Passion Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Get to the Cross and Never Leave – David Mathis (DG)
For Christians, true worship and “real sanctification” not only flow from the purchase of the cross, but also draw strength from conscious faith in the crucified Christ. We know our former selves to be crucified with him (Romans 6:6). “I have been crucified with Christ,” Paul says. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). So also for us: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

What Sins are You Killing Today? – Peter Adam (TGC)
It is not enough to stop doing what is wrong: you have to learn the habit of doing what is right. But you cannot start doing what is right, unless you kill off what is wrong!

Overcoming the Fear of Evangelism – Eric Davis (Cripplegate)
For those who like me have experienced butterflies in the stomach at times when you think about speaking the gospel to the lost, here are a few things that help me….

The Ministry of Presence – Tim Challies
I want to speak of the outsized value of the ministry of presence. The ministry of presence is the ministry of being there—of simply gathering with the church on Sunday. This may seem like a little thing, but it matters. It matters a lot. It’s genuinely a ministry. It’s genuinely a means of serving other Christians.

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

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!

If Jesus Is Dead and Gone…

If Jesus is dead and gone, we have:

No Forgiveness of Sins

No Removal of Guilt

No Cleansing from Shame

No Righteousness in Christ

No New Life in Christ

No Relationship with God

No Victory over Sin

No Victory over Satan

No Mediator with God

No Intercession by Christ

No Sending of the Holy Spirit

No Way to Heaven

No Return of Christ

No Personal Resurrection

No Hope in Death

No Confidence in God’s Word

No Mercy or Grace

No Basis for Our Faith

No Reason to Sing

Good Friday Collection

Here are some good posts for your reflection today:

It Was My Sin That Held Him There: Weeping at the Foot of the Cross – Greg Morse (DG)

We Are Barabbas – Dave Furman (Crossway)

Let Us Never Grow Weary of the Cross – Kevin DeYoung

10 Things You Should Know about the Cross – Patrick Schreiner

Passion Week Collection

Here are some good posts related to the final week of Jesus (prior to the resurrection!):

Easter Week in Real Time – Russ Ramsey (TGC)

That Dreadful Cup and Our Faithful Savior – Erik Raymond

A Guide to the Entire Cast of Characters During Jesus’s Final Week – Justin Taylor

Are We Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing? – Kevin DeYoung