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Explore May 2016

  • A Secret Way to Kick-Start Your Theological Library

    It’s no secret that building a quality theological library is a very expensive proposition. Compared to popular-level books, theological works come at a premium cost. But I’ve got a secret to share with you that will help kick-start any theological library: You can build an electronic library of excellent theological journals and magazines without spending…

  • A La Carte (May 11)

    Restroom Laws and Jim Crow It’s a big question today: Are restroom laws that respect privacy the equivalent of Jim Crow laws? Planetary Transit NASA got some amazing footage of Mercury making its way between us and the sun, something that happens just 13 times each century. Where’s Your Heart? Randy Alcorn: “Do you wish…

  • How To Help Others Follow Jesus

    There are some subjects we make out to be far more difficult than they really are or than they really need to be. Often they appear difficult because we define them in difficult ways or because we fail to define them at all. “Discipling” can suffer in these ways. Perhaps it helps, then, to define…

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    Prepared To Stand Alone

    I trust you know the rule when it comes to books by Iain Murray: If he writes it, you ought to read it. Murray has a long legacy of authoring books that look to the past to help us better understand the present. Through this work he has had an unexpected and far-reaching impact, and…

  • A La Carte (May 10)

    An Open Letter to Someone Having an Affair Brad Hambrick pens a letter to someone having an affair. “An affair is a relationship built on deceit and artificially fueled by the passion-allegiance of a shared secret and not having to bear the weight of day-to-day life. The story line of ‘forbidden love’ evaporates as soon…

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    Confronting the Current Church Leadership Crisis

    This sponsored post was prepared by the Biblical Eldership Resources team. All leaders want to be successful. Success has its perks, but it also has its downside—and being highly successful can have a highly dangerous downside. A leader can become domineering and dictatorial, resulting in devastated lives, decimated churches and demise of ministries. Church leaders…

  • 5 Questions To Ask of a Book Before You Read It

    They are far and away the most common questions I receive (beyond, perhaps, how to pronounce my name—it rhymes with “valleys”): Can you tell me anything about this author? Have you heard of this book? Is it safe to read? Sometimes people ask to avoid wasting time or money on a book that would not…

  • A La Carte (May 9)

    I’m Still a Complementarian… And There’s Still That “But” I’m glad to read people’s struggles to better understand, define, and appreciate complementarianism. This kind of discussion should prove fruitful! How We Pray There are lots of points made in this survey on prayer, but perhaps this is the most important: “Reid said the most striking…

  • Weekend A La Carte (May 7)

    Westminster Books sent out a newsletter yesterday featuring Do More Better and offering it at a great price (especially if you buy 5 or more copies). They’ve also got deals on other books about stewarding God’s good gifts. I speak each January at the G3 Conference in Atlanta; next year’s event is moving to a…

  • Free Stuff Fridays (Westminster Edition)

    This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Westminster Theological Seminary. Three people will win a set of resources for a 10-person Bible study on how to read all of Scripture in light of Christ. Each winner will receive a copy of the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible, a copy of Vern Poythress’s Reading the Word of God…

  • What Should We Do with Books by Fallen Leaders?

    Today’s article was sparked by a question from a long-time reader of the site. “With the sad removal from ministry of yet another prominent pastor, I’ve been wondering how we are to view their ministry retrospectively. What do we do with their books? With their sermons? With their tweets and blog posts?” He told of…

  • A La Carte (May 6)

    I have no Kindle deals to share with you today, but you can always breeze back through the A La Carte archives to find any you missed earlier in the week. I’m sure there will be some good ones next week as well. Crisis in American Democracy Al Mohler says, “When the essential institutions of…

  • Living in the Light: Money, Sex & Power

    Money, sex, and power: three great gifts of God that can be used to such noble ends or abused to such ignoble ends. They can be harnessed to the greatest of good purposes or exploited to the most terrible of harmful purposes. All three are considered ghastly to some while they are worshiped as gods…

  • A La Carte (May 5)

    The Rise of the Anti-Culture Carl Trueman: “Let’s face it: We now live in a world where refusing a man the right to expose himself in a woman’s toilet is enough to risk your city losing the right to host a football game. Even to suggest there might be a debate to be had about…

  • 50 People 1 Question

    Last month the Jubilee Project published a short video in which they ask 50 people 1 simple question: If you could be any age, what age would you be? They ask the question of children and seniors and people of every age between. The answers are not surprising—not surprising in a culture that so honors…

  • A La Carte (May 4)

    The Black People in the Middle of Nowhere What an interesting little snapshot of history from the National Post. “Established in 1909 at a spot 170 km north of Edmonton, the short history of Amber Valley is that a bunch of American blacks got tired of all the racism and decided to do like Eastern…

  • Did One But Know (My Bride on Her Fortieth Birthday)

    One of the things I love to do for fun is read, ponder, and memorize poetry. One of my favorites is “I Wish I Could Remember That First Day” by the Victorian poet Christina Rossetti. In this poem she gives voice to a woman thinking back to the first time she met the man she…

  • A La Carte (May 3)

    Stop Saying “I Feel Like” This is fascinating and well-reasoned: “Here is the paradox: ‘I feel like’ masquerades as a humble conversational offering, an invitation to share your feelings, too — but the phrase is an absolutist trump card. It halts argument in its tracks.” Puritans on the Potomac Timothy George has penned a great…

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    What If I Can’t Find Jesus in the Passage?

    This sponsored post was prepared by Westminster Theological Seminary. “I commend this work to anyone who preaches or teaches or studies the Bible.”—Russell Moore Download for free. Share with your friends. A Common Struggle in Bible Study Imagine you’re meditating on a passage in the Old Testament, unsure about how the passage relates to the…