My Irish Adventure: Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain

Friday, February 12, 2010

Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain

In 1996, John Piper spoke in chapel at Wheaton College, his alma mater. The title of his sermon was "Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain". In his opening prayer, he asked that God make that moment a great historical moment for His kingdom. I have no doubt that prayer has been and continues to be answered by the fruit this message has borne through both those who were present that day and by those who have downloaded this sermon since.
My good friend, Nathan Michael once told me this sermon influenced his decision to follow the call of God to the mission field. Nathan and his wife Joanna are currently full-time missionarites with Wycliffe Bible Translators. They are in France this year, along with their one-year old daughter Ayla, preparing to go to Camaroon, where they will be for an indefinite amount of time, until the Bible is fully translated into the native language of a people group there.
When I visited my sister's family in southeast Missouri last weekend, I intended to play an excerpt from this sermon on my laptop. My brother-in-law Jason and I ended up listening to the entire thing. Why? Because this is the most POWERFUL sermon on missions that I have ever heard! If you have a heart for the nations, this will get you fired up. If you don't, perhaps God will give you one through this preaching of the Word. I urge you to read, listen to or download this message! If you have the capability to listen or download, I strongly encourage that, as the text cannot express the power behind the words.
I don't think any individual that I've never met has inclined my heart and mind towards God like John Piper has. I am continually floored by his heart, mind and humble spirit. Whether you are completely unfamiliar with Piper or you listen to and/or read him everyday, you MUST hear this.
Piper and his church's mission statement is, "We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples." May this mission never be far from my mind, especially as I go to Ireland.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What I'm Reading...

The Bible: James and I are preaching through Luke on Sunday mornings, Miles and I are teaching through John for Wednesday Bible studies. Privately studying Genesis and 1 Corinthians--I am going slow, taking advantage of my new ESV Study Bible to really dig deep.
Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ by John Piper: This is Piper's brand new book and he preached a sermon series with the same name. The book looks at God's Sovereignty over sin. He discusses how God uses specific sins like those of Joseph's brothers and Judas. He wrestles with why God allows Satan and evil to exist for the time being. I started reading this to feel it out and ended up reading the first three chapters in one sitting while on the train to Dublin. You can download the PDF version of the entire book from www.desiringgod.org for free!

Just finished

Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller: Being aware of the things that steal worship from God in our lives is crucial to our relationship with Jesus. I heard Keller speak on this in Nashville. Keller brilliantly uses Old Testament examples such as Jacob, Nebechudnezzar and Jonah to illustrate the different idols people worship. Each chapter ends with a different way of approaching the gospel.
The Mortification of Sin by John Owen: J.I. Packer called this Puritan classic the most influential book on his theology outside the Bible. It is as difficult as reading Edwards, but much shorter. It is an analysis of what it means to "mortify" or "put to death" the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13), something I have considered while trying to memorize Romans 8. This short, but difficult, book is crucial to understanding how we rest on the gospel to defeat sin.
Ireland's Hope: An Evaluation of the Political and Relgious Troubles of Northern Ireland by Phillip Streeter: This was a short book by a very intelligent evangelical Christian explaining the history of "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland (i.e. Bloody Sunday, IRA, etc.). It gave me a clearer understanding of the history and the problems up there. His conclusion is that peace will only come when both sides (who mostly profess Christ) start practicing the life and teaching of Jesus. Unfortunately, though to a much lesser extent, the conflict in N Ireland remains today.
Learning Evangelism from Jesus by Jerram Barrs: Multiple people have told me that this is the most Christ-like man they've ever met. He is a professor at Covenant Theological Seminary who I chanced to see speak when I visited. His humility and wisdom are staggering. He was once Francis Shaeffer's gardener. The book evaluates different instances of Jesus' interactions with people in the gospels. I benefited from this so much that I have passed it on to Patrick to read.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling: I came across this little book that Harry Potter fans should be familiar. Miles and James are not big fans based on the significant increase of witchcraft in the U.K. due to the Harry Potter series, and I would welcome a discussion on Christians reading J.K. Rowling. Personally, I enjoyed reading the five short stories and Professor Dumbledore's commentary. Now that I've finished it, I'll be looking for more light reading.
The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards: This is not an easy read, but it is worth it. If everyone today would understand these concepts, we would have not problems with legalism or easy-believism. Ok, I admit I hit a wall on this one and called it quits 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through. It is so rich, but so dense. Still, it is definitely worth the read if you only get through the first chapter.
The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield: This is well-written account of not only Guinness' founder and his extraordinary Bible-believing, society-reforming family, but also Irish history and the history of beer. It was a perfect read for the flight over to Ireland and a great gift from my buddy Jim. I passed this on to Nathan and he read it in a few days and was obsessed with it in his own unique way. The author is also from Nashville; he mentions Flying Saucer and Blackstone Brewery and thanks Dr. George Grant of Parish Presbyterian Church for teaching him about the noble history of beer.

My Irish Adventure

Friday, February 12, 2010

Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain

No comments:

Post a Comment

Project Ireland

What I'm Reading...

Waiting to be read

Just finished

Blogs to check out: