Welcome to Weekend A La Carte. I’ve got some interesting think pieces and long-form content below. After that, you’ll find recommendations from readers like you that cover podcasts, books, apps, sermons, and lots of other good stuff.

Before we get to any of that, let me express gratitude to Harvest House for sponsoring the blog this week. They wanted to be sure that you know about the new Gospel Way Catechism for Kids, a resource meant to build a strong biblical foundation and confidently navigate today’s culture.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include a collection of newer and older books. Be sure to scroll down and look at some of this week’s options since there were plenty of good ones that will be expiring by the end of the day.

Recommended Reading

Douglas Groothuis wrote an article against gambling this week and drew his argument largely from a theology of work. Essentially, he argues that God means for us to work for our money, not gamble for it. While I am adamantly against betting, I also don’t entirely disagree with Stephen Kneale, who says that, as far as he can see, most arguments against gambling are not entirely compelling or carefully proven from Scripture. “I cannot find anywhere in scripture that says gambling is wrong. I have looked. I have heard numerous arguments that claim it is morally wrong from a biblical perspective, but the arguments simply don’t seem to stack up.” So much like him, I have an instinct against gambling and think it must be wrong, even as I’m somewhat dissatisfied with the arguments Christians make. That’s perhaps especially true when we compare gambling to other sports, hobbies, or occupations.

So again, hear me: I am not endorsing gambling and do not gamble in any way. But I also wonder if Christians have been content with relatively weak arguments against gambling. I am very willing to be proven wrong. (And, indeed, one of the reader recommendations below is for another article on gambling.)

Read: Against Gambling and Is Gambling Sinful?

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Kevin DeYoung has shared the first in a two-part series that tells what the Bible teaches about nations. He says that these articles are meant to be neither polemical nor academic, but to simply walk through biblical terminology while addressing what the Bible teaches about the nations and those who lead them. “Nation” is undoubtedly one of those terms for which we import our twenty-first-century understanding and thus potentially obscure the actual meaning.

The word “nation” or “nations” is common in our English Bible, with the singular noun occurring 155 times in the English Standard Version and the plural noun occurring 490 times. The word “nation” usually refers to the nation of Israel or another specific nation on the earth (e.g., Egypt). The word “nations” can refer specifically to non-Jewish (i.e., Gentile) peoples or simply to the totality of peoples around the world (inclusive of Jews). From the opening chapters of the Bible, we see that the nations are subject to God’s wrath, but also the object of God’s saving intentions. By the end of the Bible, we see as God’s people that our national identity is relativized by the far greater blessing of our heavenly citizenship. While the reality of each person’s earthly citizenship is not erased—now or in the life to come—the weight of the New Testament stresses that God’s redemptive kingdom no longer resides in any particular nation but in the multinational church of Jesus Christ.

Read: What Does the Bible Teach About Nations?

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This week brought the news that columnist Ross Douthat is moving from the New York Times to 60 Minutes. Writing for Mere Orthodoxy, Jake Meador laments this and says it exposes a wider concern about columnists being remade into media personalities.

We have shifted into a media environment in which individuals are far more powerful than institutions. Columnists and essayists who are good at those roles have a tendency to build platforms that surpass their employer’s, in some ways. Over time they cease to be “columnists” or even “writers” and instead become “media personalities.” And as media personalities, they often have a kind of power that can rival or even surpass that of their employers. I expect that the Times will lose many subscribers over Douthat’s departure.

But we have seen this pattern play out many times before: Tucker Carlson left Fox News and while his audience is not as broad as it once was and he is somewhat quarantined on Twitter in a way he was not while at Fox, he still has a meaningful audience and clearly has a sustainable media operation behind him. Candace Owens’s departure from The Daily Wire played out in a similar way: Her audience is almost certainly larger at this point than that of her former boss Ben Shapiro, who has remained rooted in the institution he built. Obviously both Carlson and Owens are extremely different figures from Douthat. It may be that their commercial success as independent producers is not replicable because it depends on a particular sort of audience that is toxic enough to alienate anyone not already part of it and large enough to sustain some larger media operations. Douthat obviously will not profit from that same arrangement, nor would most other media figures.

Read: Ross Douthat and the Future of Digital Media.

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Every organization that deals in writing is having to craft policies related to the use of AI. This week, The Gospel Coalition released its policy, which it described as “a line in the sand.”

It’s an offense to the word “writing” to apply it to AI-arranged words and sentences. What AI produces is an impressively polished, usually helpful, sometimes cheeky string of words. But it’s just instantaneous pattern recognition and data organization. It’s soulless slop that can mimic and masquerade as brilliant writing. It’s aggressively efficient, speedily rendered, sycophantic information.

But it’s not writing.

Even when it’s created at the behest of a human’s creative prompt and detailed parameters, and even when it’s just assisting a human who has real writing chops, AI-fashioned content doesn’t deserve to be called writing.

Hence, TGC allows AI to be used in only the most minimal of ways. Christianity Today crafted its own policy, and it’s quite similar. In both cases, the organizations have a full editorial team and process that allows them to do what individual writers cannot: discuss ideas together, outline them in community, get the feedback of an editor, and so on. Hence, I think those policies work well for those organizations, but I expect many individual writers may institute policies that are a bit looser.

Read: Our Line in the Sand on AI: TGC’s Missional Opportunity.

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The Atlantic covers the phenomenon of people growing tired of influencers–a phenomenon most of us understand, I’m sure.

Influencers today are a bit like plastic surgeons, or plumbers: On a societal level, many people sure seem to like what they do—they just don’t necessarily want to be right next to them while they’re doing it.

But influencers are unique in how they seem to be everywhere, particularly in places where people are trying to do things other than be on their phone to watch influencers. Of course we love the game and hate the player: It’s much easier to be annoyed by individuals than by concepts, especially when those individuals are, often, pretty annoying.

You’d need to be pretty clueless to not feel a little weird about the online attention economy and all it entails—the vanity; the grift; the slop; the desperation; the calculated intimacy; the endless consumption; the creeping sense that everything and everyone is actually just there to make you feel kind of bad about yourself and then sell you something. Social media can, of course, unite like-minded people, but it can also reward the kind of tribalist reactionaryism that can conflate disliking some women with disliking all women, or make an anti-consumerist folk hero out of a store that sells $2,750 baskets. The industry that Paul and her cohort belong to is unquestionably grim—but the industry isn’t walking around town with a selfie stick. There’s a reason that the sign doesn’t say no influencing, but rather no influencers.

Read: The Extras Are Tired.

Reader Recommendations

Every week I ask readers what they recommend. (Check Monday A La Carte if you’d like to have a say.) Here are some of this week’s recommendations:

Joshua recommends the sermon “According to the Election of Grace” by Elder Ward. He says, “Listening left me deeply encouraged and delighting in God for the beauty and necessity of election. Soul-stirring fire here.” (At the very least, watch for a couple of minutes beginning at 50 minutes.)

