No laughing matter

“A friend sent me a link yesterday to one of the most bizarre things I have ever heard. On September 16, John Piper spoke to a large conference of the American Association of Christian Counselors.

He decided to start the message by confessing a list of sins he had struggled with all his life. Here’s the result.”

Greg Gilbert makes some perceptive comments at Church Matters. What might we learn from this episode?

If life has meaning, death is an outrage

“It has been a good couple of months for the celebrating of life at memorial services. First, there was the celebration of Michael Jackson’s life and then there was Ted Kennedy, enfant terrible turned elder statesman. Both men, in their different ways, were proof positive that, in modern America, you only need to love your own kids and then at some point die in order to atone for any sins you may have committed against other people’s beloved sons and daughters…”

– Carl Trueman’s latest commentary at Reformation21 is well worth reading. How might reflection on these things help our conversations? (Photo: Westminster Seminary.)

David Letterman and cosmic captivity

“The Scripture says that Satan’s reign over this present order is by holding us captive through the slavery of the ‘fear of death’ (Heb 2:15). And why are all humans afraid of death? Because, like Letterman’s letter in the back of the car, our conscience is pointing us to judgment, with a ‘black box’ of evidence of our guilt (Rom 2:15-16).”

– Russell Moore at SBTS writes on ‘What David Letterman can teach us about the Gospel’. (h/t Tim Challies.)