Passion Points

On March 2, 2019 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Why You’ll Never Be Free Until You Start Obeying God – Kevin DeYoung (Crossway)
We sometimes define freedom as the ability to do whatever we want to do, but that’s not really how the Bible understands freedom. Freedom is the ability to do what we ought to do—that’s real freedom.

God’s Hidden Purposes in Your Suffering – Leah Baugh (Core Christianity)
God is often working not just for our good but for the good of others through us. Sometimes in our American context, we can get a little wrapped up in our own little world. We can think that our suffering is just all about us and God, that God is only doing something in my life. But as Dr. Ferguson also points out in his sermon, the truth is that God is always working in multiple lives and in multiple ways all at once.

How Evangelism Is Kind of Like Fishing – Tim Challies
The great work God is accomplishing in this world is catching people for himself. He’s saving them by his grace and for his glory. What’s amazing is that he uses people like you and me to help accomplish that. He saves people through the good news of the gospel and he tells you and me to speak out that news. He calls us to be fishers of men, to catch people alive.

Desperately Seeking Transcendence – Own Strachan
When we gather for the weekly worship service, we gather as those starved for God, and starved for transcendence. We have been swimming all week in the normal, trivial, earthly, ordinary, and natural. We need the abnormal. We need the essential. We need the heavenly. We need the extraordinary. We need what is above nature. We need the supernatural. This is what weekly worship gives us. It does not fundamentally give us a little “touch from the Lord,” as if all we need is a divine pat on the shoulder, a quick grin from a hall-crossing deity. It gives us a brush with God. We hide besides Moses in the cleft of the rock, expectantly and reverently awaiting the passing-by of the radiance of the appearing of God’s glory.

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

Passion Points

On February 9, 2019February 9, 2019 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

The Spiritual Dangers of Disconnecting from Creation – Scott Martin (TGC)
Creation is not an end in itself, something to be worshiped in place of the Creator. It is rather something that points us—if we are willing to pay attention—to a good, gracious, powerful, extravagant, and loving God. A world that disregards or distances itself from creation is a world that will naturally disregard and distance itself from God.

Quiet and Deep Christianity – Andrew Roycroft (Thinking Pastorally)
Ours is an age of fragmentation, of intellectual hopscotch, of results-oriented activity on the one hand and mindless entertainment on the other. We have demolished the stonewalls and uprooted the hedgerows of our intellectual past in favour of speed, convenience, and leisure; the mass production of information on which to gorge ourselves, without a thought for the mental and emotional habitats which have been destroyed in the process. Sooner or later we will have accommodated these changes to such a degree that we won’t even know to feel regret, and by the time my young children reach adulthood the concepts of silence, stillness, meditation, deep reading, and unbroken thought will be so far back in our history that they may scarcely seem real…. A huge, and largely unaddressed, issue is what kind of effect will this tempo and tone have on the life and work of the local church?

An Open Letter to the Timid Evangelist – Brian Hedges (Crossway)
In diagnosing our evangelistic disorders, it helps to remember that effective personal evangelism depends on the convergence of multiple factors including opportunity, character, and skill. Here are a few thoughts about each.

We Don’t Sing for Fun – Tim Challies
One of the trends that has swept our society through the past decades is the “funification” of pretty much everything….Yet singing is not prescribed for Christian worship for the purpose of fun. It actually serves a far higher purpose…

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On January 19, 2019 By BrianIn PASSION Points1 Comment

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

End of Year Check-Up Questions For Christians – David Qaoud (GR)
In no particular order, here are some questions to help gauge your spiritual health:

Every Sin / Every Temptation Not Taken – Jamsco
Every time you sin, it is an act of …
Every time you’re tempted to sin and resist it, it is an act of …

You Can Memorize Scripture This Year – Andy Naselli (DG)
With the New Year here, I want to encourage you: you can memorize Scripture this year. It does not take superhuman skill or fanatic devotion to write God’s word on your mind and heart. It requires some passion, planning, and persistence.

What’s Encouraging You at Your Church? – Tim Challies
A couple of days ago I was eager for some encouragement, so put the question out to Twitter: What’s something encouraging you’ve seen in your church over the past few months? The answers were a blessing to me! And, just so you can be encouraged as well, I thought I’d share some of them with you. Here’s how the Lord is at work in churches around the world…

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our great God with your local church!

Passion Points

On December 22, 2018 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

How to Love People You Don’t Like – Greg Morse (DG)
He saw beyond the unlikeable to make them his beloved.

Sin Is Immaturity – Tim Challies
With every year that comes and goes, the more disturbing it becomes to see the childishness that remains in me.

The Key to Happiness Is More Stuff . . . Right? – Erik Raymond (Crossway)
Contentment actually is inward rather than outward, and it’s a work of God’s grace rather than a work of our flesh.

4 Truths About Christian Giving – J. I Packer (Crossway)
When we set ourselves to think about Christian money management, in whatever connection, from buying groceries to supporting missionaries to investing in industry to financing a holiday, the first thing we have to get clear on is that the money that is ours to manage is not ours, but God’s. Yes, we have been given it to use, but it remains his. We have it as a loan, and in due course we must give account to him of what we have done with it.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On August 25, 2018 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

The Lost Spiritual Discipline – Tim Challies
Watchfulness is “a careful observing of our hearts and diligent looking to our ways, that they may be pleasing and acceptable unto God.”

Eight Ways to Become More Humble – Jane Tooher (GTF)
Thankfulness stops pride growing. We can thank people for things that they do and who they are, and that’s important and encouraging for them. But we’re to thank God for that person, for the way he has worked in them. Thankfulness is a sign of a believer.

