Birkdale Baptist Church

Life, Heart and Hope in Jesus

(Author: John Piper)

Watching our children walk in the truth is high joy (3 John 1:4). Watching them walk away from it is crushing (2 Samuel 18:33).

To lay hold on this joy and to prevent this pain we must pray daily (sometimes hourly) and earnestly for our children. Here is a biblical list of what to pray.

(Author: Abraham Piper)

Today is the last day to pre-order Finally Alive for $5. This offer is available by calling us at 1-888-346-4700.

After today, you can continue pre-ordering, but the price will go up to $9.49.

(Author: John Piper)

Here are some ways to pray for yourself so that you're praying in sync with the way God works.

1. For the desire of my heart to be toward God and his Word.

Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to gain. (Psalm 119:36)

2. For the eyes of my heart to be opened.

Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18)

3. For my heart to be enlightened with these "wonders."

[I pray] that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. (Ephesians 1:18)

4. For my heart to be united, not divided, for God.

O Lord, I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. (Psalm 86:11)

5. For my heart to be satisfied with God and not with the world.

O satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)

6. For strength in this joy, and endurance during the dark seasons.

[I pray that God] would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. (Ephesians 3:16)

7. For visible good deeds and works of love to others.

[I pray that you] will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord...bearing fruit in every good work. (Colossians 1:10)

8. For God to be glorified.

Hallowed be thy name. (Matthew 6:9)

9. In Jesus' name.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? (Romans 8:32)

(Author: David Mathis)

Reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones' classic Spiritual Depression would be a strong way to start the new year.

The title can be a tad deceiving. It's not merely a book for those with a pronounced sense of spiritual depression. It's a book for all Christians—for the daily spiritual depressions we all face this side of heaven.

Lloyd-Jones ends his second chapter with these challenging and refreshing words:

Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression? The first thing you have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past. Realize that it has been covered and blotted out in Christ. Never look back at your sins again. Say: ‘It is finished, it is covered by the Blood of Christ'. That is your first step. Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that true happiness and joy are possible for you. What you need is not to make resolutions to live a better life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say:

I rest my faith on Him alone
Who died for my transgressions to atone. (35)

(Author: John Piper)

At Bethlehem we close prayer week with a focus on the value of reading and memorizing Scripture in the new year.

Justin Taylor has pulled together a list of possible ways to read the Bible in this new year.

I encourage all of us to take the first day of the year and plan how we are going to read the Bible. Don't leave it to chance.

Update : I am going with the Discipleship Journal Plan for one main reason. Few things discourage us more from reading the Bible through in a year than falling behind. This plan gives five catch up days every month. This is absolutely golden! I just printed it out at 9 AM New Year's Day.

(Author: John Piper)

Jesus did not say, "If you fast..." but "When you fast..." (Matthew 6:16). This will be new (even over the top) for some of you. So do a crazy thing in 2009. It might change your relationship with God. And your life.

Here's a tiny bit of help. A bit on how. And a bit on why.

How to Fast

Pick a day of the week or a day of the month and plan to fast in 2009. Plan which meal or meals to skip. Skip them entirely, or do it with only juice or only water. There are no rules. There is only spiritual hunger being spoken and stoked with physical hunger.

Take some of the time you would have spent eating and read some scripture and take time to tell God why you are doing this and what you long for.

Why Fast?

Here are six biblical aims for fasting.

1. For Jesus to come back

Matthew 9:14-15

Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" 15 And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast

2. For help in a new venture in ministry

Matthew 4:1-2

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

Acts 13:3

Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

3. To avert some danger or threat

Ezra 8:21

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

2 Samuel 12:16

David therefore inquired of God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.

4. To express sorrow and loss

2 Samuel 1:12

They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword

1 Chronicles 10:12

All the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh, and they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

5. To express repentance and grief for sin

Joel 2:12-13

"Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil.

6. Not for the praise of men

Matthew 6:16-18

Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

(For more instruction and inspiration in fasting see A Hunger for God, Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer.)

(Author: Jon Bloom)

Dear Desiring God Staff,

As 2008 fades into history, I want to tell you again what a precious, undeserved privilege it has been to serve with you in the mission of Desiring God. God granted 44 of you to serve at some time during 2008, 35 of whom remain while the rest have followed the Lord's call into other fields.

Most of the work—and the most important work—of Desiring God was accomplished this year through you. 1 Peter 2:17 says "Honor everyone." And so I want to briefly honor each one of you:

Larry Agnew, your godly, pastoral leadership of our remarkable volunteer corps is priceless. When you are here, a sage walks among us.

Scott Anderson, your humble and highly skilled leadership has made our conferences both spiritually rich and logistically excellent. Thank you, brother.

