Pastor John:

At the end of this age when Christ returns, the final act of purification will take place; all impurities in the hearts of God's people will be done away with.

But that promise of purity has begun to be fulfilled in the first coming of Christ. Hebrews 1:3 says, "When [Christ] had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." And Titus 2:14 says that Christ "gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." In a word, Christ came to make us clean. Christmas is for purity. . . .

Christmas purity is not essentially the removal of sin, but the restoration of righteo…

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C. S. Lewis:

In the Incarnation God the Son takes the body and human soul of Jesus, and, through that, the whole environment of Nature, all the creaturely predicament, into his own being.

So that ‘he came down from Heaven’ can almost be transposed into ‘Heaven drew earth up into it,’ and locality, limitation, sleep, sweat, footsore weariness, frustration, pain, doubt, and death, are, from before all worlds, known by God from within.

The pure light walks the earth; the darkness, received into the heart of Deity, is there swallowed up. Where, except in uncreated light, can the darkness be drowned?”

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, (San Diego: Harvest, 1964), 70ff.

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Recent…

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You can purchase Bloodlines directly from Desiring God, as well as from Amazon and WTS Books.

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Recent posts on Bloodlines —

• Should We Be "Colorblind" About Race?
• John Piper on Race, Cross, and the Christian
• One Way to Glory in the Cross

Doug Wilson will join us at the 2012 Conference for Pastors (Jan 30 – Feb 1) to speak on the subject of "father hunger." Registration for the conference is now open.

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Recent posts for the 2012 Conference for Pastors —

• Your Best Things Are Yet to Come
• J. C. Ryle on the Power of Prayer
• A Culture of Hope for the Men of the Church (Video from Darrin Patrick)

Pastor John:

1. “For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37).
2. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8; cf. Hebrews 2:14–15).
3. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).
4. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
5. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
6. “God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:5).
7. “F…

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The Athanasian Creed begins "we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity;
Neither blending his persons: nor dividing his essence."

This is not a truth for the classroom. The Lord is the holy one-and-three. It is who he is. It is what it means to be God. And it has implications for how the Christian lives.

In this newest episode of Theology Refresh — the theological podcast designed for pastors as a refresher on important biblical doctrines — David Mathis and Jared Wilson discuss the doctrine of the Trinity.

Stream or download the podcast.

[Subscribe to Theology Refresh through iTunes.]

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• John Piper on the Celebrity Factor and Pastoral Ministry
• Paul Miller on the Doctri…

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"To treasure Jesus more greatly and savor his power more sweetly" — that's the experience behind the phrase and title of Jared Wilson's newest book, Gospel Wakefulness. David Mathis recently interviewed Jared about the book:

Time markers:

00:45 — Are we experiencing a "gospel renaissance" in our day?

02:40 — How does your book related to this "renaissance?"

04:40 — What is the gospel?

06:12 — What do you mean by the phrase "gospel wakefulness?"

08:05 — How does "gospel wakefulness" relate to conversion?

11:25 — Why do you consider this a helpful category?

13:54 — What is your story of "gospel wakefulness?"

21:35 — What would you say to someone battling depression?

26:04 — The go…

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You can purchase the book directly from Desiring God, as well as from Amazon and WTS Books.

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Recent posts on Bloodlines —

• John Piper on Race, Cross, and the Christian
• One Way to Glory in the Cross
• America — Not as Mature as We Should Be

Pastor John:

Creation out of nothing was an awesome event. Imagine what the angelic spirits must have felt when the universe, material reality of which they had never imagined, was brought forth out of nothing by the command of God. The fall was an awful event, shaking the entire creation. The exodus was an amazing display of God's power and love. The giving of the law, the wilderness provisions, the conquering of Canaan, the prosperity of the monarchy — all these acts of God in redemptive history were very great and wonderful. Each one was a very significant bend in the river of redemptive history, bringing it ever and ever closer to the ocean of God's final kingdom.

But we trivialize Ch…

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Bob Kauflin, author of Worship Matters (Crossway, 2008), recently joined us for an interview on the theology and practice of worship:

Time markers:

01:04 — How did you come to Christ and become a worship leader?

04:21 — Tell us about how God brought you through a battle with hopelessness.

07:59 — How should we think about worship as an event and as all of life?

11:35 — What does it mean for worship leaders to be clear and specific?

14:30 — What should we do with songs that don't explicitly mention Jesus?

17:07 — How do we anticipate the new creation in our worship events?

19:45 — How might worship be different in the new creation?

22:06 — How should we consider the horizontal …

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