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Articles by Tim Challies
4 Truths to Preach to Your Sorrows
God brings glory to himself in our lives by sanctifying us—by making us more like Jesus Christ in the inner man so we can act more like Jesus in the outer man. God means to have a witness in this world, and though Christ has ascended, he has left us here to act as his disciples, his followers and imitators. God glorifies himself in the lives of his people by setting his love on dead, wretched sinners and transforming them into living images of his Son.
Cristãos e suas mães (Tim Challies)
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Parents, Do You Protect Your Children’s Dignity When You Discipline Them?
Parents may deem it necessary to remove a child from a worship service, but it is never necessary to drag him out by his ear. Parents may deem it necessary to enforce some kind of corporal discipline, but it is never necessary to spank a child in front of her siblings or peers. It may be necessary to lay out consequences for misbehavior, but this can always be a private conversation rather than a family or public one.
Can Anyone Harden Their Heart Beyond God’s Reach?
As we pray for those who are lost, we can always have confidence that their defiance can never hinder, thwart, or override the will of God. No human being, no matter how hardened in their sin, can resist when God beckons, stay still when God says to come, or say “no” when God says “yes.” My grandson is at that endearing stage where he is convinced that he can hide from me by simply covering his eyes. If he can’t see me, it must mean that I can’t see him, right?
God’s Goodness Both Grants and Denies
When you pray today, you can pray with confidence that God’s answer will be entirely aligned with His goodness. Whether He grants your petition or denies it, you can trust that His answer is not just good, but the absolute best. My girls don’t ask me for a whole lot anymore. They are both married now and each has her own life, her own husband, her own means. They are no longer my dependents, no longer entirely reliant upon me when it comes to provision.
God Believes In Rest. Do You?
Do we really need to fill our rest full of “holy” activities for it to be meaningful to the Lord? Is a good holiday the one that leaves us practically burnt out after serving the Lord so hard? Is a good Sunday necessarily the most active Sunday? I see no evidence for this in the Bible. I understand rest to be just that—the cessation of work in order to recover strength and achieve refreshment.
A La Carte (May 29)
Thanks to all who filled out the anonymous “here’s a great gift for Father’s Day” form in yesterday’s A La Carte. I got a ton of replies. Please offer your answer if you haven’t yet. There are some clear trends so far, and I’ll share them next week. Today’s Kindle deals include several good titles from Christian Focus and a few from B&H. At Westminster Books you’ll find some good deals on new books from Ligonier Ministries. I’ve only had time to skim them so far, but some of them look promising.
A La Carte (May 28)
The God of peace be with you on this fine day. I know a lot of people were on vacation earlier this week, so here are a couple of articles I wrote that you may have missed: You May Not Need Nearly as Much House as You Think You Do and What Does It Mean to Be Discerning?. Today’s Kindle deals include one of the helpful God’s Word for You books, as well as its companion study guide. There’s also a MacArthur book I don’t think I have ever seen on sale before.
A La Carte (May 27)
I don’t think I’m the only one who is wondering whether the seasons have shifted a little bit, so that the kind of weather we used to experience in April, we now experience in May. We are only now getting our first sustained days of perfect weather, which I’d define as somewhere around 22°C or 72°F. Maybe my memory is just faulty, but I’m quite certain they used to come earlier in the year. Either way, I’m thankful for it and am enjoying it.
A La Carte (May 25)
Good morning. Grace and peace to you. Today’s Kindle deals include some really good picks like Wayne Grudem’s Business for the Glory of God, Kevin DeYoung’s Crazy Busy, and David Mathis’ Workers for Your Joy. Christians Need Clearer Thinking About Sterilization. You may disagree with what Matthew Lee Anderson says in this article, but I think you’ll at least agree it’s worth thinking through. What if we Christians have been too quick to embrace voluntary sterilization?
Weekend A La Carte (May 23)
Welcome to a new edition of A La Carte. These weekend editions focus on long-form content and think pieces. There’s a lot of good material here, so I’m sure you’ll find something that’s of interest. For some of the articles, I have provided gift links, which should get you around any paywalls. Note, however, that these gift links may expire in a few days or weeks. Today’s Kindle deals include several noteworthy books.
A La Carte (May 22)
I hope my American friends and family enjoy their Memorial Day long weekend. If you do check in over the next couple of days, you will find my weekend edition of A La Carte tomorrow, and it will include some long-form content and think pieces. On Sunday, my Works & Wonders feature will share light and enjoyable content that is suitable for a Sunday. Today’s Kindle deals include a few deals from Christian Focus and a handful of good general market titles.