Karen enjoys the RISE leadership podcast for leadership and development. “It offers insight and actionable takeaways to make a Christ-centered impact in your church and life.”

Matthew and Andrea both use Versify, a Bible memorization app that gives flexibility in what and how you memorize Scripture.

Maria says, “My family has seriously enjoyed and has been blessed by the From the Rising of the Sun documentary by Tim Challies & Tim Keese. They did a wonderful job of showing us that every Sunday we are worshiping with family around the world!” It’s free with the book, so check the inside front cover if you already have a copy.

Michael recommends Zotero, a free app “that easily catalogues any print books, ebooks, logos books, blogs, pdfs, videos, podcasts, charts, or anything else you want to organize, with just an ISBN or webpage.”

Darcy votes for the audiobook of Murder on the Orient Express, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. “He does an excellent (and amusing) job with the wide-ranging cast of characters!”

David remembers that, a number of years ago, Phil Johnson had an exceptional series of articles about gambling. “Highly recommend reading those … and recommend that a publisher pesters Johnson into turning them into a book.”

Chris recommends Grant, Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses S. Grant. “This work does an excellent job showing Grant, his strengths and weaknesses, and how they played out in his life. I came away with significantly more respect for one of the most important figures in American history.”

Scott likes The Heart Taken Up: 90 Days with the Puritans by Stephen Yuille published by Reformation Heritage Books.

Summer “recently read Made for Friendship by Drew Hunter and found myself very encouraged and walked away with a better perspective and understanding of the value of friendship with others and with our God!”

Samantha shares that her “friend Hannah has shared this devotional with me and it has been so helpful to realign my mind first thing in the morning. Yesterday’s guest was J.E. Tada, who has been a source of godly encouragement to my heart through the years.”

Mike thinks you should read Sammy and His Shepherd, a children’s book by Susan Hunt.

Flashback

We Must, We Can, Bloom for Him. No matter what unfolds around us and no matter what is done to us, we are able to bloom for him—to display the truest love, the greatest gentleness, the highest reaches of Christian character.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include titles on wonder, beauty, Christmas, and the call to ministry.

Recommended Reading

The Mark of the Beast. Only in heaven will we definitively know what 666 represents. In the meantime, it is good for us to attempt to wisely interpret it. Steven Wedgeworth offers his take on it here. “666 is one of the most infamous symbols from the Bible. It has taken root in the broader cultural imagination, and it often pops up in all kinds of ‘evil bad guy’ places: heavy metal artwork, street gangs, hate groups, etc. But in context, it’s meant to be a warning to the Christian church how they can avoid worshiping the beast.”

Did Jephthah Really Sacrifice His Daughter? Speaking of interpretive difficulties, everyone who has read through the book of Judges has wondered: Did Jephthah really sacrifice his daughter? Theologian Mitch Chase takes a look at the evidence and draws a reasonable conclusion. (You don’t need to read part one of this two-parter, but it would give you context.)

The Gospel Way Catechism for Kids. Based on its adult counterpart, this innovative question-and-answer book equips parents and Bible teachers with a tool to help middle-grade children grasp the truth of God’s Word and recognize the many mistruths present in today’s culture. (Sponsored)

My Side of the Bed Is Cold. Kimberly Wagner explains why she and her husband can no longer share a bed. She also laments what they’ve lost due to some of God’s hard providences. I link to it both because I appreciate her trust in God and love for her husband, but also because I think there are lots of couples who can no longer share a bed for any number of reasons and they may be encouraged by it.

The Marital Conflict Multi-tool. Joe Smith describes what he calls a marital conflict multi-tool. His implementation of it is quite formal, but it may be a good thing to implement in your marriage even in a less formal way. “Do you and your spouse struggle with working through marital conflicts? Is your communication about offenses, issues, and disagreements often hindered by sinful anger and frustration on either or both of your parts? If so, what if there was a single practice or ‘tool’ that could significantly help you and your spouse work through your conflicts more calmly and gently, negotiate disagreements more successfully, and grow in godly communication overall? Would you be willing to give it a try?”

When Pain Has Purpose. Katie Polski offers encouragement to those who are enduring difficulties. “What would it look like to stop viewing suffering as an inconvenient detour…as an awful back road you just have to survive to reach something better? What if instead you saw your pain as part of your life with Christ… as part of belonging to his family?”

Counting Blessings. “Blessings aren’t always what they seem, which brings me to an important question: What does it mean to be blessed by God? How might we misunderstand God’s blessings? Thankfully, and in contrast to Southern culture, God’s blessings are always actual blessings. In fact, it’s impossible for us to fully comprehend the extent of God’s blessings toward his children. If we err, we err on the side of underestimating them.” Casey McCall wants to help you think about your blessings.

The Funnies

My friend Chris Martin maintains a Substack called The Funnies, and every Saturday he shares a few fun and silly things he found on the Internet—something I see as a modern equivalent to the comics pages that used to be in every newspaper. I asked him to share a couple with you.

Flashback

Sometimes “Love Your Enemy” Means “Love Your Spouse”. We can very quickly let our marriages slide into a kind of transactional relationship where instead of thinking first about what we can give, we think first about what we can get. 

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some choice titles like Christopher Ash’s The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read. I’ve also included a bunch of commentaries that are all theologically sound while also being relatively easy to read.

You’ll find a couple of noteworthy deals at Westminster Books: Dave Harvey’s The Clay Pot Conspiracy and Vern Poythress’ Making Sense of Creation & Fall.

Recommended Reading

What Unique Platform Has God Given You to Glorify Him? Randy Alcorn wants you to know that God has given you a unique platform to glorify him. “So if God has wired you to be good at what you do—whether business or art, manufacturing or farming, music or medicine, or anything that allows you to freely help the needy and further the cause of Christ—rejoice! This is a great use of your life. No matter who you are, God has given you your physical and mental and spiritual gifts to provide you a platform from which to draw attention to Him.”

You Are Not Enough (And That Is Not Failure). Hannah Hagarty: “These limitations as a mother reveal my weakness in comparison to Christ’s all-sufficient power and perfection. He alone is the source of our salvation. When I reach the end of my own resources and fully surrender, I am reminded of Christ’s declaration to Paul, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’. I confess: ‘I am weak. I am weak. I am weak.’ I am not enough, and yet this is not failure but an invitation to trust the One who is.”

Are You as Connected to the Church as You Want to Be? Benjamin Vrbicek asks whether you are as connected to the local church as you want to be. “I have found that the biggest wet blanket in pastoral ministry is not people who leave our church with a big stink, making all kinds of noise after all kinds of meetings. I mean, I don’t love that. But vocal departures have the advantage of bringing clarity; they don’t leave me wondering if restrictions existed and, if so, what they were.”

