This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Radius International. They are giving away a conference package that includes: 2 tickets, a Radius pullover, and 4 books.

The winner will receive two free tickets to The Radius Conference being held June 28-29, 2023, at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA. This event will be live in person or available as a live stream. John MacArthur, Costi Hinn, Ian Hamilton, Wayne Chen, Brooks Buser, Chad  Vegas, and others from the Radius world will be live and in-person to teach on the Great Commission in today’s world.
The winner will receive a Radius International branded pullover. Size and gender options to be selected by the winner from available stock. The winners will also receive four books that Radius International highly recommends:
No Shortcut to Success
A Manifesto for Modern MissionsBy Matt Rhodes
Avoid “Get-Rich-Quick” Missions Strategies and Invest in Effective, Long-Term Ministry Trendy new missions strategies are a dime a dozen, promising missionaries monumental results in  record time. These strategies report explosive movements of people turning to Christ, but their claims are often dubious and they do little to ensure the health of believers or churches that remain. How can churches and missionaries address the urgent need to reach unreached people without falling for quick fixes?
In No Shortcut to Success, author and missionary Matt Rhodes implores Christians to stop chasing silver-bullet strategies and short-term missions, and instead embrace theologically robust and historically demonstrated methods of evangelism and discipleship—the same ones used by historic figures such as William Carey and Adoniram Judson. These great missionaries didn’t rush evangelism; they spent time studying Scripture, mastering foreign languages, and building long-term relationships. Rhodes explains that modern missionaries’ emphasis on minimal training and quick conversions can result in slipshod evangelism that harms the communities they intend to help. He also warns against underestimating the value of individual skill and effort—under the guise of “getting out of the Lord’s way”—and empowers Christianswith practical, biblical steps to proactively engage unreached groups.
Missions By The Book
How Theology and Missions Walk Togetherby Chad Vegas and Alex Kocman
Across the church, there is a rift between theology and missions. Bad theology produces bad missions, and bad missions fuel bad theology.
We wrongly think that we must choose between making a global impact and thinking deeply about the things of God. But the relationship between theology and missions is symbiotic—one cannot exist without the other. They walk hand-in-hand.
What Is the Mission of the Church?
Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commissionby Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert
Christians today define mission more broadly and variably than ever before. Are we, as the body of Christ, headed in the same direction or are we on divergent missions?
Some argue that the mission of the Church is to confront injustice and alleviate suffering, doing more to express God’s love for the world. Others are concerned that the church is in danger of losing its God-centeredness and thereby emphasize the proclamation of the gospel. It appears as though the misunderstanding of the mission persists.
Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert believe there is a lot that evangelicals can agree on if only we employ the right categories and build our theology of mission from the same biblical building blocks. Explaining key concepts like kingdom, gospel, and social justice, DeYoung and Gilbert help us to get on the same page―united by a common cause―and launch us forward into the true mission of the church.
John G Paton
Autobiography of the Pioneer Missionary to the New Hebridesby John G. Paton
The autobiography of John G. Paton contains everything necessary to make it a missionary classic. Born into a Christian family near Dumfries in 1824, Paton’s early years were marked by a struggle against poverty. He was self-educated, and the training ground for his life’s work was the slums of Glasgow where he laboured with success as a city missionary. With ‘the wail of the perishing heathen in the South Seas’ continually sounding in his ears, he prepared himself to serve overseas and was ordained as a missionary to the New Hebrides in 1858. This group of thirty mountainous islands, so named by Captain Cook, with its unhealthy climate, was then inhabited by savages and cannibals. The first attempt to introduce Christianity to them resulted in John Williams and James Harris being clubbed to death of his wife and child within months of their arrival. Against the savagery and the superstition, despite the trials and the tragedies,Paton persevered and witnessed the triumph of the gospel in two of these South Sea islands. His life is almost without parallel in missionary annals and his account of it is moving and gripping.
TO ENTER
Giveaway Rules: You may enter one time.  The winner will be notified by email. The giveaway closes on Sunday, April 30th, 2023 at midnight.

