Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 13

Kindle Deals for July 18

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman – $3.99

Is God Anti-Gay?: And Other Questions About Jesus, the Bible, and Same-Sex Sexuality by Sam Allberry – $2.99

The Christian Manifesto: Jesus’ Life-Changing Words from the Sermon on the Plain by Alistair Berg – $4.99

The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality by Glen Scrivener – $3.99

Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading by Tim Keller – $4.99

Romans 8-16 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading by Tim Keller – $4.99

Fire and Light: How the Enlightenment Transformed Our World by James MacGregor Burns – $1.99

The Dillinger Days by John Toland – $2.99

MY BOOKS:

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

View more on Barnabas Piper's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 18, 2024 06:42

You Were Made to Belong

Belonging is never discovered in isolation. Even the most introverted among us yearns to belong with others. We may not love crowds, but no one loves constant isolation.

This is the way God made us; it was his idea. From the beginning, he intended us to be in unhindered relationship with him and with each other. Sin fouled all that up, and continues to do so, but it’s still God’s intent that we belong with one another.

God’s Story Is Full of Belonging

The Old Testament is essentially the story of God forming a people, a nation, for himself. It was supposed to be a community following God and walking closely with him. But it’s also the story of how they repeatedly broke relationship with God and with one another and the devastation unleashed each time. This story sets up the coming of Jesus, showing us our profound and undeniable need for a Savior, Redeemer, and Restorer.

We know Jesus came to die for our sins, to save us from judgment, and to restore our relationship with God. Western Christians can easily come to think of that relationship individually—as in, Jesus saves me from my sins to restore my relationship with God.

What we sometimes overlook is Jesus also came to establish a kingdom, a community of believers who collectively follow him and represent him to the world. This is the kingdom to which all Christians belong. It’s a kingdom of souls transformed from death to life, from bondage to sin to freedom in Christ. It’s Christ’s church, across the globe.

True Belonging Is a Moral Reality

True belonging is both a moral reality and a comforting reality. Belonging to a church is a morally good thing—something God smiles on—and it brings comfort and joy because it draws us closer to the heart of God.

If something is morally good, we have an obligation to act in obedience. So part of belonging is being purposeful and committed.

Our tendency is always toward inertia, toward ease and passivity, but Hebrews 10:23–25 offers a clear call to take intentional action as part of the church—to stir one another up to love and good deeds, to not neglect meeting, and to encourage one another. But the tone isn’t heavy-handed. It’s not “do this, or else.” Such pressure would make church a place of burden rather than belonging. Instead, we discover a warm urging to build one another up, a command that makes belonging both easier and richer.

True Belonging Is a Comforting Reality

God has given us a clear direction, and by following it we find a clear reward. We’re participating in welcoming others into belonging and finding belonging ourselves.

Belonging is defined by obedience to God’s summons (moral reality) and by the promise and heart of Jesus (comforting reality). In John 17, Jesus prays what is often known as the “High Priestly Prayer,” in which he speaks to his Father on behalf of his disciples and the church through the ages—all those who would one day believe in him through the preaching of the gospel. (That’s right, Jesus prayed for you!) In verses 20–26 he lays out his desires for his people through the ages: for us to be one, unified in him in the same way he’s unified with his Father.

This isn’t something we can just commit to and make happen with the best intentions and good hustle. But Jesus wouldn’t desire something for us that he doesn’t also make available to us. So there’s a built-in promise.

This is a supernatural kind of togetherness, given to believers by the Holy Spirit. It isn’t defined by how we’re similar to one another but rather by how we overcome the differences the world around us might see as insurmountable barriers. (Ephesians 2:11–22 explains and portrays this magnificently.)

Jesus is promising his Spirit will reside in his church and be our unifying, defining reality.

Jesus also makes clear he wants us to know and show his love; he wants us to be with him. He’s offering and promising a context of absolute, unhindered belonging in and through himself. And it’s not self-serving belonging, only existing so we as individuals can have our needs met and find a place of comfort. Yes, the church provides deep comfort, but it’s upward-pointing belonging “so that the world may know that [God] sent [Jesus]” (John 17:23).

Ministry of Belonging

Our togetherness, our belonging, is to be a public evidence and invitation to the transforming, freeing, life-giving, comforting presence of Jesus Christ.

To belong as God created us to belong is so much more than finding a place of commonality or a comfort zone with those who share interests or oddities. It’s more than gaining a level of comfort and familiarity. Certainly, those are wonderful discoveries and can spark significant friendships. But God made you and me for something greater.

He made us to be members of his kingdom—of his church. Specifically, he made you to be part of a local body of believers. This is where and with whom you’re meant to find belonging.

So we’re to belong to a church because it’s a command. And we’re to belong to a church because it’s good

This article is adapted from Belong by Barnabas Piper and was published in partnership with The Good Book Company.

