One of the growing ministries of Desiring God is the outreach to prisoners. Those of you in the Philippian Fellowship hear about this more often than the rest of our website guests.

On Thursday a team of four of us stopped in at Angola Prison in Angola, Louisiana. Warden Burl Cain was very gracious to take us into his world, even the most painful part of it.

Here is what he said three years  ago in Decision Magazine about this prison:

This prison is the largest maximum-security prison in America. It is one of the most famous prisons in the whole world. It has only murderers, rapists, armed robbers and habitual felons. The average sentence is 88 years, with 3,200 people in one place serving life sentences. Ninety percent of the inmates will die here. This is a place of hopelessness, so if Angola can change, the rest of the country’s prisons can’t say, “We can’t do this.”

For those who know prison culture from the inside, this place is astonishing. On a campus of 18,000 acres, which is mainly farm land, the prisoners raise virtually all their food and eat three meals for a total cost of $1.45 each. The fish and crawdads that we ate were from "the Farm.”

There is a local extension of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in the prison and about 140 prisoners are enrolled. There are six churches in the prison and they train their own pastors. They send trained “missionaries” to other prisons to plant churches. They do this without using any tax money. But O the money—and lives—it saves!

Violence in the prison is rare. Courtesy and respect is pronounced. The ministry team of women who were visiting at the same time we were said they were treated with more respect from prisoners here, than in many places on the “outside.” Public profanity is not allowed.

The 42-inch church bell hangs high over the chapel in a prisoner-built tower. They rescued the bell from storage where it had been put after falling and killing a man. Some of the prisoners say: The bell killed a man and we killed a man, but now the bell and we serve the Lord Jesus.

Warden Cain says: I am as nice as they let me be and as mean as they make me be. Given the job he is given to do, it is a good motto.

I saw the Warden’s “nice” as we sat for half an hour with G.B., a prisoner on Death Row whose death by lethal injection the Warden will oversee in January. There are over 80 on death row, some now for over 14 years as appeals go on. The Warden asked me to share the gospel with G.B. Never have I felt a greater urgency to say the good news plainly and plead from my heart. The thief on the cross is a hero on Death Row.

The Warden answered all G.B.’s questions about what the last day would be like and who from his family and the press could be there. He gave G.B. unusual privileges for these last seven weeks. He was manifestly compassionate while stating the facts with precision. I took G.B.’s picture with my phone and said I would pray for him. (Perhaps you would too.)

I preached with all my heart to those who could fit in the chapel, and to the rest by closed circuit television. G.B. (and three others on Death Row) told me they’d be watching. I pulled no punches:

For 90% of you the next stop is not home and family, but heaven or hell. O what glorious news we have in that situation. And believe me it is not the prosperity of Gospel. Jesus came and died and rose again not mainly to be useful, but to be precious. And that he can be in Angola as well as Atlanta. Perhaps even more.

Here is Chesterton on the essence of art.

Art is limitation; the essence of every picture is the frame. If you draw a giraffe you must draw him with a long neck. If in your bold creative way you hold yourself free to draw a giraffe with a short neck you will really find that you are not free to draw a giraffe. (Orthodoxy, 71)

When I read this I remembered the thoughts I had in writing the advent poem called The Innkeeper.

So quickly do we pass over the Christmas words, “Herod...slew all the male children…two years old and under.” But the poet lingers, weeping, raging, looking at the dark spot, in hope that any prick of light might become a portal for the sun. And what he sees he strains with words to show—pressing us against the perforation in the wall of pain.

Why this struggle? Why does the poet bind his heart with such a severe discipline of form? Why strain to give shape to suffering? Because Reality has contours. God is who he is, not what we wish or try to make him be. His Son, Jesus Christ, is the great granite Fact. His hard sacrifice makes it evident that our spontaneity needs Calvary-like discipline.

Perhaps the innkeeper paid dearly for housing the Son of God. Should it not be costly to penetrate and portray this pain? The Innkeeper seeks to reveal the Light that shines behind this brutal moment in history and our own path of suffering. Come and see! (3)

I pray that this advent season every part of the Great Story will have a fresh luster because it is a Granite Fact.

We are deeply humbled and very grateful to God for the more than 630 people who gave to Desiring God through GiveMN yesterday. 

