Here’s your occasional reminder that the complete collection of the quote graphics I share each day is available (categorized, organized, and completely free to download in high resolution) at SquareQuotes.church.

Is pastoral work uniquely difficult?
Andrew Roycroft has a good and helpful response to a recent article that made a splash. Is pastoral work uniquely difficult? No, yes, and it’s complicated, he says. (Also, don’t forget that if pastoral work has unique difficulties it also has unique blessings…)
Remember King Jesus
Trevin Wax: “There’s a command in the New Testament we ought to lift up as the orienting aspiration for our lives. It’s from the apostle Paul just before his execution, in the last of his letters. It’s given to Timothy, his son in the faith, alongside other instructions for Christian life and leadership.”
Preemptive Parenting in Proverbs 1:
Mitchell Chase looks to Proverbs to consider the importance of preemptive parenting.
Pride will destroy you, your ministry, and people around you
This article turns to an Old Testament example to sound the warning about pride.
Concatenation
“Concatenation. When you learn a cool theological word like concatenation, you want to drop it in conversation all the time! Of course, there aren’t many contexts that concatenation fits right into. Throwing it around also sounds pretty pretentious, so I’ve contained my use of concatenation to sessions. As it represents a key aspect of growth in sanctification, it’s quite useful there.”
On Converting Our Fears into Requests and Living for God Through Christ
This is a keen observation about the verse we tend to quote when we consider our fears. “Perhaps one of the most important observations to make about this passage is that the test of someone’s faithfulness in handling fear is not in not experiencing it but in what one does with it. It is too easy to pat ourselves on the back for not being anxious about anything.”
Flashback: Parent Love and Grandparent Love
I beg you: Please pray! Please intercede before God on their behalf. Perhaps you can simply commit that you will pray for each of your grandchildren each day. And perhaps you can let them know that you have made that commitment

If we do not believe in hell—if we think the only justice and retribution to be had is in this life—then we must take revenge into our own hands. Without hell, justice must be forcibly executed by us, or it will not be executed at all. —Dane Ortlund

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Westminster Books has a handy little Father’s Day Gift Guide for those who want to get a jump on their shopping.
(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for May 2022)
When MAID goes to Church
“I was recently taken aback to read that medical assistance-in-dying (MAID) was performed in a church in Manitoba. MAID, more properly referred to as physician-assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia, is the act of deliberately causing the patient’s death upon their considered request.” Many of us were taken aback by this! Ewan Goligher tells why MAID should not enter the church.
Bend Me Toward the Light
“Written into creation is God’s plan for growth. Sunlight is essential, as is water. When our plants die, it’s often because of lack of light or moisture. So, if one of those things is less accessible than it should be, a plant will lean toward what it needs. We humans, on the other hand, will bend toward whatever gives us the most pleasure, physical comfort, and approval, no matter how it affects our health and growth.”
Praying “God, Be With Us”
Is it trite to pray “God, be with us?” “What I once considered ashes in my mouth has now become honey. I thought I could pray better, holier prayers, but now I realize there’s nothing more essential to our well-being. At our deepest, most elemental level, we desperately need God’s presence, because we need God himself. We need God to be with us.”
Mercy in Modesty
“Where and to whom do you show partiality or practice favoritism? James’ audience, those of the Dispersion, showed partiality to those of status, rich people wearing fine clothing with gold jewelry, over those who were embarrassingly poor, so apparent by their shabby, dirty clothing. How are you prone to snobbery at church?” This is well worth asking.
Is God a Therapist?
Here’s a prediction from Carl Trueman: “I would anticipate that within five years we will witness a significant disruption across all major representatives of the Christian faith. The fault lines will run between those who find a way to accommodate to the world’s terms of good citizenship and those whose fidelity to Christ will lead to varying degrees of internal exile within this earthly city.”
A Call to Raise Daughters Wise to Domestic Abuse
“‘If your future husband ever lays a finger on you, you better tell me so I can kill him.’ This is the extent to which many dads address abuse with their daughters. It feels effective because it’s simple, protective, and tough. And it also feels kind of awesome to say.” But it’s not nearly enough, is it?
Flashback: Getting Older Involves a Lot of Dying
Obviously physical mortality will be my final end, just as it has been for everyone else, but I’m seeing there is lots more I’ll need to die to before that.

The law-maker became the law-keeper, but then took our place and condemnation as though he were the law-breaker. —Sinclair Ferguson

There’s a new biography of Elisabeth Elliot available and Westminster Books has it on sale right out of the gate.

Today’s Kindle deals include a complete series of excellent Bible studies by John Scott.
Toe the Government Line or Lose Your Kids
I think Carl Trueman points out something really important in this article. “While the trans issue is the presenting problem, the California bill points toward something of much broader significance: the rise of the notion that parents are defined by function rather than biology.”
Of the Shortcomings of Internet Conventions and a Thought on the SBC-AM 2023
Travis raises some important considerations about watching and analyzing conventions through livestreams.
Good Book Guides Giveaway: Enter for the Chance to Win 59 Bible Studies
The Good Book Guide series is now available in sets! Enter for a chance to win a set of 59 Bible studies to celebrate! 🎉 (Sponsored Link)
My God Is All I Need (Video)
CityAlight has released a new song!
Eikon 5.1 (Spring 2023)
CBMW has released a new issue of their journal Eikon. This one is dedicated entirely to providing a response to the third edition of Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives.
I Remember a Dirt Road
Melissa has written a sweet reflection life and roads and other things.
Sexual Intimacy in Marriage: A Joint Trust
“Paul presents a vision of radical mutuality and sexual equality in marriage. His view was both daring and challenging in the first century and remains so today. He portrays sexual intimacy as a precious gift to those who are married—a joint trust of sorts (much like a financial trust). It’s not an entitlement or something to demand, but something to steward and tend together for the benefit of both spouses.”
Flashback: Each Man Before the Mob
We should be happier if a man follows a different path than we do while heeding his conscience than if he imitates us while violating it. We should affirm him in making a decision that is different from our own, as long as that decision is consistent with his conscience.

The entire purpose of our lives — what God wants from us — is to do good for others, to the glory of God. —Matt Perman