A number of years ago I decided to go all-in with ebooks. I was in transition at the time, having just resigned as a vocational pastor to instead be a non-vocational pastor whose primary focus is writing. My library was at the church and I didn’t fancy bringing it all home. Neither did I have space in my small house for a big collection of books. I had already been wavering between the two formats, but allowed practical considerations to cast the final vote. I sold some of my books, gave the rest away, and have pretty much stayed the course. Today I have perhaps 50 printed books and several thousand electronic (the majority of which are provided by publishers for review purposes).

That said, the world of ebooks is still pretty goofy in ways and pretty confusing in others. For example, one platform offers the most books and the best hardware for reading them (Amazon/Kindle) while another offers the best variety and experience for the kind of books I rely on for research and sermon preparation (Logos). The two are completely incompatible. And so I buy and read one kind of book on one platform and another kind of book on the other. It’s silly and unfortunate, but at this time necessary.
Then there is the issue of future compatibility. I expect we all have files and software from the past that we can no longer use and no longer access because either the software manufacturer has gone out of business or the old programs will no longer run on new machines. While I have a reasonable degree of confidence in both Amazon and Logos, I am not so naive as to think that either is too big to fail or to believe that I will necessarily always have full access to everything I have paid for. That concerns me.
Then, of course, there is the issue of ownership. It is well understood by now that when we purchase electronic assets, we do not actually own them as much as we secure the rights to use them. For this reason, I have had to come to see books as something closer to a service than a possession. There was a time when I owned collections of CDs and DVDs—of music and movies. But streaming services came along that made both redundant. Similarly, my library has essentially been replaced with a service—with a collection of books I have paid to have rights to, though not to own. This has required a shift in mindset, but it is one I have been willing to make.
Another big issue is that of Amazon’s utter dominance of the market and their increasing willingness to refuse or remove books that are opposed to their ideologies. This concerns me a lot, though the issue is not solved by switching to paper since Amazon’s dominance in the marketplace is so complete that few books, whether physical or electronic, will be printed if they cannot be sold through its channels.
But alongside such drawbacks are real benefits. Electronic books are almost always cheaper than printed books which means I can have all the same resources but spend less on them. Electronic books take up no space, so I do not have hundreds or thousands of bulky objects cluttering up my home. Electronic books have no form, so cannot be lost or damaged by fire or flood. They can, though, be taken with me wherever I go so that my entire library is available to me at all times and in all situations. This often has proven very handy.
Both Kindle and Logos have one unique function I have come to rely on—one that is not easily replicated by their physical equivalents. For Kindle, it is the ability to make highlights that are then synced into the tool(s) I use for knowledge storage and management. As I outlined in “Three New Tools That Make a Huge Difference,” I have come to rely on Roam Research to store key information, and I use a tool called ReadWise to automatically sync all my highlights into it. This same tool also emails me a daily newsletter with some of those highlights so I can continue to refresh my memory about key quotes and significant ideas. This has become key to my workflow and retention.
The unique function for Logos is the ability to perform powerful searches across my entire library. By taking advantage of Logos’ many sales and free resources I have accumulated a significant library of books, commentaries, sermons, and reference works, and rely heavily on the ability to search across all of them. The Sermon Starter Guide, Passage Guide, and Bible Word Study Guide are tools I don’t ever want to do without. I do not at all miss the days when I’d spend hours pulling books from my shelves and having eight or ten of them spread across my desk.
Very practically, I tend to purchase general market and Christian living books in Kindle format, but reference books in Logos. Essentially, if I expect to use a book in preparing sermons or Bible studies, I prefer to have it in Logos; if I expect to merely read a book and perhaps refer to it infrequently in the future, I am content to have it on Kindle.
As the Kindle hardware has developed it has gotten better and better so that both the Paperwhite and Oasis are exceptional devices, especially when compared to earlier generations. I also access the Kindle app on my computer, though primarily to search within books and to easily copy and paste information into other apps. As for Logos, I have long since stopped using the downloadable app to instead use the browser-based equivalent which has all the functions I need and which runs considerably faster.
I do at times miss the simple pleasure of a printed book. There is still something about the form of it—about the look, the feel, the format. The book as we have known it for so many generations is a wonderful medium and one that carries out its task remarkably well. But books have their downsides and ebooks their upsides and in the end, I have decided to prioritize the latter. And as it stands today, I have no great regrets.

