Daily Growth Point

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. The story is told of an old New England preacher who found that the clock in the back of his church would not keep correct time. Even worse, it was not consistent. Sometimes it ran too fast and other times it was too slow. After his attempts to reset the clock failed, the preacher hung a sign over the clock that read, “Don’t blame my hands —...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. The Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte recounted the story of a visit he paid to a prominent lawyer in Glasgow. He said that when he entered the office, the lawyer asked, “Do you have a message for an old sinner?” Whyte responded by sharing Micah 7:8, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of th...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961, it divided the capital city of Germany. West Germany remained part of the free world while East Germany was under the domination of the Soviet Union. There was a great division that remained until the wall was brought down in 1989. At the height of the tensions, residents of East Germany began to thro...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Charles Gordon went to China as a volunteer to help lead the fight against the Taiping Rebellion. His great success won the gratitude of the Chinese government. They gave Gordon a special gold medal in honor of his service. When Gordon returned to England, there was a great famine throughout the land. He was burdened to help his own people, b...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Charles Spurgeon was the most famous preacher in the world during his lifetime. At one point, Spurgeon ran a large orphanage to take care of children. Another pastor, Joseph Parker, made a remark about the awful lives those children faced. The remark was reported publicly as a criticism of the orphanages. So the next Sunday, a furious Spurgeo...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In Luke, Christ told the crowds, “The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” Then, He proceeded to heal and demonstrate his power on the Sabbath. The Pharisees knew the law inside and out. But they missed the point behind God’s command for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is all about building relationship with God. Instead of focusing on worshippi...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Charles Spurgeon had a powerful and effective ministry that began while he was still a teenager. There is no question that his incredible gifts and the enormous growth the church that he pastored were testimony to the work that God did in and through his life. Yet for most of his ministry, Spurgeon suffered greatly from enormous physical pain...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Missionary Martyr Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” With this view of eternity, he bravely gave his life to carry the gospel into the darkest jungles. How could a man be willing to lay down his life to carry the message of Christ? It is all in what you love the most. Jesus said to “L...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. When Christ came, he came to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. The news of a rabbi in Galilee performing miracles drew crowds of thousands! Each wanting something special for themselves from this humble carpenter. Yet, the work that Jesus did took a physical toll on Him. Over time, the cost of ministry started to add up. At one...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. He was undoubtedly the most gifted military strategist of all of America’s generals during the Revolutionary War. He was loved by His soldiers, and courageously led them into battle rather than remaining behind as many officers did. He rallied the American troops to victory in the crucial Battle of Saratoga. Yet, we do not know him for any of...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. It is impossible to overstate the importance of prayer to Jesus. We are well familiar with Christ's private prayer garden, Gethsemane. It was there that Judas knew to find him because he had often gone there with Christ to pray. Yet even before this moment, Mark’s gospel paints the picture of him rising up early to pray. Luke said that Ch...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were given a warning, “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you…” Human nature is such that we try to “improve” on what God has said. One of Jesus’ rebukes of the Pharisees was that they were selective in regards to heeding God’s Word. Parts they added to, others they ignored completely! They had added...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Throughout the Bible, we see times when God’s people fasted. Joel calls for us to turn to the Lord with fasting, weeping and mourning. Nehemiah mourned and fasted over the devastation of Jerusalem. Esther fasted over an important meeting. Daniel fasted to understand the truths of God. Isaiah says that fasting will loose the bands of wickednes...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In the heart of Rome, Italy, stands the Pantheon. It was originally constructed as an ancient Roman temple, dedicated to all gods, and remains as one of the most well preserved ancient buildings. During the time of Roman expansion, the armies of Rome would conquer foreign lands, and bring home the gods of those conquered peoples. There in the...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham In 1980, officials warned everyone around Mnt St. Helens of the impending eruption. But one man, Harry Truman told an interviewer, “I don’t believe the mountain will hurt me.” Tragically, he perished in the volcanic blast because he did not take his need for deliverance seriously. Harry said, “I’m fine.” Instead of facing the truth of the situ...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Growing up, I often had people comment on the fact that my eyes are blue. When I was with my parents, people immediately connected me to them because of their blue eyes. You know, one of the evidences of our position in Christ a heart that is yielded to God’s Spirit. Romans says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Do you remember Nancy Reagan’s campaign to fight the drug problem in the 1980’s? Her slogan became, “Just say NO!” In Matthew 4, the Bible records the days of fasting and temptation for Christ. Three times the devil tried to tempt Christ to sin, but each time He not only said, “NO!” But He also rebuked the temptation with the power of Scriptu...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. If you have ever used a compass, you know that the needle on a compass is affected by magnetic attraction. It is pulled to constantly point in one direction. The result is a useful tool that helps us to navigate. Yet, just as the compass needle is affected by magnetic attraction, so the Christian feels a pull by sin. This is illustrated by Is...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. If you grew up in Junior Church, you may remember singing the song, “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” This simple song was taken from 1 John 4:4 and is a reminder that God is greater than all things, even temptation! In the book, “The Kneeling Christian,” the author wrote, “It is not too much to say that all real gro...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. At the moment of salvation, God gives each new believer the gift of His Spirit to dwell in us and help us to have victory over temptation. 1 John 2 tells us that there are three areas of temptation that we must constantly be on guard against. They are: The lust of the flesh The lust of the eyes The pride of life Consider this, we can be tempt...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. When people become a new Christian, many believe that if they are genuine in their faith, then they will never sin. Yet, the reality is that as long as we are on this earth, we will battle sin and temptation. C. S. Lewis observed: “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good. …Only those who try to resist temptation kno...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. It is not uncommon for us to sing in church the hymn, “I surrender all.” This song of personal surrender was born out of a Christian’s heart that was struggling between his talents in the field of art and evangelistic work. After years of struggle with the call of God, He finally surrendered. Years later, Billy Graham attributed this hymn to...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. As a child, Norman Geisler went to Vacation Bible School with some other children in his neighborhood. But then, he went back to the same church every week. Each week he was faithfully picked up by a bus driver. Yet it was not until he had attended for over 400 Sundays that He finally gave His life to Christ. Geisler’s life was transformed be...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. When we consider the life of a student today, it often means sitting in a classroom for a number of hours each day. But when a person became a student (or disciple) of another in the first century, it meant that they completely abandoned the old way of life and followed that one teacher everywhere they went.  You see a disciple wasn’t studyin...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In 1519, Hernan Cortes set sail with 11 ships and over 600 men, to explore and conquer the vast lands of Mexico. When they arrived on the shores of Mexico, they had to either retreat or fight. Many of his soldiers were apprehensive, knowing that they were greatly outnumbered. There was a real possibility of failure, so many wanted to run. Rec...