Kevin Beyer, it's great to have you on board now! Thank you for serving with us in our audio production.

Edd Blott, I can hardly believe we get to have someone of your skill and creativity leading our video production efforts. What you do is amazing!

Dan Brendsel, thank you for years of editorial partnership. God be with you as you pursue your Ph.D. at Wheaton.

Laura Cline, thank you for serving so many on the phone. God bless you in Nashville as you study for an M.A. in English.

Bryan (Stick) DeWire, words are inadequate to express my gratitude for how graciously you assist me, John K, and Carol. I love to hear how you make John laugh!

Sarah DeWire, your excellent assistance for Terry only begins to describe your impact at DG. Thank you for keeping your husband, Bryan, in line for me!

Brian Eaton, I bless the day that you began as Director of Children Desiring God. You are the right man. I treasure our friendship.

Andrea Froehlich, when I saw you serve a struggling caller with your Bible open, I was overwhelmed with how gifted we are to have you.

Ryan Golias, behind your quiet diligence in resource production is a spiritual depth and a bright mind I admire.

Katie Haas, I love that your work station is so close to mine. Your constant cheerfulness buoys my spirit. And you lead our resource consultants very well!

Karen Hieb, you are an answered prayer for the CDG team! You manage projects with great skill and I love your contributions at staff devotions.

Sarah H., I miss you here. I loved your cheerfulness on the phones and your infectious love of the Jewish people.

Eric Johnson, I will miss you too. You are a gifted leader; you have a compelling vision; and you're a true Christian Hedonist. Thank you for leading the internet team.

Tyler Kenney, your work in preparing so much of our archived material for the web has simply been invaluable. I love your heart. Great days are ahead for you.

John Knight, tears come when I think of the gift your leadership has been this year. Thank you for agreeing to come aboard and for your friendship.

Terry Kurschner, the DG ship stays upright and on course largely through God's provision of your financial leadership. I don't know what I would do without you.

Matt Lund, your leadership of BBC's bookstores, and especially the conference bookstores, have made them world-class in my opinion. Your job is harder than most know. But Jesus knows. Thank you.

Seth Magnuson, it's a joy to see you in the Int'l Outreach dept now where you heart beats. Exciting days are ahead!

Kate Martin, you are a gift. Beyond skillfully keep our supply chain running, you are always humbly serving the DG staff through your remarkable gift of hospitality. I think there's a Kate fan club developing...

David Mathis, all of us who at one time have served as JP's assistant rise up and call you blessed. You far excel us all.

Marty McAlpine, when you pulled me aside at the SLO conference to pray over the video equipment, I knew we had a treasure in you. I cannot begin to thank you for the technical expertise you have brought.

Jeff McFadden, our faraway friend in Phoenix. I rarely get to see you, but I regularly get to see how your excellent programming makes the website soar!

Peter Melling, thank you , thank you, thank you for leading the IT dept singlehandedly and so skillfully! Oh, the help you have been to me personally…

Nathan Miller, thank you so much for assisting David in serving JP! I really enjoyed the breakfast we shared in SLO!

Lukas Naugle, what would DG be without you? I don't want to think about it. So much of what we've done in the last 3 years had its genesis in your creative mind.

Aaron O'Harra, it is not lost on me that we have a pastor-theologian answering phones. Someday I'll probably be reading your books.

Peter Ostebo, your artistic filmmaking is missed, my friend. May God make you fruitful as you serve the precious church in Illinois.

Matt Perman, you came back! Thank you! Thank God! How good it is to have your brilliant mind and passionate heart in senior leadership at DG!

Bryan Pickering, you are missed. I love your passionate heart for Jesus. He will use you well at Impact and at BBC.

Abraham Piper, you more than anyone are responsible for making the DG blog what it is. Your being on the DG staff is an answer to prayer.

Jenny Rigney, all of us are so thrilled for you and Joe and unborn baby Rigney! But you will be missed more than you know when it's time to leave.

Josh Sowin, you are still our excellent Webmaster, and I miss you anyway (and Sara)! Though today you're not regretting your move to Florida. It was 10 below when I drove to work!

Carol Steinbach, your compassion for the suffering and care for prisoners has shaped DG. And thank you for helping us clueless guys actually notice other people.

Michael Stokes, thank you for helping make the Word heard through skillfully editing our audio sermons. Tens of thousands benefit from this every week.

Craig & Kathy Sturm, you are dearly missed. You both were great joys to have around. God's fruitful blessings on your new ministry in Canada.

Joe & Sarah Sweetman, you both are also missed, but the Navigators on the U of M campus are richer!

Kristin Tabb, you not only have served the CDG effort with editorial excellence, you and Brian have also become authors! Praise God!

