Great Deal on Dan Phillips’ New Book

My friend Dan Phillips‘ second book is out. Today and tomorrow, it’s available for half price. You can get the deal here.

God’s Wisdom in Proverbs comes highly recommended, including this endorsement from James Hamilton, associate professor of Biblical Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:  ”This is the first book I would recommend for those wanting to study Proverbs.”

Note: The advertised price is $24.99. Use the coupon code under the product description (PLXUF10LALPY6) to get the discount.

Hesselgrave on Gospel Meditations for Missions

David J. Hesselgrave, Emeritus Professor of Mission at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and one of the most influential missiologists of this generation, has written the following endorsement of Gospel Meditations for Missions, the new devotional from ChurchWorksMedia.com:

“Have you noticed?  Currently we Christians are blest with a variety of books highlighting the Christian mission—why Christ saves us from sin and then leaves us in a such a sinful world at such a stressful time. For that we should thank God and greatly rejoice—except for one thing.  Some authors misconstrue what the mission really is. Not Anderson, Crowley, Hosaflook, Keese, and Tyrpak, however.  They define, defend and describe biblical mission in ways as arresting and unique as their names.  And in so doing they deepen both our understanding of what God is doing in the world and our desire to join Him in the doing of it!  This book is something.  Buy it; read it; pray it; and commend it to a friend.”

We’re thankful for such a kind endorsement from such a respected source. You can pre-order Gospel Meditations for Missions here.

(By the way, this would make an affordable and edifying Christmas gift. Ask Dave!)

Thomas Watson on Love for Flawed Brothers

I’m reading All Things for Good (which also goes by the title A Divine Cordial), Thomas Watson’s classic exposition of Romans 8:28. The following thoughts regarding love for fellow believers are challenging—especially the last line of each paragraph (which I’ve highlighted):

“We love a saint, though he has many personal failings. There is no perfection here. In some, rash anger prevails; in some, inconstancy; in some, too much love of the world. A saint in this life is like gold in the ore, much dross of infirmity cleaves to him, yet we love him for the grace that is in him. A saint is like a fair face with a scar: we love the beautiful face of holiness, though there be a scar in it. The best emerald has its blemishes, the brightest star their twinklings, and the best of the saints have their failings. You that cannot love another because of his infirmities, how would you have God love you?

“We love the saints though in some lesser things they differ from us. Perhaps another Christian has not so much light as you, and that may make him err in some things; will you presently unsaint him because he cannot come up to your light? Where there is union in fundamentals, there ought to be union in affections.“

Pre-Order Gospel Meditations for Missions

ChurchWorksMedia.com is now taking pre-orders for its new publication, Gospel Meditations for Missions. GM4Missions is a stirring 31-day devotional written by Chris Anderson, Joe Tyrpak, and guest writers JD Crowley, David Hosaflook, and Tim Keesee. Books will ship in early December. Order here.

More information to follow. Please help get the word out.

New Choral Piece: Waves of Praise

Molly Ijames and I recently teamed on a choral piece entitled Waves of Praise. Molly did a masterful job with the composition, and it has been recognized as an “Editor’s Choice” by JW Pepper. Her cascading accompaniment beautifully conveys the ideas of the text. It’s a new genre for me—an art project, not a hymn, and thus a bit more figurative. Still, while it stretched me a bit, it was a joy to meditate on Scripture’s frequent use of water imagery to describe various aspects of the Christian life. The text culminates with an allusion to Habakkuk 2:14′s prophecy of God’s ultimate, irresistible triumph: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

You can order the piece here, hear the demo here, and read the text below. Grace.

Waves of Praise

Let waves of praise ascend to God
In answer to His love;
So love, poured down and spread abroad,
Like tide, returns above.

Let springs of gladness rise to God
From grateful hearts below—
Each song a swell of praise and laud,
Each pray’r, an overflow.

Let streams of life be sent from God
And run through all the earth,
That souls too dry for bloom or bud
May drink and know rebirth!

Let waves of praise ascend to God—
An ocean, full and free!—
Till glory, like a mighty flood,
Consumes the world like sea.

Copyright 2012 SoundForth. All rights reserved.

Borrowing Brains: Missionaries, Unfiltered

I’m leading a discussion about the local church and missionaries in a few days. Not a big thing—just a local pastor’s fellowship. I’m wondering if missionaries who read could chime in on two questions:

1. What are some things churches and pastors have done that were especially encouraging to you, whether during deputation, field ministry, or furlough? (What should we start or keep doing to energize you?)

2. What are some things churches and pastors have done that were especially discouraging to you, whether during deputation, field ministry, or furlough? (What should we avoid doing so we don’t deflate you?)

Obviously, be general enough so that no one knows of whom you’re speaking. But please be candid. Thanks!