As we prayed last week about this opportunity and how to present it in a prayerfully-dependent, God-centered way, we had no idea that God would raise up so many people during that short amount of time. It appears that this group of friends gave just over $139,000 in that 24-hour period.  We will know final results, including our portion of the match, in the coming days.

We are also grateful for all those who emailed who cannot give to us right now because of unemployment, health issues, or giving being guided to church or other ministries. We feel your affections and your prayers!

Please continue to pray for us.  This is a great help as we enter December, which is our month of greatest financial need. God is kind to provide that encouragement so early in this year-end season.  And, obviously, we remain dependent on him to provide the rest.

Thank you for being part of God’s provision to Desiring God!

Dear fellow shepherds of God's people,

For over 20 years, we have assumed the foundation of Christian Hedonism at the Desiring God Conference for Pastors. But we have never focused on it. Until now. I thought it was time. Our theme for 2010 is

The Pastor, the People, and the Pursuit of Joy
The Apostolic Aim of Pastoral Ministry

At least twice, the apostle Paul sums up the goal of his ministry in the joy of his people. First, to the Corinthians:

"Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy." (2 Corinthians 1:24)

Second, to the Philippians:

I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith." (Philippians 1:25)

The pastoral implications of being "workers for your joy" are huge. I am still trying to figure them out and work them out after 30 years at this church.

Speakers

Sam Storms

I am eager to have Sam Storms help me. Sam has written extensively on the place of joy in biblical theology and in the Christian life. Sam and I have both drunk deeply at the fountain of Jonathan Edwards. That's one reason why I resonate so deeply with Sam's insights. He will give 3 keynote addresses.

Sam is pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City and President of Enjoying God Ministries. He has served for over 30 years in the pastoral ministry and taught theology at Wheaton College for 4 years. He's been married to Ann for over 37 years and has two grown daughters and two grandsons.

My prayer is that the man God has made Sam to be, and the messages God will give us through him, will make us more and more into the kind of pastors who serve "with joy and not with groaning" (Hebrews 13:17).

Eric Mason

I am deeply thankful that Eric Mason was willing to come and be a part of the conference this year. He is the co-founder and lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia. He serves on the boards of the Acts 29 Network and Reach Life Ministries and is an adjunct professor at Biblical Theological Seminary.

When I invited him I said,

When I heard your message on the credibility of the church at Advance 09 [in Durham, NC], I took note especially of the ending where "glory in the church" was the focus. We wear the God-gear for the world to see and go out and buy it (Matthew 13:44, my addition). I wondered to myself, How does Eric relate the pursuit of maximum joy in God to that gear? And specifically, How does he do it in his context? How does the pursuit of joy in God relate in your context to the things people need and enjoy?

He said yes, and I told him to do whatever he thought would be helpful for pastors under this general theme. I expect to be helped.

Bob Blincoe

Every year, because Jesus lays claim on all the peoples, we bend our focus toward the unreached nations of the world. To help us do that this year, Bob Blincoe will tackle the theme of joy in the context of world missions.

I wrote to him and said,

You are a risk-taker and are bold to call others to risk their lives, not in the hobbies of skydiving and hang-gliding and ropeless mountain climbing, but in the proclamation of the gospel. I have heard you speak, and I am eager for you to open your heart for the Muslim world for these brothers.

I am thrilled that he said yes.

Biography of C.S. Lewis

My part will be a biographical study of C.S. Lewis. There is no one quite like him. He does so much good and gets some things so wrong. But mainly I love him and owe him more than I can say. He is in the top 5 dead people who have shaped the way I see and respond to the world. His autobiography is called Surprised by Joy. Not surprisingly, his life is hugely relevant to the conference theme.

Worship

With a theme like the pursuit of joy, I expect our corporate worship to be profoundly rich with great reasons for gladness in God. There are not many sounds I love more than your voices singing at the pastors' conference. We will pray for each other. We will reconnect with friends. We will lug home kilos of discounted books. And we will, I pray, leave empowered to live for the glory of Christ in the progress and joy of the faith of our people.

Eager to see you and worship with you,

John Piper

This week’s sermon: “Do Not Labor for the Food That Perishes”

Jesus isn’t eager to be useful to our natural desires. He’s too loving to be content with us seeing him as anything less than our supreme Treasure.

