Radical video

This is more radical than Piper on divorce or the Duncan brothers rapping. Check it out.

Deeply happy about this.

Whereas the last post grieved my soul and caused some introspection and repentance, this one caused my soul to rejoice and to covet the same attitude as these dear godly brothers. Check out the difference.

Very nice interview

In my opinion, Matt Chandler is one of the most gifted communicators of God's Word in our day. On this interview, he sits down with John Piper and talks about his life and ministry. I really enjoyed it. This is part 1 of 4. You can get the other 3 parts here. (and trust me, you will.)

Sex before marriage.

This type of conversations come up all the time and I'm sad to say that, in general, evangelicals give what I call the "Nike answer": Just do it! Or, in this case, "just don't do it! I wish more people would be able to convey what Piper does right here. He, as always, is masterful at pointing out that the issue is not obedience in and of itself, but the issue is the motivation for obedience. Piper is quick to point out that "staying out of bed with your girlfriend" does not make you a good person. Nobody is good, he says. Which brings me to another point of appreciation for Piper: The fact that he does not let anything ever take the place of the Gospel. Spurgeon was also really good at it. He could bring any conversation (and Bible texts) to the cross. I, personally, need to learn to do this way better. Mark Dever preached a message once about "Improving the gospel" where he talked about this, things that aren't necessarily bad, some that were even good, replacing the gospel and he made those distinctions. We have to recognize that some things are actually good but we also have to recognize that they are not the gospel. In this video, Piper gives a great example of how to do it.

Suffering

I'm here once again, preparing for the wonderfully terrifying task of preaching. The topic I hit this time is "suffering", which is a massive undertaking, so first of all, pray for me. I've been immersing myself into the Sovereignty of God over whatsoever comes to pass and his goodness in all that He does and, although I'm not going to deal with the aspect of biblical manhood in the prospect of suffering or in the midst of suffering, I cannot help but have some thoughts crossing my mind. So I'll blog a little bit in my break.
I really think that one of the most important things Christians have to do is to have a good, solid, TRUE theology of suffering. We have to know our God and his providence. We gotta know him and we gotta know him well. I also think that men have a moral responsibility to have that theology as tight as possible, just as much as we have to have a life insurance policy, for example. If we can have a life insurance policy and we don't, I actually believe it to be sin. We men are called by God to lead, protect and provide and I think that a good life insurance policy hits all three corners of our call directly or indirectly. In the same way, a true, solid theology of suffering will carry us through the sure afflictions of our lifetime. To know our God deeply in your mind and heart will allow you to suffer well. Therefore you'll will lead your family in godliness through the storms of life by word and example. A biblical theology of suffering, will protect your flock ( be it your church or family) during those times when we are most tempted to doubt God's love for his children and the reality of our faith. It arms them against the enemies of their souls trying to snatch their faith, their affections for Christ. It also provides to those lead and protected by you, with the stability they need in their leader. To have a solid theology of suffering that has no connection between knowledge and behavior does no good to you nor to them but if your theology is strongly connected, it will generate a sense of security, enabling those under your care to submit to you out of joy not fear. All we have to do to experience suffering is to live long enough. It will come. Our Lord has said " In the world you will have tribulations..." We have to prepare before it happens so when it does, our God is magnified and his banner flies high as we stand strong in the joy of the Lord.
"There is no sweeter fellowship than the fellowship of suffering."
John Piper
(Paraphrased. T4G '08)