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I love the Book of Psalms. They are authoritative models of prayer and worship and therefore we return to them often for help. "When we don't know how to pray as we ought, the Spirit intercedes for us..." — and read some psalms. And in my experience, it's the easiest book to short-circuit meaning for application. Because the theology is so relevant, we can subtly gloss over what the text says to focus on us and our situations. But remember it's only for us — by God about his Son for us.
So how might it look if we read like this? Say, Psalm 4? How would it look if we asked first, "what does this text say?" and then second, "what does it mean for me right now?"
Psalm 4:1–8,
1 Answ…
Thanks to everyone who joined us for this weekend's seminar on A Hunger for God.
The notes from Pastor John are now available (PDF) and the full audio and video will be added to the site soon.
Good Bible reading is about meaning and application. We come to the Bible asking two questions: first, what does this text say? And second, what does it mean for me right now?
We ask the first question because God is real. The world exists because he created it. He is the originator and everything else the originated. And in this world he has made, meaning has meaning whether we know it or not. My one-year-old son doesn't understand me when I say "I love you, buddy". . . but I still do, and one day he'll get it. Meaning is more like steel than clay: it stands strong despite the number of hands on it. Remember that in God's economy "The Word became flesh," not "Flesh conjured…
Risk is right, but it's also hard — or at least it is when it involves learning a second language.
Many Christians who have answered a compelling call to the nations soon find themselves in a perpetual plod of learning how to talk all over again. It is tiresome, even discouraging. And John Piper knows how it feels.
Studying at the University of Munich in the 70's, Piper had to learn German from scratch. In this three-minute video, he reflects on that season and offers a word of encouragement to press on and look to God:
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (James 1:19)
Listen. Wait. Respond.
How many of our conflicts would dissolve or never even materialize if we:
Full disclosure: I’m writing mainly to myself here. But if you, like me, tend to be slow to hear, quick to speak, and quick to impatience, come and exhort yourself with me.
Listen. A quickness to listen i…
These days pastoral ministry has become more glamorous, fabulous, fashionable than ever. We hear nowadays of pastors driving expensive cars or being chauffeured, owning private jets, and living in opulent mansions. Once only the “prosperity preachers” and bona fide hucksters touted such lives; now your neighborhood “orthodox” super-pastor does the same. It’s all so pretty, perfumed with the world’s “best” of everything.
But, brothers, we are not professional models or entertainers hawking the world’s airbrushed version of “the good life” from the lofty heights and flashing lights of public adulation. Brothers, we are shepherds down in the fields of life — and we should stink.
Our model o…
The goal of missions is the worldwide worship of Jesus Christ. And that's what our new book, Finish the Mission, is all about.
Approaching the topic in a refreshing way, this book, edited by John Piper and David Mathis, encourages readers to take up the mantle of the Great Commission and its Spirit-powered completion.
Right now Westminster Bookstore is offering Finish the Mission for $8.50 (50% off the regular price). But this deal is only available for one week. So if you're interested, click over and get it today.
May the Lord use this book to breathe fresh missionary fire into a new generation, as together we seek to reach the unreached and engage the unengaged for the glory o…
Jesus’s mission is bigger than next Tuesday’s election. Way bigger.
The Great Commission summons to make disciples — both reaching out for more quantity and going deep for more quality — should relativize the stock Jesus’s followers put in any political endeavor. Christians shouldn’t be dead-set on winning elections, but on making disciples. We put our best eggs in the disciplemaking basket, not the ballot box. We expect defeat in the short run (Revelation 13:7), but triumph in the long haul (Revelation 21:4). Lose the election, win the world.
The Christian's trust is not in politics. Our hope for the future isn’t in the incumbent or the challenger, but in the God-man who promises that h…
Dear Friends,
Why was John Calvin so mastered by the majesty of God? What kind of ministry did this produce?
In addition to the short Reformation Day video we made available today, we're offering three free ebooks to help you dig deeper into the life of John Calvin.
We like to think of Hebrews 11 as a divine summons for us to read Christian biography. Flawed but faith-fueling saints. Stories of grace. Deep inspiration. Some of the most worthy entertainment in the world are the stories of men of whom the world was not worthy.
Jo…
