This week Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by BJU Seminary. They are giving away a bundle of books, authored by their faculty and others, on why we believe the Bible and how we live true to it today. BJU Seminary equips Christian leaders through an educational and ministry experience that is biblically shaped, theologically rich, historically significant, and evangelistically robust.

Beyond Chapter and Verse: The Theology and Practice of Biblical Application by Ken Casillas
Do you struggle to connect the dots between the Bible and your life? While Christians instinctively want to apply Scripture, we encounter difficulties that can discourage us and diminish our engagement with God’s Word. Indeed, biblical application has suffered in various ways in the church—everything from neglect to abuse to contempt.
Responding to such challenges, Beyond Chapter and Verse provides a biblically based rationale for the practice of application and then proposes a biblically consistent method for application. The book is substantive but accessible, relevant for believers generally as well as preachers. It begins by sketching the broad theological context of Bible application, relating it to the gospel generally and to sanctification specifically. The heart of the study then synthesizes key Old and New Testament passages relative to the process of application. Building on this foundation, the book sets forth a sensible approach for arriving at legitimate applications of Scripture. A rich assortment of positive and negative case studies illustrates the method, motivating believers to apply the Scriptures for themselves.

The Trustworthiness of God’s Words: Why the Reliability of Every Word from God Matters by Layton Talbert
This is a book about God’s jealousy for His integrity, His passion to be believed, on the basis of His words alone. Throughout Scripture God expresses His determination to be known as the God who keeps His words. He has resolved that every person and nation will see and confess that all His words are reliable down to every last syllable, jot, and tittle. Learning to trust a God who is sovereign and in control, especially in the ache and throb of life, means hanging on to the conviction that everything He says is utterly dependable.
Knowing that God’s words are trustworthy and living it out can be two different things though, so as well as laying out the theological foundations, Layton MacDonald Talbert explores the practical applications. What does trusting God’s words look like in real life, and how has it played out in the experience of God’s people? Let Talbert show you how in tracing the reliability of God through history we can learn to trust Him with the future.

Why Believe?: A Reasoned Approach to Christianity by Neil Shenvi
For centuries, skeptics have disputed the claims of Christianity―such as belief in an eternal God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ―arguing that they simply cannot be accepted by reasonable individuals. Furthermore, efforts to demonstrate the evidence and rational basis for Christianity through apologetics are often deemed too simplistic to be taken seriously in intellectual circles.
Apologist and theoretical chemist Neil Shenvi engages some of the best contemporary arguments against Christianity, presenting compelling evidence for the identity of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels, his death and resurrection, the existence of God, and the unique message of the gospel. Why Believe? calls readers from all backgrounds not only to accept Christianity as true, but also to entrust their lives to Christ and worship him alone.

Accessible without being simplistic: ideal for intellectuals and academics, as well as high school and college students
Well-researched: interacts with skeptical arguments against Christianity and God’s existence
Biblical: grounded in Scripture and centered on the claims of the gospel

Dangerous Affirmation: The Threat of “Gay Christianity” by M. D. Perkins
Since 1968, the LGBT movement has made significant inroads into the Christian church. The affirming church movement has become mainstream through the erosion of mainline denominations. Queer theology has taken hold in many academic settings. The emergence of “gay celibate theology” is causing confusion in evangelical churches through its appeal to modern psychology and LGBT-lived experience. How did we get here? What does the Bible say about all of this?
Dangerous Affirmation is an insightful analysis of the influence and spread of “gay Christianity.” Author M. D. Perkins exposes the way this movement handles theology, biblical interpretation, the church, personal and group identity, and political activism. While many Christians are being won over to this immoral cause, Dangerous Affirmation serves as a sober-minded call to faithfulness in the midst of cultural and religious chaos.
Enter Here

My gratitude to Burke Care for sponsoring the blog this week. Burke Care provides biblically-informed, care-centric, and kingdom-accessible discipleship care, equipping, and resourcing. They offer counseling and other forms of care via their secure online platform.
Westminster Books is offering a deal this weekend on a book that “should find its home in the hands of every man called to lead God’s church.” Remember that their Summer A La Carte sale is still valid as well.
And yes, the Kindle deals continue today. Among them are Amy Gannett’s Fix Your Eyes.
(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for June 2024)

I don’t like to focus much on politics, especially for a nation that is not my own. But I wanted to highlight a strong article from Samuel James. “The debate was a cruel spectacle, subjecting an elderly human being to a theater of humiliation against which he could do almost nothing. It was a shameful two hours that summarized one of American society’s worst sins: The contempt we heap upon the very young—especially unborn—and the very old.”

You will want to give this new song a listen. It was written by Matt Papa, Matt Boswell, and Keith & Kristyn Getty.

What does the Bible mean when it speaks of “the heart?” A lot, as this article explains. “We call those white flakes that appear in the winter snow. Whether the texture is flaky or crusted, thin or deep, fine or wet, soft or heavy, it’s simply ‘snow.’ But the tribal Yup’ik people in northern Alaska and Canada employ many words to describe these different kinds of snow. Snow is one simple thing in English, and yet snow has different qualities (no matter what language you speak). The same is true of the word heart in Scripture.”

Karen highlights just how crucial it is that we rest, not just physically but also spiritually.

Have you ever wondered why an unbeliever’s good works do not please God? This article explains and offers a helpful illustration.

“We fail to remember the walking that Christ and the apostles did. In our frenzied lives, failing to remember that these men walked every place they went may fix in us a very wrong view of Christian ministry, Jesus and his followers had time to process, to meditate, to ponder with brothers, to detoxify after encounters with lies and demons and countering authorities.”

Don’t be afraid or ashamed to get the tools you need to do your best possible work. If you’re going to scrimp and save, well and good, but this is not the place to do it.

If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.
—Tim Keller

I’m so thankful to P&R for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their new printing of The Gospel of Jesus—a helpful resource for better understanding the gospels.

Today’s Kindle deals include at least a couple of especially interesting books.
Westminster Books is offering a steep discount on an excellent series.
Credo House has their “Seminary in Your Pocket” on sale for a short time.
(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for May 2023)
Quarantine Is Not a Good Option
What do we do when we see so much immorality around us? “As tempting as it might be, don’t move your family to a plot of land without internet, electricity, and running water. I’m suggesting that instead of being overwhelmed, we intentionally inoculate our children. Let me explain.”
Pastor: Help Your Congregation Navigate Pride Month
Here are some pointers for pastors that may prove helpful as they help their congregations navigate this month.
What is Your “One Thing”?
“When I talk to people, many individuals confess to following Jesus, loving Jesus, and desiring to honor Jesus. At the same time, many of those same people willingly follow Jesus in every area of living except one or two specific areas.” Do you have your own “one thing?”
The Lord Opened a Door for Me … So I Shut It
This is an interesting little verse that I hadn’t pondered before.
Beware The Leech’s Daughters
And then there’s this verse as well. “The leech has two daughters: Give and Give.” What’s that one all about?
God Is Eager to Forgive You
It’s so wonderful to consider that God is truly eager to forgive us.
Flashback: The Space Between Courting and Hooking Up
Courtship and hooking up are two very different approaches for a relationship, but they share a common consequence: They put too much weight on too weak a relationship.

When death becomes the property of the believer it receives a new name and is called sleep. —William Arnot