War And Beauty

                My twenty-five minute drive this morning....over rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania.....in thirty-five degree weather.....began in thick fog. By the time that I reached my destination I was out of the valleys....and the sun was coming through the trees that already started dropping their leaves.....and the sun had burned off the fog.....leaving beautiful colors of orange and red and yellow.
                There are two primary messages in the John Piper sermon that I am about to recommend to you. I'll start with that which Piper began his message. By the way....this 1990 message is a conference message at his own church.....to pastors....but it is more of a sermon to them....on how to preach to their own people.
                 He began by telling his hearers how he was often criticized.....even rebuked at times....on so much talk in his sermons of war and blood and fighting. It was way too serious he was told. I can relate to that.
                 So Piper is reminding everyone that we are in a war.....like it or not....acknowledge it or not. It is serious.....not only mortal but eternal life and death stuff.
                 If you are familiar with John Piper then you know that although he is known for being very serious....he is probably more known for proclaiming the beauty of Christ....and joy in that beauty! That was the second half of his message. So you get the whole John Piper.
                 Confusion and chaos and mistakes are often described as....the fog of war. That is definitely where the evangelical is today.....not knowing who might be the foe and who the friend.....lashing out indiscriminately in the chaos....and not seeing any beauty in the Captain of our souls.
                 So John Piper's message is indeed about the war that we are in.....the war against sin....but the beauty of Christ.....the Son of God....burns off the fog....and the chaos....and hopefully many of the mistakes! So yes....War and Beauty....as in the title of this post.....but not the beauty of war....but the beauty of our Captain that enables us to war.
                 You can easily Google this message/sermon at....John Piper sermon....Make War-Killing Sin.