Skip to content ↓

Weekend A La Carte (June 4)

It is a joy to be in Seattle for the Ligonier Ministries West Coast Conference. I played my part yesterday by teaming up with Nathan Bingham on a pre-conference dedicated to being digital disciples. Today I head home just in time to watch my daughter perform at her ballet recital. While I travel, you read. Here are some suggestions:

Retirement Reexamined

“This kind of carefree, work-free post-retirement life is a widely shared dream today, but it does not align with a Christian understanding of work and vocation. Retirement and old age do not signal the end of one’s vocation…”

How Do I Trust My Spouse After Adultery?

“It is right, healthy, and normal to feel the weight of this sorrow and to take your time to process all that has happened to you. It is possible, however, over time, and with help, to overcome the broken trust and renew a healthy relationship. The key to rebuilding trust is to give it in stages.”

Play Hard

I hadn’t thought of it this way before: “The spirit of play is part of the creativity of rest.”

13 Reasons We Need Church History

Matt Hall offers 13 reasons we can’t afford to forget about church history.

A New Journal

Reformed Theological Seminary has just announced a new online theological journal titled Reformed Faith and Practice (RF&P). It’s free for the taking!

Contraband Corned Beef

That time an astronaut brought his own lunch into space.

This Day in 1820. 196 years ago today, Elvina Hall died. She wrote the hymn, “Jesus Paid it All.” *

A Fatal Theological Oxymoron

Peter Jones explains why “gay Christian” is a fatal oxymoron.

Faithfulness and Fruitlessness in Ministry

I think pastors will be both challenged and encouraged by Jeremy Walker’s article on faithfulness and fruitfulness in ministry. I especially appreciate his second call: Make sure you are preaching Christ, not just about Christ.

Flashback: When It’s Time for the Talk

I am often asked about resources to help when it’s time for “the talk.” Here are some suggestions.

Horton

The church is not only where disciples go once a week; it’s where disciples are made.

—Michael Horton

  • When God Plants an Acorn

    When God Plants an Acorn, He Means an Oak

    We stood together on the crest of a hill, a gentle breeze rustling the meadow around our feet. The fields ran gently downward until they met a creek that gurgled happily in its course. A few years prior, an acorn had somehow made its way to the highest point of this hill, carelessly dropped there…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 28)

    A La Carte: Protestantism’s Catholic converts / How healthy is your pursuit of health? / God’s special calling on your life / Considering a Christian university? / Testing the teachings of Catholicism / Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable

    New and Notable Christian Books for April 2025

    It is surprisingly difficult to find a list of Christian books that have been released in any given month—especially if you want that list to be filtered by books released through particular publishers. That’s one of the reasons why I close each month by coming up with my list of New and Notable books. I…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 26)

    A La Carte: Every pinch of pain has purpose / China closed Christian bookstores / Watch for the thing after the thing / For everything there is a time / Showers of blessing / What Pope Francis can teach us about preaching / and more.

  • What Makes You Beautiful

    What Makes You Beautiful

    I have often thought of a conversation that took place when my girls were little. Abby was perhaps 5 or 6 at the time and Michaela just working her way through the “terrible twos” (which for our kids always happened when they were three or four). A stranger saw me interacting with them one day…