What a week. I’m glad Friday is here, though it looks like our weekend is going to be even busier than the week that was. Nevertheless, I always look forward to a good weekend and this one is no exception. But first things first.

Andrew Case writes unique books, which is saying something when hundreds of thousands of new titles are being published each year. He writes books of prayers--prayers that are drawn almost entirely from Scripture. Each book is targeted to a very specific readership and contains prayers uniquely suited to that type of person. Today he would like to give you a couple of his books: Setting Their Hope in God and your choice of Water of the Word or Prayers of an Excellent Wife.

Setting Their Hope in God is a practical prayer-book designed to help parents intercede for their children consistently and biblically. Here’s a blurb I wrote as an endorsement: “As a father, I continually feel inadequate to the task of praying for the three precious children God has entrusted to me. I understand that I need to pray and I genuinely want to pray. Yet I am so often lost when it comes to knowing how. In Setting Their Hope in God, Andrew Case turns to the ultimate prayer book, the Bible, to craft prayers for parents who want to see their children turn to the Lord, to live for the Lord, to honor him with their lives. I am convinced that this book will prove an indispensable resource to many mothers and fathers as they seek to hold up their children before the throne of grace.”

Water of the Word is a practical prayer-book designed to help husbands intercede for their wives consistently and biblically while Prayers of an Excellent Wife is the equivalent book for wives. Of the former, Bruce Ware says "Andrew Case has provided an ingenious and glorious tool for Christian husbands, one that has the potential of binding husbands and wives ever closer together while these prayers seek more intimate relationship between their wives and their God. By employing themes, principles, promises, and pleas from Scripture itself, Case has crafted hundreds of rich and meaningful prayers that any and every Christian husband can pray for his own wife." And of the latter, Mary Mohler writes "Prayers of An Excellent Wife provides a template that if used properly will indeed produce excellent wives who faithfully and passionately pray God's word for their precious husbands."

Giveaway Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

Whenever it comes to putting together a new Free Stuff Fridays post, I find myself skimming back over the other things I’ve written during the week that was. This week I wrote a lot about technology and reading. I suppose that shows what has been on my mind over the past few days.

Speaking of reading, today’s Free Stuff Fridays gives you the opportunity to win a few new books. It is sponsored by Zondervan, a publisher you know well (and will know better once you buy my book The Next Story, set for release next April!). They are offering 5 prize packages, each of which contains the following 3 books:

• Christian Beliefs by Wayne Grudem. “A basic guide to twenty Christian beliefs that is solid, yet readable, and not intimidating for new believers and Christians in general. Includes chapter review questions.”
• Introducing the New Testament, Abridged Edition by Andy Naselli, D.A. Carson & Douglas Moo. “Abridgement of An Introduction to the New Testament. This abridged edition of an established major textbook brings the best of New Testament scholarship to the church and makes it accessible to the average reader. Focusing on historical questions dealing with authorship, date, sources, purpose, and destination of the New Testament books, this book will help a new generation of students and church leaders better grasp the message of the New Testament.”
• A Place for Weakness by Michael Horton. “The good news that God's Word proclaims is a recipe to use in times of disaster. That is to say, it comes as a relevant announcement only to those who are in trouble for one reason or another. A Place for Weakness, formerly titled Too Good to Be True, by award-winning Michael Horton, calls for more realism in facing life's challenges and a richer view of God and his purposes to match them.”

I have read all or part of all three of these books and recommend each one of them.

Again, Zondervan is offering 5 prize packages, each of which will contain all 3 books.

Giveaway Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

This was one of the busiest weeks on record, I think. I am coming up fast on the deadline for my next book, am about to spend a couple of days recording the audio book of Sexual Detox and have to preach twice this Sunday. So all-in-all a bit of a crazy week. I’m glad that it’s coming to a close and am looking forward to a weekend!

But before we get to the weekend, we have a Friday and with it, a new edition of Free Stuff Fridays. This week’s giveaway is sponsored by AMG. They are giving away five prizes, each of which is a magazine subscription and a Study Bible.

Disciple Magazine is an online-only, bi-weekly e-magazine published by AMG (Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel) International, a non-denominational missions organization based in Chattanooga, Tenn. AMG's distinctive has always been its reliance on national workers to carry the Gospel in their own cultures, and Disciple serves to equip and encourage our national workers. It is also geared to help pastors, Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, and other teachers of the Word fulfill their role as "national workers" in English-speaking countries.

