Free Stuff Fridays (BJU Seminary)
This week Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by BJU Seminary. They are giving away a commentary on Matthew written by the late Dr. Stewart Custer, who served 56 years at the Seminary and BJU. BJU Seminary equips Christian leaders through an educational and ministry experience that is biblically shaped, theologically rich, historically significant, and evangelistically robust.
The Gospel of the King: A Commentary on Matthew by Stewart Custer
The Gospel of the King is Stewart Custer’s commentary on Matthew for personal Bible study or sermon preparation. Longtime chairman of the Division of Bible at Bob Jones University, Custer blends expertise and gentleness. Original translation and practical applications accompany his exposition. Notes offer sermon outlines and highlight important terms. Includes topical and Scripture indexes and an annotated bibliography.
Grow your understanding of our Savior’s birth and kingship this Christmas season!
To Enter
Giveaway Rules: Enter for a chance to win one of one copy of The Gospel of the King. You may enter one time. When you enter, you agree to be placed on BJU Seminary email list. The winner will be notified by email and the giveaway closes on December 15th, 2023.
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Weekend A La Carte (April 2)
Please bear with me as I try a bit of a different format for today’s A La Carte. Let me know if you prefer (or don’t prefer) it.
First up, there are some new Kindle deals for those who collect them—some newer books and some older ones.
Then, here’s today’s prayer from F.B. Meyer’s hard-to-find collection My Daily Prayer, which I thought you might enjoy:
“Most gracious God, I thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, pure as dew, cleansing as fire, tender and refreshing as the breath of spring. O blessed Trinity, ever engaged in giving Your choice things to us, Your unworthy children, accept my gratitude for which I have no words.”
Yesterday on the blog I wrote about Health, Wealth, and the (Real) Gospel.
If You Read Just One
Trevin Wax considers some recent articles about modern notions of sex and sexuality and sees them as proof that mere ‘Consent’ Isn’t Enough for a Sexual Ethic. That’s not to say that these authors are ready to entertain the Christian sexual ethic, but that “these are baby steps, important ones, that indicate a sense of angst and anxiety underneath the commonsense cultural ethos surrounding sex.”
Other Good Reading
We have probably all attempted to convince someone that the Bible is inspired. Greg Koukl says that, when we do so , we ought to let God do the heavy lifting. “I came to believe the Bible was God’s Word the same way the Thessalonians did, the same way you probably did: They encountered the truth firsthand and were moved by it. Without really being able to explain why, they knew they were hearing the words of God and not just the words of a man named Paul.”
Al Gooderham wants us to know our place—the particular place God has called us to minister his gospel. “One of the dangers for us as churches, pastor and people is that we assume our place is a generic place. That it’s the same as the places and people elsewhere or that we see via our media consumption be it social media or binge watching our favourite series.” This can have the consequence that “we end up preaching a generic gospel via generic sermons and meeting generic needs for a generic area and a generic people and guess what we get a generic response.”
Christians often grapple with the nature and extent of God’s sovereignty. Derek Thomas has an excellent article on the subject. “God is sovereign in creation, providence, redemption, and judgment. That is a central assertion of Christian belief and especially in Reformed theology. God is King and Lord of all. To put this another way: nothing happens without God’s willing it to happen, willing it to happen before it happens, and willing it to happen in the way that it happens.”
Do true Christians still have evil desires? And if so, how is that consistent with what Scripture says about putting to death evil deeds and desires? John Piper answers some good questions in the latest Ask Pastor John.
Last but not least, Ligonier Ministries recently hosted their National Conference on the topic of Upholding Christian Ethics and has now shared video of all the plenary sessions, Q&A sessions, and seminars.Flashback (an article from the archives): What the Lord’s Day Is. “As I stood to worship on Sunday, I found myself considering just some of what the Lord’s Day is…”
And, last but not least, today’s SquareQuote:
We mistakenly look for tokens of God’s love in happiness. We should instead look for them in His faithful and persistent work to conform us to Christ. —Jerry Bridges
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What the Mightiest Man Could Never Do
Everybody knew the local blacksmith. Everybody knew him because no matter where the townsfolk went, they could hear the sound of his hammer as it beat against the anvil. No matter where they were they could hear the sound of his bellows as it spurred the fire to burn and roar with fresh intensity. Day in and day out his sledge beat against the metal like the ticking of a clock, like the beating of a drum, like the ringing of a bell.
