Learning from Piper

Often you can hear us quote John Piper. We love his ministry and support his vision. So, I wanted to pass along an article that was posted on one of my favorite blogs.
So take some time and read Why I Listen To John Piper.

Elisabeth Christine

She's here! Ellie was born at 12:29 am on January 24th. She was 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 in. long. Both mom and baby are doing great. Lord willing, we will be home on Saturday.

Forgetting Grace?

We live in a world full of victims. Often we have churches full of victims. Where has the doctrine of Total Depravity gone in the modern church? Have we lost it? Are we hearing but never understanding?

"Man is nothing but a subject so naturally full of error that it can only be eradicated through grace. There is nothing to show him the truth, for everything deceives him. The two so-called principles of truth--reason and the senses--are not only not genuine but are engaged in mutual deception. Through false appearances the senses deceive reason. And just as they trick the soul, they are in turn tricked by it. It takes it revenge. The senses are influenced by the passions which produce false impressions." Pascal

Do we really believe that this is the natural condition of out hearts? This is contrary to the world's way of thinking. The latest pop psychology tells us that we have been wronged and we should demand something better. Why are Christians believing this lie?

In our flesh, it is so easy to make all of life about us. We can point to this or that and claim that our needs aren't being met. But what are our needs? And who can meet them? We often think of the Gospel as something we accepted to grant us a ticket into heaven, but it is so much more. It is our guidance for holy living now. IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN MEET OUR NEEDS!The gospel is powerful and it is for the believer as well as the unbeliever. The more we meditate on and study the work of Christ, the more we see our sinfulness and need for grace EVERYDAY. A man once asked Martin Luther why all his sermons are about the gospel and why they couldn't move on to something new. Luther Responded, "because week after week you come in here looking like a people who have forgotten it from last week. There is nothing deeper."

As we begin to understand the Gospel, it changes our lives. The way we see ourselves and others will radically change. When we really understand that "our righteousness are but filthy rags" we begin to be less judgemental and finger pointing begins to cease. Understanding our sin is key to understanding the Gospel. If we remind ourselves each day of the power of gospel and how we so don't deserve the grace that is lavished on us sinners, then we begin to see life in a different manner. It's not all about us, but about God and giving Him glory.

Let's take the words of Matthew to heart next time we seem to dwell on the sins of others instead of searching our own hearts:
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

I'll leave you with a token of wisdom from Derek Webb: (WOW! Being honest and transparent really hurts)

I Repent, By Derek Webb

I repent of my pursuit of America’s dream
I repent, I repent of living like I deserve anything
Of my house, my fence, my kids, my wife
In our suburb where we’re safe and white
I am wrong and of these things I repent

I repent, I repent of parading my liberty
I repent, I repent of paying for what I get for free
And for the way I believe that I am living right
By trading sins for others that are easier to hide
I am wrong and of these things I repent

I repent of judging by a law that even I can’t keep
Of wearing righteousness like a disguise
To see through the planks of my own eyes

I repent, I repent of trading truth for false unity
I repent, I repent of confusing peace and idolatry
By caring more of what they think than what I know of what we need
By domesticating you until you look just like me
I am wrong and of these things
I am wrong and of these things
Oh I am wrong and of these things I repent

(-Amanda)

Happy Birthday Susannah!

We love you!

A Challenge to Women

I(Amanda) love to find great resources for women's ministry and pass them along. This article by John Piper is such a wonderful list of challenges for women. I challenge you to read this and really think about our God given call as women, no matter what your current state may be.

A Challenge to Women

By John Piper January 1, 1995

1. That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.
2. That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.
3. That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.
4. That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching. That meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.
5. That you be women of prayer, so that the Word of God would open to you; and the power of faith and holiness would descend upon you; and your spiritual influence would increase at home and at church and in the world.
6. That you be women who have a deep grasp of the sovereign grace of God undergirding all these spiritual processes, that you be deep thinkers about the doctrines of grace, and even deeper lovers and believers of these things.
7. That you be totally committed to ministry, whatever your specific role, that you not fritter your time away on soaps or ladies magazines or aimless hobbies, any more than men should fritter theirs away on excessive sports or aimless diddling in the garage. That you redeem the time for Christ and his Kingdom.
8. That, if you are single, you exploit your singleness to the full in devotion to Christ and not be paralyzed by the desire to be married.
9. That, if you are married, you creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of your husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow; that you encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that you influence him spiritually primarily through your fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer.
10. That, if you have children, you accept responsibility with your husband (or alone if necessary) to raise up children who hope in the triumph of God, sharing with him the teaching and discipline of the children, and giving to the children that special nurturing touch and care that you are uniquely fitted to give.
11. That you not assume that secular employment is a greater challenge or a better use of your life than the countless opportunities of service and witness in the home the neighborhood, the community, the church, and the world. That you not only pose the question: Career vs. full time mom? But that you ask as seriously: Full time career vs. freedom for ministry? That you ask: Which would be greater for the Kingdom— to be in the employ of someone telling you what to do to make his business prosper, or to be God's free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity could make God's business prosper? And that in all this you make your choices not on the basis of secular trends or yuppie lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what
will strengthen the family and advance the cause of Christ.
12. That you step back and (with your husband, if you are married) plan the various forms of your life's ministry in chapters. Chapters are divided by various things—age, strength, singleness, marriage, employment choices, children at home, children in college, grandchildren, retirement, etc. No chapter has all the joys. Finite life is a series of tradeoffs. Finding God's will, and living for the glory of Christ to the full in every chapter is what makes it a success, not whether it reads like somebody else's chapter or whether it has in it what chapter five will have.
13. That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might, and maximizing your joy in ministry to people's needs.
14. That in all your relationships with men you seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in applying the Biblical vision of manhood and womanhood; that you develop a style and demeanor that does justice to the unique role God has given to man to feel responsible for gracious leadership in relation to women—a leadership which involves elements of protection and care and initiative. That you think creatively and with cultural sensitivity (just as he must do) in shaping the style and setting the tone of your interaction with men.
15. That you see Biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women in relation to each other not as arbitrary constraints on freedom but as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God's ideal of complementarity. That you not measure your potential by the few roles withheld but by the countless roles offered. That you turn off the TV and Radio and think about...