There Is Almost Always a Need Behind the Need. This is a good reminder from Michael Kelley that there is always a need behind the need. “There is almost always a need behind the need, one that we often are not aware of or at least not ready to acknowledge when we experience our own kind of trouble. We find ourselves in pain, or desperation, or in need of something in the moment, and we call out to the Lord. But most of the time, there is a need behind the need. So let’s say, by way of example, that you are out of work, and so you pray that God would provide you a job.”

We Don’t Have to Turn Every Bit of Art Into a Jesus Juke. Stephen Kneale overstates things here, but I’m quite sure that’s a deliberate writing technique to help him make a good point. “Whatever film comes out, particularly if it is well regarded, long-awaited or just a big budget film, you can bet your bottom dollar Christians will write articles and blogs mining it for allusions to the gospel or to make some sort of serious Christian point. And I’m just going to say it: I’m pretty sick of Christians ruining every film by turning it into a Jesus juke.”

Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs. “Wait! Don’t stop reading! I know what you’re thinking. ‘We’ve all heard this before. Why even write on this?’ Because you need to hear it. Because I need to hear it. So you’ve heard it before? Good. Listen close then. If you really want to show Christian love, then something has to happen when ‘wrongs’ occur.” I agree—don’t let yourself just pass over this one.

Poetry

Do you enjoy poetry? Here are a few poems I’ve bookmarked over the past couple of weeks.

• The Last Summer by Havalah Peirce is about the sadness of summer’s end.
• A Given by Seth Lewis is about not taking life for granted.
• Kevin Twit surfaces a classic from James Montgomery: Our Saviour’s Prayers.

Flashback

We Cannot Be Faultless (But May Still Be Blameless). We may well be blameless before the Lord when we do our work to the best of our ability and when we do our utmost to cleanse our hearts and purify our motives. God accepts and treasures such work, not because it is perfect, but because it proceeds from faith and love.

Welcome to today’s A La Carte. It’s a joy to put together this curated collection of links each day, and I thank you for reading it!

You may know that I maintain a Best Commentaries page where I list the best commentaries on each book of the Bible according to the recommendations of expert scholars and theologians. I regularly update that page, but did an especially big update yesterday. The same is true of the Commentaries on Sale page.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include books on doubt, masculinity, ministry, Satan, Jesus’ parables, and more.

Recommended Reading

Sophie Cunningham Is Tearing Down Transgender Lies, but Only God’s People Can Offer Up His Truth. Jon Dykstra writes about Sophie Cunningham and her stand against transgenderism. “We should admire Cunningham for her courage, and Travis for being willing to back his stand with big bucks. But what the world needs to hear now is the clarity that only God’s Word offers. Why is it so stupid for men to play against women? And why does the world have to pretend otherwise? It’s because they’ve rejected God’s Word, and that’s left them without any foundation to stand on.”

Against Gambling. Douglas Groothuis: “How should a Christian understand gambling? Gambling is an activity in which someone puts up money, goods, or services on the chance of being rewarded by unknown outcomes by the gambler. I do not mean the investment of money, goods, services. By ‘chance,’ I mean unknown outcomes not determined by the gambler, not chance in the metaphysical sense of being beyond the control or knowledge of God (Ephesians 1:11; Psalm 139-1-3). There is no such thing. But consider examples of gambling.”

The Gospel Way Catechism for Kids. Based on its adult counterpart, this innovative question-and-answer book equips parents and Bible teachers with a tool to help middle-grade children grasp the truth of God’s Word and recognize the many mistruths present in today’s culture. (Sponsored)

Three Ways to Know I Am a Real Christian. Many people struggle with assurance that they are Christians. Stephen Kneale writes for them and offers three ways to know you are truly saved. “It is a common question from earnest and sincere people: how can I know I am a Christian? There are all sorts of answers we might give, some probably more helpful than others. But it would make most sense to look at the scriptures and see some of the signs it would highlight. So, to that end, here are three biblical signs that you are a genuine Christian.”

Struggle Against Sin Doesn’t Signal Defeat. This article nicely complements the last one. Some people struggle with assurance because they struggle with sin. Yet as Ashley Anthony says here, struggling against sin does not signal defeat.

Please Don’t Pray for Me. Writing on behalf of parents who long for their children to be saved, Tessa Lind asks whether such parents should honor the request that they don’t pray for their children. “Just five years ago, we sat in the same spot, my arm outstretched and her head on my shoulder. I was a safe place. I was a comforter, a listening ear, a trusted friend. I led her to the Rock that is higher than I. I didn’t have all the answers to the questions she was asking, but I showed her where the answers could be found. We walked down many roads together. As the teen years hit, the roads became bumpy. We hit potholes, and she let go of my hand. The road crumbled, and she let go of Jesus.”

PowerWash Simulator and the Yearning to Work. Did you know that one of the most popular video games today is a powerwash simulator? John Ehrett asks some good questions about this: What does it say about us, our nation, and our economy that over 17 million people now spend hours playing a simulator in which they do decent blue collar work?

Enjoying

Audible. Once a year, Audible offers me a free or almost free membership that lasts between 1 and 3 months (and, therefore, offers between 1 and 3 free books). I always take advantage of this, then cancel it. Most recently, I listened to An Inconvenient Widow and enjoyed it a lot. (You can check here to see if you can get the same offer.)

CSB. I am a longtime reader of the ESV, but over the past few months have been using the CSB for my devotions. I have found it mostly refreshing. The CSB holds to a similar translation philosophy as the ESV, but often states things more plainly. I would disagree with a few of their choices, but overall, I have found that it enhances my understanding of many passages, in part because I’m so familiar with the ESV that I have to debate the differences in my mind.

ESV API. Let me give a little shoutout to the ESV for giving such ready access to its API. The API allows other apps to connect to the ESV and use its data. I have found that extremely helpful in some of the different apps I use or have created for my own purposes. Many of the other Bible translations offer their API only to paid users or through third-party services, but ESV makes it as easy as can be. I appreciate that and take advantage of it often.

Your Recommendations

Every week, I like to ask what you recommend. What books, products, videos, sites, or experiences do you recommend to others who read this blog/newsletter? Let me know, and I’ll share a collection on Saturday. (If you’re reading this via email, you’ll need to visit my site to fill out the form. Go here to read last week’s recommendations.)

Flashback

A Child of His Care. I’d like you to keep reading so I can tell you about Ronda—sweet Ronda who just went to be with Jesus. I am certain you will find yourself blessed and encouraged if you press on.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some strong choices like Respectable Sins, Live Your Truth and Other Lies, and a few volumes in the excellent Gospel in the Old Testament series from P&R.

