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.

It was still the early days of what came to be known as the New Calvinism or the Reformed Resurgence. The Together for the Gospel Conference had been formed in 2006 and now, in 2008, was gathering for the second time. The four founders were joined again by guests John Piper, John MacArthur, and R.C. Sproul (and, for the first time, Thabiti Anyabwile). R.C. Sproul led the conference’s fifth session and spoke on “The Curse Motif of the Atonement.” He preached one of those sermons that is still being discussed long after the event and even long after his death.

The conference summarizes Sproul’s sermon in this way: “Drawing deeply upon the imagery of the Old Testament, RC Sproul richly meditates on the implications of what Jesus suffered on the cross and what he saved us from. Bearing the weight of the curse is either placed upon individuals or freely upon the Holy One who took it from us. Jesus became cursed, so that [we] could be counted righteous in Him.”
I was there that day and, like so many others, found myself completely transfixed by this sermon. I had listened to plenty of Sproul prior to this time and had read some of his most noteworthy books like The Holiness of God. Yet even though the man and the message were familiar, I still sat in rapt attention, both recoiling at the horror of what I was hearing and worshiping at the beauty.
The crescendo of the whole message came in the final two minutes. Sproul was contemplating what happened between the Father and the Son when all of our sin was placed upon Jesus and when he faced the Father’s wrath. He explained it like this: “It was as if there was a cry from heaven—excuse my language but I can be no more accurate to say—it was as if Jesus heard the words ‘God damn you.’ Because that’s what it meant to be cursed, to be damned, to be under the anathema, of the Father.”
In the years since, I have often contemplated what made this message so powerful. And in watching and rewatching it, I am convinced that it was a combination of substance and style—of preaching that accounted not only for what was said, but also for how. Part of what made the message so powerful, and what made this crescendo so powerful, is that R.C. whispered instead of shouted.
I have often been struck by the intensity with which many preachers deliver their sermons. Many preachers are aware of the importance of preaching and humbled by the fact that it falls to them to convey deep truths to an expectant people. It is no small thing to stand in a pulpit and preach the Word. Aware of this fact, preachers seem to bring messages that are intense from beginning to end. That intensity is often expressed in volume. If we were to create a little graphic showing the vocal range of a preacher with a whisper at the bottom, a normal speaking voice in the middle, and a shout at the top, many preachers would deliver the majority of their sermons entirely in the top half of the graphic—occasionally in a normal speaking voice, but mostly at an elevated volume. When they need to pack an extra punch, they get louder and perhaps even shout. But they only ever employ the top half of their vocal range.
I’m struck that Sproul took the opposite approach. Throughout this message, he delivers many of the most important lines in the lower part of his vocal range, and often at a bare whisper. He leans toward the audience and the audience responds by leaning toward him, straining to hear. He slows the tempo and lowers his voice to speak many of his most important lines. (See also this clip from 40:00 – around 41:30)
This is a powerful rhetorical technique that few preachers use at all and few use more effectively than Sproul. It is dramatic without being melodramatic, performative without being manipulative. It complements powerful truths with skillful technique. It’s compelling and potent. And, for many preachers, completely untried. It’s my conviction that most preachers would have shouted these lines rather than whispered them. And it’s equally my conviction that this would have proven less effective.
And so I guess my encouragement to those who preach is to draw some lessons from Sproul. He has long been commended as not only the Reformed world’s best teacher in his day but also as one of its master communicators. And I’m convinced that a key part of his skill was his delivery, and particularly, his willingness to employ not only a part of his vocal range, but the whole of it. He put great care into not only the content of his messages, but also the delivery. He had mastered not only the art of preparing a sermon, but also the craft of delivering it. We’d all do well to learn from him.
(Further to this sermon, see “How R.C. Sproul Blessed the Church by Preaching the Curse” in my Great Sermon Series.)

Over the past couple of days I made the very long journey to Fiji where a friend has invited me to minister alongside him at a conference for pastors. Though I’m awfully tired, I’m also glad to be here and thankful for the opportunity. I’d appreciate your prayers that we’d minister faithfully and encourage well.

Today’s Kindle deals include the weekly collection from Crossway.
(Yesterday on the blog: 7 Beautiful Things)
Yelling from the Sidelines
“There are ministers that are in the trenches: preaching, teaching, discipling, counseling, and serving Jesus in the church. And there are those who want to be called ministers, but merely criticize from the sidelines, while always yelling: ‘Reformation! Reformation!’”
Should I Charge Other Christians for My Expertise?
I appreciate John Piper’s handling of this question about whether Christians should allow themselves to be “used” when they have a particularly in-demand skill.
In the End, There Are Yellow Tulips
Madelyn has a lovely piece of writing here. “It was one of the hardest days of my life, but it didn’t offer time to sit and really process the pain I felt and the loss I’d been dealt. There were things to do and people depending on me to do them. I’d put on the dress, the lipstick, and taken an ibuprofen to help ease the headache you get after crying too hard for too long.”
You are the horse: low-bar evangelism strategy
This article grabs a metaphor from show jumping of all places and uses it to discuss evangelism.
Andrew Thorburn is Lawyering Up: I Think That’s the Right Move
Stephen McAlpine tells why he thinks Andrew Thorburn is doing the right thing as he lawyers up and I think I’m inclined to agree. At least, I’m not sure I could say he’s doing the wrong thing. “Essendon’s CEO-for-a-day Andrew Thorburn has engaged with lawyers and is reserving the right to sue the Essendon Football Club.”
How to Glorify God with Professional Accomplishment
“Most Christians are not called to full-time ministry, but each of us is still under the obligation to glorify God in whatever we do. So what do you do when you have personal success in your vocation? How can you glorify God with any professional accomplishment you might have?”
Flashback: Saved By the Quivering Of an Eye-Lid
F.B. Meyer used to tell a story that, while it sounds perhaps just a little far-fetched, makes a great point. He would use it when appealing to unbelievers to repent of their sin and believe the gospel…

In many homes the sorrow over the living is greater far than that for the dead who have passed to sweet rest. —J.R. Miller