Audio Transcript There are certain Bible texts that are so important to Pastor John’s life and ministry that we need to stop and focus on them. We saw one last time, on the “gutsy guilt” of Micah 7:8–9, looking at what we do when we come face to face with the guilt of our darkest…
Category: Health
The Prayer of a Hunted Man
Distress discloses who we really are. It wrings us, bleeds us, drags the soul to the surface to account for itself. I am the best me with a happy wife, obedient children, loyal friends, suitable bank account, and (as a pastor) humble sheep. But when the child screams inconsolably (again), when the wife is anxious,…
I have come to send fire on the earth!
I have come to send fire on the earth! Posted by appolus on September 14, 2024 It is true that we have seen man’s best endeavor in the field of evangelism leaving communities untouched. We have seen crowded churches. We have seen many professions. We have seen hundreds, yes and thousands responding to what you speak…
Win Them with Dinner: Practicing Hospitality in Post-Christian Places
In 2015, the Supreme Court (in Obergefell v. Hodges) voted to legalize so-called same-sex marriage in all fifty states. With this decision came the concept of “dignitary harm,” declaring the failure to affirm LGBTQ+ identity a damaging harm to those who define themselves by these letters. While the gospel of Jesus Christ affirms only one…
Balrog on the Bridge: Cultivating the Courage of Gandalf
“You shall not pass!” Is there any other line in literature that better captures the virtue of courage? You likely know the scene. The Fellowship of the Ring has journeyed through the long dark of Moria, and now they are fleeing before a host of orcs — and Durin’s Bane. Gandalf sends his friends toward…
Will God Forgive My Worst Sin?
Audio Transcript Someone recently asked me to venture an answer to a question — this question: What’s the most common question we get on the podcast? And I don’t know the answer exactly. So, it truly is just a guess. And my guess, based on my experience, I would say, is this: Our most-often-asked-about question…
That Really Happy Church: A Conversation with John Piper and Joel Beeke
Jason Helopoulos: I’m told that about 50 percent of those that are here are either somewhere between zero and five years of pastoral ministry. You’ve both pastored for a long time, so maybe we could start here. Could you tell us your sense of calling to ministry and how it was that the Lord called…
How to Plan Wickedly Well
This time of year, as the leaves begin to change color and normal schedules emerge and blossom again, we often stop to make plans for the months ahead. The slower pace and irregular rhythms of summer are giving way to the steady beats of work, school, and church life. This changing of the seasons presents…
I have danced on mountains.
I have danced on mountains. Posted by appolus on September 10, 2024 I have worshiped in the valleyWhere angels fear to treadI have danced upon the mountainsAnd there was Spirit ledMy heart has been enrapturedUntil it filled to overflowMy soul was loosed in heavenAnd I know the way I goTis Calvary then and Calvary nowIn all…
Will You Love Jesus in Five Years? Training Your Soul to Delight in Him
No one wakes up an Olympian. No athlete competes against the world’s best by natural ability alone. Among other things, the Olympics display the plasticity of human bodies and skills. Granted, many of the world’s top competitors may have been born with some unusual abilities and proclivities, but nature alone did not get them to…