God commands us to sing. Yet while some of God’s people are gifted singers, the plain fact is that others are not. In any congregation it’s likely that some have near-perfect pitch while others are functionally tone-deaf. Those who struggle to sing may be self-conscious, tempted to stay quiet or to do no more than mumble along. Should they? Not at all, for singing is a matter of the heart before it is a matter of pitch or tone.

In Ephesians 5:18-19 Paul writes, “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” What matters far more than the sound that comes out of the mouth is the posture of the heart. There is more beauty in an off-pitch voice that is the outpouring of a submissive heart than in a perfectly pitched voice that is the outpouring of a rebellious heart.
Though few Christians have voices that are truly professional, every Christian has a voice that can be confessional—that confesses and publicly professes the great truths of the Christian faith. Jonathan Leeman says rightly that “the most beautiful instrument in any Christian service is the sound of the congregation singing.”

(This little devotional is drawn from my book Knowing and Enjoying God)

I am heading off this morning for an extended speaking trip that will take me to Chilliwack and Vancouver, British Columbia, then Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. I am looking forward to meeting some of you along the way!
Westminster Books has a deal on a new book meant to challenge and encourage perfectionists.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few noteworthy titles. Among them is the helpful And So To Bed…

Carl Trueman has a thoughtful piece here about several German theologians who ended up coming to support Hitler. Could the early steps that led to a full compromise have lessons for us?

Meanwhile, on a somewhat related note, Samuel James says that you and I would probably have been Nazis if we had lived in Germany in the days of Hitler’s rise and rule. “All variables being equal, you and I would likely have been dutiful members of the Nazi Party, had we been ambitious young adults in 1930s Germany. The question is not ‘why,’ but, ‘Why not?’ The overwhelming majority of people who considered themselves reasonable, compassionate, and thoughtful simply accepted their regime as a fact. You and I would have as well.”

“As a young Christian, I was always right. Its amazing how right I was about everything. I had Bible verses, and you can’t argue with the Bible. I also routinely read my Bible, and, well, let’s be honest, no one around me read their Bible. But don’t worry! Everything I did and said was verbally affirmed to be in humility. So that covered me.” I think most of us felt the same.

John Piper considers confidence, arrogance, and humility. Along the way, he offers eight helpful “diagnostic questions to detect the rising of pride in our lives.”

There is comfort in knowing and believing this—that God can (and will) work through everything, including your sin and the sin of others.

Of course it doesn’t! But the takeaway from this video for me is that this is the kind of person who is influencing young people today.

And as the gardener suits the plants to his garden, God suits the gifts to his church. He dispenses gifts to each person, each to be used in love and service to others.

A great sermon dropped into an audience of hundreds or thousands will do its work; but if this world is ever to be brought to God, it will be through little sermons preached by private Christians to an audience of one.
—De Witt Talmage

May God bless you as you serve and worship him this weekend.

My gratitude goes to Radius International for sponsoring the blog this week. Be sure to consider attending their upcoming Missiology Conference virtually or in-person. It includes Alistair Begg, Kevin DeYoung, and others.
Today’s Kindle deals include some newer and older titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: 50 Ethical Questions)
All This Wasted Worry
“I find it strange that I don’t have a problem trusting the Lord with my eternity, but I am loathe to trust him with my day.” You may identify with Glenna’s concern.
What do I do when I can’t seem to get over my grief?
This question is handled sensitively.
Six Things Lament is Not
And, somewhat related: “I want to clarify and develop what this practice is and what it is not. Lament is new for many people, including me, and this short post is intended to clear up confusion and reduce unhelpful caricatures.”
The Bible’s light-bulb hasn’t blown
“Sadly, it’s very easy for Christians to act as though the Bible’s light-bulb has blown! We can treat our Bibles like a faint LED that offers no real guidance for our complicated, advanced modern lives. Our lack of reference to the Bible suggests it emits no light. Our lack of engagement with the Bible suggests we don’t actually think there is a chapter and a verse to shed light on all my decision-making.”
Mind Inventory
“A helpful feature of smartphones is the Screentime notification which tracks the amount of time you spend on your phone and how that time is divided up among the various apps. … What if we had a ‘Mindtime’ app which sent a notification at the end of each week graphing out the various categories of thoughts which occupied our minds? What would it reveal?”
Jared Wilson on Thinking About the Sins of Our Church History Heroes
I’ve heard quite a few responses to questions about the sins of church history heroes, but few, if any, have been better than Jared Wilson’s.
Flashback: The Scariest Book I’ve Ever Read
These little temptations look so small and so harmless. They appear to offer something desirable at a negligible cost. But through Owen, I know better. They want to wreck me. They want my utter destruction.

We don’t have the right to cast off the fruit of the Spirit in the name of standing for truth. —Shai Linne