The concept of being and making disciples of Jesus is core to our faith. "Disciple" is translated from the Greek term mathetes, meaning a learner or pupil. In that sense, we are called to be "students" of Christ, the incarnate Word of God. Disciple Magazine exists to assist and equip believers for deeper understanding and application of Scripture and God's call to "make disciples of all the nations" (Matt. 28:19) and has purposed to be distinctive in tying personal growth to obedience to God's kingdom purposes--growth not for growth's sake, but for Christ's mission.

AMG also operates a book publishing division, best known for their Hebrew-Greek KeyWord Study Bible. This unique tool combines the English text (NASB) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, linking the key words of each verse to their referent in the original text of Scripture. It also includes throrough study notes and a lexical aid with in-depth studies of hundreds of important biblical Hebrew and Greek words.

This week's free offer is for five prizes, each of which includes a 1-year subscription to Disciple Magazine ($15.00 value) and one NASB Hebrew-Greek KeyWord Study Bible ($49.99 value).

Giveaway Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

This Friday seems to have come around really, really quickly. My math tells me that it’s come no faster than any other Friday. And yet…

Nevertheless, it is time for a new edition of Free Stuff Fridays. This week’s sponsor is Crossway, a company that will always mean a lot to me for being the one to take a chance on me as a first-time author.

The prize package they are offering features two great books that, even if you don’t want for your own purposes, you’ll want to win in order to give to someone else. The first is Church Planting Is For Wimps by Mike McKinley and the second is Church Planter by Darrin Patrick. McKinley’s book comes from IX Marks Ministries while Patrick’s comes from Acts29; both organizations are very involved in church planting and both of these titles come highly recommended.

In Church Planter “The vice president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network examines the biblical criteria of the man, the message, and the mission behind every church plant. An invaluable resource for both pastors and seminary students considering a church plant and for those seeking to better understand the gospel in their own churches.” Meanwhile, in Church Planting Is For Wimps, you’ll see that “the story of a church’s revitalization counters a common conception that a church’s size determines its health and points pastors to the faithful ministry of God’s Word.”

Though the books are on the same subject, they approach it from very different angles and complement one another well. Crossway is offering five prizes, each of which will contain both books.

Giveaway Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

It wouldn’t be Friday without a new edition of Free Stuff Friday, would it? This week’s sponsor is one you know well: Moody Publishers. They would like to introduce you to some of their new products and to do this they’ve put together a pretty good prize package for you. Five people will win a package of six different books.

Each winner will receive:

Due to a vaction that extended from one Friday to the next, it has been two weeks since the last edition of Free Stuff Fridays. I know that this must have been a sore trial for those of you who visit only on Fridays hoping to win some free books! Nevertheless, I’m sure you survived. Today we’re finally back with a new giveaway.

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is once again sponsored by the new CBDReformed.com. You know who they are by now, I’m sure, since they’ve become a regular sponsor of this giveaway.

CBDReformed is offering five prize packages, each of which will contain the following three books:

• Grounded in the Gospel by J.I. Packer
• What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
• You Can Change by Tim Chester

In addition, CBDReformed is offering a 3 day sale (July 23-25) on the following two products. These deals are available immediately and for anyone who cares to take advantage of them.

• Radical by David Platt (Retails $14.99 / Sale $7.99)
• A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ by Emil Shurer (Retails $199.95/ Sale $24.99)

Giveaway Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by a publisher that kind of feels like an old friend (and not just because the guy who heads it up here in North America is both old and a friend). I’m speaking of Banner of Truth. Banner has a long and faithful history of providing great books to God’s people. They were Reformed long before it was cool to be Young, Restless or Reformed.

This week they are giving away five prize packages, each of which contains the following three books:

• My God Is True: Lessons Learned Along Cancer’s Dark Road by Paul Wolfe
• All Things for Good, a Puritan Paperback by Thomas Watson
• Living Faith, a Pocket Puritan by Samuel Ward

My God Is True is a book about which I’ve heard lots of good things. It is a book that deals with one Christian’s fight against cancer. Nearly everyone knows someone who has had cancer. “But do we know well the Bible’s teaching that will strengthen us in the face of it? Everyone undergoes testing and trials. But do we do so trusting firmly in the goodness, wisdom and power of God? Here is a book that will help. My God Is True! is one man’s chronicle of cancer and the lessons he learned through it. In these pages Paul Wolfe tells his story of diagnosis, treatment and survival, and he points to the glory and grace of God along the way. Above all he points to the faithfulness of God, whose promises will certainly prove true. Read this story and be reminded that there is good reason - even in the midst of suffering - to worship and rejoice.”