Logos users will want to look at this month’s free and nearly free books. On the main page, on the slides that change every few seconds, you can find information about some other deals, like up to 50% off certain titles and an August sale.

Recommended Reading

Twenty Two & Engaged. I enjoyed Karis Lai’s article on finding herself almost surprised to be engaged at a relatively young age. “While I was aware of idolatry at either end of the spectrum, I was not immune to the pulls of culture on either side, and felt oddly stuck in the middle of both. It seemed like I was somehow betraying my Asian Americanness and prestigious education by choosing to get married so young without having a clear 25 year plan. At the same time, I stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the broader Texas ‘ring-by-spring’ culture: I hadn’t planned a wedding Pinterest board since I was eight, I didn’t know about the ‘something borrowed, something blue’ trend.”

The Unwelcome Intruder. Kimberly Wagner writes about an intruder many of us will encounter. “He creeps in slowly. He works silently and his theft is hardly noticed. He’s stealthy and insidious. His tactics are unique to each individual case, but as he steals valuable assets from a loved one it always results in the same loss. Dementia is an unwelcome intruder. It robs our loved one of their memories and often their recognition of faces most dear to them. It removes mental clarity and often personality as our loved one morphs into an unrecognizable character.”

The Porn Buster. Barry York: “During thirty-five years of pastoral ministry, one of the greatest plagues on men, marriages, and the church is pornography. Porn is so prevalent that I have had to devote significant time to counseling and teaching on it. At RPTS, I have sections of pastoral classes in which I address this subject. As the president, I have had to discipline students over it. The RPTS and church community know that I label this topic Pornolatry, for Christians indulging in pornography is not just a problem of immorality – it is a worship problem. The pornolatrist is an idolatrist.”

What the Spurgeon Family Scandal Teaches Us About Failure. Someone recently unearthed a scandal in Charles Spurgeon’s family, and Rob Tervet explains what it can teach us about failure. “It explains why Charles was raised by his grandparents from such a young age and why John so sternly warned his son about the dangers of debt—which also explains why Charles repudiated debt. But it’s a devotionally rich finding as well. This unlikely ground zero for the greatest preacher of the 19th century reminds us of wonderful truths.”

Pastoral Time Guilt. “Every pastor knows the feeling. You leave the hospital wondering whether you should have stayed in your study. You leave your study wondering whether you should have visited another family. You finally sit down with your wife and children only to remember the unanswered emails, the counseling appointment you need to schedule, or the sermon that still feels unfinished. Ministry has a way of convincing us that wherever we are is exactly where we should not be. The result is a quiet burden many faithful pastors carry every day: time guilt.” Joe Keller offers encouragement to pastors who feel that guilt.

What About Animal Suffering? Some skeptics consider animal suffering an unsolvable problem for Christians. Greg Koukl explains why it isn’t. “It would require near omniscience to affirm that there is no good reason for God to create a world that included suffering. Who could know that with any confidence? By contrast, evidences for God’s existence are legion. Clearly, the premise “God exists” enjoys the most support. Thus, the second argument is the most credible, and the charge that suffering is gratuitous is deflected significantly.”

Book Short

Lois Romano’s An Inconvenient Widow is a fascinating and even-handed biography of Mary Todd Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln’s wife suffered deeply in life. She lost three of her four sons, witnessed her husband’s assassination, was unfairly confined to an asylum by her remaining son, and had her reputation savaged. After all this, and much more, she went down in history as an ignominious figure. Yet Romano is convinced the record has been unfair. While she doesn’t defend her subject’s many shortcomings, she does emphasize her virtues and show how she was treated especially poorly, both in her day and in the century-and-a-bit that has followed. She shows how she likely suffered from issues related to mental health, how she was not afforded sympathy for her grievous losses, and how so many people simply loved to hate her. This book helps show what Lincoln loved and admired about his wife and redeems a reputation that has been unjustly besmirched. (Learn more at Amazon)

Flashback

The Financial and Spiritual Principle of Compound Interest. The lessons learned on a mother’s knee, the principles taught in family devotions, and the catechism questions memorized in Sunday school are the small amounts of principal that can grow and expand into spiritual riches throughout a lifetime.

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

My weekend went in an unexpected direction when an elderly relative in Quebec needed assistance after experiencing some medical issues. I drove here a few days ago and am holding down the fort until my mother can make the journey from Georgia to take over. This time has been a blessing in many ways, and I’m thankful for it.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include some excellent books for younger (or older!) readers: 12 Truths Every Teen Can Trust, Scrolling Ourselves to Death, and Surviving Religion 101, among others.

Recommended Reading

For the Joy of Japan. Ten years after a tragic accident that claimed the lives of an entire family, Brett Rayl remembers them and expresses his confidence in the Lord. “A picture of the family, taken shortly before their passing, still hangs in my office: Jamison and Kathryne seated on a porch, smiling, their arms filled with three precious, small children — Ezra, Violet, and Calvin. When I arrive at work and see the photo, I feel their loss afresh, ten years later.” (You can see my first mention of that family in an A La Carte post from 10 years ago.)

Do You Really See Those Around You? “Those with disabilities are all around you. From the visible disabilities like those with mobility challenges to the invisible disabilities often ignored, undiagnosed, or mislabeled. I am not asking you to become a doctor or to try and diagnose everyone but you need to see everyone made in the image of God for who they are.” There’s the challenge: To really see those around you.

The Gospel Way Catechism for Kids. Based on its adult counterpart, this innovative question-and-answer book equips parents and Bible teachers with a tool to help middle-grade children grasp the truth of God’s Word and recognize the many mistruths present in today’s culture. (Sponsored)

The Slow Drift of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage. Though some of this article speaks specifically to the context of India, its principles apply far beyond. Karan Thomas writes, “Most marriages do not collapse overnight; they erode quietly. Between demanding careers, long commutes, financial pressure, and the constant pull of a screen, husbands and wives can become excellent managers of a shared life while becoming strangers to one another. They share a home, a table, even a bed, and still feel miles apart.”

Gutting Old Books to Feed AI: What Could Go Wrong? Last week we learned that AI companies are buying up millions of books so they can scan them and use them to train their AI. The reason is ironic: They value writing they can be certain was created by people rather than AI. “This is almost a metaphor for AI’s destructive relationship to literary culture. But there’s even greater irony in the reason why AI companies prefer old books for training — it’s because they want to avoid contaminating their bots with AI slop. I wish they had the same concern for us.”

Justice and Clemency. Stephen Kneale: “For the most part, it seems, not many people can imagine forgiving their child’s killer, ever, under any circumstances. Many cannot fathom how this couple manage it. The overwhelming noise, however, is how unjust it all seems. Not only how can they forgive this man, but why would they. There is rage against the criminal justice system, rage that he should be let out of prison at all, rage that this family dare to defy justice and forgive him. Many are particularly angry that this horrible killer might go on to have any sort of life at all, especially when his victim has no such chance. People seem angry at forgiveness and are adamant there is no redemption for such filthy, rotten sinners as this.”

