Today’s Kindle deals include a bit of an eclectic selection of titles.

Westminster Books has a good selection of books and Bibles deeply discounted (with time for them to arrive before Christmas).
(Yesterday on the blog: Delayed Obedience Is Disobedience (Except When It Isn’t))
Hedgerows and Big Yellow Trucks
This is a good read that teaches a key lesson. “A hard rain was falling that afternoon, and I was eager to get home. After a long day of doctor appointments in the city for my son Ben, I loaded up the car with groceries and headed up the twisting road to our home in the mountains. Only a few miles up, however, a large yellow County Roads Department truck suddenly pulled out in front of me, making me hit the brakes in frustration. I stewed and fumed as the big truck ground upwards at 20 mph instead of my usual 45.”
To Affirm Is To Apostatise
This seems like an increasingly important topic of discussion among Christians: just how serious a sin is it to deny what the Bible calls sin?
Lessons from the Hardest year
Darryl Dash: “In suffering alongside someone, you take on some of that suffering. It’s like taking an audit course: you’re there, and you hear the lesson, but you don’t do much of the homework, even if you want to, even as you watch them carry the full load and try your best to help. It’s another thing altogether to enroll in the school of affliction.”
Pastor, Don’t Get Cute this Christmas
Kevin DeYoung considers the temptation toward novelty at Christmas. “Don’t do it, pastor. Don’t get cute at Christmas. Your people need regular meat and potatoes, not the newest eggnog recipe. Stay away from props and video clips. Put to death the Star Wars tie-in you’ve been really excited about. Don’t worry about preaching the same truths and the same themes. They don’t remember last year’s sermon anyway. Go ahead and tell them the old, old story one more time.”
Jesus Sings
Daniel has a helpful call to make sure you don’t overlook the small and seemingly unimportant details in Scripture.
God With Us
“The first year is the hardest. I heard that phrase repeatedly from well-meaning people attempting to comfort me after my 39-year-old husband died suddenly of a heart attack. As the days and weeks passed without him, their words led me to believe that if I could hold on until the first anniversary of his passing, everything would be ok. Even though I was rational and knew Ray couldn’t come back, part of me hoped it just might happen.”
Flashback: The Great Challenge of Every Marriage
In marriage, God allows us to see one another as we really are, then to accept one another as we really are—as holistic human beings who are a mixture of holy and depraved, grownup and immature, wonderful and almost unbelievably annoying.

It’s not that you do part of the work and God does the rest; it’s not that you do a little bit and God does a whole lot. Rather, in Christ’s church the Holy Spirit does everything. —Harold Senkbeil

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Today’s Kindle deals include several volumes of the excellent ESV Expository Commentary series.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Music Is Simply a Mockery)
Goodbye Local Church?
“The truth is that there is now a marketplace of churches. This marketplace stretches across denominations and church ‘brands’. People are quite willing to switch and travel long distances. Churches are in competition for members.” This really changes everything about our relationship to the local church.
Going to Church Is Hard but Worth It
“Sundays never fail to be tough. The plan is always to have the house clean and organized on Saturday, to do family devotionals, to set out and iron clothes for the morning, to go to bed early, and have a big happy breakfast together Sunday morning. Things never go according to plan.”
Can We Trust Luke’s History of the Early Jesus Movement?
Some have charged that Luke is not a trustworthy historian. Shane Rosenthal disagrees and explains why.
Not Brave
Julie Lowe: “I don’t know about you, but I am not brave. I dread criticism and judgment. I’d rather work behind the scenes than live in the spotlight and be open to the critique of others. The world is hostile and people can be harsh. Let someone who likes the attention rise up and be the focus. Have you ever uttered these sentiments? If so, you are not alone.”
Seeing Through Tears
Brianna expresses her faith in the Lord, even through tears.
12 Axioms for Young Missionaries
Just like the title says, here are some axioms that may prove helpful to those who are new to missions.
Flashback: Leave and Cleave Like a Strawberry
…as I think of the families I’ve known where the generations function best..they appropriately emphasize the discontinuity between the old family and the new, but appropriately emphasize the obligation each generation owes the other. They are independent, but not too distant. They are connected, but not suffocating. They’ve got room to grow but also room to spread their leaves.

I have come to believe that, as followers of Jesus, one of the worthiest endeavors we can undertake is to take the Great Commandment seriously and learn to be in relationship with our literal neighbors. —Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon

May the God of love and peace be with you today.

This is quite a deal from Westminster Books: the beautiful 6-volume ESV Reader’s Bible at 80% off!
(Yesterday on the blog: I Knew It!)
Crucial Questions with Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Denny Burk had a telling back-and-forth with Kristin Kobes Du Mez and writes about it here. What I found most interesting was his four-step pathway to deconstructing the traditional Christian teaching on homosexuality. “Evangelicals who deconstruct the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality often adopt a new definition of marriage. I have noticed a pretty consistent progression among those who eventually embrace gay marriage. It goes like this…”
The Supreme Court Case that Could Overturn Roe v. Wade
“Abortion is one of the most contentious and perennial topics in American political discourse. But it’s much more than a political concern—the topic of abortion prompts deep moral and theological questions. What do pastors need to know about the Dobbs case so they can educate and prepare their congregations for the national conversation about abortion that will follow?” David Closson and Tessa Longbons answer at TGC. (See also: Did the Early Church Oppose Abortion?)
Spiritual Swashbuckling: Dealing with Demons
Clint Archer is posting several chapters’ worth of content from a now-out-of-print book he contributed to a number of years ago titled Things that Go Bump in the Church. This chapter looks at demons.
The Monday After
“Sometimes, giving thanks is an act of courage. It is a stake driven into the ground of our suffering. It is a declaration that darkness will not win the day; that it will not win in us. Giving thanks is also a powerful act of defiance in a culture steeped in selfishness. Gratitude forces us to face the darkness and disarm the demons of discontentment and complaint.”
What We Pray in the Dark
Glenna Marshall: “It was 1:30 a.m. Pain seared through my lower back, wrapping itself around my S. I. joints and radiating into the deepest part of my hips. I moved from bed to couch and back, rearranging the pillows a dozen times, applying ice and heat wherever I could. There was no relief. None.”
Why Do We Have The Baptismal Process We Do?
I appreciated Stephen Kneale’s look at his church’s extensive baptism process and his defense of taking this so seriously.
Flashback: 5 Ugly Qualities of the Anti-Elder
There are millions of men who are great teachers and great leaders and great C.E.O.’s, but still completely unsuited to leadership in the church. God’s standards are very, very different.

Grace is forgiveness of sin, not approval of it. —Jared Wilson