It comes highly praised by Alistair Begg and Sinclair Ferguson. I’ll leave you to explore the other two books, both written by Puritans.

Giveaway Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

I had all sorts of wonderful plans on what I was going to write today. It was going to be witty and compelling and brilliant. But then I realized with a start that it’s Friday and that I’m due to speak at a men’s retreat this evening. There are several hours of driving between myself and the location of that retreat, so I need to be on my way (where on earth did this week go?). However, I do have this edition of Free Stuff Fridays for you. I trust it will prove a suitable alternative!

This week’s giveaway is once again sponsored by the new CBDReformed.com. It is, you remember, a storefront owned and operated by Christian Book Distributors and one geared specifically toward a Reformed audience. They say “In order to serve an important segment of our customers more fully, we have developed a more focused website with author, publisher, and product selections reflective of the topics, issues, and concerns of discerning readers from a reformed perspective.  We intentionally feature new and classic titles you’re looking for, authors you appreciate, and viewpoints you value. This increased concentration of thoughtful resources ensures that they will not get lost in the standard mix of a more general product line.”

CBDReformed is offering five prize packages, each of which will contain the following three books:

• Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus by D.A. Carson (Retail price $15.99)
• George Washington’s Sacred Fire by Peter A. Lillback (Retail price $24.95)
• The Godly Home by Richard Baxter (Retail price $17.99)

In addition, CBDReformed is offering a 3 day sale (June 25-28) on the following two products. These are available immediately and for anyone who cares to take advantage of them.

• The Cross of Christ by John Stott — CBD exclusive edition (only paperback edition available); retail $17.99/sale $6.99
• ESV Study Bible hardcover 50% off; retail $49.99/sale $24.99

Giveaway Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

This week’s sponsor of Free Stuff Friday is Ligonier Ministries; you know them well, I’m sure. And today they are offering a great prize package that contains stuff to read and stuff to listen to—they’ve got a new book and an old classic, a classic teaching series and a series of new conference messages. All-in-all it’s a set of resources that will draw you to the holiness of God.

They are offering 5 prize packages, each of which contains:

• Holy, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God
• The Holiness of God CD teaching series
• The Holiness of God 2009 Conference CDs
• Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul

Holy, Holy, Holy is a brand new book; the winners of this giveaway will be about the first people to get their hands on it. “Holy, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God offers a corrective. Here, the holiness of God is defined, explored, and praised by a lineup of leading evangelical pastors and scholars, who show how it affects our worship, doctrine, and personal walks with Christ. Contributors include Thabiti Anyabwile, Alistair Begg, Don Carson, Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, Robert Godfrey, Steven J. Lawson, Albert Mohler, R.C. Sproul, R.C. Sproul Jr., and Derek Thomas.”

Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by a new site and one that actually just launched yesterday. CBDReformed.com is a storefront owned and operated by Christian Book Distributors and one geared specifically toward a Reformed audience. They say “In order to serve an important segment of our customers more fully, we have developed a more focused website with author, publisher, and product selections reflective of the topics, issues, and concerns of discerning readers from a reformed perspective.  We intentionally feature new and classic titles you’re looking for, authors you appreciate, and viewpoints you value. This increased concentration of thoughtful resources ensures that they will not get lost in the standard mix of a more general product line.”

In addition to the handpicked product list, they offer:

• Competitive pricing
• An extensive variety of categories (theology, church history, biblical studies, homeschooling, church supplies, Bibles, preaching and pastoral, curricula, family discipleship, and more)
• Immediate availability of bestsellers, backlist titles, classic sets, and hard-to-find items
• Renowned customer service
• The convenience of a one-stop shopping experience.

And this week they are sponsored Free Stuff Fridays. They are offering 5 prize packages, each of which contains 3 books:

• Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper
• Radical by David Platt
• Ministries of Mercy by Tim Keller

Rules: You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.