Another Friday, but a slightly different one for me. I am spending the day with the other elders at Grace Fellowship Church and together we are praying for our church and planning how we can lead it in the months and years to come. Good times!

But meanwhile, I’ve got another great giveaway for you. This week’s sponsor is CBD Reformed, a company you know well by now. They are offering 5 prizes, each of which will consist of the following 3 books:

• Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller - Retail price $19.95
• The Westminister Theological Wordbook of the Bible - Retail price $39.95
• The Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney - Retail price $9.99

I suppose you know about Mahaney’s and Keller’s books, but the other looks interesting as well. “Biblical words and phrases often appear deceptively simple, yet conceal layers of history, meaning, and cultural significance. This enlightening resource takes you to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek roots of many key terms: ‘Justice’, ‘Son of Man,’ ‘Resurrection,’ ‘Kingdom of God,’ and explains the profound theological and ethical concepts behind the words they embody.”

They are also offering a 4-day sale (September 24-27) on these books. This sale is open to anyone who cares to take advantage of it. Those Henry commentaries for $30 look like a pretty good deal!

• Knowing God by J. I. Packer - retail $18.00/sale $7.99
• Matthew Henry Commentary 6-volume set - retail $129.95/sale $29.99
• John Wyclif: Myth and Reality - retail $25.00/sale $4.49

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’s Friday today, which means I need to try to not react with surprise that yet another week has drawn to an end. I’m not even going to mention it!

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays sponsor is Ligonier Ministries, a sponsor you know well by now. Ligonier is offering one really, really impressive grand prize and 4 smaller prizes. The grand prize is, well, grand. It includes:

• Complimentary registration and a hotel room for 2 to the 2011 Orlando National Conference (so the winner can bring a friend or spouse).
• Reformation Study Bible (ESV), Leather-Like version
• Free 3-year subscription to Tabletalk magazine
• Holy, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God
• Dust to Glory DVD
• My Cry Ascends Music CD

Next year’s National Conference, Light and Heat: A Passion for the Holiness of God, looks like it will be quite an event. It will feature John Piper and R.C. Sproul along with Sinclair Ferguson, Steve Lawson, Robert Godfrey and R.C. Sproul Jr. It promises to be unique, as these things go. In his invitation to the conference Sproul mentions one thing that looks like it will be particularly interesting: “John and I will also host special sessions on the history of the work of both Ligonier and Desiring God, and we will endeavor to share some of what we have learned in our ministries as pastors and theologians.” I’m looking forward to seeing how these two men draw their ministries and their lifelong passions together.

There are four other prizes for those who are not predestined to win the grand prize. Each of those 4 winners will receive one of the following items (chosen randomly):

• My Cry Ascends CD
• A 1-year subscription to Tabletalk magazine
• Holy, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God
• A set of R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions booklets

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’ve got a new sponsor to introduce you to this morning—Kress Biblical Resources. Kress publishes books by quite a few different authors, many of whom are in one way or another connected to John MacArthur and The Master’s Seminary. “Kress Biblical Resources is setting a new standard in timely, clear, and doctrinally sound books and resources for pastors and Bible students. Our authors are approved workmen, not celebrities. Our books are designed to stand the test of exegesis, not chase after every new wind of doctrine.”

They are offering a total of ten prizes and each of the winners will be able to decide which prize package they would prefer. These packages come in two flavors:

Pastor & Teacher

The first prize package includes three books that are geared toward pastors and teachers. This includes:

• The Pastoral Epistles for Pastors is a unique blend of exegesis and exposition. Its 624 pages include study of the Greek, and English text, application tools, expositional outlines, and annotated bibliography on the pastoral epistles.
• In The Discipline of Mercy, pastors and counselors Eric Kress and Paul Tautges take us deep into the book of Lamentations where we are exhorted to place our hope fully in the faithful mercy and loyal love of a gracious God--no matter the extent of our suffering
• God in Everyday Life combines a few of the varied elements and styles of different types of study aids into one resource, in order to facilitate the biblical exposition and application of the book of Ruth. This is an expositional commentary, along with tools to help apply the biblical text.

General Readers

The second prize package is geared toward general readers and includes three books targeted at the rest of us (and written by Greg Harris). This includes:

• The Cup and the Glory takes the reader on a profound study through the Scriptures, uncovering biblical truths on how to respond to, and embrace suffering to the glory of God.
• The Darkness and the Glory examines the cross from Christs perspective and provides a compelling behind-the-scenes look at the profound spiritual and theological realities of Calvaryrealities that transcend the physical, as the wrath of man was surpassed by both the wrath of Satan and ultimately the wrath of God.
• In The Stone and the Glory, Greg Harris takes his readers on a profound journey through the Scriptures as they explore the glorious realities of the stone prophecies

Here is a video of John MacArthur discussing these books and their author:

Again, there will be a total of ten winners. Each winner will be given the option of choosing the General Reader package or the Pastor & Teacher package.

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 sponsor is Moody Publishers. That is a name well-known around these parts as they regularly sponsor these giveaways. This week they are offering a prize package that contains four new books. Five winners will each be sent these four titles:

Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church — Soong-Chan Rah’s book will spur individuals, churches, and parachurch ministries toward more effectively bearing witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News for people of every racial and cultural background. Borrowing from the business concept of “cultural intelligence,” he explores how God’s people can become more multicuturally adept.

Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman - "Most people spend far more time in preparation for their vocation that they do in preparation for marriage," says Dr. Gary Chapman. So he put together this practical little book, packed with wisdom and tips that will help many develop a loving, supportive marriage. It's the type of information that Gary himself wished he had before he got married.

Experience God as Your Provider: Finding Financial Stability in Unstable Times by Brian Kluth - What does it mean to experience God as your provider? Begin to build your finances and life on the solid rock of God's Word and learn to become a generous person. An easy to read book to help you manage your life under the leadership of Christ.

Holy Ambition: Turning God-Shaped Dreams into Reality by Chip Ingram - What does it mean to walk with Jesus and live out your faith? Holy Ambition teaches readers, through the life of Nehemiah, how to live biblically with a Kingdom perspective. Radical faith-filled strategies to help you make a difference now!

Again, there are a total of five prize packages, each of which will receive all four 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.

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.