John Piper writes about a conversation with his wife, Noël, when he was preaching a series on marriage a few years ago. After a couple sermons on the foundation and ultimate meaning of marriage he asked for her feedback. "You cannot say too often that marriage is a model of Christ and the church," she replied.

And she is positively right. Marriage as a picture of Jesus and the church is "Marriage 101" for most Christians and yet, we cannot underline the truth enough.

We've heard it helpfully said of the gospel that it's not just the thing that gets you into the Christian life, but also that which empowers your everyday Christian living. There's a parallel here in how we talk about marr…

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Every other week this spring, I opened my home to a group of new moms to discuss biblical motherhood. Each of them arrived with their babies and baby gear in tow, as well a palpable fear that they were getting it all wrong.

There is an inherent danger in gathering moms in a room: we immediately compare notes regarding our children’s milestones, personalities, and sleep habits. Really, though, we are comparing ourselves, wondering if we are good moms and if our children reflect that.

With the new moms, I addressed this tendency toward comparison on the first day. Until we stop comparing ourselves or telling other moms they should mother our way, I said, we will leave our time together fee…

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Darrin Patrick is the pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, a church he planted back in 2002. He also serves as the Vice President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and has written a couple books, Church Planter and For the City (with Matt Carter).

Earlier this year Darrin sat down with us to talk theology and pastoral ministry. In this five-minute video he mentions a few lessons he's learned:

In sum,

• Trust others with ministry
• Say no to critical people
• Learn from other churches and minstries
• Be willing to give away your best leaders

I have spent 10 of my nearly 12 mommying years in Africa, so when an American friend mentioned the “Mommy Wars,” I had to ask her what that was.

Apparently, as she informed me, there is a perceived “mothering battleground” where moms pit themselves against each other over topics like feeding babies, choosing schools, eating healthy, disciplining children, and more.

Are You Mom Enough?

Time Magazine recently joined the fray with the provocative cover of a beautiful young mother visibly breastfeeding her four-year old son next to the title, “Are You Mom Enough?”

The message screamed at moms from this issue of Time, from television, Facebook, blogs, and Pinterest is: unless you are fit …

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What follows is a collection of 20 quotes that caught my attention as I read Douglas Wilson’s new book, Father Hunger: Why God Calls Men to Love and Lead Their Families (Thomas Nelson, 2012):

"In human history, there will never be a more perfect father-and-son moment than this moment between Father and Son [Matthew 3:16–17]. This is the keynote — pleasure. This is the pitch that a father/son relationship needs to match — ‘well pleased.’ When we don’t match that pitch, a lot of things start going wrong.” (12)

“The fact that these other things have not been added to us, the fact that we live in fatherless times, reveals our attitudes toward God the Father. Father hunger is one of the chief…

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The most foundational thing we can say about marriage is that it is God's doing. John Piper explains, "A glimpse into the magnificence of marriage comes from seeing in God's word that God himself is the great doer. Marriage is his doing. It is from him and through him" (24).

In his book This Momentary Marriage, Pastor John gives four reasons why marriage is God's doing:

First, marriage was God's design.

While Genesis 1:27–28 makes clear that marriage is meant for male and female, the logic of Genesis 2 also confirms it.

In [Genesis 2:18], it is God himself who decrees that man's solitude is not good, and it is God himself who sets out to complete one of the central designs of cre…

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Last night, in a special All-Church-Strategy Meeting, 792 of Bethlehem’s members gathered at 7 PM and voted 784 to 8 to confirm God’s call on Jason Meyer to take hold of the baton that I have carried for the last 32 years. I wrote a letter to be read at that meeting giving my sense of God’s leading to this point. Then I wrote a response that we sent to all our people this morning.

Below is what I wrote in my journal when I couldn’t sleep for joy.

Journal Entry (6:30 AM, May 21, 2012):

I am up early this morning. Unable and uneager to sleep. My heart is seeking ways to praise the Lord, thank the Lord, be devoted to the Lord.

What shall I render to the Lord? I will lift up the cup of sa…

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Earlier this year David Mathis sat down with Don Carson to discuss sanctification. In this three-minute clip, Carson talks about some simultaneous steps to take for overcoming temptation, including a deepening delight in Jesus.

Sanctification is the theme of this year's National Conference — "Act the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification." Visit the event page to learn more and register.

John Piper says it's almost too good to believe. Hear Zephaniah's words:

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 is an absolutely magnificent promise that is meant to make us feel God's joy. Like when the father ran to embrace his prodigal son, some scenes in Scripture are especially meant to astonish us with mercy.

But not everyone can bring themselves to believe God's love for us is that powerful. Though, as Pastor John writes, Zephaniah wants to help us get it:

[Zephaniah] labors under the wonderful inspiration of God to over…

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It was almost nine years ago when Owen Shramek died. His parents, a young couple from Bethlehem Baptist Church, had moved to the Middle East to work as cross-cultural peacemakers. Owen was born at 24 weeks and the medical context reduced his chance of survival to 10 percent. He lived on this earth for only 20 minutes.

After Owen's parents flew back to the States for his burial, John Piper preached his funeral sermon and comforted his family with the truth of the Bible. Pastor John listed eight propositions about who Owen is and his legacy for the glory of God.

1. Owen Shramek was and is a human being created in God's image.
2. Owen Shramek was and is your son.
3. Owen Shramek is safe and unco…

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