Tim Challies

I’m a Grandfather!

Nov 20

Articles

2 min read

Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They chose the name Finnegan mostly because they just plain liked it. As for Safir, Nathan’s family is Middle Eastern and culturally the child’s grandfather gets naming rights. Nate’s dad deferred the first name and took the second, going with Safir. Nicholas is, of course,…
Continue reading →: I’m a Grandfather!

A La Carte (November 20)

A La Carte: Pray till you pray / Do children need to consent to puberty? / Pleading for Sodom / A thought experiment / 10 mistakes when reading the Bible / Kindle deals / and more.

Nov 20

A La Carte

3 min read
A La Carte (November 19)

A La Carte: Good night, my son / The longing for justice following sexual assault / Daughter of encouragement / Mistakes I made as a theological student / The dangers of disordered love / Kindle deals / and more.

Nov 19

A La Carte

4 min read
From a Brave New World to Artificial Intelligence: Are We Living in the Future We Feared?

This week the blog is sponsored by Zondervan Reflective. Join the discussion about AI with the newly updated and expanded edition of 2084 and the AI Revolution by John C. Lennox–now available for purchase. Get your copy today! We humans are insatiably curious. We have been asking big questions since the dawn of history –…

Nov 18

Sponsored

4 min read
What Grieves the Heart of God?

What pleases God? What delights his heart? And what displeases God? What grieves his heart? If asked, I think most of us would assume that if we ever grieve the heart of God it will be through denying the gospel or committing a grave moral scandal. Or if we do so as a local church,…

Nov 18

Articles

4 min read
A La Carte (November 18)

A La Carte: When God does not need our service / How to forgive and move on / A devotional for depression / Can a speeding ticket change your heart? / Is it I, Lord? / Kindle deals / and more.

Nov 18

A La Carte

3 min read
Motives Matter

Motives matter, even (or perhaps especially) when it comes to something as very good as studying the Bible. The best motive for reading the Bible is to be transformed by it. For this to happen, we must approach our reading and studying with both confidence and humility, asking God to transform us through his Word.…

Nov 17

Articles

2 min read

Weekend A La Carte (November 16)

A La Carte: The gratitude revolution / Can a church require tithing? / Listening that hurts / Correctable mistakes when preaching and teaching / We won’t do nothing for eternity / and more.

Nov 16

A La Carte

3 min read
Free Stuff Fridays (TGBC)

This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by The Good Book Company. They are giving away a copy of Alistair Begg’s new advent devotional, Let Earth Receive Her King, to prepare your heart for Christmas, along with a $200 gift card for you to purchase Christmas gifts for everyone on your list. Here are some…

Nov 15

Giveaways

3 min read
The Spiritual Gift Inventory I Believe In

In many churches, it is standard practice to have Christians take some kind of a spiritual gift inventory. Through a series of questions that probe an individual’s interests, passions, and successes, these tests claim to help people discover the ways the Holy Spirit has gifted them to better love and serve his people.

Nov 15

Articles

3 min read
A La Carte (November 15)

A La Carte: The archishop’s resignation / A church-wide digital detox / 10 theories of the atonement / have salt in yourselves / The Plimsoll line / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

Nov 15

A La Carte

4 min read
Want To Cultivate Wisdom and Virtue? You Need Proverbs.

To state the obvious, Proverbs seeks to cultivate wisdom and virtue in its readers. That’s useful. We’re left with a pragmatic question: how? How does Proverbs cultivate wisdom and virtue in its readers?

Nov 14

Sponsored

8 min read
A La Carte (November 14)

A La Carte: Is Stoicism a friend of Christianity? / 11 Theses on Instagram and the modern woman / The harvest is plentiful but the workers won’t stay / The unpardonable sin / Maybe you should talk to strangers / and more.