So the Gospel of John was written to make known the glory of Jesus, not the glory of his gifts. The story points again and again to the person of faith, not the product of religion.

Jesus tells us in John 6:27 not to labor for the bread that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life.

Laboring for the enduring food does not mean earning his favor. Rather, Jesus turns our inclination for doing upside down. This is what we're required to do: Believe in Jesus. It’s a kind of doing that isn’t doing. Those who eat the enduring food, Jesus himself who is the Bread of Life, don’t work to earn him but believe to receive him.

But what does it mean not to labor for the food that perishes? Stop working altogether? Quit our jobs? No, but our jobs should be changed. When Jesus is our highest Treasure something about everything changes. And the effect isn’t lazy, sloppy, gloomy labor, but zealous, excellent, joyful work that magnifies the beauty of our Bread and gladly meets the needs of others.

As of 3:30 p.m. today, God has provided 315 gifts to Desiring God through GiveMN.org!  We are grateful to God for his kind provision to us through these friends of the ministry.

And, as Pastor John tweeted this morning, “zero pressure,” but if you are prayerfully considering a donation to Desiring God, gifts given by 8:00 a.m. (CST) tomorrow morning (November 18) qualify for a match from GiveMN.org.  You can give through Desiring God’s site at GiveMN.org. 

We’ll provide an update on the totals when we have them tomorrow, probably later in the morning.

Thank you for praying for us.

As we reported last Friday, from now until 8am tomorrow, GiveMN will be matching donations made through their website to all Minnesota-based non-profit organizations, including Desiring God. $500,000 has been committed to be given to Minnesota non-profits through this one-day campaign.* 

GiveMN is covering all transaction fees, so 100% of your gift will come to Desiring God.  You do not need to be a resident of Minnesota, nor do you need to register with their site to make a one-time gift.

I tried it out last week and everything worked as they described, including the opportunity to make an anonymous gift if you prefer.

Here’s how to participate:

1. Pray about giving.  If you have never given before, would you pray about financially supporting Desiring God?  We only want you to participate as you feel the Lord leading.  God is good to provide for all of our needs and we are grateful for every person who donates. But we do not want you to feel any pressure to participate except happily in response to God’s call.  And please only give after you have first given to your local church.
2. Visit Desiring God’s page at GiveMN.org between now and 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. 
3. Choose your donation amount and click the green “Donate” button.  You’ll be asked for credit card information and an email address for your receipt.  The minimum amount that can be donated is $10.  There is no maximum, but they limit their match to $2,500 per individual.
4. You’re done!  An electronic receipt will be generated through Network for Good.  It will indicate your donation amount and date, and list Desiring God Ministries as the recipient of your donation.  Desiring God will receive your gift and the match by December 15 from GiveMN.org.
5. You may also choose to give a recurring gift through this site, which requires registration.

* We won’t know how much of the $500,000 matching funds are coming to Desiring God until after all the gifts to all non-profits have been tabulated.  If Desiring God’s portion of total giving to all non-profits is 5%, we will receive $25,000, or 5%, of the $500,000 matching grant, regardless of how much is actually given to Desiring God.

Thank you for your prayers!

If your "want to" does not conform to God's "ought to," what can you do to have peace?

I see at least five possible strategies.

1. You can avoid thinking about the "ought to."
   
   This is the most common strategy in the world. Most people simply do not devote energy to pondering what they should be doing that they are not doing.
   
   
2. You can reinterpret the "ought to" so that it sounds just like your "want to."
   
   This is a little more sophisticated and so not as common. It often takes a college education to do this with credibility, and a seminary degree to do it with finesse.
   
   
3. You can muster the willpower to do a form of the "ought to" even though you don't have the heart of the "want to."
   
   This generally looks pretty good, and is often mistaken as virtue, even by those who do it. In fact, there is a whole worldview that says doing "ought to's" without "want to" is the essence of virtue. The problem with this is that Paul said, "God loves a cheerful giver," which puts the merely "ought-to givers" in a precarious position.
   
   
4. You can muster the willpower to do a form of the "ought to" and feel remorse for not having the heart of the "want to."
   
   This is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy hides one of the two contradictory impulses.
   
   
5. You can seek, by grace, to have God give the "want to" so that when the time comes to do the "ought to," you will "want to."
   
   Ultimately, the "want to" is a gift of God.
   
