#john piper

Does Premarital Pregnancy Nullify ‘Unequally Yoked’?

I enjoy John Piper’s “Ask Pastor John” feature and often benefit from hearing (or reading) his answers to the more than 1200 questions he has taken on so far. It reflects a lifetime of studying Scripture and applying its principles. He recently answered a question on whether premarital pregnancy nullifies the principle of “unequally yoked” and I want to interact with it just a little. Here’s the question: A young couple at my church is unmarried, and they have a …

Why John Piper’s “Shells” Illustration Transformed a Generation

If you were one of the 40,000 students at the Passion One Day conference in Memphis, Tennessee back in May 2000, just one little word may well have changed your life. You know the word, don’t you? Shells. Yes, shells. Seashells. It was the most memorable illustration and the most powerful sermon from one of the most influential Christian leaders of our time. And it is the subject of this second entry in the Great Sermons Series. (Click here for the first entry in …

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The Quiet Power of the Ordinary (Christian Men and Their Godly Moms)

As we look to the history of the church to observe “Christian Men and Their Godly Moms,” we encounter a number of mothers who were remarkably accomplished. Some have forceful personalities, some are skilled theologians, some are worthy of full-length biographies in their own right. Yet many more are perfectly ordinary, serving their families in quiet obscurity, wondering if they are making any significant impact in the world. In this entry in our series, we look to how God used …

A Peculiar Glory

I have encountered a lot of young men, a lot of young preachers, who want to model themselves after John Piper. They see his joy in the Lord, they see his passion for God’s glory, they see the fire he brings to his sermons, and they want to be like him. Unfortunately, I have seen more than a few preach with all the passion but none of the unction. They have learned that you can’t preach like Piper unless you …

Weekend A La Carte (3/30)

Man Is Fallen and Will Destroy the Earth – This article comes from far outside the Christian box, and this is exactly what makes it so interesting. The author, an environmentalist, realizes that secular humanism, which assumes the goodness of man, is contradicted by humanity’s treatment of the environment. He Is a Kind Man – R.C. Sproul Jr. pens a tribute to his father. “While teaching through the fruit of the Spirit my father expressed how delighted he would be …

An Interview with John Piper

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview John Piper. I promptly solicited questions from you, the readers of this site, and Pastor John was kind enough to answer them. Because the focus of this year’s Desiring God National Conference is sanctification, I asked him questions related to that subject. In this interview he discusses why sanctification is not an instantaneous act, how we can emphasize personal toil in holiness without diminishing the goodness and sovereignty of God, why we …

Does Christianity Have a Masculine Feel?

John Piper sparked quite a storm with his biographical message on the “frank and manly” J. C. Ryle. One of his conclusion was that Christianity is meant to have a masculine feel to it. Response to his message ranged from outrage to applause. I found myself perplexed and needed to give it some time to work itself out in my mind. For a while I gave up, but then decided that it would be worth the effort, so sat down and …

We Are Not God

We are not God. That seems obvious when we consider it and yet so often we act as if we actually are God, or gods, at least. John Piper talks about this and many of its implications in one of his meditations from Pierced by the Word. Here is what he says: We are not God. So by comparison to ultimate, absolute Reality, we are not much. Our existence is secondary and dependent on the absolute Reality of God. He …

Thinking About Rick Warren & John Piper

Desiring God Ministries has posted John Piper’s long-awaited interview with Rick Warren. This has brought to completion the invitation Piper extended to Warren to speak at the 2010 Desiring God National Conference. The interview was supposed to happen at that event, but in the end Warren was unable to travel to Minneapolis and the interview was postponed. The men got together on May 1, 2011 and this video is the result. Today I want to offer up some thoughts on …

Why John Piper Should Not Have Invited Rick Warren

So John Piper has asked Rick Warren to speak at this year’s Desiring God National Conference, Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God. You may have heard about this, either through buzz in the blogosphere or even from Piper himself in his recent Ask Pastor John session. I have known this for some time now as Warren told me himself when I visited Saddleback last September. So I have had a long time to reflect on …