Men, women, and children alike would pause as they passed by his workshop—pause to watch him rain mighty but measured blows upon rods and bands of iron. His shoulders were broad, his arms thick, his hands strong. Villains feared him but good men respected him, for they knew he was honorable, they knew he was committed to using his strength for good. An occasional uppity young man might challenge him and attempt to best him, but he would inevitably make that youngster regret such rashness, for none could ever throw him to the ground or make him beg for mercy.
It happened on one otherwise unremarkable afternoon that a silence settled over that small town and the people soon realized that the blacksmith’s hammer had fallen silent. Slowly it registered in their consciousness that they could no longer hear it ringing out through the streets, no longer use it to measure the hours and the minutes. Those who gazed into his shop saw his hammer resting still beside the anvil, the fire burning low, the workshop devoid of life and activity. The blacksmith was nowhere to be found.
A few walked silently to his home and, gazing through the window, saw a scene they would never forget. The blacksmith was inside, lying on a cot, cradling his sick and feverish child. He held her as gently as could be, carefully dabbing a cloth against her forehead, his calloused hands softly brushing a tear from her eye. He sang her a quiet lullaby, his trembling voice soothing her sorrows and drawing her to sleep. And soon enough she slept, her little head resting comfortably on his mighty chest.
The people understood that this weak little girl had done what the mightiest man could never do—she had brought that blacksmith to the dust. She had taken his mighty hand in her little one and drawn him down, down in her weakness. She alone had caused him to stoop, she alone had brought him down to her level. Her weakness had proven to be her strength and now the strongest of all was soothing and tending the weakest of all.
And isn’t our Jesus just like that? He is the one through whom all things were created and the one through whom all things exist. He is the one who has been given all authority in both earth and heaven and the one who has been crowned King of kings. Yet he is the one who responds to our weakness rather than our strength, to our helplessness rather than our ability. He is the one who came to seek and save the lost, who came to gather to himself the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame, the one who came to respond in strength to those who know themselves weak. When we need his power, when we need his love, when we need his forgiveness, we can approach him weak and broken. Like a little child, we can take his hand and he will gladly be drawn down, he will joyfully stoop to hear us, to lovingly tend to us. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” he will remind us, “for theirs—for yours—is the kingdom of heaven.”Inspired by F.B. Meyer and H.W. Longfellow
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A La Carte (February 20)
Good morning. The Lord be with you and bless you today.
I added some new Kindle deals yesterday and hope to dig up some more this morning.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Difference-Making Ministry for Any Christian)This article shows how the existence of hell, and the Bible’s warnings about it, are meant to motivate holiness.
Keith Mathison reminds us of a lesser-known benefit of the Lord’s Supper. “When we come together for the Lord’s Supper, it should remind us of the oneness of the body and spur us to compassion that we might do what we can to share the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Coram Deo is a Latin phrase meaning “before the face of God.” The phrase is often associated with John Calvin and other Reformers who summoned the Christian to live all of life in God’s presence (Ps. 56:13). More specifically, pastors have been charged in the presence of God to preach the word (2 Tim. 4:1-2). This conference (which features Kevin DeYoung, John Piper, H.B. Charles Jr., and others) aims to remind pastors of our great God, to recharge the preacher for teaching with clarity and conviction, and to reinvigorate the weary soul for a life of ministry faithfulness before the face of God. (Sponsored Link)
“We don’t like the ten plagues in Exodus, they feel like exactly the sort of thing we secretly wish wasn’t in the Old Testament because they afflict our innate sense of fairness and our unexpressed desire for God to be kind to everyone—even those who hate and afflict his people.”
“We must entrust our friends to God, even when it’s not how we pictured it. This is yet another way we love our friends in knowledge and discernment—in recognizing our lack of wisdom, sovereignty, knowledge, and even love for our friends compared to our Heavenly Father.”
Writing for TGC Africa, Thomas Endjala tells how the prosperity gospel distorts the true gospel. “No one wants to suffer. In my culture, and in most African cultures, suffering is seen as a sign of bad luck; or proof that you did something wrong.”
Susan encourages her readers to focus on someday and to know that it is not all that far away.
Ephesians 6 is a powerful call to be aware of the enemy and his army; it teaches that there is an enemy who devotes his entire existence to the destruction of God’s work and God’s people. Every Christian is engaged in battle against him.
God is not worshipped where He is not treasured and enjoyed.
—John Piper