The Lord be with you and bless you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: Two Years Later: What Aileen Is Thankful For)
The Message of Hurricane Ian
“For with all of the advancements of man, for all our technology and knowledge, weather reminds us that we are small, frail, and weak. We cannot summon the sun to shine. We cannot tame the wind. We cannot command the rain to fall—or command it to stop falling. God can and does.”
Negative World Arrives in Australia
This is an interesting one from Jake Meador. “It didn’t take long, but we can now say that Aaron Renn and James Wood have been vindicated. Their recent analyses of our cultural moment and strategies for Christian cultural engagement have been proven right by recent events in Australia. I refer, here, to Andrew Thorburn and his rapid departure from a high-profile role at one of Australia’s most prestigious professional sporting clubs.”
New: R.C. Sproul’s Commentary on Galatians
When false teachers were creeping into churches and undermining the gospel, the Apostle Paul wrote an unyielding defense of God’s saving grace in Christ. This month, you can receive Galatians: An Expositional Commentary by R.C. Sproul, based on his sermons, for a donation of any amount in support of Ligonier Ministries. This new book guides us through Paul’s letter and encourages us to stand firm for the good news that we are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (Sponsored Link)
4 Questions about Headship and Head Coverings
Kevin DeYoung takes on a series of tricky questions about headship and head coverings.
Three Lessons on Language from Watching BBC Shows
I am enjoying Mark Ward’s lighthearted but still serious videos about the KJV (and, particularly, about KJV-onlyism).
Uncapturable
This is a helpful reflection. “I’ve taken to walking in the hills below Birmingham for a few hours every month or so. I take myself off to the woods with a notebook, the Psalms, and a travel mug of coffee, and I go on a walk with Jesus. Which in less religious language means that I pray while I walk around and look at the beauty of the forest.”
Letter to a Young Convert
Wes Bredenhof shares a classic letter to a young convert.
Flashback: Four Key Principles of Repentance
While no sin is so small that it brings anything less than condemnation, there is no sin so great that it can bring damnation upon the believer. What a glorious truth, a glorious confidence!

The gospel does not just give purpose to life. The gospel is life itself. —Alistair Begg

Easter weekend is always a special time in Canada, not least because both Good Friday and Easter are public holidays. Whether you celebrate Jesus, Passover, the Easter Bunny, or nothing at all, you get two days away from the hustle and bustle of normal life. In an era in which governments seem intent on tearing out the religious roots of our nations, I do wonder how long these distinctly Christian holidays will remain. But for now, at least, they are a part of the annual ebb and flow.

My family spent the weekend in a relatively quiet way. We have had a bit of a busy time lately and have plenty more busyness coming up in the next month, so didn’t mind the thought of laying low. That said, we went to church on Easter Sunday, of course, to celebrate the resurrection. We also had a fellowship lunch together as a church—the first in a while—and very much enjoyed getting some time with friends new and old. Because Toronto is a major world city, we tend to have many people coming and going, so there are almost always people to greet and people to bid farewell. Our church is endlessly fascinating that way.
We expect that the next month will be dominated by the final planning for Abby’s wedding. She is due to marry Nathan in Louisville on May 15! This will be the first wedding of that generation on our side of the family and just the second on Nate’s, so we are all quite new at this. Still, Abby has done a wonderful job of planning and organizing, with Aileen also working out some of the fine details. Michaela is going to be Abby’s maid of honor while Ryn will be one of the bridesmaids. The service will be co-led by the pastor from our church and the pastor from Nate’s. We are all very excited about it and eager to celebrate together. It has been a difficult couple of years for our family and it will be lovely to join in a true celebration.
Over the past few weeks I have been putting the final touches on a book that will be available this fall—a book I’ll be telling you about very soon. The cover and text are complete and the page layout is very nearly there as well. I should have one more opportunity to look at it all in a week or two and then it will be off to the printers for a mid-September release date. In the meantime, I’m in the opening stages of a very different kind of book—one aimed at a younger audience—that is still a couple of years away from completion. I am pushing boundaries with this one, but am hopeful it will come out well.
I have not done much public speaking since the pandemic shut down conferences two years ago and do not have a lot of plans to do so in the future. That said, I am slated to be at the Getty Music Sing! Conference in Nashville this September. This is a major event that includes a host of speakers and musicians and draws a large and diverse crowd of attendees. If you plan to be among them, I will look forward to meeting you there. If you don’t plan to be among them, well, it’s certainly not too late! Either way, I hope to host an “extra” event there that will include a couple of speakers you’ll enjoy and perhaps a bit of music. Stay tuned for details!
In the meantime, thanks for reading. I expect I’ll have another update on the far side of the wedding…

This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Grassmarket Press, a new imprint of Crown & Covenant Publications. They are giving away the first three books from Grassmarket Press (I Have a Confession by Nathan Eshelman, What Is Love? by Kyle Borg, and Worship, Feasting, Rest, Mercy by Daniel Howe) to each of ten winners.

Grassmarket Press aims to provide short books on Reformed and Presbyterian teaching and practice—for regular people. Each book is slim and lightweight, yet durable. They contain engaging stories, practical examples, and clear, biblical teaching.
I Have a Confession
In your town, there are probably many churches saying they follow the Bible, yet they worship very differently and take different positions on big issues. How can we find a church that promotes right thinking about the Bible, encourages unity with truth, protects us from error, and helps us proclaim the good news? That is the heart of confessional churches and being a confessional Christian. This book is an introduction to confessions and what they’re supposed to do (and not do), focusing on the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Stephen G. Myers: “Too many Christians today see confessions of faith as dry, obscure straitjackets. In this accessible, engaging work, Nathan Eshelman dispels these caricatures, showing how the Westminster Confession, in particular, brings Christians clarity in the gospel and guidance in the Christian life. Many Christians, both new and mature, will be in his debt.”
What Is Love?
There are many voices in every corner of our world that are trying to tell us what love is. We need that noise quieted by a voice that strong and true. In the Bible, God speaks clearly and fully in defining and describing what love is in all the different relationships of life. This book is an encouragement to stop and listen, to consider that which the Scriptures call the lightning flash of the Lord.
Rosaria Butterfield: “Accessibly and delightfully written, Pastor Borg’s What is Love? arms Christians to recognize and distinguish real love from its counterfeits. All Christians in a post-Obergefell world that uncritically believes ‘love is love’ need to read this book.”
Worship, Feasting, Rest, Mercy
“One day a week, we lay aside our tools, wash off the sweat, stop pursuing our agendas, and feast and sing in honor of God.”
The world tells us that work is our identity. Career, income, and the toys they let us buy determine our success or failure. But God says otherwise. The Sabbath is His weekly message that the good things we have are His gift. Once a week he invites us to set aside our labor, trust him to provide, and celebrate his faithfulness.
In this book, Daniel Howe makes the case that the Christian Sabbath is not about what we’re forbidden from doing. It’s about what we get to do: honor and enjoy God’s gift of rest, and share it with others.
Coming Soon
Look for more titles from Grassmarket Press in 2023–24, including Worthy: The Worship of God by Nathan Eshelman; Good News for the Poor by Pete Smith; The Elders of the People by Drew Gordon; and Loving the Trinity by Barry York.

To Enter:
Fill out the form below with your name and email address—limit one entry per person. When you enter, you agree to be added to Crown & Covenant’s email list. The winner will be notified by email and must have a North American shipping address. The giveaway closes on Monday, April 17 at 12 p.m. EST.