Welcome to Weekend A La Carte. As you scroll down, you’ll find a collection of interesting pieces to read followed by a list of recommendations from people like you. Enjoy!
Before we get to anything else, though, let me give a word of thanks to Zondervan Reflective for sponsoring the blog this week. They wanted to be sure you know about the new book The Wisdom of Sleep.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include quite a long list of great deals. At the top of the list are Sam Storms’ Our God Reigns and Sean DeMars’ Get Married, Have Babies, Join a Church.
Recommended Reading
Joshua Budimlic is one of many people who owes a great debt of gratitude to Paul Washer. He says, “Paul Washer is something of a spiritual father to me. I’ve never met Washer, but one day, I most certainly will. And on that day, I look forward to thanking him, in Christ, for the great spiritual blessing he has been to me throughout the years.”
We are in the season when many parents are dropping their kids at college. Yet not every parent is confident that their child is following the Lord. That’s the case for Stephen Jones, and he writes about it in this heartfelt article.
Next week, we will pack up the car with my son’s clothes and most important possessions, and we’ll hit the road and drop him off at University. He’s a boy, so he has not started packing yet. I don’t think he has started thinking about packing yet, but I am not anticipating that he will pack his Bible. Not out of oversight, I think he will choose not to pack it.
I had developed some ideas about what this day would look like throughout the years, but as it draws near, I have to accept that he will be moving out as an unbeliever.
Read: When Your Child Moves Out as an Unbeliever.
His article leads to him telling of the need for each of us to have a “fig tree.”
In light of these realities, be sure to find your fig tree. Find and forge that place where you can be alone with the Lord; where you can sup with Him, fellowship with Him, delight in Him, and even wrestle with Him—be it in a book-bound study, a cozy corner of the couch as the sun rises (but before the children rise), or during a walk at some point in the day.
Read: Find the Place You Meet God Alone.
Eddie LaRow is far from the only person to observe that nothing seems to be original anymore, especially in the world of entertainment. He looks to the 90s and early 2000s as a better era, then contrasts it with today.
Movies during this time were likewise intriguing. Blockbuster hits like Jurassic Park (based in part on the Michael Crichton novel), The Patriot, Dances with Wolves, Legends of the Fall, and Saving Private Ryan captivated audiences and introduced them to a fusion of newer video capabilities, better sound, and clearer images. These weren’t just technical showcases — they were original stories, or original enough adaptations, told by people willing to take a swing.
But over time, things became more and more derivative. Instead of taking chances, studios took safer bets: remakes, reboots, the fifth sequel to a franchise that ran out of ideas around the third. As society grew more complex, it also stifled the ability to create apart from what was already created. The pioneers had done their job — maybe too well. Their foundations calcified into formulas, and the formulas became the whole industry.
Read: Why Is Nothing Original Anymore?
You have probably heard of Bryan Johnson, the fantastically wealthy tech entrepreneur who is essentially attempting to become immortal. You may have also heard of his girlfriend Kate Tolo, who is becoming the most measured woman in history. Emma Waters has the same concerns as all of us with much of this, but she does point to an interesting possible upside.
[He] and his co-founder and girlfriend Kate Tolo are documenting their own bodies at a level of biomedical detail almost no one has attempted, and what comes out of it may end up mattering most for women, whose health conditions have gone underfunded and understudied for decades. In short, the Don’t Die project is anti-human. Its downstream effects may be a gift, especially to women.
…
Bryan Johnson’s health and longevity project has garnered an infamous reputation from the beginning—and has been well-marketed to stay in the news—but when he announced that he would be investing the same level of research into Kate, and specifically into assessing, diagnosing, and treating her reproductive health conditions, I think the heart of every woman in America grew more favorable toward Bryan and Kate about 10x that day.
Read: The Most Measured Woman in History.
Gavin Ortlund considers what he considers, rightly, I think, as an overlooked argument for Christianity: the messianic character of the Bible and the ways in which Christ fulfills prophecy.