View more on Barnabas Piper's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 18, 2024 05:10

Kindle Deals for July 17

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Forever: Why You Can’t Live Without It by Paul Tripp – $1.99

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter – $3.99

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell – $2.99

Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith Belle Gelles – $2.99

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick – $2.99

The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett Graff – $3.99

American Assassin: A Thriller (Mitch Rapp Book 1) by Vince Flynn – $2.99

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn & Hal Iggulden – $2.99

MY BOOKS:

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

View more on Barnabas Piper's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 17, 2024 06:48

Kindle Deals for July 16

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? By Tim Keller – $4.99

Spiritual Warfare in the Storyline of Scripture: A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach by Chuck Lawless & William Cook – $4.99

The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? by Jim Davis, Michel Graham, & Ryan Burge – $3.99

Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders – $2.99

Writing to Learn: How to Write – and Think – Clearly About Any Subject at All by WIlliam Zinsser – $1.99

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell – $3.99

The World Atlas of Coffee: From beans to brewing – coffees explored, explained and enjoyed by James Hoffmann – $1.99

Eighteen Days in October: The Yom Kippur War and How It Created the Modern Middle East by Uri Kaufman

MY BOOKS:

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

View more on Barnabas Piper's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 16, 2024 04:12

Kindle Deals for July 15

Some Kindle deals worth your mind and money today:

Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners by Dane Ortlund – $5.99

Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification contributions from John Piper, Kevin DeYoung Russell Moore, Ed Welch, and Jarvis Williams – $4.99

The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness by Kevin DeYoung – $4.99

On Writing (and Writers): A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions by C.S. Lewis – $2.99

Never Again: A History of the Holocaust by Martin Gilbert – $2.99

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson – $4.99

Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves by Adam Hichschild – $2.99

Studs Terkel’s Chicago – $1.99

1968 in America: Music, Politics, Chaos, Counterculture, and the Shaping of a Generation by Charles Kaiser – $2.99

MY BOOKS:

The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life – $4.99

These links are Amazon affiliate links.

View more on Barnabas Piper's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 15, 2024 04:55

God Shows His Love For Us

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)

Talk is cheap. If I say I love someone but ignore and mistreat them, I am just showing that my words mean nothing. Love needs actions to be real.

Romans 5:8 tells us that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Two things stand out about this verse.

First, is the word shows–God shows his love. Throughout the Bible, God tells his people he loves us, and this is how he proves it without a shadow of a doubt. He loves us so much that while we are still rebelling against him, he does what is necessary to save us, even though it is the most painful and costly thing.

Second, is that Jesus’s death on the cross for our sins was an act of God’s love. It says God showed his love for us when Jesus took the punishment for our sins. This means that Jesus fulfilled God’s plan to save. It wasn’t a fallback plan. It was God’s intentional act of ultimate love.

God’s words are never cheap, so when He declares his love for us, we know they are true. He showed it through the work of Jesus on the cross.

I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe!

View more on Barnabas Piper's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on July 15, 2024 04:42

3 Things I Like This Week – July 12

Each week (give or take one or two here and there) I share three things I like – It could be a book, a movie, a podcast, an album, a photo, an article, a restaurant, a food item, a beverage, or anything else I simply enjoy and think you might too. You can find a whole pile of things, especially books, I like and recommend HERE.

1. Amazon Kindle Scribe

If you poke around my website or follow me on social media you will know that I share a lot of kindle deals, and I would have you know that I put my money where my keystrokes are: I am an ebook reader. The Kindle Scribe is my favorite e-reader for a variety of reasons. First, the screen is the size of a full sized print book, so it feels like reading a real book. (Yes, print books are more real.) Second, kindles paper white technology makes the screen much more pleasant and less glaring than, say, an iPad. Third, I have found the writing/note taking feature to be really helpful. You can’t write in most e-books (a shortcoming of the file type, not the technology), but you can upload pdfs and write in them or create your own notes. I have found this especially helpful when traveling to speak because I can mark up my manuscript or outline by hand and teach directly from the scribe.

2. Half Batch Brewing

Caveat: I have no idea how much this recommendation will matter to anyone outside the Nashville area, but whatever. I am a beer appreciator, which is to say I am advanced well beyond a mere beer drinker but not so far as to be a connoisseur. I have sampled beers of all styles from around the world, and I can definitively say that the American craft brewing obsession with IPAs and sours is profoundly stupid, or at least narrow minded. This isn’t to say there are no good IPAs or sours, but rather that there are so many delightful, delectable, delicious beers beyond those two aggressively after-tasty styles. Half Batch Brewing in Hendersonville, TN (where I live) is leaning whole heartedly and well-craftedly into those other styles–Scottish Ales, Cream Ales, Lagers (both American & Mexican), Belgian Tripels, Red Ales, and more. And they do them all well, with balance and smoothness. Half Batch has quickly climbed the ranks of my favorite breweries, so if you happen to be in or around Nashville hot up their taproom or pick yourself up some. (The Fulkin Scottish Ale is my absolute favorite.)

3. Good Poems

I love poetry. I’m not sure I know anything about it, or even how to define what makes good poetry, but I know what I like. And I love this collection, edited by Garrison Keillor. Mostly it is composed of poems that normal people can connect with rather than something the literati might judge you for disliking or, God forbid, not understanding. It is a delightful entry point for people intimidated by poetry but interested in trying more. As good poetry should do, it evokes and moves. And as every good poetry collection should have, it offers different styles and voices to connect with different kinds of readers.