Daily Growth Point

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the chapel windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lit a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. As a child we would sing in Jr. Church, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart!” While the grammar was not great, the concept was good to impress upon the heart of a young christian. Because walking with God brings us joy!  Joy is closely related to gladness and happiness, although joy is more a state of being than an emotion. Joy...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. As Christ walked this earth in the flesh, the Bible records incredible and miraculous evidences of his deity. Whether it was the withered fig tree or a blind man that was made to see. These became an evidence of the fact that Jesus was and is God.   At one point in their life, the apostles requested that Christ would “increase [their] faith.”...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Each year, my wife and I spend time planting and cultivating a garden. We love to see the bare ground of the winter transform into a beautiful harvest in the late summer. When you sit down to a table filled with food that has been planted, cultivated, and gathered with your own hands, it becomes its own reward. As Christians, God calls us to...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Fire needs three things to thrive: fuel, air, and heat. When firefighters desire to extinguish a flame, they do so by putting water or other retardants on the fire that will quench the it. In the same way, Christians can quench the Spirit of God in our lives. While the Spirit doesn’t disappear from our life, His power and work are diminished...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Years ago, a father and son arrived in a small western town looking for an uncle whom they had never seen. Suddenly, the father, pointed at a figure walking away from them and exclaimed, “There goes my uncle!” His son skeptically asked, “How do you know when you have not seen him before?” The father gently replied, “Son, I know him because he...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. At one point, D.L. Moody was scheduled to hold a Revival meeting in England. An elderly pastor protested, “Why do we need this ‘Mr. Moody’? He’s uneducated and inexperienced. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?”   A younger, but wiser pastor rose and responded, “No, but the Holy Spirit has a mon...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Prior to 1954, it was believed that running a mile in less than four minutes was impossible. Yet, for the young athlete, Roger Bannister, he was determined to do what everyone else had said was impossible. But in 1954, Bannister broke the four minute barrier, and then 46 days later, it was broken again by John Landy. It took one man to prove...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In a  Charlie Brown Christmas  Charlie Brown was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. Linus told him, “Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.” Many Christians today have a similar experience. Although life is filled with many wonderful blessings from...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. (49 sec) As a young teen, our family went to visit Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. As we prepared to go to the cavern, we purchased our tickets and we were each given a device that looked like the old walkman. It was our own personal, electronic tour guide.  As you walked through the cavern, sensors would cause the device to begin playing the...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In the final hours before the cross, Jesus demonstrated His deep love and concern for the disciples. He was about to “Lay down his life for his friends.” Yet, instead of worry for self, we see Him investing in the disciples. He knew that the next few hours, days, and weeks would be incredibly hard for the disciples, so He told them, “be of go...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Do you remember playing with the different shaped blocks as a child? There was a square, a circle, and a triangle, and you were supposed to fit each one through the correct hole in an adjacent block. When God created man, He placed within each of us hole that could only be filled with His presence. Although we have attempted to fill that hole...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham Years ago, I heard the story of a child who had gotten saved, and his father told him that according to Ephesians 3:17, Jesus lived in him. Amazed, then he looked in the mirror and asked, “How does he fit? He must be sticking out somewhere!” At the very moment of your salvation, God Himself came to live within you. The Bible says that, “…your...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. As a child, I often needed wisdom and direction from those that were older. For example, I needed my parents to teach me not to put objects in the receptacles in the house. I needed council to avoid destructive friendships.  I needed advice on how to follow the will of God in my life. I would often rely on the wisdom of parents, pastors, and...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. One of the most popular fish for aquariums is a shark. Yet, you don’t catch a giant, eight foot shark; rather, you find a young shark that is only six inches long. If you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay size proportionate to the aquarium you put it in. Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured. But if you turn them loos...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In ninth grade history class, our teacher had a notorious habit of starting the class with, “Open your books, read the chapter, and answer the questions at the end of the chapter. Turn in your work by the end of the class.” Then, he would promptly sit down and take a nap. Needless to say, my love of history died that year. But, when I entered...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, Pastor John Bingham. One of the most fascinating events is the transformation of a caterpillar to the regal butterfly. As children we would capture these dopy little insects with hopes that we could watch this transformation process.   Though his little cocoon is very unassuming on the outside, the inside is where the real excitement takes place. It is there on the i...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. I recently read a story of a woodcutter whose dog was such a good companion that he would follow him anywhere. One morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a command to stay and watch his lunch while he went into the forest.  Unfortunately on one particular day, a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and a team of explorers set out to cross Antarctica. But disaster struck when the team’s ship, was crushed by ice and sunk. In a desperate effort to get help, Shackleton and five others set out in a lifeboat across some of the most dangerous and storm-filled waters in the world. Using only a compass and a sextant, t...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. Parents universally understand the frustration of having their words go in one ear and out the other. This is especially a problem when your child is in their teen years. If they are preoccupied while you are talking to them, your words may not take root. The result is frustration. In our Christian life, we can be guilty of the same problem....

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. If you ever watched Sesame Street as a child, you may remember learning to count with “Count Von Count.” Throughout the hour long program, he would make his periodic appearance to teach numbers and counting by the process of repetition. Repetition helps us remember things by strengthening the neural connections in our brain making it easier t...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. In the midst of his tremendous trial, Job testified about the help he found in the Word of God: “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” For the Word of God to have this kind of impact in your life, you must encounter it regularly. One of the best habits you can develop to help your spiritual growth is to set asid...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. This year, God has given our church several new babies. Each baby, without exception, has needed one thing: milk. In fact, within the first few minutes after birth, the doctor will encourage a mother to feed the baby milk. Milk is so important that a baby cannot go home until he is able to drink on his own because milk is essential for growth...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. The Bible is the greatest book in the world. Though millennia old, it remains the most consistent and faithful guide for our lives today. There is no other book which provides answers to guide us in every area of life. The Bible offers us: Doctrine—It teaches us what to believe. Reproof—It shows us where we are wrong. Correction—It tells us h...

Welcome to Daily Growth Point, I’m Pastor John Bingham. A few months ago, I bought a 1954 Ford tractor. Although it is old, it has great potential to be used once again. And each day I tinker on it it gets a step closer to seeing it run once again. It is fulfilling to see something that was once broken come to life and be useful again. Many Christians miss out in deepening their relationship with...