Here is one more reminder that Truth for Life (Alistair Begg) is featuring Seasons of Sorrow this month. You can purchase it for just $7 or get it free with a donation of any amount. It has never been easier to get a copy to read for yourself or to give away.

(Yesterday on the blog: How We Worshipped on One Sunday in August)
Christianity and Transgenderism: A Youth Group Session
Rhys Laverty has shared what could prove a very helpful session to use with your youth group.
Why Everyone Started Talking About Expositional Preaching
“Expositional preaching is enjoying a revival. Why?” In a longform article, Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra tries to get to the bottom of it.
Not Yet in the Fold
This article considers those people who may spend a good deal of time with a church even though they have not yet become Christians. It suggests we consider them as a distinct category and make sure we don’t overlook them.
Back To School Prayer Guide – 2023 Edition
“It’s Back To School time! As parents, grandparents, guardians, friends and others in the community, we begin a new school year with many concerns, apprehensions, and hopes. What better way to begin this school year than to begin in prayer? Here is a Back to School Prayer Guide to help you both now and throughout the school year. This prayer guide is general enough to fit all types of education (public, private, co-ops, college, homeschool).”
The Urgency of Friendships
Jill Noble: “I clearly remember the conversation where I was misled about the importance of women’s friendships. This wrong information was presented to me in the direst of tones and with the most earnest of facial expressions.”
What We Know about the People behind the Dead Sea Scrolls
Most of us know the connection between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Essenes. But who were these people?
Flashback: A Bunch of Good Reasons To Saturate Your Worship Services in the Bible
I have never attended a church that had too much Bible. It would be very nearly impossible to let God’s voice through God’s Word be too prominent in our gatherings.

No man falls through his own weakness merely; if he rely on God, the strongest foe cannot shake him. —Adam Clarke

From time to time I like to share one of our worship services from Grace Fellowship Church. In that vein, here is how we worshiped on one summer Sunday morning. This week’s cast of characters included John (a pastoral assistant) as the service leader, Allie as the lead worshiper, Dwight as the elder who prayed and read the sermon text. I preached. The band was comprised of piano, violin, and guitar. The various elements of the service are in bold with the name of the person who led the element in parentheses. Items in quotes represent roughly what the person said to the congregation. Items not in quotes are explanatory. The entire service took approximately 90 minutes.

Welcome and Call to Worship (John)
“Because God is both all-powerful and full of love, the Psalmist calls on us to turn to Him: ‘Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us’ (Psalm 62:8). The Triune God is a refuge to His people. Let’s begin our worship of GOD by calling on Him—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—to help us praise Him as we pour our hearts out to Him.”
Singing (Allie)

“Come Thou Almighty King”

Corporate Reading (John)
“One of the many ways God provides us refuge is by giving us His Word. Our Bibles. Please read out loud with me these words of praise to God for His comforting and consoling and counseling Word.” (Together we read Psalms 119:129-136 from the CSB.)
Singing (Allie)

“How Firm a Foundation”

Complementary Text Reading (John)
“Once a year, Israel’s High Priest was to enter the Holy Place in the temple to make atonement. This day was called Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. Listen carefully as I read of this day.” (John read Leviticus 16:29–34)
Prayer of Confession (John)
John used the fact that God decreed an annual Day of Atonement for Israel to lead the congregation in a prayer of confession for their sins.
Word of Assurance (John)
“The Psalmist wrote: ‘For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you’ (Psalm 86:5). If you have called upon the powerful and loving God to forgive you in Christ, be assured he has done it. You are forgiven, because he is so loving.”
Singing (Allie)

“O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus”
“Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me”

Pastoral Prayer (Dwight)
Dwight led the pastoral prayer and prayed for a number of matters pertaining to the life of the church.
Scripture Reading (Dwight)
Dwight read the text for the sermon—Hebrews 4. He prefaced his reading by saying, “This is what holy Scripture says” and ended it by saying, “This is the word of the Lord” to which the church responded with “Thanks be to God.”
Singing (Allie)

“I Know That My Redeemer Lives”

Sermon (Tim)
I preached a sermon titled “The Heart of Christ in our Weaknesses” with the outline “Jesus Knows, Jesus Cares, Jesus Helps.”
Singing (Allie)

“Jesus Strong and Kind”

Commission & Benediction
John called the church to live out the truths we had encountered in the service, then said, “Receive this blessing of the Lord from His Word: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’”

I am so grateful to TWR for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about the kinds of people who make great missionaries.

