Since releasing Seasons of Sorrow I have been asked if I can provide application questions (for people who may be reading it individually and who wish to be deliberate in applying what they read) and a group study guide (for people who may be reading it with a Bible study, small group, or reading group). Preparing such resources was on my list of things to do—and is now done.

The free Seasons of Sorrow Application Questions & Group Study Guide is available as a free download. You’ll find questions related to each of the chapters that are meant to provoke meditation and application, and you’ll find a plan to read through the book in either four or eight sessions.
You can download it for free right here:

Also remember these additional resources that are related to the book:

A Letter to Parents – This is a letter I have prepared addressed to parents who have lost a child. If you plan to give bereaved parents a copy of Seasons of Sorrow, you may like to print this and include it with the book.
Helpful Things To Say To Grieving Parents – If you are walking through the loss of a child with a friend or family member, this article will help you know how you can best serve them in their darkest hour.

The Lord be with you and bless you on this fine day.
I added a couple of noteworthy Kindle deals just a little bit late yesterday. And I’ll be on the hunt for more today.
(Yesterday on the blog: It’s Okay To Be a Two-Talent Christian)

Ed Welch explains why it’s so important for parents to avoid playing good cop, bad cop roles with their children. “The good cop, bad cop approach may work well when eliciting criminal confessions, but it was never intended for the home.”

I love this little anecdote from the life of Brother Andrew. And it makes me wonder how many of us know our Bibles well enough to be capable of doing something similar today.

We have all wondered what Paul was referring to with his “thorn in the flesh.” But more important than knowing exactly what it was is to consider what it represented.

Is it possible that there’s a part of the New Testament that predates the New Testament? This article (probably rightly) contends that there is.

“Though virtual reality is sufficient for some things, it is terrible for others. At best, it is a stopgap when the alternative is impossible; at worst, it severs the connection to the situation’s significance.” I very much agree. The question we need to ask is whether our churches are fostering virtual participation by constantly streaming our services.

This article, which is meant primarily for fathers, outlines a neglected discipleship tool we should all be making use of.

If you can honestly admit that you are drafting, putting in little effort of your own because of the greater effort of the one you follow, today is the day to confess that sin of complacency before God, to ask him to grant you godly fervor, and to pursue the means he offers to ignite such zeal.

We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.
—John Stott

Good morning from Mexico City! I am here to film the final episode of Worship Round the World. I’ll also be speaking at an event for pastors on Saturday and preaching on Sunday, so it is shaping up to be a full weekend.
This week’s deal at Westminster Books is a devotional book that looks interesting. You will also still find last year’s bestselling kids books on sale.

As the son of Quebecers, I really appreciated Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra’s fascinating account of the recent history of the church in la belle provence. Amazingly, Quebec represents the largest unreached people group in North America.

This is a good an appropriate question. “Brothers, are we peaceable presbyters? If our church members read our Tweets, would they recognize us? Would they be shocked at the derision we lob at one another? Would they see Christ glorified in our hasty judgments of others motives? The ridicule and scorn we seem to revel in? Let’s be honest are we Tweeting to win a brother or slam him?”

Hopefully you still have one of your monthly free articles from CT so you can read this one about IVF and evangelicals. “As record numbers of Americans grow their families through in vitro fertilization (IVF), Christians who believe that life begins at conception—even if that’s in a petri dish—face new questions and challenges. In response to expanding reproductive technology, pro-life evangelicals are reexamining the theological and ethical concerns around creating and caring for life at its earliest stages.”

“We all want the treasure of friendship. Of course we do. It’s treasure! We just don’t all want the process that makes the treasure look like treasure. We want to discover a hoard somewhere that someone else worked and fought for, that someone else mined and minted, and we want it all for ourselves to spend and enjoy as we see fit. Maybe that’s why we’re so lonely.”

Don’t miss Vanessa Li’s sweet call for us to be like little children. “Let us become like little children, singing freely to the King of Kings. Faces lifted, voices ringing, unconcerned with notes and rhythm, twisting melodies in swirls of wonder, joy in every note they sing. There’s no embarrassed silence, self-conscious mumbling or comparing of their voice to others. The joy within is echoed in the voice without and warms the hearts of those who listen.”

Anne Kennedy asks and answers the question.

…it falls to us to tend to names carefully, to respect what others hold most dear. We might justify carelessness with another man’s trifles and trinkets, but most certainly not with his good name.

No man is a believer, no matter what else he may do, except he give his will, his life to the Master. No man is a believer who does not obey God.
—George MacDonald