“This I Call to Mind”. Mary Nolte calls to mind what matters most. “Caring for my mom as she is slowly lost to this disease has been one of the more difficult sorrows of my life, everyday a new challenge brought on by its cruel progression. Sometimes the grief of it is overwhelming, coming on unexpectedly as there is the daily disappearance of one who has been a steady presence in my life for the whole of my life, having a front row seat to precious memories now scattered.”

Your Recommendations

Once a week, I like to ask what you recommend. What books, products, videos, sites, or experiences do you recommend to others who read this blog/newsletter? Let me know, and I’ll share a collection on Saturday. (If you’re reading this via email, you’ll need to visit my site to fill out the form. Go here to read last week’s recommendations.)

Flashback

One of the Greatest Challenges We Will Ever Face. If we truly love Jesus, we will love the body of Jesus, the people of Jesus, the church of Jesus.

Sales & Deals

A new month brings some new Kindle deals. I’ve got several from Baker Books today and will have many more from other publishers in the days to come.

Recommended Reading

Carl Trueman is just the person whose commentary I’d look to after the recent terror attack at the Berlin Pride festival. Why? Because I know he’ll be able to interpret the bizarre phenomenon of the LGBTQ movement forging a one-way alliance with Islam.

The last few years have presented us with the bizarre phenomenon of members of the LGBTQ movement donning keffiyehs and campaigning for Hamas. In a world where considering the concept of “woman” to be connected to biology renders one subject to threats of rape and even death, it seems odd to have supporters of LGBTQ rights expressing support for an organization for which homosexual acts are death penalty offenses. But such is the spirit of negation that defines this present age. It is what the ideological family of critical theories does: dismantle what is, with little or no concern for what will replace it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, even when said enemy’s vision of the future involves stoning me to death rather than merely refusing to use my preferred pronouns.

Similarly, the responses of British politicians to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis—a long way geographically and politically from Westminster—and that of Henry Nowak—a British man who was fatally injured, handcuffed by police, and falsely accused of racism by his killer—reveal a dramatic contrast. The former, despite being none of the U.K. government’s business, was swiftly politicized, with knee-taking being as de rigueur in Chelsea as in Manhattan. When JD Vance commented on Nowak’s murder, the Labour government was indignant about foreign interference. The difference? The details of the Nowak case did not conform to the tastes of identity politics. 

And what would happen when radicalized Islamic fundamentalists and Pride celebrations meet in the real Western world, rather than online or in the imaginations of those anti-Western poseurs who promote that most Western of phenomena, the sexual revolution? Well, now we know. 

Read: Berlin and the Contradictions of Identity Politics. (First Things uses a metered paywall system, but since it’s the first day of the month, you should be okay to read it without a subscription.)

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You may not know that you are familiar with Tim Carleton’s “Opus No. 1,” but I’m pretty sure you are. Would you like proof? Just click here and listen for a few moments. Yup, it’s that omnipresent on-hold music. This story from Smithsonian tells the unlikely story of how it came to be the nearly universal option for sitting and waiting for an agent.

Millions of people know “Opus No. 1” without knowing its name. For generations of callers trapped on hold, listening to its endlessly looping melody as time ticks by, it has become the soundtrack to life’s eternal questions: What is this? How did I get here? Or simply, Why?

Understandably, then, Tim Carleton, its creator, has a complicated relationship with his creation. He first wrote the melody around age 10, then fleshed it out in 1989 on a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer he’d bought from Gordon’s Music & Sound in Fairfield, California, with money from his 16th birthday.

A teenager’s take on New Age music, drawing inspiration from Yanni, Kitaro and Art of Noise, the instrumental was never meant for public consumption.

“‘Opus No. 1’ was really just me figuring out how to record,” says Carleton, who retired after a career in information technology at a California bank. “There are sections that make me cringe because you can hear me making mistakes. It was just a practice song.”

Read: A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatory.

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There is a lot to disagree with in this article from The Atlantic, but I think it highlights something that I haven’t yet read in other media. Here’s how it begins:

This should never have been news in the first place. But on Thursday, a TikToker posted a video of a pair kissing on a bench in New York City’s Central Park. “Get a room,” he tells them as he approaches, clearly filming. “There’s kids around.” By today, the clip had received 3.9 million views. Commenters had identified the kissers, noting with glee that one of them appears to be married to someone else. Thousands flooded in to offer takes. (“Nice of you to teach them a lesson!”) One person posted a close-up picture of the woman’s face, making fun of her appearance. Several took it upon themselves to ridicule the man’s socks. Soon, the New York Post had published an article identifying the two as lawyers involved in defending OpenAI in a lawsuit (as if that gives their makeout public-interest relevance) and referring to the incident as “the kissyface.” The Daily Mail shared that the woman “appears to have called in the cavalry—her parents Tracy and Matt have flown in from California to New York.” I’d call mine too.

I think we can use videos like this to remind ourselves that the Lord is always watching and that we ought to be upright in all our actions and all our PDA. Well and good. But I think there’s another story, and it’s the one this author captures, even if through a very secular lens. It’s that many young people today are already hesitant to date, and that the risk of being caught and outed makes that risk all the greater.

Read: The Horrible Rise of the Makeout Police.

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I appreciate a lot of what Aaron Renn writes, as he nearly always offers me something to think about. In this recent article, he explains why even thinkers on the left predict that Zohran Mamdani will ultimately fail in his desire to transform New York City (and possibly the rest of the nation).

I’m a fan of capitalism. But many people aren’t, so it’s probably not possible to use capitalist arguments to convince them that Zohran Mamdani-style DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) populism is unlikely to work in cities.

However, a number of left-wing thinkers have provided powerful ideas of their own that can help us understand, within a left-wing framework, why the “socialism in one city” of DSA leaders like Zohran Mamdani is unlikely to succeed in its policy ambitions.

Read: Why the Left’s Own Thinkers Predict New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani Will Fail.

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This is just a brief piece, but I thought it was worth highlighting. In it, church historian Thomas Kidd explains how he uses AI in his vocation.

I have been exploring AI applications in history research this year. One of my outstanding Midwestern Baptist Seminary Ph.D. students recently helped me learn to use a curated notebook for research. It is one of the most promising applications I have yet discovered.

I use Google’s Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM), which is free. There are many other notebook options out there, including ones that would likely have more functionality and capacity for sources. But Notebook is very easy to use and is quite adequate so far in my current research (for a Charles Finney biography, co-authored with Obbie Tyler Todd).