I am looking forward to speaking at a conference in Tasmania in October. The details are available on Facebook. I’d love to see you there!
Today’s Kindle deals include some newer and older titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: Preparing Yourself to Share the Gospel with Muslims)
Don’t Waste Your Waiting
John Koning writes for TGC Africa and considers our relationship with time. “My issues with time seem to be typical of the Western world. Time is precious. Time is money, say the experts. Waiting is therefore a waste of time and money. ‘Quick and easy’ are two words with enormous seductive, even magical, powers. How can we ‘do life,’ maximising it with the least fuss and bother?”
Counseling a Woman Whose Husband Doesn’t Lead
Counselors and pastors will want to give this article a look since this is such a common concern.
Where does sin come from?
“Sin is not a substance that needs to be created in order for it to exist. It is an attitude or a posture—an anti-God attitude or posture—that leads in turn to anti-God thoughts, words, and deeds. Sin is the privation or absence of godliness or righteousness or lawfulness, much in the same way that darkness is the privation or absence of light. God didn’t need to create ungodliness; it already existed as an ‘opposite’ to His own character and will.”
What Is Wisdom?
What is wisdom, anyway? How would the Bible define it? And how do we live it out?
Gospel, Grind, and Christmas in July
Adam York tells about a service project and the difference it made.
Social Media Is a Spiritual Distortion Zone
It is important that we continue to think, and think well, about social media. “People sometimes say, ‘Social media is neutral. It’s just about how you use it.’ This is false. As we learn more about social media’s role in our national mental health crisis, it’s increasingly clear this technology is anything but neutral—and government leaders are starting to respond.”
Flashback: Why You Really Need To Be Praying For Your Pastor
There are many decisions still to be made…and all of this puts the call on you and me and all of us to pray for pastors. They are going to need divine assistance to lead well and to lead with wisdom.

When the world is bitter the word is sweet. —Matthew Henry

I always enjoy speaking with Muslims. I enjoy it, in part, because I have yet to meet a Muslim who is offended when I bring up spiritual matters or who is uninterested in discussing them. I’m quite sure I have had more cordial conversations about the gospel with Muslims than with anyone else. I suspect many others would say the same.

As I have spoken with Muslims, I always find myself wanting to better understand their faith so I can more effectively present the gospel to them. There are many resources that can help with this, but I am especially thankful for the collection written by Ayman Ibrahim. Ibrahim is a Professor of Islamic Studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Director of Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam. Having been born and raised in Egypt, he has first-hand experience with Islam and access to the Arabic language. This makes him especially qualified and his books especially effective. There are four I recommend to you.
Reaching Your Muslim Neighbor with the Gospel was published by Crossway in 2002 and provides lots of insights and practical counsel on sharing the gospel with Muslims. In the first half of the book, he explains the different strands of Islam and their key beliefs to ensure the reader understands the sheer diversity of the Muslim world. In the second half, he offers advice on actually connecting with Muslims and sharing the gospel with them. That makes this book a very good place to begin before conversing with Muslims.
Apart from this book and a number of academic works that may be more appropriate for a scholarly audience, Ibrahim has written a three-part series titled “Introducing Islam” that provides a relatively concise understanding of three different aspects of Islam. These are ideal for those who wish to go a little deeper and perhaps be more prepared for in-depth conversations.

