Grace Baptist Church

The Challenges of Our Technological World

Two videos: one is a trailer for Tim Challies new book, The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion. Punch line: Do you own technology? Or does technology own you?

The second video is an excerpt from John Piper’s message at the 2011 Desiring God Pastor’s Conference where he addresses how easily distracted we are because of the prevalence of technology today.  Very sobering words to consider.

Labels: Cape Coral, Grace Baptist Church, John Piper, Technology, The Next Story, Tim Challies | posted by TimBrister at 8:57 pm | Categories: Culture and Society |

How we can keep Christmas giving Christ-Centered

John Piper answers:

Labels: Cape Coral, Christmas, Grace Baptist Church, John Piper | posted by TimBrister at 11:04 pm | Categories: Advent |

John Piper on the English Standard Version (ESV)

John Piper shares why he prefers the English Standard Version of the Bible.  For a detailed explanation of why Bethlehem Baptist Church uses the ESV, go here.

Trusted By Leaders - John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

Labels: Cape Coral, English Standard Version, ESV, Grace Baptist Church, John Piper | posted by TimBrister at 10:47 pm | Categories: Bible Translations |

John Piper on Hearing the Word of God on Sunday Morning

John Piper offers some excellent counsel on how we should take heed how we should hear the Word on Sunday morning church gathered.  Check it out.

1. Pray that God would give you a good and honest heart.

The heart we need is a work of God. That’s why we pray for it. Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart.” Jeremiah 24:7, “I will give them a heart to know Me.” Let’s pray, “O Lord, give me a heart for you. Give me a good and honest heart. Give me a soft and receptive heart. Give me a humble and meek heart. Give me a fruitful heart.”

2. Meditate on the Word of God.

Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good.” On Saturday night read some delicious portion of your Bible with a view to stirring up hunger for God. This is the appetizer for Sunday morning’s meal.

3. Purify your mind by turning away from worldly entertainment.

James 12:1, “Putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch. This makes us small and weak and worldly and inauthentic in worship. Instead, turn off the television on Saturday night and read something true and great and beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Your heart will unshrivel and be able to feel greatness again.

4. Trust in the truth that you already have.

The hearing of the word of God that fails during trial has no root (Luke 8:13). What is the root we need? It is trust. Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream.” Trusting in the truth you already have is the best way to prepare yourself to receive more.

5. Rest long enough Saturday night to be alert and hopeful Sunday morning.

1 Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything.” I am not laying down any law here. I am saying there are Saturday night ways that ruin Sunday morning worship. Don’t be enslaved by them. Without sufficient sleep, our minds are dull, our emotions are flat, our proneness to depression is higher, and our fuses are short. My counsel decide when you must get up on Sunday in order to have time to eat, get dressed, pray and meditate on the Word, prepare the family, and travel to church; and then compute backward eight hours and be sure that you are in bed 15 minutes before that. Read your Bible in bed and fall asleep with the Word of God in your mind. I especially exhort parents to teach teenagers that Saturday is NOT the night to stay out late with friends. If there is a special late night, make it Friday. It is a terrible thing to teach children that worship is so optional that it doesn’t matter if you are exhausted when you come.

6. Forebear one another Sunday morning without grumbling and criticism.

Psalm 106:25, “They grumbled in their tents; they did not listen to the voice of the LORD.” Sunday morning grumbling and controversy and quarreling can ruin a worship service for a family. When there is something you are angry about or some conflict that you genuinely think needs to be talked about, forebear. Of course if you are clearly the problem and need to apologize, do it as quickly as you can (Matthew 5:23-24). But if you are fuming because of children or spouse delinquency, forebear, that is, be slow to anger and quick to listen (James 1:19). In worship open yourself to God’s exposing the log in your own eye. It may be that all of you will be humbled and chastened so that no conflict is necessary.

7. Be meek and teachable when you come.

James 12:1 “In meekness receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” Meekness and teachability are not gullibility. You have your Bible and you have your brain. Use them. But if we come with a chip on our shoulder and a suspicion of the preaching week after week, we will not hear the Word of God. Meekness is a humble openness to God’s truth with a longing to be changed by it.

