The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
I added a few new Kindle deals today and, as always, will keep up the search.
(Yesterday on the blog: Two Ways To Read the Bible)

Here are some useful tips on encouraging the person who leads worship at your church. “One morning, after a worship service, a lady approached me and asked, ‘Do you put ketchup on your ice cream?’ Confused, I shook my head, no. ‘Then don’t put drums on my hymns.’ I thanked her for her vivid (even visceral!) metaphor, but her comment misses a very important truth.”

This article points out that, especially on the mission field, women are often called upon to teach and preach (in settings that do not involve the presence of men). That being the case, shouldn’t they be taught to do so well? “Many complementarian churches are not training even their most gifted women in how to teach and preach the Bible. They are training their women to value good teaching and preaching from the Bible, and to discern good teaching and preaching from the fluff—and these are very good things. Yet it needs to be said that sitting under good preaching and recognizing it is not the same thing as being trained in how to do it.”

Stephanie celebrates the legacy of Enoch who was a kind of Old Testament pattern breaker.

Tilly Dillehay: “How does a woman end up here? Does any woman really decide to become the bad weather in her husband’s life? Or are the habits of contention like other, better habits — like joy, gratitude, and laughter — which develop with time and regular feeding?”

Sometimes smart people can say dumb things. That’s the case in this video in which an atheist tries to make the case that there is no such thing as human rights. Tim Barnett rebuts his view.

David Robertson points out some of the absurdities and contradictions in society today—the ones that say that some races cannot be racist while others cannot not be racist (or something like that).

Just as we can lead people to habits that dishonor God and harm others, we can lead people to habits that glorify God and do good to others.

Take away the soul from the body, and all you have left in a few days is a stinking carcass. Take away the fear of God from any profession of godliness, and all that is left is the stinking carcass of pharisaism, barren religiosity, or calculated hypocrisy.
—Albert N. Martin

May you enjoy the Lord’s rich blessings as you serve and worship him this weekend.

My gratitude goes to Burke Care for sponsoring the blog this week to invite you to schedule a session with their certified biblical counselors.
Today’s Kindle deals include some newer books and some older ones.
(Yesterday on the blog: My Top Books of 2022)
Was Jesus Really Born of a Virgin?
“For many people, the question of whether or not a virgin can give birth is in the same category as questions about whether or not pigs can fly or time can be reversed or the sun can be stopped from shining. But in each of these circumstances, we must remember that all it takes for these ‘supernatural’ events to be possible is for a ‘supernatural’ God to exist.” Guy Richard explains.
2023 Reading Challenge
Visual Theology has its annual reading challenge ready to go. (Click here for the poster.)
Annual Reading Challenge for Kids and Teens
And while we’re on the subject of reading challenges, Redeemer Reader also has theirs ready to go. It is designed for kids.
Silent Nights
“One December evening, while home alone eating dinner, I suddenly became aware of how quiet the house was. I hadn’t been by myself much for 25 years because I had four kids, a husband, and a dog to fill my home with noise and activity. But my kids were grown, my youngest was away at college, my husband was on a business trip, and our dog had recently passed away. And although I had experienced quiet moments before, this silence seemed different – louder and longer. It had a new quality I hadn’t sensed before – a permanence. It rattled me a little bit.”
The Church’s Ministries
If you’d like to do some good reading over the weekend, the new issue of the 9Marks Journal is available and it covers “The Church’s Ministries.”
Bell Curve of Life

This article reflects on those well-known words of Job: “Naked I was born from my mother’s womb and naked I will return.”

The longer you wait to confess, the more likely it becomes that you never will… Sin is a cancer—it must be rooted out as quickly as possible before it spreads. —Garrett Kell

Grace and peace to you today, my friends.

(Yesterday on the blog: 40 Random Pieces of Advice for the Christian Life)
Was Jesus Punctual?
I found this a very helpful cross-cultural look at punctuality. “The English phrase ‘don’t waste your time’ has an equivalent in Spanish: ‘no pierdas el tiempo’, which strictly translated means ‘don’t lose [the] time’. There is, nonetheless, a subtle difference between the English and the Spanish. Whereas a Westerner feels they can control time (by deciding whether to waste it or not), a Latin American feels they cannot control time (it gets lost).”
This is the Day
I think you’ll enjoy this new song from CityAlight. It’s another good one!
Ligonier Theological Study Guides
Ligonier Ministries has recently begun posting a series of theological study guides. Nick Batzig has rounded them up for us.
Seedlings Need The Weather
“When we asked a gardener friend, he told us that the absence of difficulty was not the solution to their problem. It was the problem. The trouble for our seedlings—the trouble that made them weak—was that they had no trouble. Without at least some exposure to the elements, they would never grow strong.” There’s a lesson to learn here.
Rethinking Pastoral Ministry Post-Covid
This article considers ministry post-COVID and how technology can or cannot take a new prominence.
A Lifetime of Preaching: A Conversation with Alistair Begg
This is a great little conversation with Alistair Begg as he recounts his decades of preaching the Word.
Flashback: Help! My Kids Are Looking at Porn!
Where the temptation will be to bludgeon your children with reasons they should not look at porn, your time will be spent far more effectively if you are able to slow down, ask lots of questions, and engage them in conversation.

In the darkest night of the soul, Christians have something to hold onto…Christ crucified. —D.A. Carson