A Concise Guide to the Quran: Answering Thirty Critical Questions. If you want to understand Islam, you’ll need to under the Quran, and that is the heart of this book. Ibrahim asks and answers thirty questions that help explain the origins of the Quran, its central message, and what Muslims believe about it. What is the Quran and what does “Quran” mean? What do Shiite and Sunni Muslims believe about it and in what ways do they differ? What does the Quran say about Jews and Christians? What does it say about Jesus and the Bible? He answers all these questions and many more.
A Concise Guide to the Life of Muhammad: Answering Thirty Key Questions. The focus of this book is, of course, the prophet Muhammad. Ibrahim answers thirty questions that together offer a guide to Muhammad’s life and significance within Islam and the world. Because the book is written specifically for Christians, he asks the kind of questions Christians may be wondering: Who was Muhammad and was he a true historical figure? What do we know about his wives? What was the central message of what he taught and what did he believe about Jesus?
A Concise Guide to Islam: Defining Key Concepts and Terms. The third volume in this series, which will be published in just a few weeks, takes a different approach. Instead of asking and answering questions, it focuses on specific terms that appear within Islam and are commonly used by Muslims. So, for example, Ibrahim begins with terms related to the Islamic scriptures and defines the following: Quran, hadith, sira, sunna, each of which is likely to be familiar to those who have engaged with Muslims. The book can be read from cover to cover or treated more like a reference work where the inquisitive reader simply turns to the term that interests him.
Together, these four books provide a strong foundation for understanding what may soon be the world’s most dominant religion. With Muslims present in every country in the world, including yours and mine, it may be wise for us to be well prepared to share the gospel with them. These books will go a long way to doing just that.

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Blessed Are the Meek
Ken Jones has a short but helpful exposition of “blessed are the meek.”
Queering a Tudor Warship
Sometimes the world is almost too bizarre to believe. Carl Trueman highlights an example here.
Maintenance Workers Make Great Missionaries
You may think that a career in missions means you would need to serve as a church planter or evangelist. This couldn’t be further from the truth. (Sponsored Link)
Politics, the Church, and Getting Our Story Straight
Kevin DeYoung: “In the last several years, we have seen a resurgence of interest among Christians in political theology. On the whole, I believe this has been a good thing intellectually. I’m less certain this has been a good thing ecclesiastically.”
Give Members Permission to Leave Your Church
As Juan Sanchez shows here, it’s important to give church members permission to leave your church.
How Dangerous was Non-Conformity under Rome?
“As I stress to undergraduates, when we look at the Roman system, we need to jettison many unhelpful modern notions of state and empire from closer to our own time. Rome was not a proto-fascist or proto-Stalinist system; there was not a centurion on every street corner in Jesus’ Galilee; there was no strict ideological party line expected of its subjects, no corresponding ‘crimethink’ inviting state violence.”
The Basics: The Cross of Jesus Christ
Kim Riddelbarger continues his “The Basics” series with a look at the cross of Christ.
Flashback: The Great Stores of God’s Provision
As we look back on the race we ran…we will see that the God who called us to the race provided all we needed in the race. We will know that we never truly ran alone.

When men do not mark his works of mercy and bounty, the Lord will show unto them works of justice, that is, terrible works. —David Dixon

Good morning from Kentucky! We are about to make the final bit of our drive to Boyce College where we will be getting Michaela all set up for her freshman year. Exciting times…