8. Be still as you enter the room and focus your mind’s attention and heart’s affection on God.

Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” As we enter the sanctuary, let us “come on the lookout for God and leave on the lookout for people.” Come with a quiet passion to seek God and his power. We will not be an unfriendly church if we are aggressive in our pursuit of God during the prelude and aggressive in our pursuit of visitors during the postlude.

9. Think earnestly about what is sung and prayed and preached.

1 Corinthians 14:20, “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature”. So Paul says to Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). Anything worth hearing is worth thinking about. If you would take heed how you hear, think about what you hear.

10. Desire the Truth of God’s Word more than you desire riches or food.

1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” As you sit quietly and pray and meditate on the text and the songs, remind yourself of what Psalm 19:10-11 says about the Words of God “More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Labels: Cape Coral, Church Gathered, Grace Baptist Church, John Piper | posted by TimBrister at 12:59 pm | Categories: Grace Gathered |

Piper on the Importance of Church Membership

Excellent response by John Piper on the necessity and importance of church membership:

Labels: Cape Coral, Church Membership, Grace Baptist Church, John Piper | posted by TimBrister at 11:50 am | Categories: Church Membership |

2010 Together for the Gospel Videos

I mentioned this past Sunday that the videos from the 2010 Together for the Gospel have been posted online.  To make them more accessible to you, I am posting them below.  Enjoy!

Mark Dever - “The Church Is the Gospel Made Visible”

T4G 2010 — Session 1 — Mark Dever from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

R.C. Sproul - “The Defense and Confirmation of the Gospel”

T4G 2010 — Session 2 — R.C. Sproul from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Albert Mohler - “Trajectories Toward an Adjusted Gospel”

T4G 2010 — Session 3 — Al Mohler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Thabiti Anyabwile - “Fine-Sounding Arguments - How Wrongly Engaging the Culture Adjusts the Gospel”

T4G 2010 — Session 4 — Thabiti Anyabwile from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

John MacArthur - “The Theology of Sleep”

T4G 2010 — Session 5 — John MacArthur from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

John Piper - “Did Jesus Preach Paul’s Gospel?”

T4G 2010 — Session 6 — John Piper from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Ligon Duncan - “Did the Father’s Know the Gospel?”

T4G 2010 — Session 7 — Ligon Duncan from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Matt Chandler (with C.J. Mahaney)

T4G 2010 — Session 8 — Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

C.J. Mahaney - “Ordinary Pastors”

T4G 2010 — Session 9 — C.J. Mahaney from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Labels: 2010 Together for the Gospel, Albert Mohler, C.J. Mahaney, John Piper, Ligon Duncan, Mark Dever, Matt Chandler, R.C. Sproul, Thabiti Anyabwile, Videos | posted by TimBrister at 12:42 pm | Categories: Gospel, Resources |

Seven Reasons Why Preaching Is NOT Enough - John Piper

Much like Grace, Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN (where John Piper is lead pastor) has been transitioning in structure for small group ministry.  In his exposition on John 5, Piper explained the importance of small group for healthy body life and why preaching is NOT enough.  From Piper’s manuscript (emphasis mine):

Last Sunday when I met with the small group leaders of the Downtown Campus, I tried to show them how essential their role is at this church by giving them seven reasons my preaching is not enough—seven reasons why perseverance in faith and growth in faith call for Christians to meet regularly in a face-to-face way to “serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). God intends to do things in you which he will only do through the ministry of other believers.

7 Reasons We Need Small Groups

He has given pastors to the church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). I believe in what I do. And I believe that it is not enough. Here are the seven reasons I gave the small group leaders.

1. The impulse [to] avoid painful growth by disappearing safely into the crowd in corporate worship is very strong.
2. The tendency toward passivity in listening to a sermon is part of our human weakness.
3. Listeners in a big group can more easily evade redemptive crises. If tears well up in your eyes in a small group, wise friends will gently find out why. But in a large gathering, you can just walk away from it.
4. Listeners in a large group tend to neglect efforts of personal application. The sermon may touch a nerve of conviction, but without someone to press in, it can easily be avoided.
5. Opportunity for questions leading to growth is missing. Sermons are not dialogue. Nor should they be. But asking questions is a key to understanding and growth. Small groups are great occasions for this.
6. Accountability for follow-through on good resolves is missing. But if someone knows what you intended to do, the resolve is stronger.
7. Prayer support for a specific need or conviction or resolve goes wanting. O how many blessings we do not have because we are not surrounded by a band of friends who pray for us.

