Growing In Holiness Through The Psalms

In a confused world with moral decay, we need clear direction for godly living. While the mention of holiness is not commonly heard these days, the Psalms call us to cultivate holy lives in today’s society. The psalmists not only teach us how to grow in holiness but they draw us into their own rich experiences. The author explores the Psalms to give us a perspective on the nature of holiness and the many important ways we can grow in holiness. The Psalter serves as an invaluable guide for our spiritual formation as followers of Jesus Christ.

In a confused world with moral decay, we need clear direction for godly living. While the mention of holiness is not commonly heard these days, the Psalms call us to cultivate holy lives in today's society. The psalmists not only teach us how to grow in holiness but they draw us into their own rich experiences. The author explores the Psalms to give us a perspective on the nature of holiness and the many important ways we can grow in holiness. The Psalter serves as an invaluable guide for our spiritual formation as followers of Jesus Christ.

In these turbulent times we need a strong anchor. This one-year devotional invites you to explore the anchoring wisdom of the Psalms, lovingly amplified through the insights of a spiritual giant, Charles Spurgeon. Written over a span of twenty years, his multi-volume commentary, The Treasury of David, is the basis for these daily meditations. Far from shallow sentimentalism, Spurgeon leads us into a greater understanding of the important biblical truths of the Christian faith. He also draws us deeper into the psalmists' interior lives. Spurgeon's own physical and emotional suffering heightened his awareness of the psalmists' personal struggles, prayers, and ultimate dependence on the Father. Never pulling us to despair, Spurgeon rather lifts our eyes to see how God works in our world and through his people. Through these reflections on the Psalms, Spurgeon invites us into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, an unswerving commitment to the church, an increasing love for a hurting world, and living for God's glory. Start your days with this devotional guide and you will be oft-reminded that we may have weeping in the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Realizing our deficits of spiritual grace can be shocking. We see a chasm between what we know as Christians and what we practice as Christians. But this chasm is not impassable, for the Holy Spirit, the Helper sent from the Father and the Son, works with and within us to traverse that gap. For the Christian, through all of life’s circumstances and our changing conditions, growing in grace is our priority. And God gives what He commands. He gives us means and tools to use that can truly, daily, bring us nearer to the ever-urgent goal of godliness. This book is one of those tools. Growing in Grace presents thirteen essays to assist in your pursuit of godliness. Table of Contents: 1. Why Spiritual Growth is Important—Stephen Myers Scriptural Studies 2. Growing in Grace through the Psalms—Rhett Dodson 3. Growing in the Fear of the LORD—Daniel Timmer 4. Growing in Repentance and Faith (James 4:6–10)—Joseph Pipa 5. The Holy Spirit as the Author of Sanctification (1 Peter 2:1–3)—Tom Nettles 6. Growing in Personal Sanctification (Phil. 2:12–13)—Tom Nettles 7. Growing in Heavenly-Mindedness (Phil. 3:17–21)—Maarten Kuivenhoven Theological Studies 8. Growing in Personal Assurance of Faith—Joel Beeke 9. Growing in Awareness of our Adoption by God—Rob Ventura 10. Growing in Personal Evangelism—Ian Macleod Experiential Studies 11. Growing in Christlikeness—Greg Salazar 12. Growing in Communion with the Triune God—William VanDoodewaard 13. Growing in Grace in Good Works—Mark Kelderman

"Your word I have treasured in my heart." Psalm 119:11 The book of Psalms applies to every facet of life—positive and negative, busy and quiet, joyful and hurting. The words within are always timely, always freeing, and always God-revealing. Take a fresh look at this beloved book of the Bible with 90 thought-provoking devotions accompanied by questions to ponder. Concise yet deep, each devotion takes just a couple of minutes to read while preparing your heart to engage with eternity and enter into the presence of the Lord. The psalms are raw...real...relevant. Soak in their profound truths and let God use them to lead you ever onward in your faith walk—deeper and closer to His heart.

Although the Old Testament can appear irrelevant, outdated, and difficult to read, there are precious nuggets of truth in it which are vital for Christians to understand. That is why Michael Barrett provides this practical approach to reading the books of law, history, prophecy, and poetry through the lens of Jesus. As Barrett explains, “Seeing Christ and the gospel in the Old Testament gives life to what otherwise seems to be dry and outdated.” Grow in personal holiness today as you learn to read and apply the Old Testament properly. Contents: Presuppositions About the Bible Misunderstandings of the Old Testament Procedures for Bible Reading Purpose of the Bible Practical Reading of the Old Testament Series Description D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that what the church needs to do most all is “to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women would be crowding into our buildings. They would say, ‘What is the secret of this?’” As Christians, one of our greatest needs is for the Spirit of God to cultivate biblical godliness in us in order to put the beauty of Christ on display through us, all to the glory of the triune God. With this goal in mind, this series of booklets treats matters vital to Christian experience at a basic level. Each booklet addresses a specific question in order to inform the mind, warm the affections, and transform the whole person by the Spirit’s grace, so that the church may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

It is time for a revolution in how the church nurtures new leaders. As Jim Downing of the Navigators points out, Jesus trained his disciples by imparting: * Knowledge, through teaching * Character, by modeling and example * Skills, through guided experience While knowledge can be learned anywhere, character and skills are best developed as part of a community that lives, worships, and serves together (e.g., a church). We have developed Growing Church Leaders as a way for those who are mature to train the next generation of leaders in their churches to Think Biblically, Live Wisely, and Serve Faithfully. This course is designed to help senior leaders guide a small group of faithful men and women in: * Memorizing Bible verses * Reading classic Christian books * Leading devotions, typically from Psalms or Proverbs * Studying entire chapters of the Bible, verse by verse * Exploring how Scripture applies to their lives * Responding with repentance, action, and worship Our prayer is that every growing church will invest in establishing future leaders on a solid foundation of biblical truth, Christian character, and spiritual discipline -- i.e., practical holiness. For that reason, this material is available in book form and as a free download at http://2transform.us/grow/ under a Creative Commons "share alike" license. You are free to adapt the material to the needs of your church or denomination, as long as you allow others to do the same. May God use His Word to build His Body for His Kingdom!