My gratitude goes to P&R Publishing for sponsoring the blog this week so they could tell you about a tremendous new resource: Perfect Unity by Ralph Cunnington.
Today’s Kindle deals include quite an extensive list of titles.
(Yesterday on the blog: Gospel Generosity)

This is a fascinating and thought-provoking article about the church.

Nathan Eshelman reimagines the famous “love chapter” in Corinthians. While he does so in ways specific to his denomination, I expect you will be able to make the bridge to your own.

Paul Levy celebrates Jesus and the way he draws us to himself. “He makes an offer you can’t refuse. You are not forcing yourself to believe, your arm is not twisted. We were drawn willingly by Jesus Christ. He calls us to believe by his Word and his Spirit.”

“You don’t have to be a hitman or tribal headhunter to use violence to serve your ambition. You can commit violence to someone’s name, reputation, or finances. Violence is a frame of mind before it is a physical act. It is an ends-justify-the-means philosophy. You harden your heart to the pain you inflict on others in order to advance yourself.”

Writing for TGC Canada, Dwayne Cline has a helpful look at the six responsibilities of the elders of every church. “God emphasizes the character traits He is looking for in an elder because an elder represents Him before the church and the world. Character can be easily overlooked when a church is desperate for leadership. Because God is concerned with His integrity and glory, character is of utmost importance.”

“I want to go deeper; I desire to have more robust communion with God. That’s the struggle for all Christians, isn’t it? Or, at the very least, it should be. We should all want deeper fellowship with the Lord. Every single one of us should sincerely desire to have a more profound experience with God. Deeper communion leads to deeper sanctification.”

We make our way more difficult when we give ourselves over to sin. Every sin is a weight, every vice a heavy load to our souls. Sin burdens the mind, clouds the judgment, afflicts the conscience.

Some preachers evidently do not believe that the Lord is with their gospel, because, in order to attract and save sinners, their gospel is insufficient, and they have to add to it inventions of men.
—Charles Spurgeon

Here’s your occasional reminder that the complete collection of the quote graphics I share each day is available (categorized, organized, and completely free to download in high resolution) at SquareQuotes.church.

Is pastoral work uniquely difficult?
Andrew Roycroft has a good and helpful response to a recent article that made a splash. Is pastoral work uniquely difficult? No, yes, and it’s complicated, he says. (Also, don’t forget that if pastoral work has unique difficulties it also has unique blessings…)
Remember King Jesus
Trevin Wax: “There’s a command in the New Testament we ought to lift up as the orienting aspiration for our lives. It’s from the apostle Paul just before his execution, in the last of his letters. It’s given to Timothy, his son in the faith, alongside other instructions for Christian life and leadership.”
Preemptive Parenting in Proverbs 1:
Mitchell Chase looks to Proverbs to consider the importance of preemptive parenting.
Pride will destroy you, your ministry, and people around you
This article turns to an Old Testament example to sound the warning about pride.
Concatenation
“Concatenation. When you learn a cool theological word like concatenation, you want to drop it in conversation all the time! Of course, there aren’t many contexts that concatenation fits right into. Throwing it around also sounds pretty pretentious, so I’ve contained my use of concatenation to sessions. As it represents a key aspect of growth in sanctification, it’s quite useful there.”
On Converting Our Fears into Requests and Living for God Through Christ
This is a keen observation about the verse we tend to quote when we consider our fears. “Perhaps one of the most important observations to make about this passage is that the test of someone’s faithfulness in handling fear is not in not experiencing it but in what one does with it. It is too easy to pat ourselves on the back for not being anxious about anything.”
Flashback: Parent Love and Grandparent Love
I beg you: Please pray! Please intercede before God on their behalf. Perhaps you can simply commit that you will pray for each of your grandchildren each day. And perhaps you can let them know that you have made that commitment

If we do not believe in hell—if we think the only justice and retribution to be had is in this life—then we must take revenge into our own hands. Without hell, justice must be forcibly executed by us, or it will not be executed at all. —Dane Ortlund

May the Lord bless and keep you this weekend.

Today’s Kindle deals include some older works and a newer one.
Are PhD pastors better pastors?
This question was recently asked in a roundtable. While the answers were just fine, Stephen Kneale did offer some further thoughts that I found helpful.
Rejoicing in Suffering
Guy Richard thinks of Paul rejoicing in his suffering and says, “Surely we all find this statement to be a little overwhelming. Some of us may even be intimidated by it. How can Paul say this? How can suffering be something that anyone rejoices in, ever?”
The Wonder and Joy of Advent
Barbaranne Kelly: “Amid all the tumult and strife of our weary world, we long for peace. Bombarded by cynicism and sarcasm we seek for simple, childlike wonder. Drowning in heartache and pain, we hope, however faintly, for joy.”
Where Are All the Heretical Bishops in the Second Century?
You don’t need to know a ton about church history to see the the importance of this question: Where are all the heretical bishops on the second century?
When Christmas Uncovers Difficult Memories
Lara d’Entremont looks at Mary’s prayer and a favorite psalm and asks, “What if this were our prayer this Christmas? I often get caught up in the whys. Why did God allow such a stressful birth? Why did God allow one of our twins to be so small and struggle so much? Why did he allow breastfeeding to be so difficult? Why did he allow my mental health to suffer so much during this?”
Linguistic Violence
Carl Trueman: “Once upon a time it was assumed that words reflected reality. At least, it was assumed that some words did, such as ‘man’ and ‘woman.’ That assumption in turn rested upon the notion that the world had a particular structure and shape. In our present age, both of these ideas are proving unpopular.”
Flashback: 10 Ideas and 10 Tips for Family Devotions in 2019
A new year is just about upon us, and as it dawns, we have a new opportunity to lead our families in devotions. Whether you’ve been utterly consistent or mightily struggling, here are 10 ideas and 10 tips that may help as you consider the year to come.

If God is holy, then he can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then he can’t sin against me. If he can’t sin against me, shouldn’t that make him the most trustworthy being there is? —Jackie Hill Perry