When I preached anywhere else, I thought: Most of all I love preaching at Bethlehem. “When we took family vacations my children always wanted to come home to Bethlehem. Piper noted that he and his family always viewed their years at Bethlehem with affection. Where that is not true, there is only chaff.” I have worked in this garden for almost 33 years, but, as Paul said, “it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). For “neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7). But the root and the radiance will all be his. “And if he has made us, in any way, the means of your everlasting joy-planting and watering-then this will be our crown, our glory. “If we hope to see the Christ whose glory is to save sinners, it will be our hope, our joy, to see him-not alone-but with the trophies of his mighty grace. When we meet Christ face-to-face, Piper noted, we will not only delight in Him, but in seeing our loved ones as well.
If we delight in a Feast of truth and goodness and beauty, we delight in those who share our tastes and savor the banquet with us.” If we delight in a boundless Treasure, we delight in those who prove it to be inexhaustible. “If we delight in a strong Savior, we delight in his saved subjects. Piper clarified his observation by noting that the tapestry is not more precious than the One who wove it, but “If we delight in a generous King, we delight in the fruit of such kingliness-happy subjects. Then Piper quoted from 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, “What is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” The ones who love and serve and give and wait for the Lord Jesus. But mainly I simply marvel at the tapestry God has woven.” A few thousand of them are recorded in my journal, if I choose to look at them. It was he and not I who wove them into the tapestry that I now look back on with wonder. “It strips away a few million details that at the time seemed major, and it leaves only the big outlines. “Memory has a way of simplifying things,” he noted. To launch his final advent messages, Piper sent a newsletter to his parishioners, “Hungry People Make a Happy Pastor,” which began with sentimental reflections on the beautiful “tapestry” God wove at the church, noting that he spent half the Christmas seasons of his life with one flock. Piper will retire next March from his role as pastor for preaching and teaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. John Piper, the esteemed pastor, author, and theologian, who trumpets the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples in Jesus Christ, is delivering his final advent messages to the church where he has ministered for 33 years.
0 kommentar(er)
