Preaching as Expository Exultation for the Glory of God (John Piper)

Together for the Gospel Conference

Louisville, Kentucky

April 27, 2006

There are four parts to this message. First, I will reflect on the kind of preaching that I long to see God raise up in our day: the kind that is shaped by the weight of the glory of God. Second, I will try to portray the glory of God which affects preaching this way. Third, I will offer my biblical understanding of how people waken to this glory and are changed by it. Finally, I will explain how all of this calls for a kind of preaching that I call expository exultation.

To read the rest of this incredible address, click on the blog entry’s title.

Any classical music lovers out there?

This year marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (he was born on January 27).  Many composers' styles 'speak' to me in various ways.  For instance, J.S. Bach (1685-1750) helps restore order to my world amidst the chaos of the day.  Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) impressionistic music takes me away on an ethereal carpet ride.  (The first time I listened to 'Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,' as a freshman music major at Palm Beach Atlantic College, I remember that being the first time I 'saw' a story unfolding simply from a piece of music.) 

Mozart brought a lightness and a versatility to music that contrasted greatly from the mechanical, calculated style of the Baroque era of Bach's time.  Mozart's music defined the "classical era" of the late 1700s and certainly paved the way for the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).  To this day, the only music to which I can read and study without being distracted is Mozart's.  And to this day, his Requiem (K. 626) is my favorite classical work.

I recommend a nice article by Stuart Isacoff of the Wall Street Journal entitled "The Perils of Child Prodigies." 

So anyways, what composers to you enjoy?