Jim Tomaszewski, almost 9 years of partnership. God has used you so significantly to make CDG what it has become. Thank you for enduring.

Mike Tong, I wish I could clone you! Your leadership of the customer service team is outstanding. But it is your heart for Jesus and love of our mission that I treasure most.

Bill Walsh, we will mark 10 years of partnership together next month. I couldn't be more thrilled with your leadership of International Outreach. Hold tight! The ride will be wild…

And this is just the paid staff. Time would fail me to tell of Terry M, Candi, Nancy, Marlin, Nathan, Alice, Laurie, and a host of other volunteers who regularly give freely of their time to serve at DG.

I love you all and count it one of my life's greatest honors to have you as friends and co-laborers. Thank you so much for a fruitful year.

Jon Bloom

(Author: John Piper)

One of the most memorable moments of my seminary days was during the school year 1968-69 at Fuller Seminary on the third level of the classroom building just after a class on systematic theology. A group of us were huddled around James Morgan, the young theology teacher who was saying something about the engagement of Christians in social justice. I don't remember what I said, but he looked me right in the eye and said, "John, I love Jesus Christ."

It was like a thunderclap in my heart. A strong, intelligent, mature, socially engaged man had just said out loud in front of a half dozen men, "I love Jesus Christ." He was not preaching. He was not pronouncing on any issue. He was not singing in church. He was not trying to get a job. He was not being recorded. He was telling me that he loved Jesus...

Read the rest of the article.

(Author: Abraham Piper)

Today is the last day for you to enter the giveaway for the all-inclusive trip to our pastors conference.

You enter simply by registering.

Today is also the last day of the early bird registration rate.

We look forward to seeing you in February!

(Author: John Piper)

How do you keep your prayers from sinking into mindless ruts of repetition?

One way is to make a list of what they prayed for in the New Testament, and pray that.

That's what I did for myself. I keep the list at my prayer bench and review it periodically and sometimes pray right through it.

You might want to print it out and do the same.

(Author: John Piper)

Here are some of the reasons you should pray and meditate over biblical truth.

1. Biblical truth saves.

Take heed to yourself and to your doctrine; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

2. Biblical truth frees from Satan.

You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)

3. Biblical truth imparts grace and peace.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2)

4. Biblical truth sanctifies.

Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth. (John 17:17)

5. Biblical truth serves love.

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment. (Philippians 1:9)

6. Biblical truth protects from error.

Attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God...so that we may no longer be...carried to and fro by every wind of doctrine. (Ephesians 4:13-14)

7. Biblical truth is the hope of heaven.

Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

8. Biblical truth will be resisted by some.

The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings. (2 Timothy 4:3)

9. Biblical truth, rightly handled, is approved by God.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

10. Biblical truth: Continue to grow in it!

Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)

(Author: David Mathis)

This week's sermon: "Put in the Fire for the Sake of Prayer"

John's Gospel includes 3 key passages on prayer—all 3 from the words of Jesus in chapters 14 through 16.

First, in 14:13-14, Jesus teaches that prayer is for the glory of His Father. God gives whatever we ask—provided it accords with the pursuit of his glory.

Second, in 15:7-16, Jesus teaches that prayer is for our fruit-bearing. Prayer is a wartime walkie-talkie for advancing God's global mission, not a domestic intercom for calling in personal comforts.

Third, in 16:23-24, Jesus teaches that prayer is for our joy being full. God wants us to be happy, and he means to do it through our prayers.

Yes, prayer is a duty—the way eating and drinking and breathing are duties. But prayer also is a means of grace and a great gift from God.

Zechariah 13:8-9 gives us an additional lesson: God can put his people through the fires of suffering to awaken their appetite for prayer. May we not become so dulled by prosperity that our hearts become too weak to sense our profound need for prayer. And when suffering comes, may it prompt us to turn to God in prayer, rather than turn away in unbelief.

(Author: John Piper)

If you knew the struggles of the greatest of saints you might be heartened to press on in prayer in 2009.

John Newton (1725-1807)—slave trader, convert to Christ, author of "Amazing Grace," pastor, fellow struggler—on a morning in April sometime between 1752 and 1756 wrote this:

Prayed over a part of the eighth of Romans in a way of paraphrase with some readiness. I greatly fail in the duty of meditation and am forced to use some artifice with myself to do it at all; thus sometimes I turn them into a prayer form, sometimes I suppose myself in imaginary conversation, sometimes that I am called upon to speak to a point.

