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Weekend A La Carte (November 5)

Weekend A La Carte

Today’s Kindle deals include: The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien, Double Play by Ben Zobrist, The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible by Bruce Metzger, and The Creation Answer Book by Hank Hanegraaf.

Do You Pray Enough?

This is so important: “Guilt is a terrible motivator for any behavior, except repentance. We cannot sustain ongoing spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, from a sense of guilt. That’s not what guilt is designed to achieve, and it’s why feeling bad over not praying enough will never turn us into men and women who ‘pray without ceasing.’”

What Parents Fear

Here’s an interesting one from the UK: “Almost a quarter of religious parents are not passing on their faith to their children for fear they will be alienated at school, a survey has revealed.”

What Jesus Didn’t Say

This is good: “In that moment, Jesus defied all expectations. No doubt his fans expected a great sermon from this now-famous hometown boy-turned-rabbi. His detractors hoped for a flop, and those who knew him well readied themselves to pat him on the head afterwards with cloying words…”

5 Key Apologetics Questions

Amy Hall lays out five questions young people most need to think through and solidify in their own minds before they go out into the world.

The Productive Benefits of Journaling

The Todoist blog has some good thoughts on the benefits of journaling.

This Day in 1858. 158 years ago today the Patons landed on Vanuatu. Having been warned of cannibals, John reponded, “If I can but live and die serving and honouring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether my body is eaten by cannibals or by worms.” *

5 Damning Inconsistencies In Transgender Dogma

Glenn T. Stanton: “Gender theory is pure ideology. It is not based in any science or logical objectivity. Its proponents literally make it up as they go along, based solely on the way they wish nature were.”

Freedom From the Tyranny of Hyperspirituality

Yes. Too many people are utterly bogged down by the tyranny of hyperspirituality.

Long Before Twitter, Martin Luther Was a Media Pioneer

This is an interesting one from the New York Times.

Flashback: Smilingly Leading You to Hell

Christians can be nice, but so too can unbelievers. The Holy Spirit may help us be nice, but niceness is not necessarily proof that we are living in the Spirit and by the Spirit. Some of the most evil people are also the nicest people.

Martin Luther: All for the Gospel

I’m thankful to Ligonier Ministries for sponsoring the blog this week with “Martin Luther: All for the Gospel.”

God made us to sleep so that every day he can remind us that he manages things just fine without us.

—Kevin DeYoung

  • General Market Books

    10 General Market Books I Enjoyed in 2025

    While the bulk of what I read every year is published by Christians and for Christians, I do also enjoy reading books for the general market. On that note, here are 10 of the general market books I read and especially enjoyed in 2025.

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    A La Carte (December 24)

    A La Carte: Brain implants / Recovering Christ at Christmastime / How to create sabbath / Things I didn’t know about marriage / A true baptism / and more.

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    A La Carte (December 23)

    A La Carte: A generation’s boredom / The joy of making discoveries / John Piper’s devotional life / Sermon criticism / Enduring shame for the cause of Christ / Kindle deals / and more.

  • The Collected Best Christian Books of 2024

    The Collected Best Books of 2025

    I probably don’t need to tell you how much I love books in general, and Christian books in particular. One of my favorite times to be a reader is in mid-December when people begin to share their picks for the top books of the year. I collect all of the lists written by sites or…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (December 22)

    A La Carte: The new David movie / The ghost of Christmas never / It isn’t night for the moon / Evangelism targets / Made in God’s image / What Jesus came to do / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Pastoral Prayer

    A Pastoral Prayer

    Our Father in Heaven, we are gathered here this morning like children gathered before the feet of their father. We want to begin this new day with you. We want to begin this new week with you. Before we do anything, before we go anywhere, before we engage in work, school, or even play, we…