I forget to tell you all that I have uploaded some seriously quality Piper messages that I hope you get a chance to listen to. Below you can either play them or download by right-clicking and saving. The “Future Grace” series is the one done in 1996 at a Vineyard church in the Chicago area I believe and should be distinguished from the sessions he did at his own Bethlehem Institute. The ones below are better. Also, I’ve added a very important Plenary Session message Piper delivered at the Evangelical Theological Society National Meeting from 1998 in Orlando,FL on “Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Pastors and Missionaries”. Please Enjoy.

Here also is the text version of the ETS message: “Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Pastors and Missionaries“

 Future Grace Part 1 [64:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Future Grace Part 2 [68:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Future Grace Part 3 [41:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Future Grace Part 4 [58:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Future Grace Part 5 [73:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Training the Next Generation of Evangelical Pastors and Missionaries [59:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Take a listen to one of the best messages I’ve ever heard on sin by Dave Busby at Passion ‘99. Click below to play here or right click on link to download.

 Facing and Embracing Our Depravity [60:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Spoiler Alert. What can I say, the Wachowski Brothers have done it again. This is a very well done adaptation of the 1980’s comic series. I had the privledge of watching this with my wife, her brother, mother, and aunt. Of course, it was right up our alley as young people, I mean for me, my wife, and brother-in-law, since it is about a man with a very intimate understanding of the corruption of the government situated in future Britain. However, I don’t quite know what to make of Kalila’s mother’s and aunt’s response. The comments the next morning from them seem to indicate that it simply is propagating anarchy against a Christian government (because of repeated references to God by the high chancellor) and endorsement of the Koran. I pointed out that perhaps we should not attach the principles of this movie to the particulars referenced to.

The principles of this movie are similar to that of Equilibrium: in the effort to prevent future war and social injustice/ills, a government tightens its grip of power by scaring its people into submission with manipulated media, and so producing a tightly regulated society, precluding religious, literary, and artistic freedom/expression. This movie highlights the corruption that led up to this system of control, and the main character “V” (Hugo Weaving) is out to knock off each person that was initially responsible for the current state. “V” is a wonderfully complex and mysterious character, although he is labeled as a “terrorist” by the state. He encounters an unasuming girl “Evey” (Natalie Portman) on the way to his first “event” and saves her as she was about to be raped by some members of the local law enforcement. The philosophical question pressed in this film is if there can be a “good” terrorism. Both the State and “V” carry forward “terrorism”, but can either one of these be justified. “V” believes that the corrupt state is simply reaping what they sowed, such that their terrorism toward him and the like caused his terrorism of them.

This movie was enjoyable to me on every level: dramatically, cinemagraphically, and philosophically. But I expect nothing less from the brothers Wachowski.