Recap of Recent Piper Messages
Recap of Recent Piper Messages
May202013
9PM
Challies: A Knight in Shining Blubber
We all know that the story of Jonah is really the story of Jonah and his whale, right? Every childrens’ Bible majors on that whale and its role in miraculously delivering Jonah from the depths of the
May162013
This fool is going mad because of marking
8AM
Fellowship last night: forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us
(Taught by Toshi) Study Summary:
“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” is an incredibly difficult sentence both to understand and also to apply.
1. We learnt from Matthew 18 that true forgiveness ONLY comes with God, who did not just forget our sins but charged sin’s cost to Jesus, so that He could forgive us freely. Vertical forgiveness is free, but was not cheap! It cost Jesus everything to pay for us. (Matt 18:10-14)
2. Because of that true forgiveness, we who are God’s forgiven children, His found sheep we ought to be humble and together, forgive other Christians - horizontal forgiveness. There is a process for doing this, guidelines for this in Matt 18:15-17. We learnt that the ultimate goal of horizontal forgiveness is restoration, gaining the other brother. (Matt 18:15-20)
3. Finally, we learnt that forgiveness (beginning vertically and expressed horizontally) that God gives is meant for others, and if we are unable to forgive other Christians the 100 denarii Jesus has paid, we show that we don’t quite understand our own forgiveness - the 1000 talent debt He cancelled. (Matt 15:21-35)
FAQ: does this teach us to forgive non-Christians too? Absolutely, but it is not the main point because we understand true forgiveness that goes through Jesus paying the debt we owe (true forgiveness = vertical > horizontal forgiveness.) With non-Christians, we should go BEYOND just forgetting grudges - instead, help them see that God’s true forgiveness in Christ (vertical) could be theirs too, so that we can be properly restored to one another (horizontal).
May152013
“If you place 32 metronomes on a static object and set them rocking out of phase with one another, they will remain that way indefinitely. Place them on a moveable surface, however, and something very interesting (and very mesmerizing) happens.”
10AM
Books I’m reading now
A Call to Spiritual Reformation, D A Carson
Genesis (Preach the Word Series), Kent Hughes
The Great Enemy (Encounters with Jesus Series), Tim Keller
Grounded in the Gospel, J I Packer and Gary A Parrett
Preaching and Preachers, D M Lloyd Jones
A Brief History of Though, Luc Ferry
The Psalter Reclaimed, Gordon Wenham
10AM
Chanticleer yesterday! In Singapore! And 200 other singers - lovely.
May132013
A little bit late but HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! I felt yesterday’s balloon was not enough. As we saw yesterday on TV, live long and prosper! @giddyaps @dycube @oshuaya
9AM
Mandarin gospel invitation flyers by CEFC at the noodle stall. You have witnesses everywhere, Lord!
May102013
Ubi Caritas
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur: Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus. Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites. Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Simul quoque cum beatis videamus, Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus: Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum, Saecula per infinita saeculorum. Amen.
English Translation
Where charity and love are, God is there. Christ’s love has gathered us into one. Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him. Let us fear, and let us love the living God. And may we love each other with a sincere heart. Where charity and love are, God is there. As we are gathered into one body, Beware, lest we be divided in mind. Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease, And may Christ our God be in our midst. Where charity and love are, God is there. And may we with the saints also, See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God: The joy that is immense and good, Unto the ages through infinite ages. Amen
May92013
Quotables from Daniel Cox’s HP article: Is Atheism Only For The Upper Class?
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-cox/is-atheism-only-for-the-upper-class-socioeconomic-differences-among-the-religiously-unaffiliated_b_3146894.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
10AM
The Barna Group - Are Christians More Like Jesus or More Like the Pharisees?
The Barna Group
These were some of the questions posed under ‘Christlikeness’ on a four point scale:
Actions like Jesus:
- I listen to others to learn their story before telling them about my faith.
- In recent years, I have influenced multiple people to consider following Christ.
- I regularly choose to have meals with people with very different faith or morals from me.
- I try to discover the needs of non-Christians rather than waiting for them to come to me.
- I am personally spending time with non-believers to help them follow Jesus.
Attitudes like Jesus:
- I see God-given value in every person, regardless of their past or present condition.
- I believe God is for everyone.
- I see God working in people’s lives, even when they are not following him.
- It is more important to help people know God is for them than to make sure they know they are sinners.
- I feel compassion for people who are not following God and doing immoral things.
May82013
Clarus '13: Resources for One-Anothering the Word
Spreading God’s Glory Broader and Deeper: A gospel-centered, Scripture saturated, church planting, expositional preaching church.
11AM
Philadelphia Inquirer: Tenth Pres - a Philadelphia and theological fixture
Robert W. Patterson served as a welfare adviser in the Corbett administration When Philadelphia Magazine compiled 76 reasons “Why We Love Philly” in December, the editors placed Tenth Presbyterian…
11AM
Isaac Watts: The Reformer You Know By Heart But Not By Name
Meditating on the Gospel
One of the main thrusts of Watts’s work was to theologically interpret the Psalms. As Watts saw it, Christian worship should be a meditation on the gospel. By exclusively singing Psalms, it relegated the church to singing in language that was prophetic and predictive, excluding the accomplished work of Christ that illuminates all that the Psalms foreshadowed.
As Watts put it himself:
Where [the Psalmist] speaks of the pardon of sin through the mercies of God, I have added the merits of a Savior. Where he talks of sacrificing goats or bullocks, I rather choose to mention the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God… .
Where he promises abundance of wealth, honor, and long life, I have changed some of these typical blessings for grace, glory, and life eternal, which are brought to light by the gospel, and promised in the New Testament. And I am fully satisfied that more honor is done to our blessed Savior by speaking his Name, his graces, and actions in his own language, according to the brighter discoveries he has now made, than by going back again to the Jewish forms of worship, and the language of types and figures.
…
Driven by pastoral priorities, Watts took liberties with the Psalms that many interpreted as bold and dangerous. But Watts’s deepest concern was for the hearts and souls of his congregation. He recognized that for the sake of contextualization, Christians needed help with language, imagery, and metaphor. His goal was to pastorally exposit the Psalms, through song, for the sake of building up the church.
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