Organic Food, Essential Oils, and the Gospel of Grace – Stacy Reaoch (DG)
When promoting our own choices for food and medicine is becoming the latest form of evangelism, we are showing where our hope really lies — and that we are close to forgetting the gospel we say we hold dear.

Your 7 Job Responsibilities as a Church Member – Jonathan Leeman (TGC)
Will you sit back and stay anonymous, doing little more than passively showing up for 75 minutes on Sundays? Or will you jump in with the hard and rewarding work of studying the gospel, building relationships, and making disciples? We need more hands for the harvest, so we hope you’ll join us in that work.

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

Passion Points

On August 18, 2018 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

What the Word of God Says About the Word of God, Book by Book – Jared Wilson (FTC)
What God says about his word is a deep, complex, and staggering thing. And each book of the written word testifies to the wonder of his revelation….

Poor Interpretation Lets Us “Believe” the Bible While Denying What It Actually Says – Randy Alcorn
Many so-called evangelicals affirm their belief in Scripture, while attributing meanings to biblical texts that in fact deny what Scripture really says. Hence they “believe every word of the Bible” while actually embracing (and teaching) beliefs that utterly contradict it.

How to Sabotage a Bible Study – Greg Morse as Wormwood (DG)
You seem to forget that we never fear a man just because he reads a Bible. Some of our most useful vermin, having dedicated their lives to it, are snuggly tenured in religious departments across the country. Remember, we do not mind the Bible hobbyist, the hypocrite, and the text-twister. All goes awry, however, when the humans understand the Enemy’s word, treasure it, believe it, obey it, and are led through it to him.

Sola Scriptura: A Scripture-Alone Life – Steve DeWitt
Scripture over us—authority. Under us—promises. In us—Bible intake. Through us—obedience and guidance. Sola Scriptura. Let’s be doctrinally right but let’s make sure right doctrine leads to right living.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church in God’s Word!

Passion Points

On August 11, 2018August 11, 2018 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

How to Improve Your Biblical Literacy – Scott Slayton
Strategizing to learn God’s word does take time. Finding a reading plan and working through how you will stick with it does take effort, but it is absolutely worth it. God’s word does not return void and time spent digging into God’s word is never wasted.

Joy Is for the Generous – Tim Challies
Their generosity brought joy. The free and willing sacrifice of their own wealth caused them to rejoice. Each one gave as he decided in his own heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. God loves that kind of cheerful giver and God’s people love to be that kind of cheerful giver. God granted and his people gained joy.

We are Not In Eden – Courtney Reissig
We are longing for something better and it’s coming. It’s just not here yet. Until then, we fix the brokenness with this world with temporary solutions, like a band-aid. Longing for the day when it’s all made new.

How You Might Break the Third Commandment in Church -Mike Leake
I’m ashamed to say that I broke this one in church the other day. You might be surprised by that. Why in the world would a preacher of the gospel be guilty of dropping one of the big “no-no” curse words? But that’s not how I broke it. I didn’t use God’s name in a string of expletives. I used it in a worship song.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!

Passion Points

On June 16, 2018 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

God’s Presence Is the Essence of Heaven – Randy Alcorn (EPM)
The best part of Heaven on the New Earth will be enjoying God’s presence. He’ll actually dwell among us (Revelation 21:3-4). Just as the Holy of Holies contained the dazzling presence of God in ancient Israel, so will the New Jerusalem contain his presence. The New Earth’s greatest miracle will be our continual, unimpeded access to the God of everlasting splendor and perpetual delight.

Ten Short Truths about the Shortest Psalm – Barry York (GR)
Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! – Psalm 117

Psalms for Men Who Are Struggling – Scott Slayton (One Degree To Another)
When you read these Psalms and absorb their message, pray them as if they are your own words. Take these complaints, fears, and confessions before the Lord. Pray them, laying your sins, anxieties, and burdens before the Lord. Then, rest in the peace, assurance, strength, and forgiveness that only he can give.

Five Great Benefits from Preaching – Tim Challies
Preaching gives us a hunger for the Word, teaches us how to read, interpret, and apply the Word, and shows us the great benefits that come when we commit ourselves to it.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day hearing the preaching of God’s Word!

Passion Points

On April 21, 2018 By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

The Unexpected God: How He Meets Us in Disappointment – Brian Tabb (DG)
Unmet expectations. They are the constant thieves of our happiness and contentment. One of the greatest evidences of human falleness and finitude is how quickly we expect the wrong things, or the right things at the wrong time. But the very heart and center of the Christian faith should remind us daily that our expectations do not typically map onto the grandeur and goodness and wisdom of God. The cross reminds us that God sent us the Messiah we really needed, not the one anyone expected.

Slay Sin by Savoring Christ – Erik Raymond
Too often professing Christians can be lulled to sleep with a false sense of security. Unwittingly they starve themselves of Christ and make provision for the flesh. This is a spiritual suicide mission! Instead of caring for and nurturing the flesh and its desires we are to starve and kill it.

Turn My Eyes from Worthless Things: Curbing Our Infinite Appetite for Distraction – Tony Reinke (DG)
Our endless desire for “the totally irrelevant” has finally been matched by the endless offerings of irrelevance in our smartphones. We love to be fed worthless things. This onslaught of produced media is a major problem for us all because we can focus our minds only on a limited number of stimuli that come at us. So, how do we discern and navigate the digital age with wise discretion?

10 Prayers to Pray Before Church – Colin Smith
Going to church is not like a trip to the grocery store, visiting a friend, or a Christian task to complete. It is a declaration that worshiping the risen Christ is more important to you than sleeping in, eating brunch, playing sports, or working around the house…. As such, we should not enter church like any other place, but should prepare our hearts in prayer. Let these 10 prayers set your mind on God’s purposes for church and prepare your heart to worship the King.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our Savior with your local church!