Good morning and happy Monday!

It’s Monday which means there is a new batch of Kindle deals from Crossway; you’ll also find the complete Narnia series at a massive discount.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Lover of the Lord Lives There!)
Did Paul Ever See Jesus During Our Lord’s Earthly Ministry?
How interesting! “Although most New Testament scholars simply assume that Paul had never seen Jesus prior to Paul’s Damascus Road experience, Stanley Porter raises the fascinating possibility that Paul and Jesus had indeed crossed paths before Paul’s conversion.”
Come, He Needs Nothing From You
I really appreciate this reminder that God doesn’t need anything from us.
Productivity Without Burnout
How does a productive pastor keep himself from burning out? Here are some lessons from John Gill, most of which apply to more than just pastors.
Nine Reasons People Aren’t Singing in Worship
It’s probably worth considering if any of these apply to your church.
How should a believer respond to false accusations?
“Recently, believers have made much of high profile Christian leaders falling into sin. Articles have been written, comments have been tweeted, sound-bytes have been reported upon. Most of these have rightfully focused on the devastating impact on the victims and the harm caused to the church at large. But at the same time we need to also remember that there is another type of victim as well.”
You can’t call your leaders to be accountable and side-step it yourself
“But for all the talk of leaders being unwilling to be held accountable – and certainly such leaders exist – this is hardly an issue unique to pastors and elders. An unwillingness to be held accountable seems to be a hallmark of many church members too.”
Flashback: Are You Content To Carry the Pins?
They had a lesser calling but still a noble calling. God expected they would embrace it wholeheartedly and carry it out skillfully.

We make a grave mistake when we let ourselves think that ill temper is merely a trifling weakness. It is a disfiguring blemish. —J.R. Miller

It has been quite a year—a year in which the Worship Round the World project has taken me far and wide. If my statistics are correct, I believe my feet have touched something like 24 different countries this year. I worshipped with local churches in 13 of them and enjoyed times of fellowship with Christians in 7 others. Along with my co-host Tim Keesee, we have filmed 9 episodes so far and they are now in the very early stages of production.

That leaves us with just a couple more to record. Unfortunately India and Canada are in the midst of a spat and India is refusing to give visitor’s visas to Canadians until it is resolved, so we had to cancel our plans to visit the city of Chennai in November. Later this week the team will head to the distant reaches of Alaska to visit a church there, and that will be end of our travel for 2023. A trip to Mexico City in January will mark the final journey and the end of on-location filming.
We believe the project has come together well and that it will lead to both a documentary series and a book that will prove to be a blessing to many. Through them you’ll be able to travel with us to experience Christian worship in settings as diverse as urban Australia and rural Zambia, and as different as the vast and advanced metropolis of Seoul and a tiny Cambodian village that has neither electricity nor running water. You’ll see what it is to worship in the shadow of a volcano in Chile and to serve the Lord in the tropical paradise of Fiji. All that and much more.
While fundraising has gone well and we are immeasurably thankful for all that has been given, I would like to make the need known one more time. We planned the project in 2019 when the world was quite a lot different than it is now and when travel costs were substantially lower. This means we have exceeded our original budget, and this despite being as measured and frugal as reasonable.
Tax-deductible donations can be made at WorshipRoundtheWorld.com and will be processed by Frontline Missions, an organization committed to advancing the gospel in the world’s difficult places. Frontline previously produced Tim Keesee’s Dispatches from the Front series of films and it is also producing this one. (You should also take a look at Tim’s brand new book A Day’s Journey: Stories of Hope and Death-Defying Joy.)
As we press on with filming at the final locations, then recording voiceovers, writing chapters, and producing episodes, we would ask you to pray for us. Pray that we would finish strong and that the entire production would bless the church and honor the Lord.

I recently came across a wonderful prayer penned by Archibald Alexander many years ago. In it he prays that God would bless and protect him through the years of old age and into the gates of heaven. May his prayer be ours!

O most merciful God, cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength declineth. Now, when I am old and grey-headed, forsake me not; but let Thy grace be sufficient for me; and enable me to bring forth fruit, even in old age. May my hoary head be found in the ways of righteousness! Preserve my mind from dotage and imbecility, and my body from protracted disease and excruciating pain. Deliver me from despondency and discouragement in my declining years, and enable me to bear affliction with patience, fortitude, and perfect submission to Thy holy will.
As, in the course of nature, I must be drawing near to my end, and as I know I must soon put off this tabernacle, I do humbly and earnestly beseech Thee, O Father of mercies, to prepare me for this inevitable and solemn event: Fortify my mind against the terrors of death. Give me, if it please Thee, an easy passage through the gate of death. Dissipate the dark clouds and mists which naturally hang over the grave, and lead me gently down into the gloomy valley. O my kind Shepherd, who hast tasted the bitterness of death for me, and who knowest how to sympathize with and succour the sheep of Thy pasture, be Thou present to guide, to support, and to comfort me. Illumine with beams of heavenly light the valley and shadow of death, so that I may fear no evil. When heart and flesh fail, be Thou the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. Let not my courage fail in the trying hour. Permit not the great adversary to harass my soul in the last struggle, but make me a conqueror and more than a conqueror in this fearful conflict.
I humbly ask that my reason may be continued to the last, and if it be Thy will, that I may be so comforted and supported, that I may leave a testimony in favour of the reality of religion, and Thy faithfulness in fulfilling Thy gracious promises; and that others of Thy servants who may follow after may be encouraged by my example to commit themselves boldly to the guidance and keeping of the Shepherd of Israel.
And when my spirit leaves this clay tenement, Lord Jesus, receive it. Send some of the blessed angels to convoy my inexperienced soul to the mansion which Thy love has prepared. And O! let me be so situated, though in the lowest rank, that I may behold Thy glory. May I have an abundant entrance administered unto me into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; for whose sake, and in whose name, I ask all these things. Amen.