Welcome to the podcasts of Jon Bricker's weekly DRL messages. Also included are the messages of author and Pastor
of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To listen to any message, please click "
" to hear an MP3 stream. If you'd like to subscribe to this podcast with
" link. Scroll down to get the audio files.
Messages from the 2006 Fall series "Truly Free" have been archived. Messages from the 2007 Spring series "Kingdom Living" will be archived at the beginning of the ISU 2007 Fall semester. A new series will begin titled "Gospel Christianity". The material is taken from Pastor Tim Keller and the folks at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. If you wish to recieve a CD of any set, email Jon Bricker for arrangements.
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| 11/01/2007 | Gospel Christianity - What is Jesus' Mission?
When you personally evaluate what Jesus wanted to accomplish when coming to the world, what comes to mind? Some Christians have a very individualistic perspective, considering only forgiveness and/or change. When the world was created, it flourished under the rule of God. Sin created disharmony in the world by creating "resistance to God's authority". Jesus ultimately came to free us from sins bonds through salvation, but His mission also consisted of healing the world. Jon explains many of the ways the world has blessed through the initial coming of Jesus Christ. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 10/25/2007 | Gospel Christianity - How Do We Change?
Most Christians can easily recite Commandment # 1, "You shall have no other gods before me (GOD)" (Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7). However, we may be oblivious in how often we break this rule. In fact, no one breaks Commandments 2 thru 10 without also breaking Commandment # 1 (quote Martin Luther, 1483 - 1546). Idol worship is more than the glorification of another god. It can also relate to the glorification of ourselves, material possessions, particular moments that bring us temporary happiness, security, and so on. When any objective becomes more important than the happiness than God, we fall victim to idolatry. Jon gives us a deeper understanding of this "not-so-obvious" sin and how we can eliminate this sin within our lives. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 10/18/2007 | Gospel Christianity - Why did Jesus Die?
Numbers 14:18 states that our God is "slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty." Because we are born slaves to sin, there is no way to clear our debt to God. Even our most righteous acts resemble offerings of "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) and will be rejected. God has offered a solution to our hopeless dilemna in a pure act of love and mercy to His most prized creation. In this message, Jon details why Jesus came to die for us and how this sacrifice alone was capable of repaying the debt caused by our sin to God.
This message was preceded by a preview vodcast by Mark Driscoll on the topic "Death by Love: Reflections on the Cross." You can view the full vodcast in the Accompanying References to Podcasts section. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 10/11/2007 | Is There More to Life? Sharing the Gospel - Guest Speaker Jerry McCorkle
Guest speaker Jerry McCorkle detailed the purpose of life last week. This week, Jerry expands on the idea and gives beneficial strategies on how to approach others with the good news of the Gospel. In this podcast, Jerry references a bracelet, a multi-colored basketball, and three handouts. Both of the handouts can be obtained in the "Accompanying References to Podcasts" section. It is highly recommended that you print out these handouts prior to listening for a visual aid. Visit www.IsThereMoreToLife.com for more information. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 10/04/2007 | Is There More to Life? - Guest Speaker Jerry McCorkle
Is there more to our lives than personal prosperity? Why do we suffer so many hardships while trying to seek happiness? Do we have a right to question God regarding all of the tragedies we face everyday? Guest speaker Jerry McCorkle (Jon's mentor and boss through Spread Truth Ministries) discusses how the Bible answers our purpose for living in four chapters (C.F.R.R.) and five good "F" words that everyone should know and use. This audio accompanies two handouts which you can download in the "Accompanying References to Podcasts" section. Visit www.IsThereMoreToLife.com for more information. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 09/27/2007 | Gospel Christianity - Who is Jesus?
Jesus has more literature, songs, and artistic work dedicated to Him than any other person that has walked this planet. However, was He just a man or much greater? The Gospel proclaims Jesus to be the incarnation of our Holy Father and the Saviour promised in the Old Testament; for the teachings of Jesus could only be linked to a madman or the true King of Kings that would destroy the works of Satan and deliver us from the bondage of sin. Jon's message details the life and the works of Jesus Christ and why God chose to deliver His awesome glory in the form of a human. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 09/20/2007 | Gospel Christianity - What's Wrong With Us?
Have you ever uttered these words regarding your peers? What about yourself? Have you ever questioned why you participated in an undesirable act even though you knew it well beforehand it was sinful and even undesiring? Jon details the Biblical answer to what is wrong with the world - sin. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 09/13/2007 | Gospel Christianity - Who is God?
We have learned about why the Gospel is important to us, but why is God important to us? Who is the almighty being that we worship? Why does He want us to glorify Him even though He doesn't need our praise to fulfill total joy and satisfaction? What was His purpose for creating us? These questions and more are answered as touches the surface of who God is and how we are designed to glorify Him. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 09/06/2007 | Gospel Christianity - What is the Gospel?
