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Do you treasure Christ above all else? Here’s a challenging video, a Don’t Wast Your Life sermon jam worth watching and being challenged by.

Video after the jump…
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John Piper on breaking entertainment’s hold on you

David Wilkerson has grabbed attention for his recent declaration that “AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN”. John Piper has weighed in with sound advice that we best “stick with the Bible”.

Says John Piper:

So my take on this prophetic word is that the scare will probably do good for a lot of people. The Bible is a scary book. And the future that is coming on unbelievers is scary beyond anything any preacher could conjure up.

But my own effort to be discerning says: Stick with the Bible, David. It is scary enough. And it is absolutely true. And your credibility will never fall.

The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God’s Delight in Being God
by John Piper

Don’t Waste Your Life
By John Piper

The Grand Weaver,
by Ravi Zacharias

Simply Jesus and You: Experience His Presence and His Purpose,
by Joseph M. Stowell

To Be or Not to Be a Church Member, That Is the Question!
by Wayne Mack

Humility: True Greatness
by C. J. Mahaney

I love this. John Piper receives a new jacket from Mark Driscoll.

The elections are nearing. Quite a stir has been caused by John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as a candidate for Vice President. Likely the biggest reason for the static over the pick of Governor Sarah Palin is that she has taken a firm stand on protecting life. But the roller coaster financial situation is front and center news this week. There will likely be some other hot topic issue in a week or two.

Whenever we near key elections the question often posed by some believers is, “What issue or issues are most important to consider when deciding for whom I should cast my vote?”

But the question for me is not, “Who will do the most for the economy?” or “Who will bring our troops home the quickest?” The number one question for me when determining for whom I will vote is this: “Who will do the most to protect and preserve the lives of unborn babies?”

My concern when determining who gets my vote has less to do with the financial situation or the war on terror and much more to do with what God expects of us as a people — it has to do with how we as a nation protect or fail to protect the lives of unborn children.

This week Josh Harris shared correspondence on just this issue. Take the time to read this exchange Josh had with a family considering membership in the church he pastors. I think he has clearly and graciously stated the importance of considering the value of life over all other issues. Click here to read: “Correspondence on Abortion and Voting”.

Josh’s piece also reminded me of a brief article by John Piper I read a few years ago. Click here to read: “One-Issue Politics, One-Issue Marriage, and the Humane Society”.

And Al Mohler’s recent blog post on the issue of abortion is well worth your time as well. Click here to read: “Pressure to Keep the Baby? — The Descent Continues”.

I pray that believers will not stay home on November 4, 2008, but will cast their vote after they have prayerfully considered the abortion issue from a Biblical perspective. For me there is no issue of greater importance.

Update – Friday; October 17, 2008: Randy Alcorn shares why he will not be voting for Obama. Not Cool: Obama’s Pro-abortion Stance, and Christians enabling him

“So, does God care about who his children vote for? In many cases, with not much difference between them, I doubt it. But here’s what he says about the needy and afflicted who have no one to help them and are on the brink of death:

“For God will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.” (Psalm 72:12-14)”

A nice article and a neat photo of John Piper doing some thrifty shopping here. I was able to do a bit of cross-country skiing this winter because of some good thrift store discoveries.

In the latest “Ask Pastor John“, John Piper answers the question “Is it a sin to smoke or eat junk food?”

Check out Eight Ways to Improve Your Daily Bible Reading from the ESV Bible Blog.

And you should also listen to John Piper explain why he — and good pastors in general — emphasize Bible reading and prayer so much. Listen to the audio or read the transcript.

Charles Spurgeon — A Defense of Calvinism

John Piper on Ten Effects of Believing in the Five Points of Calvinism

Mark Dever’s ten post blog series, Where’d All These Calvinists Come From?

Articles at DesiringGod.org on The Doctrines of Grace

John MacArthur’s The Doctrines of Grace series sermon audio

John MacArthur Answering the Key Questions About the Doctrine of Election

What Calvinism is not — Monergism.com on Hyper-Calvinism

From: Ken Pierpont

The Desiring God National Conference, Christ in a Postmodern World, was held over the weekend. The audio is now available online. Read the rest of this entry »

Desiring God Radio has announced that they will be leaving the airwaves soon–Radio Without Radio? Why Desiring God Will No Longer Air on Radio Stations–but they aren’t done broadcasting. They’ll be focusing their energy on making their radio programs available on the internet instead of pushing the program through Christian radio stations.

Their announcment notes these interesting statistics…

“The folks at OnePlace.com tell us that Desiring God is among their most requested programs (50,000 to 70,000 requests per month). And our iTunes podcast consistently ranks in the top ten most requested programs in the “Religion & Spirituality” category (total subscribers currently unavailable). We frequently hear from online listeners. In fact, 85-90% of responses we receive from people who listen to our program come from those who listen online. But we’re not seeing growth in responses from radio station listeners, even though new stations were added this year.”

Currently reading…

Don’t Waste Your Life! I read Piper’s book by the same title earlier this year and highly recommend it. Doug McHone suggests that listening to John Piper’s sermon, Boasting Only in the Cross, will “[put] a whole new spin on New Year’s resolutions.” In the message Piper hits on the same theme you’ll find in the book–don’t waste your life.

When you’re done with the first part of Piper’s sermon get the rest of it here–Boasting Only in the Cross (part 2).