Blessings #534 to #560

534.  Eager babysitters for Beka
535.  A parent's "thank you" for a phone call and for making a difference in their child's life
536.  Students coming after school for help with math and having fun
537.  Fun conversations with my students
538.  Exceeding expectations at the Gifts of Hope Open House

Obedient Faith

This is a much longer post than normal, but I thought I would post the transcript for today's sermon, in case anyone might be interested.

Awhile back I was enjoying one of my favorite hobbies - looking at books on a popular book seller's website - and I came across a book by John Piper titled, "What Jesus Demands from the World." The title caught my attention, so I started to read some of the reviews. Not surprisingly, some of them were not so positive - John Piper seems to have that affect on some people, sometimes even me. So I skipped to the one star ratings, because I was curious what people found wrong with this book. What I read was a little startling. Some of the criticism was based solely on the premise of the title. Some reviewers were incensed with the idea that Jesus made demands on us, insisting that Piper was promoting a "works" based theology and ignoring salvation by grace. One writer insisted that Jesus makes no demands on any of us and to teach that he does is wrong. After-all, Jesus is all about love and mercy and grace, not about expectations, or works.