Westminster Books has collected some new and noteworthy books for August and discounted them up to 50%.
(Yesterday on the blog: My Coldest Night and Warmest Truth)
What Did Jesus Teach about Giving Generously?
John Piper: “The more sacrificially generous you are on earth, the greater will be your enjoyment of heaven. Therefore, since Jesus loves us and summons us to maximize our eternal joy in heaven, he demands radical freedom from the love of money and radical generosity, especially toward the poor.”
Wisdom to Bolster Writers
I was asked to answer some questions about writing by Gospel-Centered Discipleship.
IT Professionals Make Great Missionaries
You may think that a career in missions means you would need to serve as a church planter or evangelist. This couldn’t be further from the truth. (Sponsored Link)
Handling Behemoths, Leviathans, and Those Other Monsters of Life
“I knew the story well, or so I thought. Job lost everything he possessed, one after another, cut from his life, until finally even his ten children were taken. Ten. Then Job himself suffered a terrible health crisis. I mean, who really needs to read that in the depths of a catastrophic illness and grief, I thought? Well, for sure, I did.”
Almost Saved: Four Reasons to Examine Yourself
Greg Morse looks at four biblical examples of people who were “almost saved.” “The Almost Christian. He was almost saved. He almost escaped the wrath of God. He almost found joy forevermore in the God who was almost his God. Almost.”
Pray the Directory
I very much agree with this, whether you’re a pastor or a church member. “One of the practical things you can do to ensure that you pray for all of the people in your church is to pray through your church directory.”
Be Still, My Soul: Old Lyrics with Timeless Truths
This is a helpful little exposition of a tremendous hymn.
Flashback: Meatless, Cheeseless, Crustless Pizza and the Evangelical Church
The simple and sad fact is that many churches offer far too little of the Bible, and as they do that, they offer the equivalent of meatless, cheeseless, crustless pizza—they offer worship that is missing one of the key elements of worship.

The church and its worshippers are collecting praises of successive generations for the final Hallelujah celebration. —Martin Geier

As Michaela finished up her high school courses, she had to write an essay on an especially significant time in her life. She chose to write about the night her brother died. I asked if I could share it here and she was willing to have me to do so. I hope it will encourage you as it encouraged me.

The night my brother died was a cold one. So cold it was that I refused to go out with my mother for our nightly walk. Instead, we stayed inside with my father. He was sitting on the floor with a bucket of smelly beige paint, while my mom and I were chattering excitedly about my brother’s upcoming trip home with his fiancée.
Then Mom got that text.
I remember her face paling as she stood up, her phone clutched in her hands. My brother had collapsed unexpectedly and inexplicably while he and his friends were playing a game of kickball at college. I remember the panic rising inside me as I watched her pace, calling my dad to come sit on the couch. Hours seemed to pass as we waited. Then my dad’s phone rang. We all stared at my dad’s phone for a moment, the rhythmic ringtone crashing through the silence in a wave of noise. My dad picked up the phone and answered in a trembling voice.
Nick’s heart had stopped, and both the students present and the paramedics had been unable to resuscitate him.
He was dead.
I remember screaming as my dad spat out the words, his shocked voice breaking. I flung myself from the chair I’d been sitting in, my feet carrying me from the living room and into the kitchen before I collapsed on the cold floorboards, begging someone to tell me it wasn’t true. My mother’s equally anguished screams echoed through the hallways as she too ran from the room. Soon after, I crawled back to my father—who sat unmoving on the couch—my entire body shaking. Why, why I wondered as I sobbed, horror buzzing through the air of my small home like an electric current.
“How could God have done this?” I cried. “How could this have been His will?”
When I heard my pastor would be driving to our house, I stood outside in the freezing night air and waited, my shaking arms wrapped around myself to conserve what little warmth I had left. My mother tried to get me to come inside—but I didn’t. The night air was fresh, the sky appearing pitch black and remarkably clear from our home in the city. Our pastor eventually arrived, alarmed to find me standing out in the cold, my breath billowing around me.
“My parents need you.” I croaked when he hugged me tight.
He didn’t hesitate to walk inside. His wife eventually managed to coax me back into the house behind him.
We sat in the warm house, and he prayed with us, asking God to be with us in this excruciatingly difficult time. His crackling voice filled the air, and my tears dripped from my chin and onto my trembling hands clasped in my lap.
I remember wondering while he prayed: how could God still be good after this?
Soon after, I was told to pack a bag. When I asked how long we would be gone for, I received no response. I wandered around my room, my mind having turned to a muddled mush. My memories turn vague and blurry for a while after that—like someone painted a foggy mist over my brain. But I do remember being strangely composed. In my shock, I packed a single black dress and shoes in my suitcase, along with other essentials. I emailed my teachers, telling them I wouldn’t be in class for a while.
The cold night consumed us as we sped off into the sky in a tiny jet toward America several hours later. The sky was clear, and as we moved away from the city, stars began to appear. Silence filled the air around me as the sound of the jet engines faded into the background. I stared out the window at the vast night sky above and all around me, tears coming to my eyes once more. I realized, suddenly, that I would never speak to him again, or get to hug him before he left for the airport. Never again would I hear his laughter in person, play soccer against him, or even have him jump out from behind a door and scare me into hysterics. Sorrow, greater than anything I’d felt before, filled me as I realized that I could no longer claim to have two living siblings.
He would never get married to his fiancée, who had been present when he collapsed. As hopeless grief filled my mind, the plane we sat in suddenly banked sideways, and a glowing light exploded through the windows. I squinted, my watery eyes taking a moment to focus before I realized what I was looking at.
It was the brightest full moon I’ve ever seen. Its blinding beauty not unlike that of the sun exploded from the night for all to see. The perfectly round shape was reflected in my father’s eyes as I glanced across the seat at him. Time seemed to pause there for a moment, the salty tears stopping their race from my eyes to the bottom of my face. In that one second, the beauty of that light astounded me. And as we sat there, rocketing away from my only home and towards the city where my brother had just died, I remarked at God’s ability to create such a spectacular thing. I realized, in a shocking moment of clarity that I have not experienced since, that a being capable of creating such beauty would never allow anything to happen outside of his control. I even smiled, thinking that God was so good to let me know this, even in my darkest of moments. I leaned my head against the cold plane window and resolved that whatever had happened, whatever would happen, I would always remember that God is good. His creation was beautiful, and his plan was perfect.
People often tell me not to let the death of my brother define me. While I would not have his death be the only thing someone knows about me, it is inevitable that it had changed me. That cold night was one where I experienced something I would not wish on my worst enemy.
But there was something else that night.
The night my brother died was a freezing one. So cold it was, in fact, that it chased all the clouds from the sky. But that revealed something far more beautiful than lacy, white-edged puffs of water ever could.
And I learned that if I ever need a reminder in my darkest days, I need only look around —night or day, cold or warm, cloudy or clear—to see the beauty, the hope, and the warm comfort of our truth.