   "The mind of the flesh is hostile to God…it is not able to submit to the law of God." (Romans 8:7)
   
   "The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God…because they are spiritually appraised." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
   
   "Perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 2:25)

The Biblical doctrine of original sin boils down to this (to borrow from St. Augustine): We are free to do what we like, but we are not free to like what we ought to like.

God's free and sovereign heart-changing work is our only hope. Therefore we must pray for a new heart. We must pray for the "want to":

Incline my heart to Your testimonies. (Psalm 119:36)

He has promised to do it:

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes. (Ezekiel 36:27)

This is the new covenant bought by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 8:8-13; 9:15).

(Adapted from a 1998 Taste & See Article)

What an amazing array of glorious acts of love God shows toward us in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14. I pray that God will make my thoughts this dense with magnificent truth.

• Loved
• Chosen
• Saved
• Sanctified
• Believing
• Called
• Obtaining glory

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14:

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved , through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth . To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ .

The media from last week's webcast of Ask Pastor John—where John Piper fielded questions sent in through Twitter—is now online.

• Ask Pastor John Live—November 2009, Part 1
  
• Ask Pastor John Live—November 2009, Part 2
  
• Ask Pastor John Live—November 2009, Part 3

My wife Molly met our sponsored child in El Salvador yesterday. I recommend reading her thoughts on the day.

Did you know that we depend on God to provide nearly half of Desiring God’s budget through donations? Donations help underwrite everything from the freely accessible resources found here on our site to our whatever-you-can-afford policy to our global spreading opportunities through International Outreach. We are grateful to God for his provision to us through people he leads to give!

Friends of Desiring God recently alerted us to a special matching gift donation opportunity through GiveMN, an organization designed to help create a stronger nonprofit community in Minnesota. Desiring God Ministries is one of the non-profits listed on their website.

GiveMN has a total of $500,000 they are dedicating to match gifts made during a 24-hour period to Minnesota-based non-profits.* They're also covering all transaction fees, so 100% of each gift designated to Desiring God through this site will come to DG.  You do not need to be a resident of Minnesota to participate, and you do not need to register to make a one-time gift.  You may also give anonymously if you choose. 

The matching gift opportunity will be from 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 17 through 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 18.

Here’s how to participate:

1. Pray about giving.  If you have never given before, would you pray about financially supporting Desiring God?  We only want you to participate as you feel the Lord leading.  God is good to provide for all of our needs and we are grateful for every person who donates. But we do not want you to feel any pressure to participate except in response to God’s call.  And please only give after you have first given to your local church.
2. Visit Desiring God’s page at GiveMN between 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 17 and 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 18. 
3. Choose your donation amount and click the green “Donate” button.  You’ll be asked for credit card information and an email address for your receipt.
4. You’re done!  An electronic receipt will be generated through Network for Good. It will indicate your donation amount, date, and list Desiring God Ministries as the recipient of your donation. Desiring God will receive your gift and the match by December 15 from GiveMN.org.
5. You may also choose to give a recurring gift through this site, which requires registration. 

And please pray for us! Your prayers are an important part of God’s good provision to Desiring God.

* The amount of the match to Desiring God will be determined as a ratio of the total amount given. GiveMN will track the total amount given to all Minnesota non-profits that day, and whatever percentage of it was given to DG, we'll receive that percentage of the $500,000 that is set aside for this project.

So, for example, if $1 million is donated to all Minnesota-based non-profits that day and Desiring God receives $25,000 in donations (2.5% of total), the match to Desiring God would be $12,500 (2.5% of $500,000).

Did you wake up not feeling like reading your Bible and praying? How many times today have you had to battle not feeling like doing things you know would be good for you?

While it’s true that this is our indwelling sin that we must repent of and fight against, there’s more going on.

Think about this strange pattern that occurs over and over in just about every area of life:

• Good food requires discipline to prepare and eat while junk food tends to be the most tasty, addictive, and convenient.
• Keeping the body healthy and strong requires frequent deliberate discomfort while it only takes constant comfort to go to pot.
• You have to make yourself pick up that nourishing theological book while watching a movie can feel so inviting.
• You frequently have to force yourself to get to devotions and prayer while sleeping, reading the sports, and checking Facebook seems effortless.
• To play beautiful music requires thousands of hours of tedious practice.
• To excel in sports requires monotonous drills ad nauseum.
• It takes years and years of schooling just to make certain opportunities possible.
• This goes on and on.

