In 2009, John Piper addressed the then newly elected Barack Obama about his statements made about abortion. They remain relevant today as it is the 41st anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade supreme court decision.
Showing posts with label John Piper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Piper. Show all posts
22 January 2014
30 December 2013
Book Review: Future Grace
John Piper's Desiring God was probably one of the most influential books in my life, if not the most influential. Since reading it, I have consumed several other Piper books, the most recent being Future Grace (1995).
At its base, this is a book about sanctification, but not sanctification in our own power. Rather, Piper camps on God's promises and particularly His promise to be gracious to us, not only in the past but also in the future.
Piper intentionally built this book around 31 chapters so that it could be read over a period of a month. I began that way, but found it difficult going. When I sped up and read it as it came, I found a much deeper appreciation for the book. Piper applies his notion of future grace to a wide variety of issues in the Christian life. However, his chapters on despondency, lust, and suffering were the finest chapters in my opinion. It seems to me that Piper's writings on suffering should be required reading for the Christian (watch the video below for an idea). His chapter on suffering from Desiring God knocked me off my feet. This one was nearly as strong.
The only real drawback that I see was that this book is a tad repetitive. Though I suspect Piper was intentionally repetitive around the theme of future grace, as the central thesis of the book, it sometimes came across as redundant. I am not entirely sure why I felt that way, but I did.
Future Grace is a good book for someone wanting to understand the role of grace in the process of change and sanctification.
04 February 2011
Thank you, John Piper
On January 27, 1987 Desiring God was published. This book, one of the most important of the 20th century, has profoundly changed the landscape of Christian thought in America. It has also profoundly changed the landscape of my life. Next to the Bible, Desiring God has probably had a more profound influence on my life than any other book. Thank you, John Piper.
We have just passed the 25th anniversary of the original publication of the book. If you haven't read it, please do. If you have read it, consider reading it again. I just pulled mine off the shelf.
Watch this video if you want to be moved.
We have just passed the 25th anniversary of the original publication of the book. If you haven't read it, please do. If you have read it, consider reading it again. I just pulled mine off the shelf.
Watch this video if you want to be moved.
03 October 2010
Desiring God-2010-Conference Recap
I was blessed to go to the DG National Conference this weekend. It was entitled "The Life of the Mind and the Love of God." Let me say first off that my mind, after this weekend, seems to have little life left in it. I feel wrung out. I feel convicted. I feel excited. I feel.
I initially entitled to write extensively on each of the speakers. I don't have the energy. Instead, I am going to write some brief reflections on what I did watch.
Kevin DeYoung asked his audience to rethink the idea of being missional. He argued that the term "missional" has lost meaning in the modern church and that we need to redefine what we mean. He pointed out that too often, Christians are replacing what missions should actually do, with something else (e.g., social justice). He argued instead that the purpose of missions is to make disciples. His phrase, "get disciples, not decisions" seemed to capture much of what he said. He pointed out that if those following the great commission are not actually preaching Christ, they are really not doing things any differently than...say...Angelina Jolie, or something along those lines.
Randy Alcorn preached excellently on Romans 8:28. I didn't take many notes, but he pointed out that the evil and suffering in the world allows us to see the extent of God's grace.
Rick Warren, of purpose driven fame, was telecasted in due to a number of family crises. He is a gifted speaker. He presented 5 principles to teach church members: 1) don't believe everything you think, 2) Guard your mind from garbage, 3) Never let up on learning, 4) feed yourself daily with God's word, 5) you must let God stretch your imagination. Warren shared many useful ideas and practical strategies for continued growth. I particularly appreciated two ideas. First, he said that in fighting against sin, we should not just resist, but replace temptation. Second, he said that we only believe the parts of the Bible that we actually do. There were several concerns as well. He has a strong self-help, pull yourself up by your bootstraps approach, which didn't seem to fit with the other speakers who are so utterly reliant on God's grace. One thing he said that I really struggled with was "where there is no vision, people perish." I wrote in my notes, "where there is no Christ, people perish." It was quite unfortunate that the Q&A between Piper and Warren did not happen though I hope it does in the future.
RC Sproul opened the Saturday session. I was tired. He was deep. Not a good combination. He began by talking about the philosopher Thales who was looking for a singular explanation for all the diversity seen around him. He concluded it must be in water. He then traced the lines of philosophical thought through Aristotle finishing with Paul's ministry on Mars Hill and how Christ was the only explanation of unity in the diversity. I need to listen to it again to see what I missed.
Thabati Anyabwile discussed sharing the gospel with Muslims and as a former Muslim who converted to Christ, he was uniquely positioned to give this talk. He suggested that the goal for Christians was "truth entering the head, igniting the heart, and flowing out through the hands." He noted that as Christians, we seem to assume the unreachability of Muslims and, out of fear, we don't evangelize these folks. I thought the most important point he made was twofold: 1) "we need to work for the faithful containment of the established religion in the state" and 2) "defend Islam's ability to practice their faith." He believes that the more firmly the separation of church and state is upheld, the less likely it will be that sharia law will dominate or take over. Everyone should listen to this teaching. It was exceptional.
