This week Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by BJU Seminary. They are giving away their book series “Biblical Discernment for Difficult Issues,” authored by their faculty. BJU Seminary equips Christian leaders through an educational and ministry experience that is biblically shaped, theologically rich, historically significant, and evangelistically robust.

The Glory Due His Name: What God Says About Worship by Gary Reimers
Gary Reimers provides a theology of public worship in The Glory Due His Name. Traditional, contemporary, or blended? Worship philosophy may be the most divisive issue in church leadership today. Many churches simply offer multiple styles. But does worship style also matter to God? Reimers shows what God says about worship. He discusses music and preaching in worship, God’s response to deviant worship, and the characteristics of right and wrong worship. Essential for pastors, worship leaders, and music directors.

The Law and the Christian: God’s Light Within God’s Limits by Ken Casillas
Ken Casillas explores whether Christians are under the law in The Law and the Christian. Reformed theology and theonomy emphasize intertestamental continuity and subjection to the law, but dispensationalism and Lutheranism emphasize discontinuity and freedom. Casillas says Christians are both under and not under the law. He covers differences between Israel and the church, purposes of the law, and non-legalistic ways to apply Old Testament commands. His balanced exposition and interaction with secondary sources will enrich both professional and personal study. This book is essential for expositors.
Upright Downtime: Making Wise Choices About Entertainment by Brian Hand
Brian Hand provides wise counsel for entertainment choices in Upright Downtime. From sports to movies to hobbies, Americans must evaluate multiple entertainment options. Libertines insist that all entertainment is neutral or good; ascetics insist that most, if not all, is evil. Hand provides a balanced biblical theology of entertainment. He shows entertainment’s dangers, its purposes, and its place in a biblical theology of humanity. He also measures his criteria by a reading of Ecclesiastes and evaluates television as a test case. Essential for parents and educators.

Handling Earthly Treasure: Biblical Certainties about Money by Alan Patterson
In Handling Earthly Treasure, Alan Patterson presents a biblical view of finances. The familiar warning “The love of money is the root of all evil” is often repeated as Scripture’s definitive word about finances; but God has much more to say about money—its purpose, its pitfalls, and its proper use. Patterson shares biblical truth on issues such as giving, owning property, borrowing and lending, financial planning, profiting from a business, and responding to poverty. In a world consumed with personal gain and faced with significant economic challenges, this book serves as a timeless resource for believers—a Bible-based guide to making wise decisions about money.
Enter Here

Good morning! Grace and peace to you.

(Yesterday on the blog: To Plumb Depths that Have No Bottom)
Does Romans 7 Describe a Christian?
I’m surprised it took almost 1800 episodes of Ask Pastor John to cover this one.
Freedom not to speak
Janie Cheaney recounts a well-known tale from Acts, then says “The hysteria of crowds hasn’t changed much. I’m reminded of the Ephesian dustup after every widely reported campus disruption, like the one at Yale Law School on March 10.”
My Journey with Jesus
It often does us good to read how others became Christians…
Does Evangelicalism Have a History?
Michael Reeves writes about the history of evangelicalism. And yes, it does have a history.
Is Easter Believable?
This article makes the argument that, indeed, it is.
A Call For “Enlightened Patriotism”
Kevin DeYoung looks to the past and says, “The dream was not a Christian takeover of government, but a nation founded on God-given freedom, shaped by Christian values, and filled with Christian teaching.”
Flashback: I Wish I Was Rich
Rather than spending your days dreaming about what you would do if you had more, spend your days working hard to make a living and then give with joyful generosity.

The sermon always sounds better to me on Sunday when I have had a shake of my minister’s hand during the week. —Theodore Cuyler

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.
Westminster Books has a new book on sale for which I provided a foreword—a thoughtful and creative adaptation of the Heidelberg Catechism. It’s worth a look!
There are several new Kindle deals to look over today.

I enjoyed Murray Campbell’s reflections on the beginning and ending of the Olympics. “I enjoy the Olympics as much as any diehard sporting fan. And watching the Green and Gold outdo the Red, Blue and White is kinda ‘slay’. There was, however, a hubris weaving throughout the Games that tarnished the gold, silver, and bronze. The alkaline isn’t achievement and success, it’s Rousseau’s imagining that set the Olympic message from start to finish: secular humanism.”

Ryan Welsh considers whether it’s even possible for a man to feel like he’s a woman.

J.A. and Doug’s new book, The Soul-Winning Church, was written to advise Christians about how to create a culture of evangelism and outreach in the church. Get 25% off with code SOULWIN. (Sponsored)

Jonathan Noyes outlines three different kinds of doubt and offers help in navigating them.

Nicholas McDonald explains that when we are criticized we often have an ideal opportunity to clarify ourselves (rather than to defend ourselves). “I haven’t read [Megan] Basham’s book, so I’m not going to defend or refute her claims. What has been of particular interest to me … is the conversation folks have been having about how to respond to these kinds of things.”

Many churches end up going to the multi-service model for practical reasons, but is it really that practical? So much depends on what you believe church is meant to accomplish. “For most members, I’m convinced it’s because they just can’t see how it would be practical for their church to turn people away . . . since the church’s goal is to reach as many people as possible. And therein lies the problem. What if there is a better, clearer goal that should matter more to us than simply solving the ‘problem’ of a full building?”

I enjoy Esther’s original poems, and this one is no exception.

…this is not a time to fulfill a duty or cross something off my list. When I pray with my children, I am teaching my children to pray.

The real question is not what are we to make of Christ, but what is He to make of us?
—C.S. Lewis