The pattern is this: the greater joys are obtained through struggle and pain, while brief, unsatisfying, and often destructive joys are right at our fingertips. Why is this?

Because, in great mercy, God is showing us everywhere, in things that are just shadows of heavenly things, that there is a great reward for those who struggle through (Hebrews 10:32-35). He is reminding us repeatedly each day to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Each struggle is an invitation by God to follow in the footsteps of his Son, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

Those who are spiritually blind only see futility in these things. But for those who have eyes to see, God has woven hope (faith in future grace) right into the futility of creation (Romans 8:20-21). Each struggle is a pointer saying, “Look! Look to the real Joy set before you!”

So when you don’t feel like doing what you know is best for you, take heart and don’t give in. Your Father is pointing you to the reward he has planned for all who endure to the end (Matthew 24:13).

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

Not until recently had I ever felt the weight of the fact that those outside Christ have no defense against the devil. God can restrain the devil from doing his maximum worst. But the world cannot. They are helpless before Satan’s supernatural power. They are utterly in his sway, except for God’s restraining providence.

This should make us tremble for the hopelessness of the world and marvel at the magnitude of God’s power and grace to keep the world from being ten thousand times more violent and miserable than it is.

Consider these passages to show the plight of the world...

Read the whole article.

No, no, no. My friend, Mark Driscoll. No, no, no.

Yesterday you tweeted and facebooked to a gazillion people:

Only the hardcore uber geek theological types who love footnotes will care, but John Sailhamer's The Meaning of the Pentateuch & Andreas Kostenberger's A Theology of John's Gospels & Letters were just released. For both of you - enjoy.

Emphatically, no. To all pastors and serious readers of the Old Testament—geek, uber geek, under geek, no geek—if  you graduated from high school and know the word “m e a n i n g,” sell your latest Piper or Driscoll book and buy Sailhamer.

There is nothing like it. It will rock your world. You will never read the “Pentateuch” the same again. It is totally readable. You can skip all the footnotes and not miss a beat.

'Nough said, buddy. I love you anyway.

P. S. I haven’t read Kostenberger yet.

**Contest Closed**

We have 12 different packages on sale for Christmas this year. One of them is especially for pastors.

Leave a comment on this post with the name of your pastor or retweet this with his name, and tomorrow morning we'll draw one of your pastors to send the gift set to for free.

Update: The contest is over now and the winners have been notified. Thanks for participating.

This week's sermon: “Twelve Baskets of Bread and the Walk on Water”

Jesus walks on the water—an amazing story, of course. So it’s remarkable that John’s Gospel has nothing more to say about it in John 6 or the rest of the Gospel. John returns to the storyline about the bread and feeding 5,000 from earlier in the chapter. Why no long dialogue about Jesus’ water-walking ability?

The reason is that water-walking, impressive as it is, isn’t the most important thing about Jesus. More important is that he is the Bread who satisfies the souls not only of those sitting on the grass who the disciples served, but the souls of the ones in the boat—the disciples—as well. Jesus is the one who comes to them in the storm, the one who they welcome with joy into the boat, and the one whose presence is the miraculous gift

When Jesus climbs into the boat and stills the storm, he is showing the disciples (and us) the point that underlies his feeding of the 5,000: When we serve Jesus by giving of ourselves to others, he will always be enough for us. If we pour out our life to provide bread for others, he will be our bread. The more we satisfy others, the more he will satisfy us.

Jesus’ presence, and the satisfaction that only he can give, brings the kind of fullness that produces generosity and risk-taking in his disciples and in his church.

In Psalm 51, as he laments and repents of his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, David confesses at least five ways that his sin is extremely serious.

1. He says that he can’t get the sin out of his mind.

It is blazoned on his conscience. Verse 3:

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Ever before him. The tape keeps playing. And he can’t stop it.

2. He says that his exceeding sinfulness is only against God.

Nathan had said David despised God and scorned his word. So David says in verse 4,

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.

This doesn’t mean Bathsheba and Uriah and the baby weren’t hurt. It means that what makes sin sin is that it is against God. Hurting man is bad. It is horribly bad. But that’s not the horror of sin. Sin is an attack on God—a belittling of God. David admits this in striking terms: “Against you, you only, have I sinned.”

