Luke 2:1–2,

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. . . .

The Lord — holy, sovereign, utterly independent — became incarnate in the person of Jesus. . . when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

So, who is Quirinius? That he was governor of Syria is obvious enough. But this is such an apparently insignificant detail. What purpose does this serve in holy Scripture? Well, Quirinius was a real person, a real governor over a real Syria in a real world in real space and time. And God really stepped into this.

Here's one way to think about the chronology of the New Testam…

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John Piper recently gathered with a group of urban pastors and church leaders in Minneapolis to speak on his newest book, Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian.

Partnering with Here's Life Inner City, the event was hosted by Pastor Billy Russell and Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. Pastor Russell opened up the evening by sharing a little about his story on the "other side of racism." Pastor John's message begins at the 10:20 mark of the video:

Download the audio and video of the event.

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Recent posts on Bloodlines —

• One Way to Glory in the Cross
• America — Not as Mature as We Should Be
• Bloodlines: Race, Cross. . . and Your Local Church

Darrin Patrick, pastor of the Journey Church in St. Louis and author of Church Planter, will join us at our 2012 Conference for Pastors January 30 to February 1.

Scott Anderson, executive director of Desiring God, interviewed Darrin on Church Planter last year when the book was released. In this clip from the interview Darrin talks about the societal epidemic of ban ("not a boy, not man, somewhere in between") and calls churches to challenge and equip the men of their congregations:

Darrin's topic at the Conference for Pastors is how to be and build men for the mission of the local church. Registration is now open.

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Recent posts for the 2012 Conference for Pastors —

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John Piper:

May we never lose sight of this one phrase: “Brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). Brought near to God and therefore brought near to each other. By the blood. By the cross.

Ponder this implication of “by the blood.” Paul says in Galatians 6:14 — and I hope we say with him — “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Boast only in the cross. Does this not mean, among other things, that we want the meaning and the worth and the beauty and the power of the cross of Christ to be seen and loved because of the way we live?

And if one design of the cross of Christ is to reconcile alienated ethnic groups to each other by reconciling them…

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Martin Luther:

Although it hurts us when he takes his own from us, his good will should be a greater comfort to us than all his gifts, for God is immeasurably better than all his gifts.

Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, trans. and ed., Theodore G. Tappert, 1960, (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 2003), 54.

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Recent posts from "They Still Speak" —

• "If You Are Thirsty, Come and Drink" (C. S. Lewis)
• Jesus Is Our All-Sufficient Comforter (Richard Sibbes)
• A More Determined Quest for Him (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

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

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Recent posts for the 2012 Conference for Pastors —

• What Does It Mean to Be a Man? (Video from Doug Wilson)
• Departing from Masculinity: Two Ditches to Avoid (Video from Doug Wilson)
• Dads, Your Leadership Role Is Inescapable (Video from Doug Wilson)

Since 1863, on the fourth Thursday of November, families and friends in the United States have gathered to commemorate an old tradition linked back to the early European settlers.

You know the story: The pilgrims and Native Americans came together for a happy feast to celebrate the harvest and forge new friendships. A few hundred years later, this event became a legislated holiday and got Norman Rockwelled into the fabric of American life. We call it Thanksgiving.

The Aim of Paul's Ministry

It's interesting that we name a national holiday after an emotion — a very good emotion. In fact, an emotion for which the apostle Paul aimed his ministry. He tells it like this in 2 Corinthi…

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C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, on Jill's thirst and search for water:

The birds had ceased singing and there was perfect silence except for one small, persistent sound, which seemed to come from a good distance away. She listened carefully, and felt almost sure it was the sound of running water.

Jill got up and looked round her very carefully. There was no sign of the lion; but there were so many trees about that it might easily be quite close without her seeing it. . . . But her thirst was very bad now, and she plucked up her courage to go and look for that running water. . . .

The wood was so still that it was not difficult to decide where the sound was coming from. It grew clea…

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The supremacy of God, in the words of Louis Berkhof, means "[God] rules as King in the most absolute sense of the word, and all things are dependent on him and subservient to him." God reigns. That's the point. God reigns in all things.

Back in 1997 John Piper gave a series of three messages on this theme — expounding God's supremacy in preaching, prayer, and missions.

Stream or download the messages:

• The Supremacy of God in Preaching
• The Supremacy of God in Prayer
• The Supremacy of God in Missions

The third message on missions is particularly special as Pastor John honors his late father, Bill Piper, who was in attendance to hear him preach.

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Recent posts from "Expository E…

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Pastor John in 1984:

Why do I insist that you must go hard after God, or, which is the same thing, why must we go hard after Christ? Here are four reasons:

1. In Order to Know Him

First, we must go hard after Christ in order to know him. Philippians 3:7–8: "Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Paul went hard after Christ, forsaking all the things people normally boast about; and he did it in order to know him.

Why? Because knowing Christ is a value that surpasses everything else. The evidence of conversion is whether you become a Christian Hedonist. Christian Hedo…

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