoning on race has brought to the fore a loose but committed assemblage of people given to the idea that social justice must be pursued via attempts to banish from the public sphere, as much as possible, all opinions that they interpret as insufficiently opposed to power differentials.”

A Biographical Sketch of Michael A.G. Haykin

I really enjoyed this biographical sketch of Dr. Michael Haykin, a man who has been a blessing to me personally as well as to my church, not to mention to the wider Christian world.

When Is It Right For A Christian To Disobey The Government? (Video)

Here’s Ligon Duncan answering a question that is on everyone’s mind: When is it right for a Christian to disobey the government?

I Need Endurance

Cindy Matson explains how the pandemic has taught her her need of endurance. “My hope cannot be in getting back to my ‘comfort zone.’ Even if I find it momentarily, it will disappoint; for, as 2020 has shown us, everything we consider normal or happy or safe in our own little kingdoms can be shaken. When I take the easy way out, I settle for a shakeable kingdom. Only when I endure do I hold out for the ultimate reward.”

The Erfurt Latrine Disaster

Here’s a bizarre and messy little bit of history. “Deaths are always unfortunate and even more so if they occur as a result of an accident. But sometimes there are incidents that have particularly humiliating characteristics and probably among the worst recorded in history is the incident that occurred in Erfurt in the middle of the Middle Ages, when dozens of members of the court of Henry VI perished when the floor of the building where they were standing collapsed.”

Special Needs: Five Triggers of Discouragement

Donna writes for and about those who care for people with special needs.

Flashback: Have We Finally Hit Peak Attractional?

I feel sorry for the pastor who knows that to keep his congregation, he has to keep coming up with bigger and more shocking ideas. He knows that as soon as the fun stops or the place down the street offers something better, the seats will empty, the budget will decline, the church will collapse. It must be exhausting.

God will be the strength of our hearts; He will join His forces with us. Either He will make His hand lighter, or our faith stronger.

—Thomas Watson

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 8)

    A La Carte: A Christian response to polygamy, incest, and pedophilia / 10 diagnostic questions for you and your spouse / neither despair nor blind optimism / To confront or to cover / Did Jesus lie to his brothers? / Huge book and commentary sales!

  • What Is “The End” of Religious Liberty?

    This week, the blog is sponsored by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article is adapted from Jason G. Duesing’s chapel message, “A Portrait of the End of Religious Liberty,” given during the Spring 2024 semester at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College. You can watch the full message here.   The beautiful hymn in Philippians 2 tells of the humbling, sacrifice,…

  • We All Want More of God

    We All Want More of God

    We all want more of God. Anyone who professes to be a Christian will acknowledge a sense of sorrow and disappointment when they consider how little they know of God and how little they experience of his presence. Every Christian or Christianesque tradition acknowledges this reality and offers a means to address it.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (October 7)

    A La Carte: Lighten my load or strengthen my back / Why Gen Z men are staying in church / Do hurricanes just happen? / Failure happens slowly before it happens suddenly / A tale of two wisdoms / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Breadth and Depth

    Breadth and Depth

    One of the key principles of properly understanding and applying the Bible is this: Scripture interprets Scripture. Christians sometimes speak of “the analogy of faith” to express the fact that we have properly understood one part of the Bible only when we have interpreted it in the context of the whole Bible.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (October 5)

    A La Carte: Reminders for parents of wayward children / Those who make them become like them / Suicide pods and the trivialization of death / Thoughts on pastors’ pay / What does it mean to preach Christ? / and more.