A La Carte (May 21)
Today’s Kindle deals include some solid deals from The Good Book Company, like What Cannot Be Lost and Mental Health and Your Church. Logos users will want to be sure to look at this month’s free and nearly free deals. You’ll also find thousands of products discounted for Memorial Day, as well as some good options in the Monthly Deals. One Step Becomes a Three-Day Walk. Timarie Friesen tells about some people who are engaged in a remarkable ministry. “Three men stepped into the forest at dusk.
The Most Neglected Element of Worship
There are some elements of public worship that receive a great deal of attention. These elements are taught, practiced, rehearsed, and perfected until they are as good as they can be. In most churches, this includes the music, of course, and often the preaching. Why do these receive so much attention? Optimistically, because the church deems them to be of the greatest importance according to Scripture.
A La Carte (May 20)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today, my friends. Thank you for reading this collection of articles that I’ve drawn carefully from all around the Internet. I only saw this article after putting together the other links, but wanted to make sure you saw it: American Missionary Doctor Contracts Ebola as Congo Outbreak Intensifies.
The Difference Between Ben Sasse and So Many Other Saints
Sasse encourages me to remember and praise God for all of his people, great and small, known and unknown, who have received their final diagnosis as their final challenge—their final opportunity on this side of the grave to testify to their love for the Lord and the peace they have in him. Ben Sasse has a lifetime of noteworthy achievements and accomplishments behind him.
Random Thoughts about Preaching and Being Preached To
“A concert audience does not come to watch the conductor but to listen to the music; a church congregation should not come to watch or hear the preacher, but to listen to God’s Word.
Sometimes I Get It Wrong
‘A Heart Aflame for God’ is as good a book as any I have read this year and one I wish I had read last year. It refreshed my understanding of spiritual formation and deepened my confidence that the Reformed tradition has deeply satisfying means for developing, increasing, and moving forward as a Christian. Sometimes I get it right and, admittedly, sometimes I get it wrong.
To those who married poorly
Some marriages are the stuff of fairytales. Some are not. Some husbands marry wives who respect them, and some wives marry husbands who love them as Christ loves his church. Some do not. The sad fact is that some people marry well and some people marry poorly. What do I mean by 'marry poorly'? This could refer to a couple who fell in love and married hastily, far too quickly to consider whether it was really wise to join these two lives together. In time, they learned that it was probably not.
It’s a Risk To Be in Front of a Room
The Word must be preached, for God has called the church to be a preaching church, to minister his truths from the pulpit to the people. And since preaching requires preachers, there must be men who accept the risk. Hence, my counsel to the aspiring preacher is not simply to admit that if you spend enough time at the front of the room, you will eventually suffer humiliation, but also to accept the risk as worth it—worth it to obey God by heralding the good news of what Christ has done.
Kerkelijke gemeente vooral gediend met goede onderherder
De gereformeerde traditie hecht grote waarde aan de prediking. Zo beschouwen we de preek vaak als het hoogtepunt van de eredienst. Bij het opstellen van een liturgie leiden de meeste elementen vóór de preek daarnaartoe, terwijl de elementen erna eruit voortvloeien. Wanneer we een nieuwe predikant zoeken, kijken we vaak meer naar zijn preekvaardigheid dan naar andere vaardigheden. Een aankomende dominee volgt vaak meer cursussen over prediking dan over welke andere discipline ook.
The Great Need of Reformed Churches Is Not Great Preachers
The Reformed tradition, or at least the Reformed tradition as it exists today, places a high premium on preaching. For example, we tend to consider preaching the pinnacle of the worship service. As we structure a liturgy, most of the elements coming before the sermon lead into it, while the elements after the sermon flow from it. In this way, the sermon tends to give the entire service its theme.
Grief Can Pull Spouses Apart (but God Can Hold Them Together)
To protect our marriages and to foster strength in even the darkest of valleys, we need to grant one another the right to grieve in different ways and according to longer or shorter timelines. We need to bear with one another in love, trusting that the God who led us into this valley will lead us both out. Few pains are deeper than the pain of losing a child. Yet, the pain can be made all the worse when the loss of a child leads to the loss of a marriage.
New and Notable Christian Books for February 2026
Not a single month goes by without Christian publishers providing us with great new resources. Thankfully, most of those new books end up in my mailbox. That allows me to sort through them and distil them down to a list like this one: A list of new and notables. For each of them, I’ve included the publisher’s description. Hopefully there is something here that catches your eye! Saved to Sin No More: How Union with Christ Empowers a Life of Holiness by Brad Wetherell.
Do You Have to Choose Between Science and God?
Ultimately, the authors invite the reader to do what they themselves have done—to test the claims of Christianity and to enjoy the wonders of this world through the lens of one who sees the existence and attributes of God displayed in the things He has made. Whatever else young people know today, they know that science and God are opposed to one another.