So please know that when this small-group ministry of our church is lifted up, I don’t think it’s an optional add-on to basic Christian living. I think it is normal, healthy, needed, New Testament Christianity. I pray that you will be part of one of these small groups or that you will get the training and start one. This is the main strategy through which our pastors and elders shepherd the flock at Bethlehem: Elders > small group leaders > members to one another.

These seven points provided Piper are important to consider, especially because of the fact that we are all members of one another and participants in the change God wants to bring in conforming us more into the image of Christ.

Labels: Bethlehem Baptist Church, Community, Grace Baptist Church, John Piper, Small Groups | posted by TimBrister at 2:01 pm | Categories: Community, Small Groups |

John Piper on Making Much of Christ in the Workplace

One of the books that has greatly impacted my life in recent years is Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. In his book, Piper has written a chapter entitled, “Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5″ (read it online), where he provides six answers to the question, “How can my life count for the glory of God in my secular vocation?” Check out his answers (quotes are excerpted):

1. We can make much of God in our secular job through the fellowship that we enjoy with him throughout the day in all our work.

“In [this] way we fellowship with God, listening to him through his Word and thanking him and praising him and calling on him for all we need. It is an honor to God if you stay in your secular job ‘with God’ in this way. This is not a wasted life. God delights in being trusted and enjoyed. It shows his value.”

2. We make much of Christ in our secular work by the joyful, trusting, God-exalting design of our creativity and industry.

“[T]he essence of our work as humans must be that it is done in conscious reliance on God’s power, and in conscious quest of God’s pattern of excellence, and in deliberate aim to reflect God’s glory.”

3. We make much of Christ in our secular work when it confirms and enhances the portrait of Christ’s glory that people hear in the spoken Gospel.

“[This] is by having such high standards of excellence and such integrity and such manifest goodwill that we put no obstacles in the way of the Gospel but rather call attention to the all-satisfying beauty of Christ. When we adorn the Gospel with our work, we are not wasting our lives.”

4. We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning money to keep us from depending on others, while focusing on the helpfulness of our work rather than financial rewards.

“Christ has lifted the curse of work. He has replaced anxious toil with trust in God’s promise to supply our needs (Philippians 4:19) and has thus awakened in us a different passion in our work. We turn with joy to the call of Jesus: Seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness, and the food that perishes will be added to you. So don’t labor for the food that perishes. Labor to love people and honor God. Think of new ways that your work can bless people. Stop thinking mainly of profitability, and think mainly of how helpful your product or service can become.”

“Jesus calls us to be aliens and exiles in the world. Not by taking us out of the world, but by changing, at the root, how we view the world and how we do our work in it. If we simply work to earn a living–if we labor for the bread that perishes–we will waste our lives. But if we labor with the sweet assurance that God will supply all our needs–that Christ died to purchase every undeserved blessing–then all our labor will be a labor of love and a boasting only in the cross.”

5. We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning money with the desire to use our money to make others glad in God.

“[O]ur secular work can become a great God-exalting blessing to the world if we aim to take the earnings we don’t need for ourselves (and we need far less than we think) and meet the needs of others in the name of Jesus.”

6. We make much of Christ in our secular work by treating the web of relationships it creates as a gift of God to be loved by sharing the Gospel and by practical deeds of help.

“[God] has woven you into the fabric of others’ lives so that you will tell them the Gospel. Without this, all our adorning behavior may lack the one thing that could make it live-giving. The Christian’s calling includes making his or her mouth a fountain of life. ‘The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life’ (Proverbs 10:11). The link with eternal life is faith in Jesus Christ. No nice feelings about you as a good employee will save anyone. People must know the Gospel, which is the power of God unto eternal life (Romans 1:16).”