What I find interesting is that he uses this app to perform functions that could otherwise be carried out by a research assistant. I think this is something many of us will need to consider: Is it okay to use AI to take on tasks of this kind? If we would pay a person with a relatively modest skill set to do research, and we can have it done much faster with AI, is it necessarily wrong to use AI? As I have said before, we are on the frontier of a new technology, and we will need to explore its functionalities and ethics together, granting one another a lot of grace along the way.

Read: Using Gemini Notebook for Research.

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A few years ago I read a book titled Tomatoland. The author had noticed a tomato thrown from a vehicle hit the ground and remain intact. That had sent him down a rabbit hole of researching how tomatoes are grown, picked, ripened, and sent to consumers like you and me. The book’s subtitle gives a clue as to what he thought about it: “How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit.”

An article from Offrange tells much of the same story, though without passing judgment on the process.

Tomatoes are climacteric fruits, like bananas, avocados, and mangos, which means they can be harvested unripe and complete the process later. Ethylene sends the hormonal signal to ripen. When that process happens naturally, cells near its seeds start producing the gas and it diffuses outward through the fruit. Each cell the gas reaches begins its own production, and the cascade softens the flesh and the tomato turns red from the inside out. That allows the fruit to be picked much greener, shipped far, and then ripened when they’re close to their eater.

To do it artificially isn’t complicated, but it is expensive. Ethylene floods the room at carefully calibrated amounts, and the operator compresses what might take weeks into five days. Sensors log temperature, humidity, and gas concentrations around the clock. The tomato turns red from the outside in.

Food scientists have known since 1901 that ethylene caused certain plants to ripen quickly, after a Russian botanist discovered that lamps off-gassing the substance were ripening pea plants. They also discovered ethylene has the tendency to violently explode at high volumes; its adoption by the produce industry was not immediate. Then in the 1970s, a banana distributor found out that the safer and cheaper option was to generate small volumes of the gas in the rooms where you needed it.

Read: Gassed Up.

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Canada is currently known as a country that leads the way in secularism, but this was not always the case. In fact, true secularism is relatively new to this country. This article from the Association for Reformed Political Action shows how, for much of Canadian history, the Christian faith was of great concern.

Canadian history is more than just the secular revolution and its aftermath. There is a rich Canadian history of religion in the public square before the secular revolution that is little known and even less appreciated today. Peeking into this history not only allows us to appreciate the magnitude and scale of the secular revolution; it also can inspire us in the twenty-first century to see how the Christian faith can influence public life. 

So, here’s one story of where we came from before the secular revolution. This is the story of clergy reserves and Canada’s formal establishment of the Protestant Christian religion.

Read: How We Got Here: Before the Secular Revolution.

Your Recommendations

Every week I ask readers what they recommend. (Check Monday A La Carte if you’d like to have a say.) Here are some of this week’s recommendations:

Jono recommends Brick, and I’m actually surprised it took this long for someone to recommend it! “This device has helped me reclaim freedom from my phone. I use it 24/7, except when I’m traveling, to block all unnecessary apps. I want the internet to be a place I go, not something I carry with me all the time.”

Charissa wants you to know about Joyful Mothers, a Facebook group led by Rachel Zwayne that is meant to encourage mothers.

David recommends the daily podcast from WORLD magazine, “The World and Everything In It.”

John thinks you should know about Pastor Al Martin’s sermon archive website.

Elizabeth and her family have recently begun using Parkrun, which is a free, weekly, 5k and 2k community event around the world. “My family has recently started doing them whenever we are at home for the weekend. It is such a great way to start the weekend and force us to get out the house, get some fresh air, and exercise.”

William says that “if you’re after a biblically rich, soul-stirring book on communication, War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles by Paul David Tripp is a top choice.”

Jim suggests you get an indoor antenna for your TV, which he says allows you to be a good steward of money and drop cable.

Jason points out that since someone last week recommended using a real camera, he thinks it’s just as valuable to listen to music with real audio equipment. “Check out your local used record shop and experience your music listening in a whole new (old) way.”

A different Elizabeth recommends A Book of Comfort for Those in Sickness by P. B. Power, “a short but powerful read for anyone dealing with physical affliction, or lingering suffering of any kind.” I echo her recommendation.

Matthew recommends memorizing Psalms and then using them to fuel your prayers to the Lord.

Matt recommends the Light Phone 3, and says “I have been enjoying it because it’s a phone that’s just a phone, not a portal to distractions and avoidance.”

Betty very kindly recommends my book God’s Great Big Global Church. She has been reading it with her Sunday school class at a pace of one chapter per week.

Sean recently began re-reading Sproul’s Chosen by God. “I forgot just how thoroughly he addresses the issue of predestination. It’s definitely a good and concise read for anyone struggling with the doctrines of grace.”

Check Monday’s A La Carte to make a suggestion of your own!

Flashback

What Grows in the Local Church. Because we live out our Christian faith in such proximity to one another and because we are natural imitators, we are likely to imitate poor qualities as well as good ones. So if love can spread in the local church, so can suspicion. 

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include quite a selection of books. I’ve added a few that are on sale for just one more day before they revert to their standard prices.

Westminster Books has a great deal on a neat series of biographies for children.

Recommended Reading

Does God Punish Us for Our Parents’ Sin? I think this is a fair handling of a question that is often asked out of great pain. “There are times when the Bible seems to contradict itself about whether we are punished for our parents’ sin—sometimes even in the same book. … Does God punish children for the sins of their fathers? The answer is yes and no. Let’s get the yes out of the way first.”

Beware What You Believe In. Pierce Taylor Hibbs: “Beware what you believe in. There is a powerful and life-altering difference between believing in God, believing in other people, and believing in the gifts God gives. Many times we confuse these options and end up disenchanted, disgusted, or deflated.”

How a Google Voice Number Transformed My Youth Ministry. Austin Gravley explains how a simple Google Voice number made an outsized difference in his ministry to young people.

When Christians Don’t Get Along. “You’ve felt it before. That thick tension when a disagreement between two ladies at church has spread, and now it feels like every woman in the congregation is being drafted onto teams like some sort of high-stress kickball game. Or that spike of annoyance and adrenaline when you run into someone you were hoping to avoid on your way to the sanctuary—not because you harbor malice toward her, but because she rubs you the wrong way, and you just don’t feel like dealing with it this morning.”

I Was Helped by a Hypocrite. Like many of us, Garrett Kell was once helped by someone who later proved to be a hypocrite. “I’d been a believer for a year when I met Walt. He captivated a crowd when he preached. His counsel was pivotal in my life, and God used him to strengthen my young faith. But Walt turned out to be a hypocrite. After proclaiming God’s glory, he’d visit prostitutes on his way home to his wife. After his divorce, he stole another man’s wife. Walt’s downfall disoriented me. How could I be so helped by a man who was such a hypocrite?”