3. He doesn't justify himself.

David vindicates God, not himself. There is no self-justification. No defense. No escape. Verse 4:

…so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

God is justified. God is blameless. If God casts David into hell, God will be innocent.

This is radical God-centered repentance. This is the way saved people think and feel. God would be just to damn me. And that I am still breathing is sheer mercy. And that I am forgiven is sheer blood-bought mercy. David vindicates the righteousness of God, not himself.

4. He intensifies his guilt by drawing attention to his inborn corruption.

Verse 5:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Some people use their inborn corruption to diminish their personal guilt. David does the opposite. For him the fact that he committed adultery and murdered and lied are expressions of something worse: He is by nature that way.

If God does not rescue him, he will do more and more evil.

5. He admits that he sinned not just against external law but against God’s merciful light in his heart.

Verse 6:

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

God had been his teacher. God had made him wise. David had done so many wise things. And then sin got the upper hand. For David, this made it all the worse. “I have been blessed with so much knowledge and so much wisdom. O how deep must be my depravity that it could sin against so much light.”

So in those five ways at least David joins the prophet Nathan and God in condemning his sin and confessing the depths of his corruption.

Excerpted and adapted from the sermon "A Broken and Contrite Heart God Will Not Despise."

I'm extremely grateful to our volunteer Alice Rogan for getting these translations posted. I just review her work and summarize it in a blog post. Second to the translators themselves, she has done the real labor and made them available online.

Bulgarian (2)

• The Tornado, The Lutherans, and Homosexuality (Bulgarian)
  Торнадото, лутераните и хомосексуалността
• Clarifying the Tornado (Bulgarian)
  Обяснение на торнадот

Portuguese (1)

• The Family: Together in God's Presence (Portuguese)
  A Família: Juntos na Presença de Deus

Spanish (33)

• All Things for Good, Part 2 (Spanish)
  Todas Las Cosas Para Bien, Parte 2
• Do Not Let Sin Reign in Your Mortal Body, Part 1 (Spanish)
  No Reine el Pecado en Tu Cuerpo Mortal, Parte 1
• Do Not Let Sin Reign in Your Mortal Body, Part 2 (Spanish)
  No Reine el Pecado en Tu Cuerpo Mortal, Parte 2
• Faith: In Hope, Against Hope, For the Glory of God (Spanish)
  Fe: En Esperanza Contra Esperanza Para la Gloria de Dios
• The Father Has Given All Things into Jesus’ Hands (Spanish)
  El Padre Ha Entregado Todas las Cosas a Jesús
• The Food of Christ Is to Give Eternal Life (Spanish)
  La Comida de Cristo es Dar Vida Eterna
• For God's Sake, Let Grace Be Grace! (Spanish)
  ¡Por Amor de Dios, Dejen que la Gracia Sea Gracia!
• Free from Sin, Slaves of Righteousness, Part 1 (Spanish)
  Libres del Pecado, Esclavos de la Justicia, Parte 1
• Free from Sin, Slaves of Righteousness, Part 2 (Spanish)
  Libres del Pecado, Esclavos de la Justicia, Parte 2
• The Free Gift of God Is Eternal Life, Part 1 (Spanish)
  El Regalo de Dios es Vida Eterna, Parte 1
• The Free Gift of God Is Eternal Life, Part 2 (Spanish)
  El Regalo de Dios es Vida Eterna, Parte 2
• Gentiles Rejoice in the Root of Jesse (Spanish)
  Los Gentiles se Regocijan en la Raíz de Isaí
• Go, Your Son Will Live (Spanish)
  Vete, Tu Hijo Vive
• God Did Not Spare His Own Son (Spanish)
  ¿Por Qué Dios No Escatimó A Su Propio Hijo?
• Gospel to the Nations, Generosity to the Poor (Spanish)
  El Evangelio a las Naciones, Generosidad Hacia los Pobres
• The Greatest Thing in the World: An Overview of Romans 1-7 (Spanish)
  La Mayor Realidad del Mundo: Una Visión General de Romanos 1-7
• Greatness, Humility, Servanthood (Spanish)
  Grandeza, Humildad, Servicio
• Healed for the Sake of Holiness (Spanish)
  Sanado para Ser Santo
• How Is It Right to Justify the Ungodly? (Spanish)
  ¿Cómo Puede Ser Correcto Para Dios Justificar al Impío?
• How to Kill Sin, Part 1 (Spanish)
  Cómo Matar el Pecado, Parte 1
• How to Kill Sin, Part 2 (Spanish)
  Cómo Matar el Pecado, Parte 2
• How to Kill Sin, Part 3 (Spanish)
  Cómo Matar el Pecado, Parte 3
• The Importance of Knowing Our Sin (Spanish)
  La Importancia De Conocer Nuestro Pecado
• Jesus: Equal with God (Spanish)
  Jesús: Igual a Dios
• Justified to Break the Power of Sin (Spanish)
  Justificados Para Romper el Poder del Pecado
• The Kingdom of Heaven Is a Treasure (Spanish)
  El Reino De Los Cielos Es Semejante A Un Tesoro
• The Reformed Faith and Racial Harmony (Spanish)
  La Fe Reformada y la Armonía Racial
• The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God (Spanish)
  El Sufrimiento de Cristo y la Soberanía de Dios
• Ten Aspects of God's Sovereignty Over Suffering and Satan's Hand in It (Spanish)
  Diez Aspectos de la Soberanía de Dios Sobre el Sufrimiento y la Mano de Satanás en Ello
• Thank God for Famous Faith (Spanish)
  Gracias Dios por la Fe Famosa
• Treasuring Christ Together Above All Things (Spanish)
  Atesorando Juntos A Cristo Por Encima De Todas Las Cosas
• What God Has Joined Together, Let Not Man Separate, Part 1 (Spanish)
  Lo Que Dios Unió, Que No Lo Separe El Hombre, Parte 1
• What God Has Joined Together, Let Not Man Separate, Part 2 (Spanish)
  Lo Que Dios Unió, Que No Lo Separe El Hombre, Parte 2