Al Mohler preached on Romans 1 regarding how God gave us up to a depraved mind--all of us--at the fall and that our only hope is that God reveals himself to us.
Francis Chan preached on loving people. A basic point that increasing in knowledge is for nothing if it is not used to love other people. If you watch nothing else from this conference, please watch his teaching.
John Piper concluded the conference on how we might use our minds to the glory of God. I particularly liked this quote, "There is an odd notion that, if we use our minds to grow in our knowledge of God, mystery will diminish and with it a sense of wonder and reverence. I call this notion odd for two reasons. One is that, no matter how many millions of ages I use my mind to know more and more of God’s majesty, his glories will never be in danger of being exhausted. What is not yet known of God by finite creatures will always be limitless. You honor this truth more by shameless growth in the knowledge of God."
I also had the opportunity to see a taping of the White Horse Inn, a favorite radio show of mine. It was exceptional weekend with old friends and new.
I initially entitled to write extensively on each of the speakers. I don't have the energy. Instead, I am going to write some brief reflections on what I did watch.
Kevin DeYoung asked his audience to rethink the idea of being missional. He argued that the term "missional" has lost meaning in the modern church and that we need to redefine what we mean. He pointed out that too often, Christians are replacing what missions should actually do, with something else (e.g., social justice). He argued instead that the purpose of missions is to make disciples. His phrase, "get disciples, not decisions" seemed to capture much of what he said. He pointed out that if those following the great commission are not actually preaching Christ, they are really not doing things any differently than...say...Angelina Jolie, or something along those lines.
Randy Alcorn preached excellently on Romans 8:28. I didn't take many notes, but he pointed out that the evil and suffering in the world allows us to see the extent of God's grace.
Rick Warren, of purpose driven fame, was telecasted in due to a number of family crises. He is a gifted speaker. He presented 5 principles to teach church members: 1) don't believe everything you think, 2) Guard your mind from garbage, 3) Never let up on learning, 4) feed yourself daily with God's word, 5) you must let God stretch your imagination. Warren shared many useful ideas and practical strategies for continued growth. I particularly appreciated two ideas. First, he said that in fighting against sin, we should not just resist, but replace temptation. Second, he said that we only believe the parts of the Bible that we actually do. There were several concerns as well. He has a strong self-help, pull yourself up by your bootstraps approach, which didn't seem to fit with the other speakers who are so utterly reliant on God's grace. One thing he said that I really struggled with was "where there is no vision, people perish." I wrote in my notes, "where there is no Christ, people perish." It was quite unfortunate that the Q&A between Piper and Warren did not happen though I hope it does in the future.
RC Sproul opened the Saturday session. I was tired. He was deep. Not a good combination. He began by talking about the philosopher Thales who was looking for a singular explanation for all the diversity seen around him. He concluded it must be in water. He then traced the lines of philosophical thought through Aristotle finishing with Paul's ministry on Mars Hill and how Christ was the only explanation of unity in the diversity. I need to listen to it again to see what I missed.
Thabati Anyabwile discussed sharing the gospel with Muslims and as a former Muslim who converted to Christ, he was uniquely positioned to give this talk. He suggested that the goal for Christians was "truth entering the head, igniting the heart, and flowing out through the hands." He noted that as Christians, we seem to assume the unreachability of Muslims and, out of fear, we don't evangelize these folks. I thought the most important point he made was twofold: 1) "we need to work for the faithful containment of the established religion in the state" and 2) "defend Islam's ability to practice their faith." He believes that the more firmly the separation of church and state is upheld, the less likely it will be that sharia law will dominate or take over. Everyone should listen to this teaching. It was exceptional.
Al Mohler preached on Romans 1 regarding how God gave us up to a depraved mind--all of us--at the fall and that our only hope is that God reveals himself to us.
Francis Chan preached on loving people. A basic point that increasing in knowledge is for nothing if it is not used to love other people. If you watch nothing else from this conference, please watch his teaching.
John Piper concluded the conference on how we might use our minds to the glory of God. I particularly liked this quote, "There is an odd notion that, if we use our minds to grow in our knowledge of God, mystery will diminish and with it a sense of wonder and reverence. I call this notion odd for two reasons. One is that, no matter how many millions of ages I use my mind to know more and more of God’s majesty, his glories will never be in danger of being exhausted. What is not yet known of God by finite creatures will always be limitless. You honor this truth more by shameless growth in the knowledge of God."
I also had the opportunity to see a taping of the White Horse Inn, a favorite radio show of mine. It was exceptional weekend with old friends and new.
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