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A La Carte (December 19)

A La Carte Thursday 1

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include some excellent titles on forgiveness, evangelism, and living in exile.

(Yesterday on the blog: 12 Fresh Ways to Read Your Bible in 2025)

Meet the Astronaut Who Left NASA to Help Support Healthy Churches

You’ll enjoy this profile of astronaut Pat Forrester. “Pat Forrester was 63 years old. He’d been to space three times to put together the International Space Station. To do the internship, he’d stepped down from his job as chief of the astronaut office—the highest position an active astronaut can have—and moved from his corner office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to a white plastic table in a CHBC Sunday school room.”

The Cradle That Rocked the World

“Do yourself and your family a favor this December. Start by reading Luke or Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth; but don’t stop there. Tell the whole story, starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation. You see, the Christmas narrative—fully told—is quite different from what one might typically imagine.”

Are Catholics Christian?

Stephen does a good job of answering a big question: Are Catholics Christian?

Why We Need Beautiful Churches

Phil Cotnoir explains why he thinks Christians should go back to valuing beauty in their church buildings. “On a recent trip through Nova Scotia, my family and I drove through the beautiful historic town of Mahone Bay, where three lovely old churches sit by the water’s edge. Sadly, all three of them have been gutted by theological liberalism, and have lost that gospel beauty which shines forth from local churches where spiritual life is abundant. All that remains is the beauty of the traditional architecture upon the canvas of a picturesque background.”

What Does Your Pulpit (Or Lack of One) Communicate to the Congregation?

Also on the subject of churches, Colin Fast explains what a pulpit can communicate to a congregation. “As churches ‘catch up with the times’ and appeal to a more modern mindset, as pulpits and permanent visual reminders of the importance of the Word are removed, what is being communicated to our congregations? To the watching world?”

On Stumbling

“All twelve disciples fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus. We learn from this the hard lesson that stumbling is part of the Christian life. If it was seen in our most noted leaders how can we say otherwise? Even if one temporarily disclaims public identification with Christ, a reprehensible sin, he may still be restored through repentance, as in the example of Peter. But the prophesy concerning the betrayer does not have such a pleasant ending and his future is remorse ad infinitum.”

Flashback: 4 Times In Life You Should Expect To Face Temptation

There are some times in life when you should be especially wary, when temptation is especially likely. Here are four times you should expect to face temptation.

Do not be all sugar, or the world will suck you down; but do not be all vinegar or the world will spit you out.

—C.H. Spurgeon

  • A Less Busy Heart

    In the midst of our busy lives, we can sometimes wonder whether we really have the time to pray. Won’t prayer hinder our productivity? Won’t prayer keep us from getting done all the things we need to do?

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (April 12)

    A La Carte: Designer babies / The dragon and the rooster / Leper Christianity / Theologians against nature / Faithful and small / The missing heart of AI sermons / Douglas Groothuis books / and more.

  • Good News Rock Bottom

    Good News at Rock Bottom

    Life most certainly brings its challenges. Some of these are just little ruts along the way, some are deep and dark valleys, and some are lower still—the kind of rock bottom experiences that are so dreadful we wonder if we will be able to endure them with our faith intact.

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (April 11)

    A La Carte: John Piper & Kevin DeYoung on baptism / The legacy of TEDS / The DIY spirituality of Rainn Wilson and Rhett & Link / The enormous significance of small tasks / Hello, I want your life / Meryl Streep and Aslan / Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable

    A Batch of New Books for Kids (and Teens)

    Every month I put together a roundup of new and notable books for grownup readers. But I also receive a lot of books for kids and like to put together the occasional roundup of these books as well. So today I bring you a whole big batch of new books for kids of all ages…