John Piper on Sacrifice

I was unable to post last night because we were barreling northward in a church bus. There is nothing quite like being stuck with thirteen other guys in a rolling rectangle for hours on end. We had lively conversations about Biblical inerrancy, slept in odd positions, and watched the Bourne Ultimatum on a borrowed laptop. All three were very enjoyable. I am happy to be home and to see my lovely wife.

John Piper preached yesterday morning. His message was titled, "How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice." His text was Hebrews 13:13 - "Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured." He referenced other texts in Hebrews to demonstrate that the surpassing value of having Christ impels us to risk-taking ministry. It was a deeply moving message. Piper pled with us to not spend our lives accumulating endless possessions and cultivating churches that idolize ease. Rather, he said, we ought to embrace suffering because of the promise of eternal, deeply-satisfying fellowship with Jesus.

Here's an excerpt from early in the message:

"My desire and prayer to God is that your life and your ministry would have a radical flavor. A risk-taking flavor. A gutsy, counter-cultural, wartime flavor that makes average American people in your church uncomfortable. A strange mixture of tenderness and toughness that keeps people a little bit off-balance, a pervasive summons to something more, something hazardous, something wonderful. A saltiness and a brightness about your life and about your church. Something like Jesus."

Finally, a closing ballad:

Amid the sweeping tide of ease and leather La-Z-Boys,
John Piper bellowed, "These are not the most enduring joys!
The fellowship of Jesus blazes hotly like a lamp
And beckons us to join him on the hill outside the camp."

R.C. Sproul on the Cursed Substitute

If I had to choose a favorite message from today's lineup at T4G, my vote would be R.C. Sproul. In a word, he was magisterial. His text was Galatians 3:10-14, and he spent nearly sixty spellbound minutes explaining with calculated precision what it meant for Christ to become a curse for us.

He sat in a chair while he preached (on account of recent struggles with vertigo) and, aside from the characteristic upper body swivel, made little use of exaggerated gesture. But his words.....his words were like clubs. Heavy. Round. Blunt. Powerful. He beat the air with the agony of the cross until the room sizzled with the majesty of God. I thank God for the gospel and for men like R.C. Sproul who tell it so well.

Here is my balladified recap of the session:

He perched atop a wooden chair and with his eyebrows arched,
The raspy voice of R.C. Sproul was anything but parched;
Instead it flowed with springs of gospel richness like a flood,
And swept us up to Calvary where hung the cursed God.

The audio is already posted.

The First Installment

Well, I was hoping to post something last night after getting back to the hotel room, but I couldn't get the internet to work. On the positive side, I was able to offer a cold piece of pizza to Tim Challies in the elevator. He rejected my offer, but I haven't lost heart.

Around lunchtime yesterday, a group called the Band of Bloggers met to discuss various issues related to blogging. The main feature of the gathering was a panel featuring Abraham Piper, Thabiti Anabwile, Phil Johnson, and Tim Challies. I felt like the discussion was profitable, and we all received some free books. Not a bad deal.

Here is the mini-ballad I wrote for the event. Actually, it's just one stanza. It feels better to call it a mini-ballad, though:

The Band of Bloggers met for lunch and chatted 'bout the craft,
A moderated panel quipped about the perfect draft;
Four men (Thabiti, Challies, Phil, and DG's Abraham)
Arrested our attention for a sixty-minute span.

If anyone is feeling adventuresome and would like to put this verse to music, I would love to hear it.

Off to the conference.