When I go into churches and speak to children I ask them two questions:

First, how many people here sometimes think you have to be good for God to love you?

They tentatively raise their hands. I raise my hand along with them.

And second, how many people here sometimes think that if you aren’t good, God will stop loving you?

They look around and again raise their hands.

These are children in Sunday schools who know the Bible stories. These are children who probably also know all the right answers — and yet they have somehow missed the most important thing of all.

They have missed what the Bible is all about.

They are children like I once was.

As a child, even though I wa…

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Without further ado . . . the randomly selected winner of the quote contest is Andrew Donth, who shared some Spurgeon with us. Here's the quote:

Charles Spurgeon: "If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterward." (Sermon, "Justification by Grace")

Thanks to all of those who participated in the "send us a quote" contest that began on Monday. We have received hundreds on sanctification, the theme of our National Conference. There were so many that we literally cannot fit them into one blog post (I tried). So I've whittled the list down to 100 for you to spread or archive.

100 Impactful Quotes

A. W. Tozer: "We must hide our u…

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Books don't change lives, sentences do.

In an early sermon at Bethlehem, John Piper explains that sometimes the most life-altering insight from reading is concentrated in a sentence or two. It happens when in the midst of plodding along we stumble upon a "new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma." We read it and reread it. We're gripped. The lights go on.

Send Us That Quote

Many people have a story like this. There's a quote out there (or maybe a few) that you have read and it just clicked. Well, we'd love to read it, and let our readers see it, too. Would you send it to us?

Here's the Catch

The quote can't be generic. It has to…

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We're getting down and dirty this fall. And we want you to join us.

Get off your theological high horse, get level with the gravel, and let's talk how sanctification really happens in the trenches of everyday life.

Don't get the wrong impression about the Desiring God 2012 National Conference (September 28-30, Minneapolis)—this will be a profoundly theological conference. But theological in all the right ways, as we delve into the nitty-gritty of applying biblical texts and doctrines to the daily fight for humility, purity, and love.

We're thrilled with this theme, and would love to have you join us for the most practical conference we've ever done.

Below John Piper says mor…

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Sanctification is important. It's deep (as in cosmic), and it's personal (as in it's about God's work in you). But what exactly does it mean?

Sam Storms helps us with this short explanation:

Sanctification is the theme of this year's National Conference, Act the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification. Plenary peakers include Kevin DeYoung, Russell Moore, Jarvis Williams, Ed Welch, and two sessions from John Piper. Visit the event page to learn more and register.

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Recent posts related to our National Conference:

• When the Gospel Comes to Life (Carson)
• Steps to Overcome Temptation (Carson)

The gospel rightly, thoughtfully, and in biblical faithfulness expounded, will not only win sinners to Christ but it will also shape the lives of Christians to greater conformity to Jesus.

Don Carson explains in this five-minute video:

Sanctification is the theme of this year's National Conference, Act the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification. Plenary peakers include Kevin DeYoung, Russell Moore, Jarvis Williams, Ed Welch, and two sessions from John Piper. Visit the event page to learn more and register.

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Recent posts related to our National Conference:

• Steps to Overcome Temptation (Carson)

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. Plenary peakers include Kevin DeYoung, Russell Moore, Jarvis Williams, Ed Welch, and two sessions from John Piper. Visit the event page to learn more and re…

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Pastor, even if you don’t have anyone with a disability in your church yet, I encourage you to attend this conference on November 8: The Works of God: God’s Good Design in Disability. 

In case you are wondering about its value, here are six reasons:

1. The teaching will be remarkable. If you want to help your people see that suffering and God’s sovereign goodness go together, this will help prepare you. Four people who treasure Jesus and know their Bibles — and who have all suffered — will lead us into God’s word on this subject of disability, suffering, and the goodness of God. 
2. You can’t avoid disability. Someday your church will face it: the unborn child with Down syndrome, the tee…

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We invite you to join us for our first conference on human disability, November 8 in Minneapolis. Whether you are a pastor seeking ways to better care for the disabled, you live with disabilities yourself, or you serve as a caregiver to a disabled family member, this conference will help you better understand God’s sovereignty in human disability.

The conference — "The Works of God: God's Good Design in Disability" — will feature four speakers: Nancy Guthrie, Greg Lucas, Mark Talbot, and John Piper. Additionally, John Knight will emcee the conference and Kempton Turner will moderate a speaker panel.

"This is a very weighty, a very painful, and a very necessary topic," says Pastor John in…

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Darrin Patrick invites you to make an investment in your ministry by joining us in Minneapolis from January 30 to February 1 for our 2012 Conference for Pastors:

Darrin's topic at the conference is on how to be and build men for the mission of the local church. Register before December 30 for the early-bird rate of just $130. We also have a group discount of $100 (per person) when you bring five or more guys from your church.