The Lord be with you and bless you today.

There is a new ESV Concise Study Bible available and Westminster Books has it on sale this week.
I’ve added a few books to today’s list of Kindle deals.
D. A. Carson on the Two Jews Talking the Day Before the First Passover
Here’s a neat little excerpt of a sermon by D.A. Carson.
No Such Thing as Too Hard Music
Madelyn Canada: “It wasn’t that the music was too hard to figure out, and it wasn’t that the situation was really all that hard to know how to handle. The truth in both situations was that I didn’t want to give all that it would require of me. Apparently walking in obedience to Christ is quite a bit like playing the piano.”
Why God Saved You
God saves people for a purpose. Salvation in Christ begins a life spent growing into being like him and serving him faithfully. God forms Christians into Christ’s character and image. This transformation takes place as we come to know and love our Lord. God sends maturing Christians out into the world as his servants as he reconciles all things to himself. (Sponsored Link)
Why the Enemy Wants You to Think You’re Alone
“I’ve been there. Discouragement spiraled into depression. I multiplied my angst by entangling myself in sin. I didn’t think anyone would understand. I was too afraid to ask anyone for help. Lies compounded sin.” What if there is a strategy behind this sense of isolation?
3 Unthievable Treasures
“Almost anything we treasure—from people to possessions to abilities—can vanish in an instant. However, Scripture does teach us about a few precious treasures that no thief, con man, or devil can ever take away.”
Preparing to Meet Jesus
This is a sweet and encouraging one. “Lord, thank you for sending all the Agneses into our lives who are examples of both how to live and how to prepare to die. Thank you for praying women who are doing the good things that you have planned for them long ago. Thank you for those who have come before us and are steadfast in their faith in spite of weary bodies. I pray that I will be well prepared when I see my Savior face to face.”
What the Church is Not
“These are dark days. Thankfully, there are double yellow lines within the church, made and intended to guide the body of Christ: God and his Word. The white outer line? That is your pastor, a man chosen by God, an overseer tasked with the mission of shepherding your soul through prayer and teaching. He answers directly to God, and will give an account.”
Flashback: Please Do & Please Don’t Assume Motives
Yet we are so quick to assume the very best about our own motives and the very worst about others’. Surely this is some of what the psalmist cried for in Psalm 139…

Christianity is not just intellectually defensible but also intellectually satisfying at the deepest of levels. Yes, we believe God with our hearts. But we can also enjoy him with our minds. —Michael Kruger

Grace and peace to you, my friends.

I have added a couple of Kindle deals with more possibly to come tomorrow.
(Yesterday on the blog: Family Update: An Engagement, a Scholarship, and a Beautiful Bench)
The Failure of Evangelical Elites
Carl Trueman has some extended thoughts on the failure of Evangelical elites. “Let me put it bluntly: Talking in an outraged voice about racism within the boundaries set by the woke culture is an excellent way of not talking about the pressing moral issues on which ­Christianity and the culture are opposed to each other: LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. Even Schleiermacher would cringe. Christian elites try to persuade the secular world that they aren’t so bad—no longer in terms of Enlightenment conceptions of reason, but in terms of the disordered moral preoccupations of the day.”
We All Have the Power of Caligula Now
Meanwhile, Alan Noble has some interesting (and disturbing) thoughts on pornography. “Pornography assumes that we are each our own and belong to ourselves. It’s a tool that promises to give us a kind of personal validation, a sense of identity, a taste of meaningfulness, and a glimpse of intimate belonging. But by its own logic, pornography, like modernity, is an empty promise.”
When Pastors Declare Victory Too Soon
“I used to think that turning a church around was like turning a business around: set a new vision, clean up the mess the old guy left, and get the charts pointing in the right direction.” But now Darryl has realized it’s far different.
Expressive Individualism: Our Twenty-First Century American Ba’al
Bruce Ashford: “Westerners in general, and Americans in particular, have learned to live life without any real reference to God. Because of our relative wealth, we tend not to lean on God for material provisions. Because of modern medicine, we rely on doctors and surgeons when our health is fragile, and don’t see God as the ultimate healer. Because of modern therapy, we tend to ignore the role he should play in the right ordering of our hearts and minds…”
What Is “the Name?”
Terry Johnson: “Were the Jehovah’s Witnesses right? Among their central boasts is that they have revived the covenantal name of God, the Hebrew YHWH, sometimes pronounced Yahweh and sometimes Jehovah, that Jesus came to restore. Ancient Hebrew has no vowels so the precise pronunciation may never be known. Given the growing practice among Evangelicals of referring in sermons and lectures to Yahweh, one would think that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were right.”
Dog Bites Man: Adventures in the Life of a Translation Consultant
How can someone help ensure the quality of a new translation when that person doesn’t speak the language? This article answers.
Pray for Those in Authority
“Authority and institutionalism have become less popular in recent years, but Scripture places emphasis on authority and organized religion is an irrevocable part of God’s plan for the world. We are commanded in Scripture to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2) and this command should be taken seriously.”
Flashback: Do We Care for the Sheep or Do We Use the Sheep?
There is a place for ambitious goals, I’m sure, but they must come after the sheep have been properly cared for, not before.