A Simple Way To Ensure You Use AI Well (And Not Poorly)
Unlike many previous technologies, AI has the ability to mimic the functions of a human being. When the camera was invented, no one was going to attempt to pass off a photograph as a hand drawing, but with AI, every student will be tempted to pass off an AI-generated essay as an original work. When air conditioning was invented, no one was going to pretend they were the ones generating cold air, but with AI, every programmer will be tempted to pass off Claude code as their own.
For Our Good, Not For Our Bondage
Instead of seeing them as habits that flow out of our salvation, we see them as obligations that merit our salvation. Instead of being freed by them, we become enslaved to them. Instead of enjoying them, we perform them. Matthew Henry once said that “when we are out of the way of duty, we are in the way of temptation.” Yet Jerry Bridges warns that the spiritual disciplines are “privileges to be used, not duties to be performed.” So are they duties or are they not?
Do You Board First or Last?
There are some travelers who like to board an airplane at the earliest possible moment. There are others who prefer to board at the last. Some rush the gate the very second the gate agents announce that boarding has commenced, while some linger until they have sounded the final call. I fall firmly in the first camp since, for whatever reason, I can rarely relax until I’ve found my spot and securely fastened my seatbelt. It’s a funny thing to do, though, isn’t it?
How to Evangelize and Disciple in a “Live Your Truth” World
This sponsored post is written by Collin Hansen of The Gospel Coalition and is meant to let you know about an important new curriculum titled “Making Sense of Us.” Our culture lacks any coherent, unifying worldview. We’ve moved on from post-truth postmodernism to “Live your truth” metamodernism, where good vibes matter more than consistent ideas.
Invisible Grief
I’m tired of watching so many people struggle in silence, unsure if their grief is valid or worth someone else’s time and attention (it is!). I believe invisible grief is unique enough from how we traditionally think about the topic that we could use a different approach. There is no path through this life that does not involve at least some measure of grief. This world is so broken that at different times and in different ways, grief affects us all.
Amplify Not a Fool by Responding to His Folly
The Bible has always warned its readers about the futility of engaging with a fool. “Answer not a fool according to his folly,” warns Solomon, “lest you be like him yourself” (Proverbs 26:4). Where you think your wisdom may make the fool better, it’s more likely that his folly will make you worse. You are more likely to stoop to his level than he is to rise to yours.
Why We Can Confidently Persevere in Prayer
Consider this: God may still be answering prayers that were prayed by the very first Christians, for the two thousand years that have elapsed since then make no difference to him. Twenty years after you die, your first and last prayers will still be equally fresh in his mind. You will eventually run out of time to pray, but God will never run out of time to answer. Only in eternity will you see how the petitions you lift to him today were answered a hundred years after you lived and died.
It Doesn’t Matter What You Remember
“I am always glad to see people jotting notes during a sermon, but I do agree with those preachers who have described the joy of seeing the pens slow and then stop as the listener is so drawn into the preaching that it becomes written on his heart instead of on a page.” I have a memory like a…what do you call it? That thing in the kitchen you use to sift the stuff you want from the stuff you don’t. A sieve! That’s it. I have a memory like a sieve.
Truths That Take on the World
Christianity has a long history with catechisms—summaries of key doctrines that are arranged in a question-and-answer format. Traditionally, Presbyterians would be taught The Shorter Catechism, Dutch Reformed believers The Heidelberg Catechism, and Baptists one of the Baptist equivalents. Sadly, the use of catechisms began to decline as the years went by, so that it became relatively rare to find churches or traditions that made regular use of them.
Are We Post Woke?
It is too early to tell, I think, whether the “wokeness” craze has already peaked and even begun to slip into decline, or whether it’s just pausing to gather energy for another surge. What seems clear for the moment, though, is that it has lost at least some of its initial momentum, probably because it moved too quickly and failed to consolidate its gains. Heady with the thrill of early victories, it tried to weave itself into the fabric of Western culture at the deepest levels.
7 Rules of Engagement for Theological Debate
Christians have had their share of social media successes in over the past few years, many of them related to identifying theological error and defending theological truth. This work has been carried on online of course, through Facebook and YouTube and other forms of digital communication. But for all of the success, there have also been a lot of failures. Many of the most egregious failures have been in theological debate.
My Top Ten Books from 2025 (+ a Bonus)
Tim Challies shares his most helpful Christian books of the year—plus a bonus pick—that offered biblical wisdom on everything from aging gracefully to navigating tech, disagreement, and ethical investing. As another year draws to a close, I wanted to take some time to consider the books I read in 2025 and to assemble a list of my top picks. Apart from the first book, which I consider the best (defined as the most helpful to me and my life) I read this year, the rest are in no particular order.
