Category: PASSION Collections

Passion Ethics

On By BrianIn Current Collection

Here are some updates on some important current religious freedom issues:

Saeed Abedini, American pastor jailed in Iran, denied medication, family says – Fox News Iranian jailers have denied crucial medication to Pastor Saeed Abedini, the American citizen imprisoned there for his faith, according to the Idaho resident’s family and legal team.
Here are some ways you can help.

Home School Legal Defense Association Files Romeike v. Holder with U.S. Supreme Court – CrossMap
HSLDA Chairman and principal author of the petition, Michael Farris, said that the Court should intervene for the sake of justice.  “The United States should be a place of asylum for those who are persecuted because of their decision to follow their core religious beliefs,” he said.  “Parents, not the government, decide first how children are educated. Germany’s notorious persecution of families who homeschool violates their own obligations to uphold human rights standards and must end.”
Farris has called for a day of prayer on November 17 in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s November 26 decision on whether to hear this case as well as Hobby Lobby’s case.

Hobby Lobby asks US Supreme Court to take up case over federal birth-control coverage mandate – Fox News
Lawyers for the Oklahoma City-based craft store chain and its sister company, Mardel Christian bookstore, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case because of what they say are conflicting decisions by other courts regarding religious freedom.
And in related cases, Freshway Foods wins its initial lawsuit, and Cornerstone University – one of the schools I attended – adds its own lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, Cornerstone University joins Dordt College in filing a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration unconstitutional mandate that employers – including religious ones – provide insurance coverage that facilitates access to drugs that can induce abortions. – See more at: http://www.cornerstone.edu/details.aspx?p=19E2931D85131112&ppid=56597&naid=EBD15E2C1F34E07C#sthash.h04UvDbg.dpuf

Ministry Monday

On By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some helpful posts for a pastor’s relationship with his family.  The last two are actually short video discussions featuring Kent Hughes, Voddie Baucham, and Joshua Harris.

Pastoring Your Family – Jason Helopoulos

Good Pastor? Bad Parent? – Gospel Coalition

What’s the Best Thing You Did for Your Kids? – Gospel Coalition

 

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some helpful posts on getting into the Word for your weekend reading:

7 Arrows for Bible Reading – Matt Rogers (via Trevin Wax)
A helpful approach for digging into the Word on your own or in a group.

How To Be Better Bereans (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three) – Kevin DeYoung
The Jews in Berea, it is said, were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). How telling–for them and for us–that nobility is measured not by titles, land, parentage, wealth, or degrees, but by how we handle the word of God. Our approach to the Scriptures sets us apart as riff-raff or royalty.  So how do we become better Bereans?

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day digging into the Word!

Family Focus

On By BrianIn Family Collection

Here are some important and really helpful posts for parents:

18 Things I Will Not Regret Doing With My Children – Tim Challies

Parents, Require Obedience of Your Children – John Piper (DG)

Is Your Child a Christian? – Brian Croft (GC)

How to Guard Sabbath for Your Children – Jen Wilkin (GC)

Ministry Monday

On By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some great thoughts on ministry:

3 Lessons I Learned from a Pastoral Mentor – Chris Castaldo (GC)

Everything I Know about Pastoral Ministry I Learned Riding with Pastors – Thabiti Anyabwile

Ministry Means War: 10 Lessons Seminary Never Taught Me – Jeff Robinson (GC)

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Five Facts About Loving God – Jason DeRouchie (Desiring God)
With an echo of the call to love God with all, Moses opens Deuteronomy 10 by calling Israel to maintain radical God-centeredness (Deuteronomy 10:12–13). Yahweh is always to be the blazing center in his people’s solar system. He then notes that such wholehearted, life-encompassing allegiance to God was warranted from Israel because he created them and because he rescued them from Egyptian slavery (Deuteronomy 10:14–15). In light of these truths, Moses then applies the call to radical love for God into Israel’s everyday lives, and in the process, he reveals how far they were from God’s ideal. I see five significant points regarding love for God in these verses….