One of the chief purposes of trial and affliction is to make us send for our Savior. —Theodore Cuyler

Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend has just come and gone and we ourselves have just come and gone—we are on our way home from a brief trip to Louisville, Kentucky, where we spent some time as a family. We very much enjoyed our few days with Abby, with Ryn (Nick’s fiancée), and with Nate, (Abby’s fiancé).

Yes, my Abby is engaged! Nate asked her to marry him at just about the time they reached their one-year dating anniversary. He had spent some time with us this summer and asked me if he could ask her—permission I was glad to grant. Their preparations are already well underway and they hope to be married in May, then to settle down together in Louisville as they finish out their education. We are well pleased. Here’s the happy couple:

There were a couple of other key moments that took place while we were in Louisville. Shortly after Nick’s death we founded the Nick Challies Memorial Scholarship which is made is available for Canadian students enrolled at Southern Seminary and/or Boyce College who can make a good faith pledge to serve the Lord in Canada upon graduation. In other words, it’s available to students who hope to take up the kind of ministry that was so important to Nick. On Tuesday we were able to meet two of the initial recipients, each of whom happens to hail from our part of the country. This was deeply moving and brought us sweet joy.

Also, some time ago Dr. Mohler indicated that he was eager to find a way to remember Nick on the college grounds. While we were there, he led a brief ceremony to dedicate a beautiful bench in Nick’s memory. My mother, brother, and sisters were able to be present, as were many of Nick’s friends from school (many of whom wore Toronto Blue Jays hats in his honor).

I spend a fair bit of time at Southern Seminary and Boyce College and I’m so thankful to now have a particular place I can go to remember my precious boy.

The anniversary of Nick’s death is now less than three weeks away. It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since that night, almost a year since our hearts were so badly broken. The time has gone so quickly and so slowly (as I’ve expressed here)—it has been a dash, a blip, a vapor, yet just as truly a slog, a marathon, a long and wearying journey. We don’t know what to expect as the anniversary approaches, except this: God will be good, kind, and present. We love Him more than ever and are grateful for all of his blessings.

May the Lord bless and keep you today.