The Spanish edition of Seasons of Sorrow (Estaciones de aflicción) is now available! I’m so thankful for the efforts of the translation team and am praying that the book makes its way to just the right people.

10 Bits of Wisdom from 10 Years of Socials
K.A. Ellis took a social media hiatus and returned with some bits of wisdom to share. They are worth reading, considering, and applying.
The World’s Easiest Theological Question
Michael Kruger: “Sometimes Jesus asks easy theological questions where the answer is obvious. Often he does this to make a point about the hardness of men’s hearts. As an example, he asks the Pharisees what may be the world’s easiest theological question…”
Engineers Make Great Missionaries
You may think that a career in missions means you would need to serve as a church planter or evangelist. This couldn’t be further from the truth. (Sponsored Link)
Pro-Gay Theology, the Film 1946, and the Multiverse
Alan Shlemon carries out a bit of a thought experiment in which he imagines that in 1946 the Bible translation committee for the RSV did not translate arsenokoitai as “homosexuals.” What difference might this have made?
Where Have All The Theologians Gone?
Mark Jones is concerned by the lack of first-class theologians today and suggests some of the possible reasons for this. “By ‘theologians,’ I do not mean it in the sense of ‘everyone’s a theologian’ but rather in the more technical sense concerning someone who is a trained theologian, a person who has distinguished themselves by their education, credentials, publications, and churchmanship.”
Themelios 48.2
Meanwhile, for those who are interested in doing some theological reading, there is a new issue of Themelios free for the taking.
Thirteen Years of Coming Back
Brianna has a sweet reflection on 13 years of marriage—13 years of coming back to one another.
Flashback: We Must, We Can, Bloom for Him
God has saved his people to display his glory and sing his praises in every time, every trial, every situation, every circumstance. No matter our surroundings, no matter our context, no matter our joys or sorrows, we must, and by his grace we can, bloom for him.

