Usain Bolt, yes, we are impressed. Gold medals in the men’s 100- and 200-meter sprints — at back-to-back Olympics. Like no one’s done before. You’ve made the case as well as any in this generation that you are “the world’s fastest man.”

But don’t think we’re more impressed than we are. At least not those of us happy to acknowledge our creatureliness, and trying our best, with Holy Spirit help, to resist our sinful urges to “suppress the truth” that we humans are created and derivative (Romans 1:18). We are made in the image of God — and the glory we reflect is ultimately that of Someone greater. Infinitely greater.

The Olympic Connection

When we honor humanity’s best achievements and …

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“Do first things first” is the takeaway from Laura Vanderkam’s new eBook What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. Morning is “prime time for self-improvement,” USA Today reports in reviewing Vanderkam’s work. The article says,

Here are some of the things she says go-getters do before most people finish their first cup of coffee:

•Exercise. A dawn workout is common among CEOs and other high-powered types.

•Meditate or pray. Monks aren't the only ones who start the day on a spiritual note.

•Work, often on personal or long-term projects outside the scope of their daily duties.

•Fix a family breakfast — sometimes as a substitute for a family dinner — or play with their kids.

The …

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We could ask Jon Bloom about all sorts of stuff. Whether it's the founding of Desiring God, her nearly 20-year history, or what John Piper was really like back in the day, there's plenty to query Bloom on. But that'll have to wait for another day.

For now, the topic that has our attention is Jon Bloom, the writer. 

As president of Desiring God, Bloom regularly writes for the blog, among his other typical tasks. Over the last couple years, Jon may be our most regular substantive contributor with his weekly Friday morning post. Jon also has a book of devotionals due out next Spring, called Not by Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith.

We thought it'd be helpful to …

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It's such a long word — sanctification. And it has such a churchy ring to it. No one uses this language outside the church.

So why not adopt a simpler term from the secular world and freight it afresh with Christian content?

While expositing Romans 6:23, John Piper went off script (it's in the audio, but not the manuscript) to tackle this question and also provide a short but substantive definition of what Christian theology means by the term "sanctification."

Now I know sanctification is a church word. I don't think I've ever seen the word sanctification in the Minneapolis StarTribune. It's a church word. 

So someone might say, "Why don't you choose a non-church word?" There a…

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Olympic glory is for the young. Gymnast Gabby Douglas is just 16 years old, swimmer Katie Ledecky is only 15, and Michael Phelps, age 27, says he's old enough to make these Olympic Games his last.

But the Christian "race" is for young and old. The fight of faith is for the healthiest and sickliest, for the seemingly strong and the weak.

So how is it that an aging Christian — barely able to walk, much less compete in Olympic track and field — can have the wherewithal to run?

John Piper tackles the question:

The answer is that we all must run, whether old or young and whether sick or healthy. And this is possible for the sick and senile because the race is a race against unbelief not a…

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It was five years ago today, on August 1, 2007, that the Interstate-35W bridge over the Mississippi River, near downtown Minneapolis, collapsed during rush hour.

Like no other tragedy in recent memory, the bridge collapse seized the collective attention of the Twin Cities metro, the state of Minnesota, and the surrounding five-state region of the Upper Midwest.

It seemed initially that dozens must be dead, but God was merciful. Amazingly, in the final tally, only 13 died — though 145 were injured.

Horror Close to Home

Great as our pain and angst were in those days, the 35W-bridge collapse is a relatively tiny tragedy compared to the 2011 tsunami in Japan, which killed 20,000. Or the…

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God's grace is catalytic. To truly experience it is to be changed for the better.

The Christian gospel floods our life with God's gracious provision, both outside of us and inside. Sins forgiven. Perfect righteousness provided for us in Jesus. Adopted into God's family. All wonderful. And the grace of God keeps going, freeing us from ongoing sin, making us holy in practice, and humble, and loving toward others.

The grace of God is not only a pardon we receive, but a power we experience. As Jonathan Edwards says, God's grace comes to us passively and makes us active.

In efficacious grace we are not merely passive, nor yet does God do some and we do the rest. But God does all, and we …

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The Bible has something to say about the Olympic games.

“Everyone who competes in the games,” writes the apostle Paul, “exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Comments John Piper,

When Paul wrote these words to the Corinthian Christians, he assumed that they all knew about the games. The Olympic Games took place in Greece every four years without interruption from 776 BC until they were suppressed by the Emperor Theodosius in AD 393. That's 1,169 years. Everyone knew about the games. So Paul didn't have to explain the games. Everybody was aware of the games then. And everybody is aware of the gam…

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How is Christian sanctification different than so-called growth, or personal advance, in any other system of belief?

Jared Wilson points us to the gospel's unique declaration, and how it changes everything for Christian sanctification.

Celebrate with us, and wrestle through, the simplicity and complexity of God's work and ours in the mystery of sanctification at our National Conference — September 28–30 in Minneapolis. Register today before 11:59 PM (CDT) for the early bird rate.

Read Jared's article "Get to Work Vs. It Is Finished"

I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. –2 Timothy 2:10

The doctrine of election is a sharp scalpel. 

It can be wielded with care and skill, and taken up to give life and heal. Or, in the hands of an untrained fanatic or detractor, it can be used to harm, to sever vital arteries and mutilate hurting people by spinning out untrue implications.

In this five-minute clip of his most recent sermon, John Piper encourages us to follow the apostle Paul's powerful example in 2 Timothy 2:10 and wield the dear doctrine of election with gospel care.

Stream or download this week's entire sermon.