Category: PASSION Points

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Medicine for Motivation – Kevin DeYoung (via Crossway)
Here are just some of the ways in which the Bible motivates us to pursue holiness….

A Mighty Army of Deeply Spiritual Men – John Piper (via Jared Wilson)
Where are the men with a moral vision for their families, a zeal for the house of the Lord, a magnificent commitment to the advancement of the kingdom, an articulate dream for the mission of the church and a tenderhearted tenacity to make it real?

That All The World Might Rejoice – Matthew Wynne
Open your ears O’ Church that you might hear Jesus’ call,
The call to go unto all the nations that all the world might rejoice!

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping our great God!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

How To Watch the Olympic Games – David Mathis (via Desiring God)
Why would the Christian Scriptures mention the games? To help us upgrade our two weeks of Olympic watching by opening our eyes to what they have to say about God, the gospel, and the Christian life. 

You might also be interested in this interview video of Olympian Gabby Douglas at Valley Church in Des Moines. (via Chris Brauns)

And then, how do we deal with conflict?  Here is a helpful trilogy of posts:
3 Ways We Must Handle Conflict, Conflict: When Desires Become Demands,
Conflict: Recognize, Repent, Refocus, Replace – Robert D. Jones (via Crossway)
While my initial desire might be legitimate, it becomes sinful when it grows into a demand. And when it becomes a demand and you don’t meet it—and of course you can never meet every demand of my selfish heart—I then judge you in my heart and condemn you. In the final step, my internal judgment produces some outward expression of punishment toward you. I might yell at you, speak sarcastically about you, gossip about you, or avoid you.

Prayerlessness – Nancy Leigh DeMoss (via Tim Challies)
As God opened my eyes to this matter of prayerlessness, I asked Him to let me see it from His point of view. Here is what I wrote in my journal one day when God first began to deal with my heart.  Convicting stuff!

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points2 Comments

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Thirsty – Julie Van Meter
Our physical needs are great.  We need water to rain down on our thirsty land.  But more than that, we need to go to the well to visit Jesus, where we can drink deeply of the “living water”, and we will never be thirsty again.

Help Me Love What I Ought – Thomas A Kempis (via Trevin Wax)
Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, To love what I ought to love, To praise what delights you most, To value what is precious in your sight, To hate what is offensive to you.

Worth Weeping For – Kevin DeYoung
If we truly want our hearts to break for things that break the heart of God, we will weep to see the word so badly handled and so boldly broken in our day.

Puddleglum’s Lesson – Chris Brauns
Christians should obey God even when it looks as though obeying him will make our lives more difficult.  We must trust God’s word, rather than how we think things will turn out.

Seven Proven Weapons in the Fight for Holiness – John Piper
We all need to have a small arsenal of general promises ready to use whenever fear or craving threaten to lead us astray.  Here are a few of my most proven weapons….

Killing Sin Through Personal Prayer – J. I. Packer (via Desiring God)
As blooms of sin break surface and I recognize them, I am called to — indeed deep down in my heart I want to — go into action with this prayer procedure for draining the life out of them. And I think this is a discipline every Christian has to wake up to right at the beginning of the Christian life and continue with as long as we are in this world.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord together with your local church!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Helpless Sacks of Sand – Tim Challies
The fundamental reality of sleep is that it assures us that we are not God. Apparently we all need the ongoing reminder.

Who’s Side Are You On? – Matthew Wynne
We mustn’t ask God to be on our team, we must ask to be on His.  He is the Lord Almighty!

Perfect Your Work Within Our Hearts – Charles Spurgeon (via Kingdom People)
Perfect your work within our hearts.
We are saved, but we would be saved from sin of every form and degree;
from sins that lie within, and we are scarcely aware that they are there.

Prayer For The Ministry Of The Word – Tim Challies
There are a few hymns—just a few—that have been written to be sung as a petition to God immediately before the minister opens God’s Word. A favorite of mine is John Newton’s “Prayer for the Ministry of the Word.”

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord with His people!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Calvin on the Good News in Christ – John Clavin (via Justin Taylor)
But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinners justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free.  The gospel is the Word of life.

Twelve Propositions on Sanctification – J. C. Ryle (via Tim Challies)
Ryle defines sanctification as “an inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost, when He calls him to be a true believer.”

100 Quotes From You On Sanctification – Desiring God
Charles Spurgeon: “If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterward.”

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating Jesus and growing in your walk with Him!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points1 Comment

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Christ Is All – Charles Spurgeon (via Trevin Wax)
This is our soul’s grandest desire, that Jesus’ name be lifted high,
and His throne be set up among the people, to the praise of the glory of His grace.

