My gratitude goes to The Missionary Conference for sponsoring the blog this week. They invite you to join John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Conrad Mbewe, Kevin DeYoung, Steven Lawson, and many others at #MISSIONARYCON24 in Jacksonville, FL this October.
Westminster Books is really eager for you to help them bless an aspiring pastor with a free book.
There are some new Kindle deals to browse through today.
(Yesterday on the blog: How Should We Then Die?)

This is a very strong piece of writing by Olivia Davis. “I hated my story. I didn’t see in it the marvelous weaving of God’s mysterious ways, the undercurrents of his love in the most impossible circumstances, or a hope that never fails. I looked at my life and saw indifference, and hurt, and a God who seemed silent when I was the most desperate for his voice. Suffering through the pain of being single felt unfair and unreasonable and unnecessary. How could Jesus be the one I wanted when this was my story?”

Thinking especially of modern-day political discourse, Casey insists that Christians should not be motivated by fear of catastrophe.

I appreciate this article about the reduction of public Bible reading in worship services (and what to do about it).

This is a really good new song from Sovereign Grace Music.

I know you already go to church, but you should still read this article to consider why you go.

Stephen wants us to remember that just because an issue is secondary or tertiary does not mean it is unimportant.

She soon realized that her foremost concern should not be Christopher’s sexuality but his soul. She would pray that God would do whatever it would take to save her son. 

With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack?
—A.W. Tozer 

The God of peace be with you today.
B&H has slowly but steadily been discounting the Kindle editions of every volume in their Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series. Several more volumes are on sale today along with some other titles.

Mitch Chase: “Is church membership biblical? Yes. The reason is that the biblical nature of church membership is established from a variety of passages and considerations. Here’s a cumulative case of ten reasons why church membership is biblical.”

Glenna Marshall explains why she so badly needs Sundays—and why she cries pretty much every Sunday.

How could a good God allow evil? Is the Bible homophobic? Is Christ really the only way? Whether you’re new to the faith or have been raised in Christianity your whole life, these questions have most likely crossed your mind, perhaps even creating serious doubts for yourself or someone you know. If you want to deepen your own faith or help those who are struggling, we invite you to join us for our weekend seminar, “Christianity vs. Everybody,” hosted by DBTS. (Sponsored Link)

I’ve really been enjoying this new song from Shane & Shane and The Worship Initiative.

“As I was listening to the radio the other day about current events, I found myself asking, ‘I wonder how much of this is true?’ It’s an unfortunate fact that you can’t believe everything someone tells you. Not only are there obvious biases in every conversation and purposeful misdirections, but also sometimes people just have their facts wrong. Even the most careful and well spoken individuals sometimes fall into innocent miscommunications and unintentional misrepresentations.”

Ed Welch addresses a question that will be familiar to many people who have experienced trauma.

It’s so easy, says Andrea. It’s so easy to be a source of encouragement to another person.

We will know that though we fought our way toward a destination we could see only with the eyes of faith, our faith was well-placed. “I knew it!” we will shout in triumph. “I knew it was real! I knew he was true!” we will cry, as we fall into the arms of the Savior.

To preach is to open up the inspired text with such faithfulness and sensitivity that God’s voice is heard and God’s people obey him.
—John Stott

Today’s post is sponsored by Christian Focus Publications, and written by Brian J. Wright and John R. Brown, authors of the God’s Daring Dozen series.

 “Mommy, Daddy, who were the Minor Prophets?”
“Well, there’s Jonah and ….”
And unfortunately, most parents are stumped at one. The Minor Prophets make up nearly a fifth of the books of Scripture, yet few people are familiar with even their names, much less their content. Now, however, there are books available that introduce both adults and children to these amazing men of God.
Introducing Kids (and Parents) to the Minor Prophets
God’s Daring Dozen is the first children’s picture book series on the Minor Prophets in the history of children’s literature. These books faithfully convey this neglected portion of God’s word in a way that is engaging and understandable for adults and children alike.
This series has several other significant features:

The authors are seminary-trained pastors, who are also parents.
The illustrations are archaeologically informed, from the Assyrian armies to the Babylonian gates.
The figures are realistically presented to emphasize that these men actually lived, and these events actually occurred.
The titles are taglines to make the books’ messages memorable: Obadiah and the Ninevites, Joel and the Locusts, Malachi’s Final Message, etc.
The words intentionally reflect God’s word. For example, the first word in the Hebrew text of Jonah is “And it happened,” so the opening words of Jonah’s Journeysare, “And it happened.” The book of Nahum ends with a question, therefore so does Nahum & the Ninevites.
Prolonged divine speech is preserved in the children’s books when indicated by the prophets, like Nahum and Malachi.
The themes of the biblical books, like the Day of the Lord in Joel, are echoed in their illustrated summaries.
Messianic images and prophesies are highlighted, and New Testament references to them are mentioned.
The books are situated in the context of redemption history and the gospel message.

This level of detail—examining the original language, researching archaeological findings, reviewing commentaries and reference works—is unique for a children’s series, yet the authors are committed to accurately communicating God’s inspired revelation.
Why Do Children (and Parents) Need to Understand These Canonical Works?
The Minor Prophets are inspired revelation to equip us. That’s why Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3.16–17).” The Minor Prophets contain God’s warnings to sober us. “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you” (Zech 1.3). The Minor Prophets are divine instruction to encourage us. Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Rom 15.4).
Jesus modeled using “all the Prophets” to teach about Himself (Luke 24:27). The early church did likewise (Act 10:43), as did Christian families in the first century (2 Tim 3:15). Will you?
Grab your set God’s Daring Dozen books from your local Christian bookstore, or from the Christian Focus website.