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals include several excellent titles published by Crossway.
Logos users, last week’s Blue Friday deals continue into this week. All Base Packages are 20% off and lots of commentary sets and other resources are significantly discounted.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Means and the End)

I very much enjoyed this article about two baseball greats. “Beyond hailing from the same home state and their nearly parallel statistical accomplishments, the two men could not have been much more different. They spent their adult lives being compared and contrasted, contributing to an uneasy relationship.”

This article is really interesting. It points out that there is evidence within the Psalms of the beauty of musical diversity.

There are times when it becomes necessary to criticize a pastor. This article offers some guidance on when, how, and who. “I’m no stranger to being on the receiving end of those letters (and emails, Facebook messages, and texts). Every letter is an opportunity for me as a leader to grow in wisdom and humility. But every message takes an emotional and spiritual toll as well.”

Blake writes about the beauty and opportunity of a new day. “With a new day comes another opportunity: an opportunity to pursue holiness, to forsake our old selves, to forget what lies behind and look to what lies ahead. A new day brings reasons to rejoice, to hope, to sing, to laugh, to worship.”

Ruth has a prayer for those who struggle to take every thought captive, especially in the area of jealousy toward others.

“Life is so incredibly good; marriage to Elaina, my wife, even better, and the Lord, the Giver of all good things, infinitely better still. And yet, when my heart fastens tightly on thoughts about Heaven, thinking about seeing Christ face to face, anticipating being rid of every trace of sin, I get restless. It’s not so much that I want to leave this life and the good things in it, but rather that I want to scoop it all up and take it with me – take it home, take it to Him.”

False teachers simply cannot tolerate the gospel. At some level and in some way, they will always add to or subtract from the pure and sweet gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

If you’re driven by personal ambition, no amount of success will ever be enough. But if you’re driven by godly aspiration, you’re ever looking to the Savior and saying, “He is enough.”
—Brad Wheeler

Here’s your occasional reminder that all the quote graphics I share day-by-day are available and nicely categorized at SquareQuotes. They’re free to download, print, etc.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Parable of the Acorn)
What Makes a “Strong Woman” Strong?
Rebekah Matt: “‘Strong woman’ is a phrase heard often these days, and because I admire both words and women, I’ve been paying attention. It’s used in politics, on campuses, in the media, and even by little girls who know at a very early age to describe themselves as ‘strong.’ It’s made me think about what strong actually means—what is the implication when people say ‘strong woman’?”
Success is Dangerous
Jared Wilson says that “when we are made little, we can find ourselves in the heart of John the Baptist’s prayer, that Jesus would increase and we would decrease. It’s not the ideal place to be in terms of our dreams and ambitions, but relying totally on God’s sovereignty is right where God wants us. It’s not a call to passivity or to excuse-making. But even the most diligent of workers can say that God has called him to be faithful, not successful.”
We don’t need to rescue biblical characters from themselves
This is a helpful reminder and encouragement. “The Bible is not a book full of heroes. It is notable just how many of its so-called heroes are, actually, a bit rubbish. And few books encapsulate the abject uselessness of God’s people – and even more so God’s leaders – than the book of Judges. A book dedicated to the bluntest of blunt tools that the Lord chose to use for his own glory. A glory that is all the greater because of the tools he chose to use.”
The Freebie Round-Up
It has been a while since I’ve linked to one of Nitoy Gonzales’ “Freebie Round-ups.” He does a great job of scouring the [Christian] internet for helpful free resources.
When Culverts Buckle
“As the spring thaw begins on the Canadian prairies, the still frozen ground merely acts as a platform over which the water flows, unable to absorb much of the moisture yet.” Amber Thiessen goes on to draw a lesson from this.
You’re Never Praying Alone
It’s very comforting to know that we never truly pray alone—even when we think we’re praying alone.
Flashback: We Have the Light So We Can Be the Light
We are the light to the sons of darkness who cannot see the way to salvation, but also to our fellow sons of light who know the way but whose hearts have grown heavy, whose feet have become weary, who have been waylaid on their journey.

God sometimes washes the eyes of his children with tears that they may read aright his providence and his commandments. —Theodore Cuyler