Piper’s conclusion:

“If you work like the world, you will waste your life, no matter how rich you get. But if your work creates a web of redemptive relationships and becomes an adornment for the Gospel of the glory of Christ, your satisfaction will last forever and God will be exalted in your joy.”

Labels: Calling, Don't Waste Your Life, John Piper, Vocation, Work | posted by TimBrister at 12:19 pm | Categories: Work/Vocation |

6 Reasons God Appoints Suffering for His Servants

In his book, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions, John Piper gives six reasons why God appoints suffering for His servants.  They are:

1.  Suffering Deepens Faith and Holiness (2 Cor. 1:8-9)

“God disciplines his children through suffering [and] his aim is deeper faith and deeper holiness” (86).

2.  Suffering Makes Your Cup Increase (2 Cor. 4:17-18)

“By enduring suffering with patience, the reward of our experience of God’s glory in heaven increases” (87).
“One of the aims of God in the suffering of the saints is to enlarge their capacity to enjoy his glory both here and in the age to come” (89).

3.  Suffering Is the Price of Making Others Bold (Phil. 1:14)

“God uses the suffering of his missionaries to awaken others out of their slumbers of indifference and amke them bold” (90).

4.  Suffering Fills Up What Is Lacking in Christ’s Afflictions (Col. 1:24)

“The suffering of Christ’s messengers ministers to those they are trying to reach and may open them to the gospel” (91).

5.  Suffering Enforces the Missionary Command to Go [Acts 8]

“The suffering of the church is used by God to reposition the missionary troops in places they might not have otherwise gone” (94).

6.  The Supremacy of Christ Is Manifest in Suffering (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

“The suffering of missionaries is meant by God to magnify the power and sufficiency of Christ” (98).
“What proves that the giver is precious is the glad-hearted readiness to leave all his gifts to be with him.  That is why suffering is so central in the mission of the church” (101).
“Joy in suffering for Christ’s sake makes the supremacy of God shine more clearly than all our gratitude or wealth” (102).

Labels: John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, Suffering | posted by TimBrister at 1:07 pm | Categories: Suffering |

Personal and Family Devotions for Little Children

With a 15 month-old boy and another one due in five weeks, I appreciate the words of John Piper as he explains how the Piper household developed personal and family devotions for little children.  With a full stomach and a good night’s rest, Piper explains what happens at their breakfast table with young infants:

And at that moment Daddy gets out a big book. And he reads from it, a paragraph maybe. This little child doesn’t understand anything I’m saying. He’s six months old, or nine months, or a year.

He doesn’t understand anything I’m saying, but he’s learning big time what is going on here: he’s watching daddy take leadership; he’s noticing a book; he’s hearing reading; he’s watching them pray afterwards; and he’s learning massively important things before he understands a word that is going on here.

So he is included in family devotions. He is being trained in devoting himself to God through his word.

Go here to read or listen to the entire piece by Piper.  Good, practical advice on cultivating godly habits in little children.

Labels: Family Devotion, Family Worship, John Piper, Parenting | posted by TimBrister at 8:31 am | Categories: Parenting/Family, Resources |

Never Empty Your Brain of the Gospel!

Labels: Gospel-Saturated, John Piper, What Is a Healthy Church Member? | posted by TimBrister at 6:39 am | Categories: Gospel, Sunday School Stuff |

You Never, Never, Never Outgrow Your Need for the Gospel

Labels: Gospel in 6 Minutes, Gospel-Saturated, John Piper, What Is a Healthy Church Member? | posted by TimBrister at 6:33 am | Categories: Gospel, Sunday School Stuff |

Barnabas Piper on His Parent’s 40th Anniversary

On the 40th anniversary of his parents, John and Noel Piper, Barnabas Piper shares 22 things he admires about his parents.  I encourage you to read his list, some of which includes:

2. The open door policy. Anyone can visit any time.
4. Their availability at any time, particularly times of need or crisis.
6. That they were excited to expand our family by adopting when they were 50 or close to it.
15. That they taught me to enjoy going to church.
17. Including visitors in family devotions.
22. That I learned to pray from listening to countless prayers from both of them.

Labels: Barnabas Piper, John Piper, Noel Piper, Parenting | posted by TimBrister at 12:54 pm | Categories: Parenting/Family |