Passion Points

On July 27, 2019July 27, 2019 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

What Dulls Your Appetite for God? – Marshall Segal (DG)
We are prone to let the pleasures and burdens of daily life become excuses for putting off Christ and his commands. When the cost of discipleship rises, when the cross we bear weighs heavier and heavier, we are tempted to scramble for excuses not to come.

Scripture Before Phone, and Other Habits That Could Change Your Life – Trevin Wax
We underestimate the power of habits, especially those we adopt unconsciously, as a result of our busy and hurried lives. We like to think of ourselves as spontaneous and authentic in our worship and work, when in reality we’re enslaved to habits and patterns that dominate our waking moments. As a consequence, we are wonderless in an age of wonders. Our technology has only freed us up . . . to live like slaves.

Lord, Deliver Me from Distraction – Jon Bloom (DG)
We’re becoming conditioned to distraction, and it’s harming our ability to listen and think carefully, to be still, to pray, and to meditate. Which means it is a spiritual danger, an evil from which we need God’s deliverance.

How to Encourage that Preacher – Tim Challies
These are just a few examples of the kind of encouragement preachers love to hear. I expect you’ve noticed that the best ways to encourage a pastor about his preaching are also the best ways to personally gain the most benefit from it. Prepare yourself to bring this kind of encouragement and you’ll prepare yourself to see Jesus instead of the preacher, to better understand the passage, to apply it to your life, and to discuss it with others so you can apply it together.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day hungry for God and His Word!

Passion Points

On July 13, 2019 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

God Has a Plan Through Your Life – Trevin Wax
We might say, then, that God doesn’t have just a plan for your life, but also a plan through your life. His master plan involves not only the circumstances you will confront, but also the good works you will accomplish. God will bless others through you.

What I Pack In My Spiritual First Aid Kit – Tim Challies
As I journey round the world, I know I need to carry a medical first aid kit with me. As I journey through this life, I know I need the spiritual equivalent. It has served me well and, I trust, will continue to as I plod on in this great pilgrimage.

What Our Anger Is Telling Us – Jonathan Parnell (DG)
If we find ourselves angry about getting snubbed in social media, or being cut off in traffic, or going unrecognized for work, or having an idea shut down, or feeling underappreciated by our spouse — the problem might be that we love ourselves too much.

Enjoy Your Summer Vacation—Just Don’t Vacate The Church – Benjamin Inglas (TGC)
The last few years, however, I’ve noticed a trend. It almost seems that as students return home, cottages open, and lakes warm up, Christians begin to adopt a vacational mindset towards the church. The problem here is not planning a few weeks away with the family but the symptoms that emerge when church fellowship is viewed as optional, inconvenient, or even unhelpful. Convinced of the danger of this trend and convicted by my own failure in the matter, here are five reasons why I believe we should all make church a priority not only for the summertime but throughout the year.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Doctrine Collection

On April 24, 2019 By BrianIn Doctrine Collection

Here are some good posts t help you think about God:

10 Things You Should Know about the Trinity – Fred Sanders (Crossway)

10 Things You Should Know about God’s Attributes – Mark Jones (Crossway)

A Vital Yet Neglected Attribute of God (God’s Patience) – Mark Jones (Crossway)

Passion Points

On April 20, 2019 By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your Easter weekend reading:

Enter the Dragon Slayer – Jon Bloom (DG)
Weary years passed as the cursed earth and its depraved inhabitants languished in bondage to corruption. And then, in the fullness of the King’s time, the ancient, mysterious decrees began to unfold. In an unexpected place and an unexpected way, into the world stepped the Dragon Slayer.

10 Things You Should Know about the Cross – Patrick Schreiner (Crossway)
The Christian faith is distinctively Trinitarian and cross-shaped. Therefore, the cross must reveal the Trinity. God the Father sent the Son to save the world, the Son submitted to the Father’s will, and the Spirit applies the work of redemption to Jesus followers.

Salvation by Propitiation – Kevin DeYoung
The God who has always been for us in eternity sent his Son in time to be the wrath-absorbing sacrifice that we might enjoy peace with God for ages unending.

Hymn Stories – Christ The Lord Is Risen Today – Tim Challies
Here are all 11 stanzas published by the Wesleys. It is worth reading through each one thoughtfully, and perhaps especially the ones that we no longer sing. They are rich with biblical allusion and the wonderful implications of Easter.

Hope you have a great Resurrection Sunday!

Ministry Collection

On April 10, 2019April 9, 2019 By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some good posts for pastors:

Burnout Begins with Bad Theology – David Murray (DG)

Should a Pastor Take a Day Off Every Week? – Brian Croft (PS)

How To Control Your Calendar – Mark Dance (F&T)

Family Collection

On April 3, 2019April 1, 2019 By BrianIn Current Collection, Family Collection

Here are some good posts to help parents think about their children and smartphones. You may not agree with everything, but these posts address some important issues and possible approaches.

Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation? – Jean Twenge (Atlantic)

Should Teens Own Smartphones? – Tony Reinke (DG)

Twelve Tips for Parenting in the Digital Age – Tony Reinke (DG)

Passion Points

On March 30, 2019March 30, 2019 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

J. I. Packer on the 6 Things You Should Tell Yourself Every Day – Justin Taylor (TGC)
Spiritual adoption is a big deal for the practical theology of J. I. Packer….

Always Count the Cost – Tim Challies
There are at least four costs to being a Christian—costs that we do not pay once, but over the whole course of our Christian lives….

Help! I Keep Losing My Temper – J. Alasdair Groves (Crossway)
Losing your temper is a lot like losing your car keys—you never choose to and it always seems to happen at the worst moments.

Specific Ways You Can Pray for Your Pastor – Geoffrey R. Kirkland
1. To have an insatiable hunger for God’s Word.
2. To feed regularly & be filled joyfully from communing with God in His Word….

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Ministry Collection

On March 27, 2019March 25, 2019 By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some good posts on preaching:

Two Common Mistakes Preachers Make – John Piper (DG)

5 Myths about Preaching – Joel Beeke (Crossway)

3 Things Not to Do After You Preach – Dave Harvey (TGC)

Passion Points

On March 23, 2019March 23, 2019 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Why We Grow So Slowly – Ray Ortlund
In his Thoughts on Religious Experience, Archibald Alexander asked why we grow so slowly as Christians….

Let’s Just Be Honest and Admit We Hate One Another – Mike Leake
…hatred does four things. First, it keeps alive ill feelings towards others. It keeps stoking the flames. Secondly, it continually finds faults at the infirmities of others. Thirdly, it turns the least little slip into a big deal. And lastly, it has deep bitterness toward the most trifling or even imaginary thing—it wants to be mad.

Six Steps Out of Disappointment – David Murray (DG)
Our hopes are dashed. Our dreams are shattered. Our expectations are unfulfilled. External events and the decisions of others produce the agony of disappointment….how do we recover from it?

The Key To Making the Most Out of Congregational Singing – Tim Challies
When you know the people, you know their song. While you sing with them, you sing for them. You sing not as fifty or a hundred individuals, but as a single community. You sing to minister and you sing to be ministered to.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!