John Piper preached from Romans 8 for The Village Church recently while Matt Chandler was recovering from surgery. I loved the way he began his sermon by stating that, having listened to recent talks by other pastors in the church, he was confident that the church did not really need Piper to help them deal with the challenges they currently face. One of the best marks of a truly great leader is their ability to raise other leaders. Chandler has clearly passed that test. No wonder Piper said:
“My presence here is about a statement of my affection for one of your pastors.”
You can listen to the sermon online. I thought I would just share a few bullet points:
“There are two things you do when someone is suffering: you hug a lot . . . you are just there . . . but you have to have a place to stand when you’re hugging. If the ground falls away the hugging feels hollow . . . you need a solid strong rock-solid biblical ground.”
“How does the Apostle Paul help me suffer well?”
“If we suffer with him we will be glorified with him . . . The pathway to your glory is suffering”
“God gives us here some sense of why the world is the way it is.”
“All of your sufferings, including your death, are birth pangs.”
“Pray for God to heal Matt Chandler!”
“When God undertakes to do a great thing, he breaks people.”
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