John Piper - Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer

Believe me, I'd like to have another preacher to recommend, but there are so few that are as consistently good and speak to both the heart and mind with the passion Piper brings to it. Apologies again for this being a series of conference messages rather than a sermon, but this is a really rich set of messages, given at Wheaton College just a few weeks ago. And don't cheat yourselves by skipping over the Q & A...the students at Wheaton bring some great questions out and I think you'll be edified by Piper's response. Here's the list of messages:

• Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer, Part 1
• Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer, Part 2
• Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer, Part 3
• Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer, Part 4
• Q & A
  

And with that, I'm done. Thanks Steve for the privilege of sharing these with others, I hope that you all were as helped and fed by these as I was.

Until next time...

Mark Dever - Evangelism, Pastors, and Churches

I can't recall how I first came across Mark Dever, but since that time this man has profoundly affected my thinking about ecclesiology and pastoring. His books The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church and The Deliberate Church are something no pastor or church leadership should be without. Also not to be missed are the fantastic collection of interviews and articles over at the 9 Marks website. A lot of good material here for the benefit of the church.

I'm fudging a bit today with the purpose of this blog: this is neither a sermon nor is it a single one. Instead this is a series of talks given by Dever at the Sovereign Grace Pastors College back in February of last year. I hope the content of these talks will encourage you to extend grace to me. Here's the list:

• What is Evangelism?
• A Biblical Theology of Evangelism and the Gospel
• Evangelism for the Pastor or Preacher
• The Church Practice of Evangelism

I've found this to be a very helpful series personally. As a pastor/church planter, I've found it increasingly difficult to work engagement with unbelievers into a schedule filled with church-related items and it's something I very badly want to change.

Bob Kauflin - Corporate Worship as Pastoral Care

Bob Kauflin is someone that I've been exposed to more recently through listening to Sovereign Grace material. Bob was at one point a member of the a capella group GLAD and has now been involved in pastoral ministry at several SGM churches. Most recently, he is the Director of Worship Development at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD (where Josh Harris pastors). I've found Bob's combination of experiences as a professional musician and a pastor really helpful in thinking through what worship - especially at the congregational level - should be about and look like.

Today's audio comes from a seminar Bob taught at SGM's Worship '06 conference.

John Piper - How Justified Sinners Love Each Other

That settles it. If Steve's going to bring up Piper then we might as well have a selection from Piper for today's audio. This is what I refer to as the "soup sermon." Great message on hospitality and service.

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Since 1980 John Piper has labored in the ministry of preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church under the conviction that “People are starving for the greatness of God.” More than success, or riches, or esteem, or sex, or family, or sport, the glory of God satisfies the yearnings of our souls and sustains us in all our joys and pains.

John Piper’s goal in preaching is to proclaim God’s glory which shines forth “in the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4). The glory of God is vital for our lives and for the life of the church. So come, join John Piper as he exults in God through the exposition of the biblical text, and taste and see that the Lord is good.

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About the Author

John Piper, pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1980, is a widely respected theologian and bestselling author. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Piper attended Wheaton College where he majored in literature and minored in philosophy. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he studied under Dr. Daniel Fuller. Piper received his Doctorate in Theology from the University of Munich and taught biblical studies for six years at Bethel College.

His preaching and teaching are featured daily on the radio program, Desiring God. His books include The Passion of Jesus Christ, Desiring God, The Pleasures of God, Life as a Vapor, and the Gold Medallion Award-wining Pierced by the Word.

Matt Chandler - Gravity

I think I'm going to start this week off with one of my favorite young preachers today. Matt is pastor of The Village Church down in Dallas, TX a fairly new, but rapidly growing replant. I've been listening to his sermons now for about two and a half years and I think what strikes me most about him is the combination of faithful exposition with very heartfelt pastoral application. For a big church pastor, Matt comes across as someone who really knows and cares about his people. He is also one of those preachers who does humor well...he's funny without trying to be Live at the Improv, if you catch my meaning.

Anyway, to get you introduced to Matt...here's a message he gave at the Reform/Resurge Conference in Seattle last year, titled 'Gravity'.

I'm back...

It's been almost a month since I last posted and it is mostly due to the change of living in Africa. Funny, I saw a sign today advertising Africonnect, the internet provider in Lusaka. It showed this guy holding on to the keyboard as the computer literally was like windstorm propelling him back... I chuckled because it is really a little faster than dial up and you pay for bandwidth. So, as I think through how this going to work, and because it was my plan to bring in some other highly respected and smart guys to share their favorite sermons, I hereby introduce to you the first of hopefully several guest pastors sharing their favorite sermons...

Pete Williamson is the lead pastor of Oikos Fellowship in my hometown of Bellingham, Washington. A great guy, huge heart and a passion for reaching Bellingham, he is also really smart. Just check out his blog to see the man and the mission! Enjoy this week! I know I will!