The Christian Traveller – Jeremy Walker (Reformation 21)
Looking about me, I was struck by the prominent ways and means in words and in deeds by which various of my fellow wanderers were proclaiming their personal identity and spiritual allegiance….  All of which fascinating tableau left me asking, “By what means should I, as a Christian traveller, communicate my personal identity and spiritual allegiance?”

What You Should Say After Every Week of Work – Trevin Wax
And like I do every week, I will whisper to myself as I walk out the door: “And God saw that it was good.”

9 Things You Should Know About Persecution of Christians in 2013 – Joe Carter (GC)
Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today. As we pray for the persecuted church, here are nine things you should know about the plight of believers around the globe….

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day of rest and prayer!

Ministry Monday

On By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some helpful posts on worship for pastors and worship leaders:

What Is Worship? – Matt Mason (TGC Worship)
Some helpful summaries…

Scripture in Worship – Joe Thorn
Because God’s word is what revives the soul, makes us wise, enlightens the eyes, and is the means by which God sanctifies us (Ps. 19; Jn. 17:17), we should be eager to give it a prominent place in our worship. While it is common to read the Scripture with the sermon and before the Lord’s Supper, I want to suggest 5 more places in worship where the word of God can be lifted up.

Truth We Believe and Songs We Sing – Matt Smethurst (Gospel Coalition)
Sound theology should shape everything we do in corporate worship. But what does that mean for music in particular? Don Carson recently sat down with worship leaders Keith Getty and Matt Boswell to discuss the relationship between the truth we believe and the songs we sing.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Do People Bark? – John Starke (Gospel Coalition)
Christians base the dignity of a “person” on the imago Dei. Created in the image of God, humans have been given status and dignity above all other creatures in this world. We’ve been given the ability to make sense of the world and make something of it.

A Friend of Sinners and No Friend of Sin – Kevin DeYoung
The gospel–if we are talking about the true gospel–works through repentance and relationships. We need both. Jesus had relationships with sinners and tax collectors. And through those relationships what did he call them to do? He didn’t say call them to self-expression, or invite them to despise religious people, or summon them to eat, drink, and be merry (in our language: eat, drink, and be tolerant). He called them to repentance. One commentator says, “Jesus neither condoned sin, left people in their sin, nor communicated any disdain for sinners.”

The Loving Intolerance of God – Melissa Kruger (Gospel Coalition)
The cross demonstrates God’s character in all its complexity. It shows his love, kindness, and mercy united with his justice, holiness, and wrath. It perfectly demonstrates a God who surpasses understanding. The Lord is giving us a glimpse into the immensity of his love for us. The love of God is not a tolerant love. It is much better. It is a redemptive love.

What Makes A Full Atonement Full? – Mike Wittmer (Gospel Coalition)
The cross isn’t an act of love without penal substitution, because love is only love if it does something. If the cross isn’t necessary for God to forgive us, then what would be the point? If the cross is merely God expressing his solidarity with sinners, then why didn’t he simply use his outdoor voice and say, “Attention, people of Earth! I love you and I’m on your side!” The Father was silent when his Son begged for any other way, which proves that God believes the cross was necessary to defeat sin, death, and Satan.

Light Eternal, Shine in My Heart – Alcuin of York, 735-804 A.D. (via Trevin Wax)
Give me, O Lord, I ask You, firm faith, unwavering hope, perfect charity…

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our great God and Savior!

Passion Ethics

On By BrianIn Current Collection8 Comments

So a federal judge may overturn Michigan’s state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman.  Maybe it is time to think about so called same-sex marriage some more:

The Case for Marriage – Brief video by Iona Institute (via Kevin DeYoung)

The New Purpose of Marriage – Collin Hansen (Gospel Coalition)

Three More Thoughts on the Gay Marriage Debate – Kevin DeYoung

The Myth of a Grand Bargain on Marriage – Robert George (via Kevin DeYoung)