The Gospel of the Holy Spirit – Trevin Wax
Too many evangelicals see the good news that we are saved from sin and from God’s wrath and stop there. We forget that we are saved for a relationship with God (to know Him and love Him) and for His mission (His redeeming work to seek and save the lost). And it’s the Holy Spirit that enables that relationship and empowers us for mission.

What Sanctification Is and Is Not – J. C. Ryle (via Tim Challies)
An inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Ghost, when He calls him to be a true believer.

The Church and Idolatry – Jared Wilson (via Ligonier Ministries)
On Sundays, our sanctuaries fill with people seeking worship, and not one person comes in set to neutral. We must take great care, then, not to assume that even in our religious environments, where we put the Scriptures under so many noses, that it is Jesus the exalted Christ who is being worshiped.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day truly worshipping our great God!

Passsion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points1 Comment

Here are some good posts on evangelism for your weekend reading:

Are You Missional: 10 Diagnostic Questions – Jason Dukes (adapted bt Trevin Wax)
10 questions to help Christians discern whether or not they are operating with a missional mindset.

Tim Keller’s Top 10 Evangelism Tips – Martin Salter
A while ago on our elder retreat we listened to a talk Tim Keller gave at Lausanne. As part of that talk he gave 10 tips to help our lay folk in their evangelism.

8 Simple Instructions For Sharing Christ – Nate Shurden
These practical instructions are just that: instructions. This is not a formula. It is a way of preparing your heart and organizing your life for gospel impact in the life of others.

The Great “Unawareness” and Sharing the Gospel
An encouraging example of using an opportunity to share about Jesus, with a few good points along the way.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Well, it has been a busy week, and I didn’t have anything prepared ahead of time, so blogging has been a bit light.  Should be better next week.  In the meantime, here are some good posts to consider for your weekend reading:

Is “Communion with God” a Small Thing for Today’s Evangelicals? – J. I. Packer (via Justin Taylor)
We do not spend much time, alone or together, in dwelling on the wonder of the fact that God and sinners have communion at all; no, we just take that for granted, and give our minds to other matters.

The Price of a Feel-Good Faith – Thomas E. Bergler (via Kevin DeYoung)
If we believe that a mature faith involves more than good feelings, vague beliefs, and living however we want, we must conclude that juvenilization has revitalized American Christianity at the cost of leaving many individuals mired in spiritual immaturity.

The One Indispensible Rule for Using Social Media – Kevin DeYoung
You represent Christ in a real way even if it is in the virtual world. Most people will know that you go to church, what church you go to, and that you claim to be a Christian. So let’s all think before we post. If we go by the name of “little Christ” we ought to be careful to show a little more Christ.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with God’s people worshipping our great King!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

4 Results of Christ’s Ascension – R. C. Sproul (via Tim Challies)
Goes well with our focus in Acts this week!

Theological Primers: The Attributes of Scripture – Kevin DeYoung
Four important characteristics of Scripture for our lives.

What Christians Do When They Believe and Feel about the Word of God Rightly – Kevin DeYoung
Seven responses to the Word according to the Psalms.

A Quiet Place, A Quiet Hour, A Quiet Heart – David McIntyre (via Tim Challies)
Three essentials for a powerful prayer life.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day praising our ascended Lord, responding to His Word, and seeking Him in prayer!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good reads for your weekend:

Heart Check: Are You Working For God’s Glory or Your Own? – Crossway
Unfortunately, it easy to grow in our own abilities and skills while neglecting growth in humility, self-control, or other Christ-like qualities. As Christians, there are things we can do to maintain our humility and make sure we are working for God’s glory…

7 Evils of a Grumbling Spirit – B.J. Stockman
But don’t be deceived: a murmuring mouth is particularly grieving to God because it reveals discontent in God.

Grace All The Way – Justin Holcomb (via Gospel Coalition)
Above all else and before any discussion of what we should do, we must understand deeply in our bones who we are: the workmanship of God. You are his project.

In the Wrong Place Emotionally – Chris Brauns
If you need to be moved from one place emotionally to another: (1) Identify a Psalm that relates to your experience.  (2) Systematically memorize it over a period of time.  (3) As you do so, experience the movement of the Psalm and be transported by the Spirit in conjunction with the Word.

Discipleship 101: How to Disciple a New Believer – Justin Buzzard (via Crossway)
Discipleship involves a lot, but one of the most important things you can do with a new believer is read the Bible with them–teaching them how to read, understand, respond to, and apply God’s Word.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our great Lord with His people!