My gratitude goes to P&R Publishing for sponsoring the blog this week so they could tell you about a tremendous new resource: Perfect Unity by Ralph Cunnington.
Today’s Kindle deals include quite an extensive list of titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: Gospel Generosity)

This is a fascinating and thought-provoking article about the church.

Nathan Eshelman reimagines the famous “love chapter” in Corinthians. While he does so in ways specific to his denomination, I expect you will be able to make the bridge to your own.

Paul Levy celebrates Jesus and the way he draws us to himself. “He makes an offer you can’t refuse. You are not forcing yourself to believe, your arm is not twisted. We were drawn willingly by Jesus Christ. He calls us to believe by his Word and his Spirit.”

“You don’t have to be a hitman or tribal headhunter to use violence to serve your ambition. You can commit violence to someone’s name, reputation, or finances. Violence is a frame of mind before it is a physical act. It is an ends-justify-the-means philosophy. You harden your heart to the pain you inflict on others in order to advance yourself.”

Writing for TGC Canada, Dwayne Cline has a helpful look at the six responsibilities of the elders of every church. “God emphasizes the character traits He is looking for in an elder because an elder represents Him before the church and the world. Character can be easily overlooked when a church is desperate for leadership. Because God is concerned with His integrity and glory, character is of utmost importance.”

“I want to go deeper; I desire to have more robust communion with God. That’s the struggle for all Christians, isn’t it? Or, at the very least, it should be. We should all want deeper fellowship with the Lord. Every single one of us should sincerely desire to have a more profound experience with God. Deeper communion leads to deeper sanctification.”

We make our way more difficult when we give ourselves over to sin. Every sin is a weight, every vice a heavy load to our souls. Sin burdens the mind, clouds the judgment, afflicts the conscience.

Some preachers evidently do not believe that the Lord is with their gospel, because, in order to attract and save sinners, their gospel is insufficient, and they have to add to it inventions of men.
—Charles Spurgeon

Every Olympics provides us with a few special moments. While the great majority of the athletes and the great majority of their successes and failures quickly fade from our consciousness, a few special ones tend to stick around.

One moment from the 2020 Olympics that will remain in our minds, even if only because of the mountain of memes it generated, is an Australian swimming coach celebrating his athlete’s success. Ariarne Titmus has just narrowly edged out her American rival to claim a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle. Her coach, Dean Boxall, is overwhelmed with the emotion of it. While Titmus celebrates in the pool, Boxall celebrates in the stands far above where he screams and pumps his fists. Oblivious to the cameras capturing every moment, he yells and gesticulates madly in joy and celebration. He is very nearly overcome.
And well he should be, for though he is not the one who swam the race or the one who will soon have a gold medal to hang around his neck, he still shares in the victory. And because he shares in the victory, he shares in its glory. His celebration displays his involvement, it exhibits the fact that Titmus would not have triumphed had it not been for the attention, commitment, and expertise of her coach. Though it will be her name that goes in the record books, the victory belongs to both of them.
And just so, God arranges life in this world so that rewards are dispensed not just to the conspicuous few, but to the unseen many. There may be one pastor in a church who will receive the Lord’s commendation for his many years of faithful service. But surely God will not overlook the deacons who served every bit as faithfully, albeit in different ways. Surely God will not forget their diligence in “serving tables” so that their pastor could be fully committed to his ministry of Word and prayer. Surely God will not overlook the pastor’s wife who so lovingly supported her husband with her prayers and blessings. Surely whatever reward he receives will be gladly and joyfully shared with the ones who enabled him to serve so well.
I think of an old author who labored for many years to provide the church with books that would provoke and challenge, that would teach precious, needed truths. Though he sat in solitude in his study day after day and year after year, he did not work alone, for he had a secretary who served as his right hand. Whatever results the Lord brought about through those books, surely she shared in them for the way she supported and enabled him. He could not have done it without her, so surely the results are hers as much as his.
I think of an old missionary who ventured to distant lands and founded a ministry that proved powerfully effective in reaching men and women for Christ. Yet the funds that supported him had come entirely from a small number of philanthropists. While this missionary has had his name recorded in the annals of history, and while he is the subject of many biographies, their names have long since been forgotten. But there is no doubt that as they stand together before the Throne, they share equally in the joy, in the triumph, in the victory of that ministry and all the good it brought about.
No great accomplishment, no great triumph, no great success in the history of the Christian church, or the history of your life or mine, can be attributed solely to the individual who receives the acclaim. Though some may go unrecognized here, they shall be commended by the one who sees and knows all things. The ones who sow shall rejoice as much as the ones who reap, the ones who supported as much as the ones who accomplished. Those who shared in the labor shall share in the results, and share in the reward.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.

Westminster Books has deals on a number of interesting books, including that new one about Tim Keller.
Not a Dinosaur
Mitch Chase: “Among the speakers in the book of Job, the Lord gives the final speech (in chs. 38–41). And the last thing he speaks about is Leviathan. What is Leviathan? Are there clues in the text or outside of the book that help us identify it? Let’s see what we see.” He has an interesting perspective on it.
The Faith Crisis of Francis Schaeffer
This interesting article discusses the existence, cause, and effect of Francis Schaeffer’s crisis of faith.
Not Enough of Me to Go Around
“She stands before me with eager eyes, just wanting her mommy to do one simple thing. Hand extended, she displays the hair tie. But I can’t help her. Not right now. And so I have begun to teach my sweet ones a new saying: ‘My mommy loves me. She will help me when she can.’ A simple truth, but not an easy one.”
Why do Christians address sexuality and gender issues all the time?
“A common refrain among many outside the church is that Christians seem obsessed with talking about sexuality and gender issues. Often, this is mocked or simply dismissed as Christians just seeking to enforce their personal views on other people or to impose our beliefs through government action.” Jason Thacker responds to the charge.
Deliverance Hits the Big Screen
“For those who may not know, a deliverance film will be released next month in two thousand movie theaters across the United States.” “Lovesick Scribe” tells what it’s about and why we should be concerned.
How can we trust the Bible when there are so many contradictions?
“This may be your question. Or the question of someone you know. It’s a good question to ask.However, the question automatically assumes that there are many contradictions in the Bible, and that the Bible isn’t reliable. And so actually before going further, it’s worth asking these three questions…”
Flashback: Should Young Pastors Prefer a Large or Small Church?
In a small church a pastor will be able to get to know—to really know—his people and the value of each and every soul. Where in a big city church he may preach to anonymous masses, in a small country church he will preach to well-known individuals.

There is no point in praying for victory over temptation if we are not willing to make a commitment to say no to it. —Jerry Bridges