Freedom Wears a Chain. “The Christian is set free. Set free from the punishment of sin. Set free from the power of sin. A Christian is set free from the law of sin and death. ‘For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery’ (Gal 6:1). Christians are set free from the righteousness that comes by the works of the law. We are free from the fear of death and the devil. But did you know that freedom wears a chain?”

A La Quiz

Did you read the best of this week’s A La Carte? Test yourself:

George Sinclair wrote about a new Anglican liturgy that deliberately inserts a pause for something truly awful. What is that pause for? (See here)

A veteran pastor wrote about one of the helpful consequences of growing older and gaining wisdom. What did he identify? (See here)

Mikey Lynch wondered when it’s time to stop referring to people as something and refer to them instead as adult-adults. What was the term he wants to limit? (See here)

Flashback

Give Me a Faith Like His! When Joseph awoke he remembered the dream, he accepted it as God’s own revelation, and he received it as God’s own instruction. He set aside all thought of divorce, he took Mary as his wife, and he raised her son as his own.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include two helpful books by Stephen McAlpine: Being the Bad Guys and Futureproof. There are other choices as well, of course.

Recommended Reading

When Should We Just Call Young Adults ‘Adult-Adults’? I think this is a really good question for churches to ask: When should we consider young adults “adult-adults?” “Young adults ministry, like all targeted ministries, needs to be conscious of the theological and practical risks of the homogeneous unit principle. However, if we accept that targeted ministries can have a healthy place in church life, there are some potential negative consequences in stretching the age-range of ‘young adult’ too wide, and investing in specialist ministry to this broad cohort.”

Who Is Missing in Your Church Who Is Already There? Here’s another worthy question: Who is missing in your church who is already there? “The question that has challenged me recently is not how we define an active member, but how people become one. We often assume that if someone wants to be involved, they simply will. They will sign up, introduce themselves, volunteer, and find their place. While there is certainly personal responsibility involved, I wonder if we have unintentionally shifted too much of the burden onto the individual.”

Five Ways to Help Teenagers Actually Love the Bible. Many parents and youth leaders default to short, simple Bible lessons for teens — but Anna Meade Harris and Chelsea Kingston Erickson (Rooted Ministry) suggest teenagers actually crave more substance. In this piece for TGC, they offer five practical ways to deepen a teen’s engagement with Scripture: working through whole books, praying the Psalms, leading their own inductive study, tracing the Bible’s one unified story, and persevering in prayer. (Sponsored)

Count the Cost of Missions, but Don’t Forget the Joys. We are accustomed to making sure that potential missionaries count the cost of missions, but Matt Rhodes reminds us that it’s important to count the joys as well. “Those considering missions should count the cost, but they shouldn’t stop there. They should also consider the reward. In one of his most difficult seasons, Paul wrote that ‘this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison’ (2 Corinthians 4:17). Whatever hardships we suffer for Christ are temporary. The reward he promises lasts forever.”

Godly Friends and Gospel Schemes. Jacob Crouch: “Too many are content to be in nominal friendships. You may be ok to be around the things of God together, but the thought of bringing each other into your spiritual life seems weird. To bring up spiritual matters makes you uncomfortable. You’re ok to talk cars, or football, or politics, but Christ and Him crucified is a step too far. If you find yourself in friendships like this, I want to be the voice of reason for you: You need godly friendships.”

Words Are Very Unnecessary. Stephen McAlpine considers how the church may need to adapt to the reality that many young people don’t engage in the real world as much as previous generations did. “What might it mean to accommodate a whole generation of new church-goers who are unused to talking on a regular basis, don’t know how to strike up a conversation (especially with a fellow young person of the opposite sex), and certainly don’t know how to navigate a conflict verbally?”

Biblical Respect in a Disrespectful Age. Here’s a helpful piece on emphasizing biblical respect in a disrespectful age. “Regardless of the status and authority of others or ourselves, respecting others is God’s command. By doing so we show ourselves to be followers of Christ Jesus, who love him by keeping his commandments. Rather than the disrespect our culture often seems to enjoy showing to others, as Christians we are commanded to be respectful and honoring to those over us and also to those who have been placed under our authority. We honor God and show respect to him by demonstrating his love in our own behavior.”

Book Reviews

I like to write book reviews, but also to read them. Here are a few that caught my attention this week:

Alistair Chalmers was as impressed with A Heart Aflame for God as I was. “Matthew Bingham argues that Reformed Christians do not need to look outside their theological heritage to discover a rich, serious and deeply experiential approach to the Christian life. Drawing particularly upon the Reformers and Puritans, Bingham retrieves a vision of spirituality that is firmly grounded in Scripture, shaped by the gospel and centred upon communion with God.”

James Ritchey enjoyed The Redeemed Man (edited by Joel Beeke, Richard Phillips, and Paul Smalley) and says, “If you seek a book on godly manhood that is truly grounded in Reformed theology, piety, and practice, this is such a book. You will be edified and reminded of truths that endure in every generation.”

Ryanne Molinari was excited to read Stories Woven in Silver “about using literature to disciple children’s imaginations.” It didn’t let her down.

Garrett Conner reviews Dave Kiehn’s book Pulling the Thread: A Pastoral Philosophy on Church Revitalization and writes, “I felt like I was sitting down for a thoughtful conversation about church revitalization with a loving and faithful pastor who was genuinely interested in the work the Lord had given me to do.”

Flashback

Should We Exercise “Pronoun Hospitality?” The authors of the book The Gender Revolution speak to the subject of so-called “pronoun hospitality” along with the pressure to tell others your own preferred pronouns and provide their guidance.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include a useful pre-marriage book, a book to help those who are recovering from addictions, and another about the Christian’s identity.

Recommended Reading

Are Christians in Nigeria Facing Genocide? I have heard different explanations of the anti-Christian violence in Nigeria, so I was interested in this report from WORLD. Some have said the violence is related primarily to religion, while others have said it is related to other conflicts between clans or people groups. Here’s what this writer found: “The violence in Nigeria is real. The terrorism is real. But the majority of people I encountered across vast territory, both urban and rural, were not caught up in the language of a religious war.”

Wisdom and Tough Choices. J.V. Fesko: “As I have grown older, and hopefully more mature, I have concluded that some younger ministers see everything in black and white. On the other hand, older, mature, seasoned ministers see things in black, white, and grey. Newly minted ministers learn about wonderful truths and amazing doctrines, and they want to ensure that they and others around them unswervingly adhere to the hard line of orthodoxy. It’s disconcerting to me to watch a timid and humble lamb of a ministerial candidate who hopes and prays for leniency in his own ordination exam turn into a ferocious sharply-fanged lion of a minister who expects pinpoint accuracy as he sits in judgment over someone else’s ordination exam.”