Without something of this sort I am not able to engage myself to attend with any fixedness of thought, and with it, alas! how seldom, I would remember to pray for grace and direction in this matter that my delight may be in the Law of God to meditate therein day and night. (John Newton, 91)

(Author: John Piper)

At Bethlehem Baptist Church this is the beginning of prayer week. This is our way of encouraging each other to pray more consistently, more earnestly, more hopefully, and more biblically in 2009.

The best way to strengthen our faith and our resolve is to read what God has promised to those who pray. Here is a sampling:

Promises of Answered Prayer to Encourage Us to Pray with Hope

Jeremiah 29:11-13

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart,

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Matthew 7:7-11

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Romans 8:26

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Isaiah 64:4

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.

Isaiah 65:24

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Lamentations 3:25

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

Psalm 145:18-19

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

Psalm 10:17

O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

Psalm 34:15-17

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. . . 17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Matthew 18:19-20

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

John 16:24

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Psalm 37:4-5

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

Psalm 38:15

But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Psalm 102:17

He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.

John 14:13-14

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 15:7

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:16

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Matthew 21:22

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."

Psalm 55:16-17

But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. 17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Psalm 56:9

Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.

Psalm 50:15

Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Psalm 81:10

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

1 John 5:14-15

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Zechariah 13:9

And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"

(Author: Jon Bloom)

(Reposted from last year)

Each year Christmas night finds members of my family feeling some melancholy. After weeks of anticipation, the Christmas celebrations have flashed by us and are suddenly gone. And we're left standing, watching the Christmas taillights and music fade into the night.

But it's possible that this moment of melancholy may be the best teaching moment of the whole season. Because as long as the beautiful gifts remain unopened around the tree and the events are still ahead of us, they can appear to be the hope we are waiting for. But when the tree is empty and events are past, we realize we are longing for a lasting hope.

So last night, as Pam and I tucked our kids into bed, we talked about a few things with them:

• Gifts and events can't fill the soul. God gives us such things to enjoy. They are expressions of his generosity as well as ours, but gifts and celebrations themselves are not designed to satisfy. They're designed to point us to the Giver. Gifts are like sunbeams. We are not meant to love sunbeams but the Sun.
• Putting our hope in gifts will leave us empty. Many people live their lives looking for the right sunbeam to make them happy. But if we depend on anything in the world to satisfy our soul's deepest desire, it will eventually leave us with that post-Christmas soul-ache. We will ask, "Is that all?" because we know deep down that's not all there is. We are designed to treasure a Person, not his things.
• It is more blessed to give than receive. What kind of happiness this Christmas felt richer, getting the presents that you wanted or making someone else happy with something that you gave to them? Receiving is a blessing, but Jesus is right—giving is a greater blessing. A greedy soul lives in a small, lonely world. A generous soul lives in a wide world of love.

It's just like God to let the glitter and flash of the celebrations (even in his honor) to pass and then to come to us in the quiet, even melancholic void they leave. Because often that's when we are most likely to understand the hope he intends for us to have at Christmas.

(Author: Abraham Piper)

Remember to register for our pastors conference before January 1 if you want to be entered to win the all-expense-paid trip to it.

(Author: Abraham Piper)

John Piper's new book John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God is now available.

(Author: John Piper)

My grandson Morrow and I imitate Joseph and Jesus on Christmas morning:

Merry Christmas to you all!

(Author: Noel Piper)

There are good reasons to dream of a white Christmas.

For one, God created crystal, blinding-white new snow to help us understand the contrast between our sinful old selves and the new persons he has made us into: "though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18).

For another, the first Christmas was one of the times that angels spoke to humans on God's behalf. And one kind of snow fun reminds us of those Christmas angels.

May your CHRISTmas celebration be blessed. Have fun and give thanks for the birth of our Savior, whether or not you have snow!

(Author: Jon Bloom)

…is my big brother, Jim. He has been since I was young. Being five years older than me, he was always the epitome of what it meant to be big.

But when he was in college (and I in Jr. High) he was dramatically converted. And he became the most significant model for me in my teens and 20's of what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus. He really lived what he believed.

He still does. He and his amazing wife, Raquel, have been church planters among the urban poor of Minneapolis for the past 15 years. I know the work they do. It is hard. It doesn't garner much attention.

A call to preach to and live out the gospel with those struggling with generational poverty, life-controlling addictions, and deeply ingrained destructive habits does not generally produce impressive statistics. It is the hard work of planting and cultivating. It may be that much of the harvest will be reaped by others.

But such faithfulness is not lost on Jesus. He knows. And he will reward.

All this poured out of my heart last week when I read Jim's 2-page December ministry letter. It's a beautiful Christmas reflection on what Jesus meant by "blessed are the poor." I'm going to read it to my kids.

Who deserves such a brother? I doubt he realizes how much he has shaped me. He remains one of my heroes.