As a father of a multiply-disabled child, I have consumed dozens of books, articles, and web sites on suffering, disability, and the sovereignty of God. 

What I read yesterday morning from a young man with spina bifida may be the best statement I have ever encountered on this subject.  Here is an excerpt:

Both pain and pleasure are meant to point us to the same reality; namely, that Jesus Christ is infinitely beautiful and so much more than enough for our every need. Living for Him, even suffering for Him, is worth every moment of affliction! Why? Because Jesus shows you such beauty in pain, because He is there and He is carrying us through.

The writer, Joe Eaton, is well-known to us at Desiring God as a volunteer and an intern with Children Desiring God last spring before starting college this fall. I can testify that he lives what he writes.

1. Jesus Christ, as he is presented to us in the New Testament, and as he stands forth from all its writings, is too single and too great to have been invented so uniformly by all these writers.

The force of Jesus Christ unleashed these writings; the writings did not create the force. Jesus is far bigger and more compelling than any of his witnesses. His reality stands behind these writings as a great, global event stands behind a thousand newscasters. Something stupendous unleashed these diverse witnesses to tell these stunning and varied, yet unified, stories of Jesus Christ.

2. Nobody has ever explained the empty tomb of Jesus in the hostile environment of Jerusalem where the enemies of Jesus would have given anything to produce the corpse, but could not.

The earliest attempts to cover the scandal of resurrection were manifestly contradictory to all human experience—disciples do not steal a body (Matthew 28:13) and then sacrifice their lives to preach a glorious gospel of grace on the basis of the deception. Modern theories that Jesus didn't die but swooned, and then awoke in the tomb and moved the stone and tricked his skeptical disciples into believing he was risen as the Lord of the universe don't persuade.

3. Cynical opponents of Christianity abounded where claims were made that many eyewitnesses were available to consult concerning the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

"After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:6). Such claims would be exposed as immediate falsehood if they could. But we know of no exposure. Eyewitnesses of the risen Lord abounded when the crucial claims were being made.

4. The early church was an indomitable force of faith and love and sacrifice on the basis of the reality of Jesus Christ.

The character of this church, and the nature of the gospel of grace and forgiveness, and the undaunted courage of men and women—even unto death—do not fit the hypothesis of mass hysteria. They simply were not like that. Something utterly real and magnificent had happened in the world and they were close enough to know it, and be assured of it, and be gripped by its power. That something was Jesus Christ, as all of them testified, even as they died singing.