A Bestiary of Sin. T. M. Suffield helps us see how any sin is, in a sense, a breaking of every commandment. He does this not as an intellectual exercise, but as a means of showing us the evil of sin and, in that light, to better appreciate Christ’s work on the cross.

Better Than Me. I think many people will be able to identify with Grace Thomas’ confession of comparison. “What is my greatest weakness? A few weeks go by and I know the answer. As I sit on the couch and scroll through my phone I notice an icky feeling bubble to the surface. Social media used to provide inspiration, but it now breeds comparison. I compare myself to others and my past self, able to do more—and do it faster, better, and stronger. I used to fit into smaller clothes, do more jumping jacks, or stay up later. Despite my accomplishments, there’s always someone who performs better.”

Faith Comes by Hearing: On the Word of God, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and Public Worship. This article from Mere Orthodoxy explains why your church should take its sound system seriously. It also explains how your church may be inadvertently breaking the law. “What happens to our ears goes down deep into our hearts. And the Church yearns for this humble reception of her Lord. This is her very Life. That’s why it’s so important to fix your sound problems. It might seem like just another task, yet another regulation to check off, but this is where the action happens: at the feet of Jesus giving us His precious Word.”

You Still Have to Eat on Vacation. It’s obvious that you still have to eat when you’re on vacation. So why are you (possibly) so free to let go of other good and necessary habits? “For this upcoming vacation, I’m trying to pack lighter than I normally would, so I’ve found myself mentally weighing every item and reconsidering whether its essential. The fourteen library books that became available at the same time? I probably shouldn’t try to stack those in a suitcase. And my Bible? It’s heavy when added to a small backpack. Will I really have time to read it?”

Headlines

Here are a few interesting headlines from Christian news outlets.

AI > Pastors. Christian Today reports on young people turning to AI ahead of pastors for their deep questions. Though this may not be particularly surprising, it could be concerning. The article outlines why young people consider AI a better source of knowledge than even their own pastors.

Christian Ministries in India. Meanwhile, The Christian Post explains how a bill before India’s Parliament threatens Christian ministries there. “A bill advancing through India’s Parliament would tighten restrictions on foreign funding for faith-based organizations, including media outlets, food ministries, schools, clinics, hospitals and churches serving Christian communities. Religious freedom advocates are pressing lawmakers to reject it.”

Megachurch vs Smaller Churches. Christianity Today says that megachurches continue to get more mega while smaller churches continue to be pressured out of existence. “A new survey from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows megachurches have bounced back stronger than ever after the attendance dips of the COVID-19 pandemic. Smaller churches, however, have not fully recovered.”

Flashback

How To Respond to Social Media Enemies. Jesus tells you how to relate to people who harm you or who want to harm you, and his instructions provide crucial guidance as you relate to online enemies…Their verbs are hate, curse, and abuse; yours are love, do, bless, pray.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include two more volumes in the excellent Reformed Expository commentary series (one of which is Philippians). There’s also a book by Tim Keller, one by Jerry Bridges, and one by Nicholas McDonald.

Westminster Books has a deal on Come, Thou Fount, a liturgy for daily worship with the Psalms. You can also get 50% off the entire 4-volume set it is part of.

Recommended Reading

Protecting the Sheep From Domineering Pastors. Steven J Willing writes about “holy tyrants.” “Every generation produces its version of the holy tyrant. The names change but not the pattern. Even the titles can vary: senior pastor, ruling elder, or influential layman with the loudest voice in the room. What they share is a widening circle of personal authority and the slow accumulation of wreckage that follows them: broken relationships, silenced dissent, fleeing members, shattered congregations.”

When Your Boss Expects You to Lie. John Piper helps a listener consider how to respond when his boss expects him to lie. “You’re sitting at your desk, running the numbers, and your boss has made it clear: If you want to hit your quotas, you’re going to have to bend the truth — just a little. Leave out a detail here; mislead a client there. If you don’t do it, you could lose your job, and your family is counting on you. But if you do do it, you would compromise the truth, and you know it. How can you survive a high-stress, cutthroat industry without selling out your soul?”

Distillation. I enjoyed Sidney Muntean’s consideration of the optimization of life. “My optimization bender left me overly caffeinated, constantly twitching, and with a habit of shutting my phone screen on and off over and over again. I ate foods that corresponded with my projected energy levels of the day. I studied in the morning when I was at my sharpest and let my creativity take the back burner since there was no direct way I could tangibly profit from it. Upon getting my feelings hurt, I surmised that the best way to cope was to take ice-cold showers to physically restart my nervous system and force neurotransmitters to surge and shake up my mind. I gained momentum, fervor, and boatloads of free time. But I lost slowness. And rituals. Tenacity to sit through discomfort. And the ability to repurpose that free time into something beautiful.”

How to Do a Tech Detox With Your Teen. Jean Twenge offers one methodology for doing a tech detox with your teen. “If you have school-aged kids, this is the time of the summer when things start to drag. Maybe they had a week of camp or family vacation, but now they’re sitting in their room on their phone, surfing the web on their laptop, or watching streaming on their tablet. And the start of school, with its inundation of school-issued devices and screen-based homework, is right around the corner.”

Faithful Femininity on the Field. Macey Robertson writes about faithful femininity on the mission field. “We are called to be faithful in sacrificially caring for the home, and stewarding the gifts that the Lord has given us. Faithful in using our resources, our time, and our money, to share what we have in ministering to those around us. Faithful in being the hands and feet of Christ, as we seek to share His love with the masses. Faithful in holding the rope of whom the Lord has sent into foreign contexts, whether it be through a quick encouraging email or sending a care package; carrying out the Great Commission simply requires being faithful.”

Poking Fun at Ourselves. Here’s something to ponder: “For most of history, when men got in shape, they didn’t have a public platform in their pocket to tell the world about it. They did it because it was good. They did it for their family. They did it for the Lord. No doubt they shared their progress with the bros. But they didn’t broadcast it to an indiscriminate audience of strangers.” The same could be true of many things beyond simply getting in shape.

CNN & Ligonier

It is difficult to imagine two organizations more different than Ligonier Ministries and CNN (not to mention two personalities more different than Sinclair Ferguson and Jake Tapper). What do they have in common? They both recently featured discussions or interviews with Ben Sasse.

First up is Reflections on the Christian Life with Sinclair Ferguson, W. Robert Godfrey, and Ben Sasse:

And then Ben Sasse Talks to Jake Tapper About His Terminal Cancer Diagnosis and Life After Death. This is just a preview, but that is all I have access to from Canada. If you’re in the US or elsewhere, you may be able to find the whole thing on the CNN site.

Flashback

Settlers in the Land of Love. We traded rags for riches, the finite for the infinite, what we cannot keep for what we cannot lose. We traded it all to become settlers in the Promised Land of God’s divine love.