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A La Carte (April 9)

A La Carte Collection cover image

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Westminster Books has a deal on a new book of Gospel Stories. They also still have a discount on a new book for kids by Kristyn Getty.

There’s a wide variety of Kindle deals today. Lewis’ Space Trilogy is an especially good value. So too Powlison’s Good and Angry.

Prove Me. Try Me. Test Me.

“I tell my Sunday school class that we speak to God through prayer, and God speaks to us through His Word. With the Psalms, it’s different. God speaks to me through the Psalms, but I also pray the words right back to Him. Attempting to emulate David, His words become my words. But today, I want to take back the spoken words, regifting them back to David and refusing to keep them as my own.”

Trump’s Tariffs: What They Are, What They Aren’t, and Why It Matters to Retirees

Chris writes a blog for Christian retirees. In this article, he considers Trump’s tariffs and how they may matter to retirees and the rest of us.

It Only Gets Better

Darryl is correct that in so many ways life gets better over time. “Youth has many advantages, like strength and energy. Getting older has some drawbacks, but it has its perks too. Having young children is great, but so is having older children and grandkids. Starting a career is nice, but so is gaining wisdom and experience. Starting good habits is okay, but enjoying the fruit of those habits, accrued after decades, is a joy.”

Handling Praise and Criticism in Worship

There is a lot to think about here for people who are involved in leading worship (and those who are led by them). “Worship leaders who treat Sunday like a concert will either soak up all the compliments and dodge all the critiques, or they might internalize the criticism and become deeply discouraged. But worship leaders who understand worship as service—a spiritual offering to God and his people—can listen carefully to all the feedback God may use to sharpen us. But how can we sort through that feedback in a way that builds Christ’s church?”

Paul Went to the Third Heaven. What in the World Is He Talking About?

Wyatt Graham considers what Paul might have meant when he said he went to the third heaven.

The Spiritual Problem of Being Overinformed

Brett McCracken: “In a sense, ‘being informed’ is more of a liability than an asset in today’s world. The quality of digitally mediated information is simply too untrustworthy. What happens to us when we’re overinformed but underactivated? From my experience and observations, some common side effects occur…”

Flashback: My Dear, Sweet Girl

Some sin loudly and some sin quietly. Some sin in their actions and some in their imaginations. But it’s all sin. Our problem isn’t just what we do, but who we are!

The very resources Jesus used to live his obedient life are resources given also to all of us who trust and follow him.

—Bruce Ware

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 9)

    A La Carte: Prove me, try me, test me / Trump’s tariffs / It only gets better / Praise and criticism in worship / The third heaven / The spiritual problem of being overinformed / Kindle and book deals.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 8)

    A La Carte: A teacher unpacks “Adolescence” / Why suffer through fasting? / Wes Huff on the ending of Mark / John Piper on Jesus’ mother / How many hours should a pastor work? / Why I have a burner phone / and more.

  • Cultivating Faith in God’s Garden

    God wants us to experience the teeming abundance of a life devoted to generative gospel community, even if the spiritual greenhouse is flawed and imperfect. #Sponsored

  • Pronouns

    Should We Capitalize Divine Pronouns?

    There are certain emails I receive on a routine basis and an especially common one relates to pronouns. Thankfully it’s not asking me to define my own pronouns as is all the rage today, but rather asking me whether Christians ought to capitalize God’s pronouns. By way of explanation, when some Christians use a pronoun…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (April 7)

    A La Carte: On Netflix and Narnia / The wonder of an eclipse / Answering kids’ hardest questions / Not-so-great expectations / It’s not wrong to want to be perfect / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Breath

    A Sudden Stopping of the Breath

    I recently encountered a poem I enjoyed and wanted to share with you. LeRoy Tate Newland was an American pastor, a missionary to Korea, and a poet. Among his poems is this brief reflection on the death of a Christian (which, appropriately, is titled “A Christian’s Death”). I hope you enjoy it as much as…