5. The prophesies of the Old Testament find stunning fulfillment in the history of Jesus Christ.

The witness to these fulfillments are too many, too diverse, too subtle and too interwoven into the history of the New Testament church and its many writings to be fabricated by some great conspiracy. Down to the details, Jesus Christ fulfilled dozens of Old Testament prophecies that vindicate his truth.

6. The witnesses to Jesus Christ who wrote the New Testament gospels and letters are not gullible or deceitful or demented.

This is manifest from the writings themselves. The books bear the marks of intelligence and clear-headedness and maturity and a moral vision that is compelling. They win our trust as witnesses, especially when all taken together with one great unifying, but distinctively told, message about Jesus Christ.

7. The worldview that emerges from the writings of the New Testament makes more sense out of more reality than any other worldview.

It not only fits the human heart, but also the cosmos and history and God as he reveals himself in nature and conscience. Some may come to this conclusion after much reflection, others may arrive at this conviction by a pre-reflective, intuitive sense of the deep suitability of Christ and his message to the world that they know.

8. When one sees Christ as he is portrayed truly in the gospel, there shines forth a spiritual light that is a self-authenticating.

This is "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:6), and it is as immediately perceived by the Spirit-awakened heart as light is perceived by the open eye. The eye does not argue that there is light. It sees light.

9. When we see and believe the glory of God in the gospel, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that the love of God might be "poured out in our hearts" (Romans 5:5).

This experience of the love of God known in the heart through the gospel of Him who died for us while we were yet ungodly assures us that the hope awakened by all the evidences we have seen will not disappoint us.

(First posted as a Taste & See Article in 1999)

We've lowered our prices on the John Piper Small Group Series DVDs.

Each one is at least $7 cheaper than before.

• God Is the Gospel
• Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
• TULIP
• What's the Difference
• When I Don't Desire God
• Why We Believe the Bible

Today is a very important day in my life—my mother’s birthday.

At my blog, I’m in the middle of a series, telling our adoption story. Today, I skipped ahead a few episodes to describe Mother’s response to our adoption news.

I’m thanking God for Mother, who to this day points me toward him through her life and practical advice.

Bethlehem College and Seminary is offering new undergraduate programs beginning in the fall of 2010.

We'll be offering a two-year degree in Christian Worldview, a four-year degree in Biblical and Theological Studies, a four-year degree in the History of Ideas, and a non-traditional degree completion program.

Whichever of these programs students choose, they will not find a typical college experience.

The classes are small.

For starters, we keep the classes around 16 students per instructor (instead of those mammoth introductory courses at most colleges).

The price is small, too.

For 2009-2010, the tuition was under $5,000 for 32 hours of credit (compared to $24,000 for a typical private Christian college). And if you apply and are accepted before June 1, we'll help you find affordable housing with other students near Bethlehem Baptist’s downtown campus.

The teachers are many.

Besides learning from their regular instructors, students will learn from as many as 40 scholars, pastors, and missionaries, all of them accomplished in their fields.

The coursework is integrated.

In our foundational program in Christian Worldview, we weave Bible, theology, history, anthropology, world religions, biblical Greek, missions, science (and more!) into a single comprehensive course of study.

We take a chronological approach, beginning with creation and moving through to the present day, exploring God’s mission in history and how various religions, philosophies, and worldviews have left their mark on the world.

Our two four-year undergraduate majors build on this integrated foundation.

The college is church-based.

We don’t just want to instruct the minds of our students; we also want to engage their hearts and shape their lives. Thus, the classes don’t just take place at the church building; all of our programs are woven into the life of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Along with coursework, our programs include mentorship by Bethlehem members, field trips to mosques, synagogues, and temples, and ministry opportunities in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country.

In the end, our goal is simple: to provide a unique, God-centered, life-transforming, cost-effective, undergraduate experience. John Piper explains,

What we have seen, and what we would like to teach, is a God-entranced vision of reality that will make all other study and all the rest of life, deeper, richer, and more in sync with God’s ultimate purposes for your life.

Applications for our primary undergraduate programs are available now. For more information, visit our website, download our undergraduate brochure, and listen to John Piper’s special address on the Biblical Foundations for Bethlehem College and Seminary.