There are lots of good titles related to counseling for sale at Westminster Books.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few good titles.
Dear Pastor . . . Your Shepherd Doesn’t Care How Big Your Church Is
“I never forgot those days in the foyer of the church plant, begging God to send just one or two more our way. I had learned a valuable lesson in the hard days of lack that helped me tremendously in the joyful days of gain—namely, that Christ isn’t really interested in how big my church is.”
Did the Heretics Outnumber the Orthodox in Early Christianity?
Michael Kruger: “One of the most common arguments about early Christianity—made popular by Walter Bauer’s 1934 book Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity—is that the earliest centuries had such enormous doctrinal diversity that the “heretics” were as prevalent, if not even more numerous, than the ‘orthodox.’ It was not until the 4th century, it is argued, that the orthodox began to turn the tide.”
God Tells Us How to Know Him 
God created people for relationship with him (Gen. 1:26–31). This relationship depends on our knowing him. God has a mind, a will, and emotions. He communicates, revealing himself. This revelation comes in two basic forms: general revelation and special revelation. Without them, we cannot know God. God’s revelation is trustworthy, for God is trustworthy. (Sponsored Link)
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntington
This is a good, short bio of one of my favorite historical figures.
You’re Never “Just” A Church Member
“‘I’m just a church member.’ Over the years, I’ve heard people say this when introducing themselves. There are many reasons why someone might say this (they may want to clarify that they aren’t in full-time ministry). But I cringe inside when I hear it. And if I’m able, I offer a gentle correction because there’s no such thing as “just” a church member.”
Why Is it Important for Christians To Affirm “Sola Scriptura”?
Stephen Nichols answers an important question.
The Horocruxes of Sexual Sin
“Sexual temptation suggests that fidelity won’t satisfy. If one sexual partner is good, more partners will be better. Why not experience pleasure with multiple partners? Think of what you are missing out on. Consider what that one partner doesn’t give you. Or, if you’re not married, how do you know you ever will be married? What does it hurt to fast forward that pleasure to now?”
Flashback: 7 Things Your Church Needs From You
Find the place you can serve your church, and serve there without fail, without excuse, without requiring praise and accolades. Do it for the good of others and the glory of God.

Our infirmities become the black velvet on which the diamond of God’s love glitters all the more brightly. —Charles Spurgeon

May the Lord bless and keep you today.

There are lots of good titles related to counseling for sale at Westminster Books.
Today’s Kindle deals include a few good titles.
Dear Pastor . . . Your Shepherd Doesn’t Care How Big Your Church Is
“I never forgot those days in the foyer of the church plant, begging God to send just one or two more our way. I had learned a valuable lesson in the hard days of lack that helped me tremendously in the joyful days of gain—namely, that Christ isn’t really interested in how big my church is.”
Did the Heretics Outnumber the Orthodox in Early Christianity?
Michael Kruger: “One of the most common arguments about early Christianity—made popular by Walter Bauer’s 1934 book Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity—is that the earliest centuries had such enormous doctrinal diversity that the “heretics” were as prevalent, if not even more numerous, than the ‘orthodox.’ It was not until the 4th century, it is argued, that the orthodox began to turn the tide.”
God Tells Us How to Know Him 
God created people for relationship with him (Gen. 1:26–31). This relationship depends on our knowing him. God has a mind, a will, and emotions. He communicates, revealing himself. This revelation comes in two basic forms: general revelation and special revelation. Without them, we cannot know God. God’s revelation is trustworthy, for God is trustworthy. (Sponsored Link)
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntington
This is a good, short bio of one of my favorite historical figures.
You’re Never “Just” A Church Member
“‘I’m just a church member.’ Over the years, I’ve heard people say this when introducing themselves. There are many reasons why someone might say this (they may want to clarify that they aren’t in full-time ministry). But I cringe inside when I hear it. And if I’m able, I offer a gentle correction because there’s no such thing as “just” a church member.”
Why Is it Important for Christians To Affirm “Sola Scriptura”?
Stephen Nichols answers an important question.
The Horocruxes of Sexual Sin
“Sexual temptation suggests that fidelity won’t satisfy. If one sexual partner is good, more partners will be better. Why not experience pleasure with multiple partners? Think of what you are missing out on. Consider what that one partner doesn’t give you. Or, if you’re not married, how do you know you ever will be married? What does it hurt to fast forward that pleasure to now?”
Flashback: 7 Things Your Church Needs From You
Find the place you can serve your church, and serve there without fail, without excuse, without requiring praise and accolades. Do it for the good of others and the glory of God.

