If the aim of preaching is the glory of God through Jesus Christ, and if God is most glorified in our people when they are most satisfied in him, and if the universal human experience of suffering threatens to undermine their faith in the goodness of God, and thus their satisfaction in his glory, then preaching must aim, week in and week out, to help our people be satisfied in God while suffering. Indeed we must help them count suffering as part of why they should be satisfied in God.
John Piper
[ December 12, 2002, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: PreachtheWord ]
Can you believe this quote?
Discussion in '2000-02 Archive' started by Daniel David, Dec 12, 2002.
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Reads like John Piper.
(He's right, too.) -
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It is just radical enough to shake people from their secret sin of passive worship and man-exalting preaching.
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Werks fer meee!
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Nonsense. We need to focus our preaching on telling people what they can and can't do so they will live holy lives.
Anyway, suffering is the result of sin.
We need a "tongue-in-cheek" emoticon. Am I right? -
Seigfried;I must disagree with your statement,for if we are satisfied in God we will want to live a holy life!I have seen from first hand experience that telling people what they can and cannot do leads to frustration.Brutus
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Frankly, If I heard all that at once in a sermon, I would sit back and say, "Oh".....and wait for the next point.
I am not sure it is an absorbable statement if we weren't reading it.
Cheers,
Jim
K.I.S.S. -
If I lived in Minniapolis, I would not hesitate for a picosecond (1E-12s) to attend Piper's Church.
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That is a profound but difficult sentence. If I heard 5-10 sentences like that in a row I am not sure I could keep tracking with the speaker. -
It was obviously not a statement directed at the general public, but to disciples.
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BTW, with both Doug McLachlan and John Piper pastoring Baptist churches in Minneapolis, that city must have the most number of deep-thinking baptists per capita of any city in the US.
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I don't believe a word of what I wrote. It's just my satirical bent rearing its ugly head.
Sometimes I like to say what the legalistic fundamentalists are thinking before they say it.
That's why I wish we had a tongue-in-cheek emoticon. -
Piper is a good read but his sermons can be difficult to absorb if one is merely listening to him. I have heard him in person on a few occasions and must admit I needed to get the tape and listen to him again to comprehend fully the meat of his sermon.
I appreciate Piper but it would do him some good to not preach every minute of every sermon with such intense focus. I think he often neglects the practical application necessary to span the gap between the two worlds (to borrow Stott's image). Of course his style matches his personality so his sermons are merely a reflection of his nature.
As with any great preacher/pastor, his disciples may take Piperism to a level it was never intended. -
swaimj asked:
Does anyone know if John Piper reads his sermons from a manuscript or delivers them extemporaneously?
There is a month's backlog of sermons at http://www.desiringgod.org/. Judging by his tone, I don't think he's necessarily reading them so much as working from an outline. I wouldn't go so far as to say he is extemporizing either (which to me connotes making it up on the spot). -
I don't see anything wrong with that statement. Isn't it true that in weakness we can find strength, and in being humbled by trials we can be thankful? God is constant...I can find not only satisfactions with that but comfort as well.
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Siegfried;I was hoping that you were not serious by your statement,glad to see some have a sense of humor!!
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i cant believe it
[ December 16, 2002, 09:51 PM: Message edited by: Prince of Preachers ] -
Side note: :eek: Eek! Preach the Word had Three Heads!!! :eek: :D
[ December 17, 2002, 04:00 PM: Message edited by: WisdomSeeker ]