Disabilities break into life in various forms: as the product of genetic misalignments in the womb, as the result of tragic and regrettable accidents, as the byproducts of infectious disease, and from the degenerative effects of old age. They affect joints, bones, nervous systems, lungs, hearts, and brains. And even in the United States—a country that leads the world in medical innovation and technology—roughly 20% of its citizens live with a disability. No church is immune. This means every church leader must be prepared to answer very hard questions about the goodness and sovereignty of God. Does God have a good design in my disability? To this hard question God is not silent. But if we're to hear his answer, we must submit our hearts to his word. Looking at what the Bible says is the aim of this collection of resources from pastor John Piper. This ebook—including four sermons and an interview with a man of a disabled son—focuses on John 5:1–18 and John 9:1–38 and is designed to serve pastors who will be called on to minister God’s Word to God’s people at decisive points in their lives. The question is not if disabilities will surface in your church, the question is how you will respond when they do? At that decisive moment, what will you say?
Author
John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