How detailed are these prophecies? Could apparent similarities to Jesus be a coincidence? How do we know the texts haven’t been altered? And what about the possibility of an intentional fulfillment (by Jesus or his followers—or both)?
Arguments from prophecy have often failed to take these concerns seriously. Hence they tend to be unpopular today. But more careful expressions of argument are possible.
The key to the argument is the cumulative weight of Old Testament prophecies. It’s the sheer number of them, and the way they unfold organically and yet seemingly coherently—almost like a LEGO set being slowly constructed, piece by piece, with the end clearly in mind.
Read: An Overlooked Argument for Christianity.
Pierce Taylor Hibbs has been diving deep into the works of David Powlison for the forthcoming book Dissecting the Heart: Secular Psychology, Spiritual Warfare, and True Theology. He uncovered one of Powlison’s concerns about the church that seems as appropriate today as the day it was written.
Powlison says there are three questions that people struggle to answer in the realm of psychology and spirituality. In fact, the church tries to answer these questions while the broader culture wages war with its own answers. It’s a war of influence, waged for the affection and trust of every soul.
I will leave you to read about it and follow the question of whether the church has become blind, deaf, and dumb, then to decide whether Powlison’s proposed solution is correct.
Read: Is the Church Blind, Deaf, and Dumb?
Reader Recommendations
Every week I like to ask what you, the reader, are enjoying these days and therefore what you recommend to others. Here is this week’s list:
Tim says that while he’s only partway into The Redeemed Man, edited by Beeke, Phillips, and Smalley, he believes that chapter five, “The Redeemed Man Honoring His Parents” by Terry Johnson, “is something I wish every person on earth would read and follow.”
Deborah suggests you subscribe to a daily email from Ray Majoran “which includes a photograph, Bible verse, brief devotional and an application question.” She says it is always a blessing.
Seth has been enjoying Bruce Ware’s book, The Man Christ Jesus. He says it has “challenged me much on how often do I lean on scripture, prayer, and the Holy Spirit in my day to day life as I look to the example of Christ.”
Philip recently went back to the old book Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraaff from the 90s. He said it gave him “a good history of the worst streams of Pentecostalism and put some of the things in today’s charismatic movement in perspective.”
Rachel recommends that “Canadian readers have a look at ARPA Canada. They are an organization that encourages church members to engage in political action. They give important updates on policies and bills, tools for letter writing, and tips for how to develop a relationship with local politicians.”
Kari says she has “been deeply changed by an old memoir about a young Christian woman living in Pennsylvania in the 1800’s: A Life Hid with Christ in God written by Alfred Lee. Susan Allibone “suffered from consumption but lived an incredible life from her sick room. … Her written letters, prayers, and self-examination are a stunning example of a life with a single devotion to God.”
Bill and his wife have started using the new 365 day devotional Awake, My Soul: Hymn Readings for Daily Devotion by Dan Kreider, one of the editors of The Sing! Hymnal. Jake recommends it as well.
Sharon has just begun the only Brant Hansen book she still hasn’t read. “I have so enjoyed all of his books and would highly recommend any of them. They are easy to read, funny, and also convicting in a totally disarming way.”
Elizabeth recommends the gospel tract, Two Ways to Live. “I love how thorough it is without being too lengthy. I also appreciate how the response to the gospel (repentance and faith) is presented as being relational and not transactional.”
Sarah only just discovered the free e-book library app from Monergism.
Landon is enjoying Dave Ramsey’s Build a Business You Love. “My wife and I are reading this together as we take on the adventure of starting a craft business from homemade goods.”
Check back in Monday’s A La Carte, and there will be an opportunity for you to add more recommendations.
Flashback
We Don’t Celebrate the Tool. When we receive the benefit of another person’s gifting we ought to express gratitude to God, not the one who merely made use of what God had generously bestowed upon him. We praise God, not the tool.
Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God.
—Bruce Shelley