Our infirmities become the black velvet on which the diamond of God’s love glitters all the more brightly. —Charles Spurgeon

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

(Yesterday on the blog: Longing for What’s Second Best)
Think Little
This article explains why we, as Christians, might to do better to think little than to think big.
The God of Your Troubled Heart
“Jesus knows your heart. He knows your doubts and fears. Tell him. He already knows. And, in your moments of greatest fear and doubt, you can trust that his mercy comes running to you.”
You Won’t Improve on This Definition of “Worldliness”
No, you probably won’t.
The Quartersawn Sermon
“A good sermon must be strong. Gospel preaching must be powerful. Pulpiteers may be tempted to manufacture this power by screaming and pounding the pulpit or crying on cue or displaying their learning with cloudy philosophical musings and psychobabble. But Paul instructed the young pastor Timothy to seek another source for force in his preaching, saying ‘preach the word’ (2 Timothy 4:23).”
Beware the Idols of an Overseas Life
An overseas life can breed its own temptations and idolatries. “Our lives are interesting. Fulfilling. Living as an expat means we get the benefits of two worlds: the richness, beauty, and adventure of our host country, but with all the safety nets from our home country. We get to travel to exotic places. We become exotic people. We get to stand out–not only in our host country, but back at home too. We are respected, set apart, even put on a pedestal.”
Avoid the “Us vs. Them” Trap
“Everywhere you turn today, people are split into to two groups: us vs. them. Good guys vs. bad guys. Conservatives vs. Liberals. Vaxxers vs. Anti-vaxxers. Tolerant vs. Intolerant. CNN vs. Fox News. You’re either with us or against us; there is no third option.” Cindy warns us not to fall into this kind of us vs them trap.
Putting Our Contentment to the Test
You may benefit from reading this reflection on contentment.
Flashback: Danger Signs of an Unhealthy Dating Relationship
There is nothing more important to a dating relationship than communication, so take time to talk about everything. Talk, listen, and pursue harmony.

It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small. —J.C. Ryle

We often overestimate our wisdom. We often overestimate our capacity to rightly assess any given situation. We often overestimate our ability to know what would be best for ourselves and those we love. We are nothing if not self-focused, nothing if not self-reliant, nothing if not self-assured.

Of course we know that, in theory, we are limited little creatures whose knowledge is small and whose understanding is minimal. But this rarely stops us from acting as if we know far more than we actually do, as if we are far wiser than we actually are. This rarely stops us from praying as if the best thing God could ever do is to grant us our desires, to cede to our will, to do things in the way we demand. “Nevertheless, not as you will, but as I will” is so often our functional petition before the Lord.
But those who live by faith must have faith not only in God’s salvation but also in his providence. They must have faith that God knows best not only when it comes to the state of their souls but also the events of their lives, to entrust to him not just their distant happy future in heaven, but also their difficult present here on earth. They must have faith in God’s desire to hear their prayers, in his ability to answer their prayers, but also in his far greater capacity to know what is best for them and what best serves his great plan and purpose.
It is for this reason that we must pray earnestly and fervently, pouring out our petitions before the Lord, yet all the while encapsulating every prayer in the words, “nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.” While we can and should pray for those things we long for, we should always pray that what we long for would be according to God’s will. This is no more than an acknowledgement of the greatness of God’s knowledge and the limitations of our own. It is to admit that it is always better for God to carry out his will than for us to get ours. It is to profess that God’s ways are always better than our ways, even when they contradict our most fervent desires, and that his ways are higher than our ways, even when they lead through the deepest of valleys.
By faith we believe that God will some day right every wrong and bring contentment far greater than every pain. By faith we believe that we will worship God for every one of his actions and praise him for every part of his providence. By faith we believe we will see that when our will and his were in contradiction, we were actually longing for what was merely second best.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am down in Louisville visiting Abby for a couple of days. If you spend time on the SBTS campus and see me, please say hi!
There is a long list of Kindle deals to work through today.
That Are Not of This Fold
“We, like Jesus’ initial Jewish followers, tend to believe that there are certain types of people who believe, and certain types of people who really don’t. Those similar to us almost always fall into the category of ‘likely open to belief.’ And groups we are naturally opposed to often end up in the category of ‘unlikely to believe.’” Such a view permeates every time and every culture.
Prayer as Reverent Conversation
Jared Wilson: “I characterize prayer as ‘spilling your guts’ — to say that we can pray as if we are simply having a conversation with our heavenly Dad, is not to say that we ought to be irreverent or disrespectful. God does not require that we grovel in self-loathing or jump through religious hoops to talk to him, but this does not mean we speak to him as if he is not the perfectly holy Lord of All.”
The Body is More Than a Tool
Carl Trueman looks at the modern understanding of the body and explains why it is so very harmful. “That notion—that the body is merely an appendage—is clear in the strangely external way the brief talks about the body. ”
How Studying the Bible Restores the Soul 
Life is more than existence. It is more than survival. God’s word makes us aware of where we are and who we are. God’s word stretches our minds, helps us see how things really are, and shapes our actions. God’s word teaches us what words to say to God. Those who read often and well find that it gives life. (Sponsored Link)
Thrown Under the Bus
I enjoyed Andrée Seu Peterson’s thoughts on being thrown under the bus.
Not Easily Offended
“A friend of mine has often reminded me that most friendships among professing believers cannot bear more than a single offense. People in the church are so easily offended that they are ready to write off another believer over the most insignificantly offensive word or actions. This betrays the fact that we have not learned to bear long with one another and to forgive one another.”
What Is The Greatest Difference Between Reformed Theology And Non-reformed Theology? (Video)
Robet Godfrey explains here.
The Weight and Wound of the Word
“The Bible is miraculously cohesive, but it is not uniform. Different portions were given for different purposes; distinct authors at distinct moments to distinct audiences.” Ryan explains in this article.
Flashback: Sexual Morality in a Christless World
The former morality, based on the Christian scriptures, is being shoved aside by a new one that not only departs from the Bible, but outright rejects it.

