The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130 Unfolding…unpacking….brings to mind an image of a suitcase full of stuff. Now a suitcase full of stuff does not have much practical use until you unpack it. Your toothbrush and toothpaste can’t be used until you take them out of … More Unpack your Bible!
Naaman’s Servant Girl An Advent Poem by John Piper “Grandma.” “Yes, Sarah.” “Mamma told Me once about how very bold You were when you were nine or ten, And how a mob of Syrian men Stole you away from home at night. She said there was an awful fight, And other things you kept inside. … More Naaman’s Servant Girl
John Piper, in a message “Don’t Waste Your Life,” The great passion of the unwasted life is to magnify Christ. Here is the text that, perhaps more than any other, governs what life is really about: Philippians 1:20-21. Paul says, “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, … More Living and dying the unwasted life
John Piper on Ephesians 6, “The Weapon Serves the Wielding Power”-: …I have been impressed more than ever before that God has given us prayer not as an intercom for increased convenience in our secluded cottages, but as a walkie-talkie connecting the general’s headquarters with the transportation line and the field hospital and the front … More Prayer is a Wartime Walkie-Talkie
John Piper on “Raising Children Who Hope in the Triumph of God” Paul says, “Don’t provoke your children to anger.” What does he mean? He doesn’t mean don’t cross their will. He doesn’t mean don’t deny their desires. He means don’t cross their will for no good purpose. Don’t deny their desires without making it … More Paul’s Parental Wisdom
John Piper, in a sermon, “Marriage: A Matrix of Christian Hedonism”- Christ died for the church in order that he might present to himself a beautiful bride. He endured the cross for the joy of marriage that was set before him. But what is the ultimate joy of the church? Is it not to be presented as … More Christian Hedonism and Marriage
John Piper says, One way to describe the Christian life is to say that it is made up of paradoxes. That means that there are things in our lives that don’t seem to make sense, don’t seem to fit with other things in our lives. And yet we Christians have seen enough of God’s power … More Paradox and tension in Ephesians 5
John Piper, in a sermon, “The Baptism and the Genealogy of Jesus” says in his introduction: You can learn more from a book if you stop and ask it questions than if you just read it passively. That includes the Bible too. One of the great problems in Bible reading is that we move our eyes over … More Ask questions when you read the Bible!
Six Goals of Satan in Getting You to Hold Grudges by John Piper According to [Ephesians 4] verse 27 this is what Satan is watching for—the gap called grudge. If there is any way that Satan can assist you to hold a grudge, he will do it. For there are six goals of Satan which are … More The Gap Called Grudge
John Piper, in a sermon, “John the Baptist and the Brood of Vipers”- This is the meaning of repentance: a turning of the direction of our life and the affections of our heart, so that we become oriented on God and love the things he loves. John promises the people “forgiveness of sins” in response … More The Issue is Repentance
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 