Nov 14

A La Carte

2 min read
Marriage Happy, Marriage Holy

God’s purpose in marriage is not to make us happy but to make us holy. Or so we have all been told. The truth is more complicated, of course, and I’m quite certain God means for marriage to cover both. The old Anglican liturgy says marriage “was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort,…

Nov 13

Articles

5 min read

Doctor Google, Influencer Moms, and the Local Church

A family member was recently paying a visit to a doctor who provided his diagnosis of the condition and suggested a course of treatment. My family member listened patiently but then said, “I was wondering if we could actually try another treatment instead.” The doctor playfully rolled his eyes and said, “I see you’ve been…

Nov 11

Articles

5 min read
Marriage Happy, Marriage Holy

God’s purpose in marriage is not to make us happy but to make us holy. Or so we have all been told. The truth is more complicated, of course, and I’m quite certain God means for marriage to cover both. The old Anglican liturgy says marriage “was ordained for the mutual society, help, and comfort,…

Nov 13

Articles

5 min read
The Spiritual Gift Inventory I Believe In

In many churches, it is standard practice to have Christians take some kind of a spiritual gift inventory. Through a series of questions that probe an individual’s interests, passions, and successes, these tests claim to help people discover the ways the Holy Spirit has gifted them to better love and serve his people.

Nov 15

Articles

3 min read
I’m a Grandfather!

Yesterday Abby and Nathan welcomed their first child into the world: Finnegan Safir Nicholas Elfarrah. Because they live just minutes away, Aileen and I were able to be there shortly after his birth to rejoice with them and to meet our first grandchild. We are thrilled beyond measure. And he is cute beyond belief. They…

Nov 20

Articles

2 min read
John Mark Comer and Practicing The Way

It has been a few years since I have had a substantial number of people reach out to ask my view on a particular author. Do you know anything about him? Have you read him? Would you consider reviewing some of his books? But after this break of a few years, it has recently begun…

Sep 25

Book Reviews

11 min read

A La Carte (November 13)

A La Carte: Should Christians reject slavery and affirm same-sex marriage? / Can women be deacons? / You can’t life-hack your way to holiness / When your pastor thinks he’s brother molehill / When the seeing are blind / and more.

Nov 13

A La Carte

3 min read
A La Carte (November 12)

A La Carte: Humbly admitting we are vulnerable to sexual temptation / On aging into childhood / The criticized leader / Kevin DeYoung’s “plus one” approach to church / pitfalls in women’s ministry leadership / and more.

Nov 12

A La Carte

3 min read
Doctor Google, Influencer Moms, and the Local Church

A family member was recently paying a visit to a doctor who provided his diagnosis of the condition and suggested a course of treatment. My family member listened patiently but then said, “I was wondering if we could actually try another treatment instead.” The doctor playfully rolled his eyes and said, “I see you’ve been…

Nov 11

Articles

5 min read
A La Carte (November 11)

A La Carte: Why am I so spiritually dry? / Holy imposter syndrome / When those we respect disappoint us / Through many tribulations / Answering a question that hasn’t been asked / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

Nov 11

A La Carte

3 min read
Intact and Unmoved

Corrie ten Boom knew what it was to suffer deprivation, to have to do without so many of life’s luxuries and even its necessities. Arrested and sent to a concentration camp for her role in sheltering Jews from the Nazis, she spent almost a year in confinement and suffered the loss of her father and…

Nov 10

Articles

2 min read
Weekend A La Carte (November 9)

A La Carte: Waiting on God / Approach, My Soul / Chronic illness / A comforting verse for not so great preachers / Love the church like Jesus / and more.

Nov 9

A La Carte

2 min read
Free Stuff Fridays (P&R Publishing)

This week the blog and giveaway have been sponsored by P&R Publishing. Calvin, Spurgeon, and Luther appear alongside Wordsworth, Twain, and Emerson in a vibrant celebration of God’s creation. Ryken joins great works of poetry, hymnody, prose, and art with accessible literary analysis. “John Calvin referred to nature as the theater of God’s glory. Dr.…

Nov 8

Giveaways

2 min read