If we claim to be Christians, we may not choose whom we will love. —J.R. Miller

Every now and again I like to share an example of one of our worship services from Grace Fellowship Church. I do this simply to provide an example of how one church structures our time of worship, hoping it will prove a helpful resource to others.

This service’s cast of characters included Paul as the preacher, service leader, and lead worshipper. Tristan served as the elder who led the pastoral prayer and Scripture reading and John, an intern, handled some opening and closing elements. We sang only acapella, which constrained us to hymns. 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 lasted approximately 75 minutes.
Welcome (John)
John, one of our interns, welcomed people to the service and provided some basic instructions for during and after the service. He then prayed briefly.
Call To Worship (Paul)
Paul provided a call to worship from Deuteronomy 7:9: “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” He then said, “What an interesting command: Know your God is God, and that He is faithful. This is a call to worship the faithful God by knowing Him.” He invited us to respond to that call to worship with a word of affirmation from Psalm 135:5: “For we know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.”
Singing (Paul)

“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” (acapella)

Confession of Sin (Paul)
Paul led a confession of sin that went something like this: “The writer to the Hebrews said, ‘Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” We sing, Great is THY faithfulness, but we have to admit, Great is MY unfaithfulness. Take a moment in private prayer to confess your unfaithfulness to God.”
Assurance of Pardon (Paul)
After a short time of silent prayer, he read 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Then he said, “Brothers and Sisters, since you have repented of your sins and put all your trust in Faithful Jesus, be assured that God looks upon you as righteous in His sight.”
Singing (Paul)

“Before the Throne of God Above” (acapella)

Scripture Reading (Tristan)
“Please take your Bible and turn to Ephesians 5. We will be reading verses 15 to 33.” The reading began with “This is what Holy Scripture says…” Upon completion I said “This is the word of the Lord” to which the congregation replied “Thanks be to God.”
Pastoral Prayer (Tristan)
Tristan prayed for a number of concerns related to our church family.
Singing (Paul)

“There is a Fountain” (acapella)

Sermon (Paul)
Paul preached a sermon in his series on Ephesians, “Let’s Just Act Like Christians.”
Singing (Paul)

“My Jesus I Love Thee” (acapella)

Commission (John)
John tied the message of the sermon into a “commission” that challenged the church to live out its truths throughout the week. This included mentioning some of the events coming up in the life of the church.
Benediction (John)
“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.’ Amen.”