In case you weren't sure if Dennis Bergkamp was good at football

Watch the whole thing. It's worth it.

What does godliness look like?

If I had to answer right now, I'd say humility.

John Piper on Preaching - An index

Many of us were greatly blessed by God yesterday as John Piper shared with us what he's learned about preaching. It was awesome. Far better then even his evening address.

Here's some introductory comments that he made on the topic of preaching.

He then gave us his thoughts on 5 key areas of preaching. Its aim, its content, the manner of your preaching, preparation for preaching and the act of preaching.

These are just notes and at times fail to capture the depth and significance of each of the points that he made. Mulling over them and their depth may well be very beneficial. A quick scan will likely miss much of the significance of his address.

Piper #6 - The act

What does it mean to 'serve in the strength that God supplies'? 1 Peter 4:10-11.

APTAT is how you preach in the power of the Holy Spirit.

A - Admit that you can do nothing. There is nothing that I can do without you.

P - Pray for help. Luke 11. "If then you who are evil, know how to give good things to your children...

T - Trust a specific promise. Taken from my daily reading.

A - Act. Just get up there and do it. You were made to do it. Work out your salvation, for God is at work in you.

T - Thank him.

Piper #5 - Preparation

2 Timothy 2:7 --> God's command is to think over what Paul has said. I'm spending all my time in preparation thinking.

The great compliment:

As soon as I think I've got a problem with what you've said, you raise the problem and go over it.

This isn't against the concept of the inner workings of the Spirit. "Think, because in and through that sanctified thinking God will show you." Thinking doesn't deny the work of the Spirit, the Spirit works in and through that thinking.

Pray. Continue to pray. Help me, help me, help me. In every aspect of the prep, at every moment of the prep.

John's prayer: IOUS.

I - Incline my heart to your testimonies - Sometimes I don't feel like reading the Bible, so please...

O - Open my eyes. I'm reading the word and just seeing black marks on a page, so please...

U - Unite my hear to fear your name. Psalm 86:11. Don't have two of you: one does it and one watches. If the one watching likes it, he gets proud. If he doesn't, he gets down, does a bad job, etc... (Please give us the blessing of self-forgetfulness)

S - Please give me satisfaction in the God that I preach. May it never be that I don't love the message that I'm preaching.

Piper #4 - The manner

What is the manner of talking that honours Christ, and that is kerusso.

This is not just teaching.

Having small emotions for Jesus is blasphemy.

It is so out of step with who he is and his value, and preaching is supposed to be the thing that brings together right thinking and right emotions about Him.

Preaching is expository exultation.

His job is to expose what is here and to exult over it.

Doing worship in the pulpit. I'm trying to speak this content to you in such a way that has some resemblance to its massive value.

(Kutz note: So the spirit-filled preacher is responding to the word that he is speaking in the pulpit. Emotionally what is true of his response to the word is there.)

Piper #3 - The content of preaching

So what do I say in order to do that?

Preach the riches of Christ

2 Cor 3:18-4:6 --- "beholding the glory of the Lord they are being transformed". My simple principle is that seeing Jesus, my people are transformed. So put up Jesus before your people. In all his glory. In as many aspects as you can.

Where is that glory seen most clearly? 2 Cor 4:4 says the devil is trying to stop people from seeing the gospel so that they don't change. So ministry must be centred on the glory of Christ and the gospel.

The gospel in 6: (needs every piece to be the true gospel!)

1. The gospel is planned -> according to the Scriptures, pre-planned
2. The gospel is in history, it happened -> take that away, no gospel
3. He accomplished something at that moment when he died. -> before it ever affected you.
4. The free offer of the gospel. By grace, for faith alone, not works.
5. Applied to you. Take that away, you're going to hell, there's no gospel! Justified, reconciled,
Many people stop at those 5. But why would you want to be forgiven? (There are wrong answers to that question!)


When I sin against someone, I wreck the relationship with someone. Why would I want forgiveness with that person? To restore the relationship!!! Not just so I don't have a guilty conscience, but so that we are restored in our relationship with God.


1 Peter 3:18. --> "to bring you to God". Just to have God himself. Not just to avoid hell. But to treasure Christ himself. To have that relationship, not just to feel better about oneself.

It would be perverse for a person to want their spouse to forgive them for a harsh word said, but only wanting to assuage their conscience and not caring about fixing the relationship.


Don't cut the gospel short of that final point.