The awesome significance of motherhood

Complementing a man's life as his wife

Ministries to the handicapped
hearing impaired
blind
lame
retarded

Ministries to the sick:
nursing
physician
hospice care—cancer, AIDS, etc.
community health

Ministries to the socially estranged:
emotionally
impaired
recovering
alcoholics
recovering drug users
escaping
prostitutes
abused
children, women
runaways, problem children
orphans

Prison ministries:
women's prisons!
families of
prisoners
rehabilitation to
society

Ministries to youth:
teaching
sponsoring
open houses and
recreation
outings and trips
counseling
academic assistance

Sports ministries: neighborhood teams
church teams

Therapeutic counseling:
independent
church
based
institutional

Audio visual ministries:
composition
design
production
distribution

Writing ministries:
free lance
curriculum development
fiction
non-fiction
editing
institutional communications
journalistic
skills for publications

Teaching ministries:
Sunday school: children,
youth, students, women
grade school
high school
college

Music ministries:
composition
training
performance
voice
choir
instrumentalist

Evangelistic ministries:
personal witnessing
Inter Varsity
Campus Crusade
Navigators
Home Bible Studies
outreach to children
Visitation teams
Counseling at meetings
Billy Graham phone bank

Radio and TV ministries:
technical assistance
writing
announcing
producing
Theater and drama
ministries:
acting
directing
writing
scheduling

Social ministries:
literacy
pro-life
pro-decency
housing
safety
beautification

Pastoral care assistance:
visitation
newcomer
welcoming and assistance
hospitality
food and clothing and
transportation

Prayer ministries:
praying!!!
mobilizing for major
Concerts of Prayer
helping with small groups of prayer
coordinating
prayer chains
promoting prayer days and weeks and vigils

Missions:
all of the above across cultures
Support
ministries:
countless jobs that undergird major
ministries

Something For the Season...

As we approach the holiday season in New England the leaves are turning, it is getting much cooler, and the smell of Fall fragrances are in the air. Boston is a beautiful place to be this time of year. It is my family's first Holiday Season in New England. Nick and I are so excited to experience a Thanksgiving and Christmas like the ones we see on Christmas cards. As I was planning the various festive things we will participate in this year, I ran across one of my favorite books on this subject, Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper. This book is such a treasure to have on my shelf. It gives us practical ideas and theological basis for the traditions that we are teaching to our children. I highly recommend grabbing a copy at Desiring God Resources to read and reflect on your family's traditions this Holiday Season.

May the ceremonies of our homes be true ceremony-from Him, because of Him, pointing toward Him, honoring Him, and thanking Him -Noel Piper

love is not against the law

Colossians 3:12-15
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.

The words of Paul always have a way of catching your attention and bringing one to humility. Epistle after epistle he says amazing things. I used to really cling to the book of Romans as one of my favorites and the hardest understand. However, I came across this passage (Col. 3:12-15) and I cannot tell you how hard this is for me. I have heard lecture after lecture on behavior modification and character education. I even know “theologically” the principle of love, but as I found myself meditating on my actions and thoughts, I have begun to see how much I am lacking love.
Everybody thinks they are loving. We tell our children how important it is. We even talk among ourselves about how so-in-so needs to be more loving. But do we really love?? This is a question I am wrestling with. Why is it so hard for the Christians to love one another? I have been in church all my life and I know this is a struggle for many. It seems as soon as we don’t get things done our way, then we are harboring anger and hate in our hearts. Our sweet façade fades as soon as someone pushes one of our buttons or changes something that we are grasping onto.
As I look back on my Christian walk, I can think of times that I was hateful to others because I didn’t agree with something. WOW! What a humbling reflection. My pride was more important to me than the love of my brothers. It is often so easy to lose the battle to my flesh. I felt like I was justified for my feelings, the heart is so deceitful! LOVE is what binds us together in unity. If I can’t love others Christians, I won’t be in unity with them. This is a huge truth that I have been processing and learning over the last few years. I need to pray more “Lord, teach me to love others more than myself.”
As I learn to depend more on Christ and grow, I hope that the peace of Christ will rule in my heart and I will clothe myself in love. God calls us to this. I hope the next time that our feelings are hurt or the pastor does things differently than we would have that we would remember that love binds us together. This is a challenge for all sinners. If you are reading this and think that you have no problem loving others, why don’t you ask someone around you what they think? We often forget how depraved we are and sometimes its good to have a reminder! :)

and it’s giving up your life
for the ones you hate the most
it’s giving them your gown
when they’ve taken your clothes
-Derek Webb