The Best Complete Commentary Set for any Christian
Those who are serious about collecting commentaries will almost invariably say that it is better to think in terms of individual volumes than complete series. And I agree: it is generally better to focus on acquiring the top three or four commentaries on each book of the Bible than to focus on collecting complete series. The reason for this is simply that every series is uneven, so that some volumes are especially strong while others are comparatively weak.
My Top Ten Books from 2025 (+ a Bonus)
As another year draws to a close, I wanted to take some time to consider the books I read in 2025 and to assemble a list of my top picks. Apart from the first book, which I consider the best (defined as the most helpful to me and my life) I read this year, the rest are in no particular order. In each case I’ve included a brief excerpt from my review. You can read my reviews of these books and many others here. Not Old, Not Young, Not Done by Christopher Ash.
Can Satan Put Thoughts Into Our Minds?
Each of us is familiar with the experience of being tempted to sin. Sometimes these temptations arise from outside of us and sometimes they arise from within. Each of our three sworn enemies—the world, the flesh, and the devil—has the ability to tempt us to do what God forbids or fail to do what God commands. Perhaps the most perplexing temptations are the ones that arise from within so that we experience them in the thoughts of our minds or the desires of our hearts.
Why Euthanasia Feels Intuitive
Is it right to attend a loved one’s death when that death is being administered by a doctor and considered an act of mercy? Should we stand quietly by as witnesses or supporters when a person’s final act is an act of defiance against God? As Christians, we have answers to the big questions, but I don’t think we have thought much about the smaller ones.
On the Far Side of Obedience
As we obey God, he will continue to lavish his gifts of grace upon us. For there is always blessing on the far side of obedience. “Blessed…are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28) To be human is to be finite—to be limited in our knowledge of past, present, and future. We exist within strict boundaries of time and space, so that we cannot see beyond our present location or beyond our present moment.
Why Study the Old Testament?
The NT often brings the OT to bear on a conceptual level (e.g., God as creator, divine warrior, covenant, exile). Quotations and allusions depend on a concrete, textual relationship between two passages through unique wording. Conceptual parallels, however, function more broadly. A conceptual parallel is tied to a large swath of texts or a synthesis of those texts. These parallels occur far more often than one thinks. Why study the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament?
How Much Time Should We Spend Reading the Bible?
God speaks through his Word and we speak back to him in prayer. Hence, Bible-reading is relating to God. It is of a different category than reading a book…What might be more helpful questions to ask? Perhaps something like this: Am I putting enough effort into fostering my relationship with God that my life proves he is my highest priority? I was recently part of a panel discussion when a question came up that I have heard various times and in various forms.
The Most Exasperating and Least Rewarding
The important thing to realize about cars, churches, people, and so much else—and the key to truly enjoying them—is to set aside the desire to have it all. It’s to stop longing for perfection and instead contentedly settle for imperfections. Every person is a whole person, an entire person that is made up of goods and bads, plusses and minuses, laudable strengths and lamentable weaknesses. And so too every church (and every car).
There are a lot of books that offer us advice. That’s great. We need it. But when you keep pumping your mind full of suggestions and yet keep messing up, it can be demoralizing. In addition to more counsel, we could all use some more comfort. I can testify that as a father, I need the thrill of grace as much as I need the benefit of guidance Most parents I know could do with a bit of good news. Though parenting brings many joys, it also brings its share of struggles and sorrows.
Satan Can Stage a Quiet Revival Too
Some Christians may be injudiciously cheering the fact that people are being revived from apathy or atheism into a religion that leads them to hell all the same. For that reason, I encourage Christians to exercise wisdom when it comes to identifying evidence of God’s work and wisdom when it comes to celebrating it. We are hearing encouraging reports of a kind of quiet revival that is spreading throughout the West.
Pilgrim Prayers: Devotional Poems That Awaken Your Heart to the Goodness, Greatness, and Glory of God
Several years ago, when author Tim Challies downloaded an app that promised to help him improve his memory, he found that it effectively assisted him to memorize devotional poetry. He repeated the poems to himself till they were deeply woven into his mind and heart. Challies had no way of foreseeing how God would use this spiritual practice to help him in the years ahead.
Two Ways to Dishonor God With Your Money
We acknowledge that money matters and that we are accountable to God for the ways we use or misuse it. Yet we also acknowledge that it’s only money, that it is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. And the harsh reality is that we can be mastered by our money by spending too much or too little, by thinking about it too often or too seldom. Many years ago I had the opportunity to browse through the effects and archives of a man of great faith.
Master Your Moments and Master Your Days
Most of life is lived in the little things and it is possible to focus on the big while ignoring the small. Yet we can’t obey God in dreams or honor him in vision, but only in the nitty-gritty of real life. Life is most truly lived in the moment-by-moment opportunities and hour-by-hour responsibilities. We are taught to cast great visions and dream big dreams. We are told that we should be audacious in our expectations and bold in our attempts to accomplish them.
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