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National Conference 2013: Celebrating the Work of C.S. Lewis
The Fight for Life: Why We Keep Standing
When the Bombs Exploded in Boston
Word of the Boston bombings hit Twitter before they hit CNN or any other news network. And as the video clips of the bombings began to emerge, my heart responded in shock and horror. Our hearts are wired to respond to atrocities like this, whether we’re near or far from the scene. Humans are complex creatures with a remarkable range of emotions, even at the same time. The Bible helps us understand the right way to react, and in the midst of tragedy, I want to respond appropriately. But I also know a simple response will not do.
Here’s something of a play-by-play of my own heart-response from yesterday afternoon and evening and today, and I’ll post my thoughts not as a model to be followed …
The Legacy of John Piper in the Lives of Real People (Video Tribute)
Sunday night, Bethlehem thanked God publicly for 33 years of John Piper’s pastoral ministry. As part of the celebration, Bethlehem partnered with Desiring God and Bethlehem College & Seminary to produce a 19-minute video tribute to Pastor John.
Here the storyline is told through the testimonies of five people — a pastor, a mother, a missionary, a student, and an inner-city worker — all powerfully touched by God through John’s ministry, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. As you watch, thank God with us for his work in and through John, and pray with us for more stories of God’s grace as John continues to write and speak.
More on John Piper’s transition:
“Give Us More” (Recap of the Piper Recommissioning at Bethlehem)
EDEN PRAIRIE, MN—There are a few rare cases where the legacy of a faithful preacher is marked by his books. Think of the shelf-filling works of a Martyn Lloyd-Jones or a Charles Spurgeon. Maybe the same will be true of John Piper.
But on Sunday night all three campuses of Bethlehem Baptist Church gathered in one auditorium to witness to the impact of John Piper’s 33-year preaching legacy in the Twin Cities. The evening included testimonials, congregational worship, an orchestra and adult choir, a children’s choir, and one choir comprised of 70 children adopted during Pastor John’s tenure at Bethlehem.
Pastor John has his own growing legacy of books, of course, but for two and a half hour…
Recommissioned and Ready to Launch
For 33 years Bethlehem put bread on our table. They paid our salary. They didn’t muzzle this ox while he was treading out the grain (1 Timothy 5:18). They were the hands of God in meeting our needs. I am profoundly thankful. It was a sweet and powerful farewell last night — and included a special recommissioning from the elders for a final chapter of ministry beyond Bethlehem.
Now I’m treading out the grain at Desiring God. The muzzle is still off. I get my first DG paycheck today. My title in this new role is Founder and Teacher. My job is full time, divided over “Content Creation,” “Fundraising and Donor Relations,” “Board Leadership,” “Staff Leadership,” and “Other.”
For the first…
Wimpy Theology Makes Wimpy Women
It was another full week of Ask Pastor John podcasts, covering a range of topics: biblical womanhood, hip hop, how to parent gender development, and advice for unemployed college grads. Here are excerpts from the five new episodes. Click on the hyperlinked titles to listen or download.
What Do You Think of Your Influence On Christian Hip Hop? (Episode 68):
A lot of hip hop lyrics are stories. They move with a narrative which gives it an advantage of telling a story about someone’s experience or the movement of the history of redemption. Another factor about it that gives it remarkable clout, I think, is what I call linguistic energy. The hip hop I listen to is phenomenally energetic, …
Meet the New John Piper
“I feel like I’m 22 again,” says the newly transitioned John Piper.
Now that his pastorate at Bethlehem Baptist Church has officially ended, Piper says he feels like a recent college grad who is free to do anything God lays on his heart. “When you have that much freedom, you’re really faced with significant ‘don’t waste your life’ choices.” He plans to seek God in a focused way in the next year as to how to invest his next 10 or 15 years, if God would give that many.
This past week Piper sat down with Collin Hansen of The Gospel Coalition to talk about his hopes for the future, including some reflections on his past 33 years as a pastor and how that has shaped him for what’s next.
More Than an Afterthought: Six Reasons Jesus’s Ascension Matters
Have you marked your calendar for Ascension Day on May 9? How many of us have even heard of Ascension Day? Or perhaps just a sermon about Jesus’s ascension into heaven? It is impossible to overstate the importance of Good Friday, when Jesus died for our sins, and Easter Sunday, when he was raised from the dead — but Jesus’s earthly ministry did not stop there.
After the resurrection, Jesus taught his disciples about God’s kingdom for forty days (Acts 1:3) and then he was “taken up” to heaven (Acts 1:2, 11). The cross and empty tomb are at the very heart of the gospel message proclaimed by Jesus’s followers throughout history (see 1 Corinthians 15:1–4). However, for many evangelical Christia…
The Many Deaths of Adoniram Judson
John 12:24–25 records these words from Jesus:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
In other words, a fruitful life comes from this: dying like a seed in what looks like hating your life in this world. This is the legacy of Adoniram Judson, America’s first foreign missionary, who died so many times and in so many ways.
Today, on the 163rd anniversary of Judson's physical death, we direct you to two resources that might encourage you:
- John Piper's biography of Judson, available as a free eBook.
- This 6-minute video overview of legacy of Judson and how that connects to the m…
Lay Aside the Weight of Doubt
“Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27)
In the race of faith that Jesus has called you to run (Hebrews 12:1), doubt is a weight you simply can’t keep running with. You’ve got to drop it. Today.
But first, let me explain what I mean by doubt. Doubt is not synonymous with unbelief in the Bible — at least not complete unbelief. The Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus were full unbelievers (John 10:26). But the man who cried out “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24) was not a full unbeliever, but a doubter.
Peter gives us a picture of doubt when he walks on the water with Jesus and then begins to sink. Jesus says to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
So…
Jackie Robinson and the Pattern of Jesus
It was 1948, during Jackie Robinson’s second season in Major League Baseball, when some bigots in Cincinnati were really giving him the business.
Just the previous year, Robinson had been the one with the monumental courage to break the color barrier as the first African American of the modern era to play in baseball’s highest league. He had endured unthinkable cruelty and injustice for de-segregating the game, and he was succeeding on the field and off. Not only did he bat just a shade under .300 in 1947, and was named Rookie of the Year, but he was holding his tongue, and fists, and not fighting back.
But now, in his second campaign, some still weren’t convinced. Eric Metaxas tells the s…
