Free Stuff Fridays (BJU Seminary)
This week Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by BJU Seminary. They are giving away a bundle of books, authored by their faculty, that provide biblical counsel on fighting sin and growing in Christ. BJU Seminary equips Christian leaders through an educational and ministry experience that is biblically shaped, theologically rich, historically significant, and evangelistically robust.
Anger, Anxiety and Fear: A Biblical Perspective by Stuart Scott
Our responsibility as Christians is to depend on God as we work toward becoming more like Jesus every day. Often, there are life-dominating sins that greatly hinder us from becoming more like Him. As the challenges of living in an uncertain world increase, the sins of anger, anxiety and fear come up more frequently in our daily lives. We need to be on guard against these sins and know how to deal with temptation when it comes.
Killing Sin Habits: Conquering Sin with Radical Faith by Stuart Scott with Zondra Scott
The word “mortified” often implies shame or embarrassment. When it relates to the mortification of sin, it means much more than that. Certainly we should be ashamed or embarrassed by our sin, but Scripture teaches that we are to actively subdue our sin; and more radically, kill our sin habits.
In this small volume, the authors compare our chronic fall into sin with the descending hours on a clock, demonstrating a repetitive and perfect pattern for sin. Both practical and challenging, this book demonstrates how God through the work of the Holy Spirit and radical faith can help you conquer sin in your life.
Changed into His Image: God’s Plan for Transforming Your Life by Jim Berg
Changed into His Image addresses Christian sanctification. It directs individual believers to recognize the true condition of the world and their own flesh, to turn from this reality to accept a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, and to respond to God’s promptings in life. Both disciple makers and new and old believers alike will benefit from this roadmap to spiritual growth, especially with careful contemplation of sections dedicated to individual use and to disciple making. Combine this study with Essential Virtues for a comprehensive look at Christian growth and maturity.
Essential Virtues: Marks of the Christ-Centered Life by Jim Berg
Essential Virtues draws from the principles of 2 Peter 1 to explore the marks of the Christian life. Peter lists the virtues of a Christlike believer: knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. As we understand the meaning and importance of these core virtues, we can learn to cultivate these qualities while avoiding worldliness, rebellion, and spiritual apathy. Berg’s clear application encourages personal Bible study that will result in true biblical maturity. Essential Virtues includes study-guide questions for personal reflection.
Enter Here
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A La Carte (October 24)
Over the weekend I mentioned a sale at ChristianBook.com, but I wanted to bring it to your attention again since there are some really good deals to be had. The new ESV Chronological Bible is 43% off. You’ll also find the ESV Scripture Journal NT set marked down 84% (from $199.99 to $32.99), the leather ESV Study Bible at 52% off, the Story of Redemption Bible at $5.99, the Six-Volume ESV Reader’s Bible at 60% off, and so on. This is all part of their huge Bible Sale of the Season promotion which ends today. It’s worth clicking through to see all the deals. (There are also quite a few noteworthy deals on books and I decided to list those here.)
(Yesterday on the blog: A Day in the Life of an Ordinary Christian)
What Did You Plan To Be Hated For?
I appreciated this article by Rhys Laverty so much I asked if he wouldn’t mind unlocking it (removing the Substack paywall) so you could read it. They key point he makes is that Christians are no longer hated for grace, but for nature. Give it a read!
Halloween Revisited
This one is also super interesting. “So, what is the ‘true’ story of Halloween? It’s complicated, but the holiday we now know of as Halloween is a sort of fusion of older Christian themes with nineteenth century Romantic literary creations and then twentieth century civic associations and mass marketing. Halloween is a creative re-invention that gets turned into a Hollywood and Hershey’s sales extravaganza.”
Talking About Sex in a Pornographic Culture
“The pornographic is the water that we are all swimming in. Like the little fish in David Foster Wallace’s proverb, we find ourselves both completely surrounded and completely unaware.” This is true and well worth thinking about.
Celebrating 85 Years of Crossway’s Tracts Ministry
Crossway is celebrating 85 years of their tracts ministry, and I loved reading the ministry’s origin story. And can you believe they’ve distributed more than 1 billion tracts?
Should Women Teach Theology to Women?
“The title says it all. A small but not insignificant movement that has been gaining momentum over the past couple of years revolves around the notion that women shouldn’t teach other women theology. There is some breadth to this movement, and the goal will be to address the original view as well as some of the fruit that’s come from it.” Henry Anderson addresses it well.
We can always be friendly
Stephen keys in on one area where small churches may be able to offer something that becomes more difficult as churches grow larger.
Flashback: Shaken to Bear Fruit
The God who is sovereign over all things may lead us into times and contexts that are deeply painful. Yet we can be confident that our suffering is never arbitrary and never meaningless, for God always has a purpose in mind.Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of. —C.H. Spurgeon
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A La Carte (January 18)
Westminster Books has a deal on what they are calling their group study book of the year.
Today’s Kindle deals once again include some excellent books.
Ethnic Harmony Is a Certainty: Three Good Resolves for the Church
“As a pastor in Minneapolis for more than two decades, I have found that one of the most helpful biblical teachings regarding ethnic harmony in the church is that Christ has already secured it.” That is so important to understand and remember.
Communication Lanes
There is some helpful counsel here on communicating well (and not communicating poorly) in this digital world.
Announcing TGC23’s Microevent Partners
For the first time, The Gospel Coalition will be hosting a “conference of conferences”. In addition to mainstage keynote talks, featuring worship led by Sydney, Australia’s CityAlight, TGC23 registrants will choose from a variety of topical microevents on matters pertaining to ministry and all areas of Christian life. Find out more about what John Piper, David Platt, Andrew Wilson, and many other speakers will share with us this September 25—27 as we explore the theme, Hope in the Wilderness: Encouragement for Pilgrims from the Book of Exodus
How Should I Dispose of a Bible?
I’m surprised how much people struggle with this!
Caregiving as a Calling and Ministry
This one will be encouraging to those called to caregiving.
Remembering Rev. Eric Alexander
“We learned this past weekend that Eric Alexander has gone to be with Christ. It was early Sunday morning when I received a text from a friend with this news. My first response was to get on my knees and thank the Lord for Eric. What a dear man. It is his blessing to be received to glory and our blessing to have known him.”
How Does Temptation Work?
Paul traces the four steps that temptation follows.
Flashback: On Doing Ordinary Things
Beneath and behind and inside those ordinary sermons is the extraordinary God who specializes in displaying his power through my weakness, my ordinariness.In obedience to their King, Jesus, Christians are to build among themselves a genuine counter-culture, in which the values of the kingdom of God rather than the values of this world are lived out. —Douglas Moo
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Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier Ministries)
This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Ligonier Ministries, who also sponsored the blog this week.
Sometimes one word is all that stands between the truth and a lie, between life and death. In the Reformation, that word was sola, “alone.” Ligonier Ministries is giving away free copies of the ebook The Heart of the Reformation, a new 90-day devotional on the five solas of the Protestant Reformation. This ebook is available for all Challies readers to download for free, and ten Free Friday winners will receive the paperback edition.
Learn more about the book here.TO ENTER
Fill out the form below for your chance to win one of 10 free editions of The Heart of the Reformation. This will add you to Ligonier Ministries’ mailing list.One entry per household. Open to residents of U.S. and Canada only. Giveaway ends November 11th, 2022. Winners will be notified by email.
