2015 NYC - You: Redefined by Larry Martini

Do you ever feel like there is some invisible standard that you are always being pressured to live up to?  It can happen in school, family, friendships, or really in any part of your life.  It can feel especially overwhelming if you can never quite reach the standard.  During this seminar, we will learn how the Gospel gives you a new standard that helps you see yourself in a completely different light. 

2015 NYC - All of Life is Worship by Connor Dimmick

I understand how Bible study, praying, and churchgoing are means to worshiping God, but what about my school work? My lesiure time? My sleep schedule? Eating and drinking?? This seminar will look to answer the question, "What does it look like to glorify God in every area of my life?" 

2015 NYC - Apologetics in Today's World by Nirmal Mekala

The Bible makes many bold claims about the world.  Whether you find yourself skeptical of the Bible and want to learn more or you believe the Bible and want to learn to defend it well, this seminar is for you.  We will look at what the Bible has to say about doubt in general and how to answer some common objections to Christianity. 

2015 NYC - Gender Roles & Identity by John Piper

God purposefully creates man and woman. 

  • Genesis 1:27 - "Male and female he created them"

Three main qualities of manhood:

  1. Initiation
  2. Provision
  3. Protection
  • These are primarily man's responsibility, but not solely; women help in this 

Piper's fictional story that paints a picture of complementarianism: a man initiates a date with a woman, has a plan for the date and pays for her, and then walks her home. They are confronted by two men who want to take the woman. She is a black belt, and her date knows this, but he still puts himself between her and the bad men in order to protect her at risk to himself. He gets beaten up, and when he regains consciousness, he realizes she has beaten up the two bad men using her skills as a black belt. 

    - This story is to demonstrate that it's not about who is more competent; the woman was clearly more competent to fight the men, but the man risked himself for her sake, anyway. 

Ephesians 5:2-33

1) Marriage is a dramatization of Christ and the Church (verse 32)

2) In the drama, husbands take their cues from Christ and women take their cues from what God wills for the Church.

3) The primary responsibility for initiative, leadership, provision, and protection fall on the man. 

          - the man should always be looking for ways to help bring out the woman's gifts and talents 

2015 NYC - Only One Passion by John Piper

2 Corinthians 6: 4-10

“4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

1. What does it mean as christians to be ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing’? Which part, sorrowful or rejoicing, has the emphasis?

- We learn from this passage that the first part of the phrase creates the background for the second part of the phrase.

  1. Genuine, yet regarded as imposters

  2. Known by God, yet unknown to the world

  3. Dying, yet we live on for eternity

  4. Beaten, yet not killed

  5. Sorrowful because of the pain in the world, yet always rejoicing in the hope of the Gospel

  6. Poor materially, yet making many rich for eternity

  7. Having nothing, yet possessing everything
     

2. The gospel brings us to life to see more and feel more for the people all around us. We see the pain of the world and feel is deeply. So, what can our joy be rooted in that makes the sorrow ok to feel?

  • Sorrow is feeding off the gloom of the world

  • Rejoicing is feeding off the glory of God

3. Passion

  •  Sometimes people think of passion as a feeling
  •  Here it is the object of our feelings, our passion is Jesus Christ and His glory

Peter 1:3-8 “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice,though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials...8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” I Peter 1:3-8

4. What does it mean to call have glorious Joy?

  • The literal Greek meaning is Glorified joy
  • When you are thrilled by something, it shapes the person that you are.
  •  If we are thrilled by sin, it shapes us into people who love darkness and evil
  • If we are taken up by something beautiful or something we delight in, it shapes our joy.

1 Peter 4:12- 14
“12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

  • What makes joy durable in the midst of trials is Jesus’ glory.
  • There is glory to come, but we have a glory here and now on this earth. “you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you”

Implications

  1. God’s aim to be glorified and his aim to give us joy are the same thing - God is shown to be great when we are happy in him.

  2. Since God is shown to be great by us being happy in Him, we should fight to always be happy in Him.

2015 NYC - Only One Gospel by John Piper

Will the gospel that you know be good enough? Will the familiar, smooth gospel that you slip in your back pocket be strong enough for the rough, unfamiliar times we live in today?

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

“ 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”
How do we respond to this gospel when we hear it?

  • We receive it

  • We remember and savor it

  • We believe it, steak our life in it, and it saves us

  • Is it just my insurance or is it my whole life?


Revelation 13:1-8

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”


Verse 7- Christians are being conquered(killed) by the beast, 
Verse 8- 8 Observations

  1. Lamb. Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

  2. Slain. In Greek this means horrible slaughter against the lamb

  3. Life. When the lamb is slain and life was taken from him, life is given to us if we receive Him.

  4. Book. Names that are written in the book of life live. 
    - Why do they live?

  5. Being in the book of life keeps them from worshiping the beast. 
    - God keeps us because our names have been written in the book of life. Not the other way around. God does not write our names in the book of life because we have not ‘worshiped the beast’.

  6. Why- The lamb dies to purchase my life and protection from worshiping the beast. The reason they don’t worship is because they are written in the book by the blood.

  7. When was our name written in the book?
    - God views Jesus slain before the creation of the world
    - Our names are written in the book of life before the creation of the world

  8. Why is this important?

  • God intends to give me the deepest security and the deepest confidence in my salvation imaginable.

Close: 
Revelation 22:17
“ ...And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

  • God says COME to the fountain you who are thirsty

  • You may drink and it is FREE, a free gift. 

You can’t know if your name is written in the book of life by peeking, you can know by how you respond to the lamb who was slain.

 

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