The word "gospel" occurs so often in the New Tetiment that it is clearly a summary term for the basic core of what Christianity is all about. But what is that core? Jon Bricker uses notes from Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church to discuss what the "gospel" really means to us. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 08/30/2007 | Gospel Christianity - Introduction
What is DRL's mission? What scriptures is the mission structured upon? Jon details his purpose of creating Death, Ressurection, & Life on the ISU campus and the Biblical guidelines that guard the campus ministries focus. The Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (taken from Romans 1:16) | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| 08/23/2007 | The Voice of God - Guest speaker Bryce Hansen
We as a people once knew God and had direct contact with Him physically in the Garden of Eden. How did we lose this connection? Bryce answers this important question in his message. Bryce also educates on the Biblical warnings of seeking acceptance and approval of God through any means other than through Jesus. (Note: due to technical difficulties, the audio quality is a bit rough. Please bear with it.) | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Quest: Joy! Found: Christ! - April 20, 2003
Christianity is all about the Gospel – the good news that God, through Christ, saves sinners and gives everlasting joy. In this Easter sermon, John Piper briefly recounts his own "quest for joy," and then walks his listeners through an evangelistic tool by the same name – introducing unbelievers to the gospel and equipping believers to share this good news with their friends. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Undoing the Destruction of Pleasure - February 12, 2001
Sin has introduced four great obstacles to true and lasting pleasure in God: the wrath of God, human suffering, deceitful and fleeting pleasures, and death. Through Christ, God has planned the undoing of this destruction of pleasure for those who will receive it. In this lecture to unbelievers at the University of Minnesota, John Piper explains the essence of Christianity and calls them to pursue ultimate pleasure in God. Included in this defense of Christian Hedonism is an appeal to the comprehensiveness of the Christian worldview as well as Piper’s answers to students’ questions regarding evil and God’s goodness, sin and responsibility, and the reason God created the world. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Let Your Passion Be Single - November 12, 1999
We cannot choose between God’s passion to be glorified and our desire to be satisfied. The Psalmist prayed, "Unite my heart to fear Your name" (Ps. 86:11). A united heart must have a single passion. In this sermon, Piper teaches that God commands us to have singular passion to be happy in him. Pleasure-seeking apart from God is settling for two-bit thrills. Self-denial apart from God is altruistic atheism. But seeking our pleasure in God is the very goal of the universe, for God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Where Is God? - September 11, 2005
This world is filled with sorrow, and it often feels like there is more to be miserable about than happy. On 9/11, three thousand people were killed through an act of terrorism. In September of 2005, Hurricane Katrina wipped out an entire city. By the time you finish reading this, 100 people throughout the world will have died. Oftentimes it seems like this sort of thing always happens to "someone else." But then it hits close to home, whether through disease, divorce, or death.
That's when we wake up to reality that we are living in a troubled and terrorized world. And so at one point ro another, all of us ask, Why? Why would God create such a world? That's the question John Piper answers with gentleness and conviction in this provocative sermon on the supremacy of Christ in an age of terror. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Don't Waste Your Life - December 29, 2003
An earthquake in Iran leaves 25,000 people dead; a plane crash kills 111 people; a mudslide buries 13 people. What would Jesus want us to learn from these events? Not to waste the life that God has given to us. Life is a gift from God, and it isn't to be used for collecting stuff or playing or retirement – it is to be used to magnify Christ. Don't squander your life like the rich fool of Luke 12. Live the life exemplified by Paul in Philippians 1:20-21: cultivate a supreme satisfaction in Christ as your ultimate treasure; risk and sacrifice your life for his sake, and die to gain Christ as your eternal joy. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Boasting Only in the Cross - May 20, 2000
This message is a plea to 50,000 college students not to waste their lives on the tragic successes of the American dream, but instead to be set free from insignificant dreams by a singular passion for the glory of Christ crucified. All rejoicing should be in the cross because every blessing we enjoy was purchased by the death of Christ. The cross, and every blood-bought blessing, is designed to magnify Christ. When God joins us by faith to him, the cross replaces the world as our treasure and makes every legitimate pleasure in the world an occasion for boasting in the cross that made it possible. So, in all things, may God grant us to dream and plan and work and give and teach and live for the glory of Christ and him crucified. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Live to Die - January 5, 2006
God strategizes your suffering. Skin and bones and lungs have everything to do with evangelism and reaching the people who Christ died to save. John Piper invites us to join in this Christian calling: to demonstrate the beauty and worth of the suffering of Christ in our own suffering and pain. We will never be Christ’s church or fulfill the Great Commission until we choose to take risks that can only be explained by faith in the resurrection of Christ and hope in our own resurrection from the dead. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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| John Piper: Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain - October 27, 1996
In this message on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. John Piper challenges his listeners to have a radical, God-centered, risk-taking, wartime lifestyle and to believe that the “steadfast love of the Lord is better than life” (Ps. 63:3). He urges us to join God in the joyful and sometimes dangerous work of world evangelization. | LISTEN NOW (mp3) SUBSCRIBE (iTunes) |
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