Skip to content ↓

Weekend A La Carte (November 4)

Yup, we are still in Unalaska since all of yesterday’s flights were once again canceled. There is some chance we get off the island on Saturday, but if not, it will be Monday at best. But all is well because we know the one who raises and stills the storms and we are glad enough to be here for as long as he decrees.

My thanks goes to Ligonier Ministries for kindly sponsoring the blog this week and for offering you the ebook edition of The Legacy of Luther as a free download.

Today’s Kindle deals include some older books. I also added some newer ones yesterday.

(Yesterday on the blog: Three Years Later: What I Miss Most)

Critical Grace Theory

You’ll need to block out a bit of time and attention to read this article from Carl Trueman. “Can Christians appropriate modern critical theory, not just the theories we trace back to the Frankfurt School, but contemporary critical theories of race, sexual identity, and gender? The question can be reframed: When secular critical theory turns from analysis to transformation, does it see grace and forgiveness as means of social change?”

You Want People To Think Better of You Than You Deserve

“It is an unfortunate fact that you and I want people to think better of us than we deserve.” This is true. And worth thinking about.

Test, Seek, Pray, Fight: The Pursuit of Holy Affections

“Early morning hours are precious. The house is still, quiet. The aroma of coffee wafts from the steaming mug. A single lamp illuminates the chair and table. Here is a sanctuary, a peaceful place of communion between a man and his God. And yet on many days, it is anything but peaceful.”

A Lesson from Nearly Uprooted Trees

Lara reflects on a difficult time. “Tears in my hands and babies at my feet, I often asked God why he put us through it all. What was the purpose? What good did any of it do? What use was it to batter us so harshly with so many storms at once? Our life was fairly smooth until that year, then our roots were nearly torn from the ground. My faith felt frail.”

Autumn

Here’s a short, sweet reflection on autumn.

You’re Not Waiting Alone

“My eyelids lift in the dark of my bedroom. The autumn sun still sleeps below the horizon. I grab the phone on my nightstand and skim through the bolded headlines on the screen. Another attack in the middle east. Threats of terrorism. Flooding. Drought. Another shooting. My head hurts, my heart weeps, and I’m tired of waiting.”

Flashback: What the Wayward Wants

“To reach the prodigal, you must first crawl into the story of the prodigal.” It is an ugly story, but one God so often delights in ending with the prodigal returning to all that was once his.

God knew what we were before conversion- wicked, guilty and defiled; yet He loved us. He knows what we will be after conversion- weak, erring and frail; yet He loves us.

—J.C. Ryle

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (June 14)

    A La Carte: Diapers of glory / The manipulator / A censorious spirit / Know your teenage child’s frame / Even if he doesn’t / How can I be a godly father?

  • Managing Household

    Managing Your Household Well

    The Bible lays out a whole list of qualifications that must be present in the life of a man who wishes to be a pastor. He must be the husband of one wife, he must be a lover of good, he must be hospitable, and so on. Meanwhile, he must not be arrogant, quick-tempered, violent,…

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (June 13)

    A La Carte: A northern warning / Are my struggles personal or demonic? / Being the best Christian / UnOriginal sin / The importance of competence / Patterns false teachers follow / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (June 12)

    A La Carte: Helping the poor / Screen time sabbaticals / A right way to pray / Thinking too little of yourself / Rehabilitating ministers / Christianity speaks to everything / and more.

  • Friends Astern Friends Ahead

    Friends Astern & Friends Ahead

    I’ve heard that it was an old nautical tradition that when a boat sailed across the Atlantic, the passengers would spend the first half of the voyage raising their glasses to friends astern—to the ones who had seen them off and bid them a fond farewell.