Skip to content ↓

Weekend A La Carte (1/8)

A La Carte Collection cover image

A La Carte has always been a Monday to Friday deal, but recently I’ve been thinking about also doing a weekend edition. I figure I’ll give it a try and see how it goes. So without any further ado, here’s the first ever Weekend A La Carte. Enjoy!

Letter from Guido – I recently came across this letter from Reformer Guido de Bres to his wife. He is about to die and writes to comfort her and to advise her on the future. It’s a beautiful, sweet, pastoral letter.

E-Book Sales – Between 3 and 5 million e-reading devices were activated in the week following Christmas. And millions of e-books were sold in the days following. It seems that we’re closer and closer to a tipping point here where e-books are going to surge past printed books.

God and the Big Bang – The Roman Catholic Church continues to give ground to evolution. “God’s mind was behind complex scientific theories such as the Big Bang, and Christians should reject the idea that the universe came into being by accident, Pope Benedict said on Thursday.”

Christian Communicator’s – Did you know that Jim Elliff’s ministry will send free books or other resources to pastors, teachers and ministry leaders? They offer some great books, so check out the offer and the conditions at the link.

The Relation of Church and Family – This article by Sam Waldron is a useful critique of some of the tenets of the Family Integrated Church movement. “In the last couple of decades a significant ecclesiastical trend has arisen out of the home-schooling movement which raises significant issues with regard to the relation of the church and the family. The movement I have in mind is associated with Vision Forum, Patriarch Magazine, and represented by the book by Eric Wallace, Uniting Church and Home, and the New Testament Restoration Foundation. The views of this movement are by no means homogeneous, but there is a sufficient commonality to ground a unified critique of their characteristic perspectives.” (Note: here’s a follow-up letter from Dr. Waldron)

Books I’ve Read – In case you’re interested, here are a few books I’ve read recently (continuing on with my love of books dealing with the Second World War): Ghost Soldiers (very interesting book, ideal for lazy Saturday afternoons), Berlin at War (quite an interesting study of Berlin and Berliners; probably a bit niche for most people), and The Third Reich at War (I didn’t get all the way through it as it becomes quite dense and repetitive; it’s largely a discussion of German atrocities).

Gospel Coalition Q&A – There’s lots of good content in this interview with D.A. Carson (if you’ve got an hour to spare on a Saturday!):

Gospel Coalition Q & A from Realityla on Vimeo.


  • Who Am I?

    It is not simply that we as a culture have lost our knowledge of God, but that in so doing we have also lost sight of ourselves. “Who am I?” is the question of the age.

  • Church cemetery

    If I Could Change Anything about the Modern Church

    I have often been asked what I consider the greatest weakness of today’s church or what I would change about today’s church if I could. Such questions make for good discussion at a conference Q&A session but they are also pretty much impossible to answer in a compelling way. It’s not like any of us…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 27)

    A La Carte: To men delaying marriage / A mother unknown / Steve Lawson update / Three essential values for effective teamwork / God is good even when he doesn’t do what we want / Kindle deals.

  • Closet

    How To Learn To Pray

    Christians are well-resourced with tremendous books that teach the theology and the practice of prayer. Many churches and ministries offer powerful classes that teach why we must pray and how we must pray. We are truly blessed.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (January 25)

    A La Carte: The digital allure of being attended to / He Is Making All Things Right (a new song) / To the parents of the wild ones / Five things you can control / Parenting and pornography / and more.