The cross is love’s highest human expression and beauty’s ultimate declaration…The cross and resurrection of Jesus shine as supreme demonstrations of beauty. Everything else is a reflection. —Steve DeWitt

May the Lord be with you and bless you on this fine day.

The highlight of today’s Kindle deals is Alistair Begg’s Brave By Faith.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Family Update for an Especially Noteworthy Week)
Baptisms in the Jordan River: A Pet Peeve
Clint may be a bit of a self-confessed curmudgeon when it comes to baptisms in the Jordan, but I very much agree with him.
We had a baptism: here’s what we were actually doing
Speaking of baptism, here’s what baptism is all about (from a baptistic perspective, at least).
Finance Professionals Make Great Missionaries
You may think that a career in missions means you would need to serve as a church planter or evangelist. This couldn’t be further from the truth. (Sponsored Link)
The Audacity of Disability
“You might have gotten the diagnosis beforehand, when the beautiful process of growth in the womb turned fearful. Or maybe it happened like it did for us, entering the hospital with excitement, only to discover something terribly wrong in the delivery room. Or perhaps it was a few years later, when you began to notice that something wasn’t quite right. However it happened, however you learned of it, disability entered your world, unexpected and unwelcome.”
Songs Are Discipleship
It’s important to consider the songs we sing. “How does this song build up the body of Christ? How does this song edify a seasoned saint? How does this jingle build up the newly-born believer? How does this worship leader understand his role and responsibility? We must take seriously the theological development of the individuals we call worship leaders because they are disciples too.”
Oneness not just faithfulness
What’s the goal of marriage? Is it procreation? Happiness? Or something else…?
The Godliness of a Good Night’s Sleep
“Sleep as healer, sleep as teacher, sleep as giver — these three give us abundant reason to actively seek a good night’s rest. In light of them, many of us may need to acknowledge how much sleep we really need and to consider some basic tips for falling asleep and staying asleep, especially in our caffeinated, sedentary, digital world.”
Flashback: If I Was the World’s Only Christian…
It’s beautifully and wonderfully true that our God is the God of all kinds of people and that he is building a kingdom of young and old, great and poor, black and white, wise and simple, famous and unknown.

The Bible…wants to introduce dissonance into your thinking, to stretch your understanding. It wants to reveal a mosaic of the majesty of God one passage at a time, one day at a time, across a lifetime. —Jen Wilkin

This week’s blog is sponsored by ShareWord Global, a movement of believers mobilizing local churches to join them in sharing the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ through God’s Word, with the world around them.

Since God spoke the world into existence, He had you in mind. You are part of why Christ came and broke the bonds of death.
Because He loves you. And with this unconditional love, God continues to call each of us to be part of His story. Ordinary people like you and me that He can use to bring His blessing to the world. 
For those who respond with, “Here I Am,” an incredible journey awaits. 
It’s moments like these—where God calls, and faithful men and women answer—that are beating at the heart of this year’s Gospel Impact Conference, presented by ShareWord Global.
It’s time to press pause on your busy life. It’s time to find inspiration, and be challenged. And it’s time to be equipped with the skills you need to find your calling in God’s story and say… 
…‘HERE I AM!’
This August 18th and 19th, join us for the online Gospel Impact Conference. This global experience will ignite your passion to share your faith with the people around you and transform your community with the gospel. 
You’ll hear faith-building stories about the amazing things God is doing around the world through the ministry, and engage in worship to our wonderful God!
And this year’s conference features some exciting guests you’ll recognize:
Keynote Speaker, Pam Tebow, and Musical Guest, Big Daddy Weave!
But we’re hoping to add another important guest…YOU!
Visit sharewordglobal.com/ca/hereiam to find more event details and register today!
[embedded content]