Our friends over at 10:31 Sermon Jams are getting ready to launch a new and improved Website next week and with it comes the release of their 4th volume of sermon jams. And they keep getting better! Over the coming days at TSS we’ll be giving you some exclusive access to songs from the new volume.
This first one, War, comes from John Piper’s sermon on Romans 8:10-17 (his ministry will always be equated in my mind with thunder):
“I hear so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their short-comings, And I see so little war! ‘Murmur, murmur, murmur… Why am I this way?’ MAKE WAR!”
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Ed Welch: “There is a mean streak to authentic self-control. Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in it, not only do we nurture an exuberance for Jesus Christ, we also demand of ourselves a hatred for sin. The only possible attitude toward out-of-control desire is a declaration of all-out war. There is something about war that sharpens the senses. You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little or no sleep, war keeps us vigilant.”
Tony Reinke 
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Tony – these Jams are great! Thanks for posting them.
What a great section from Piper! Man, I needed to hear that; I need to hear that every day.
“there is a mean violent streak to the Christian life — towards every impulse in our soul to be violent towards other people, towards our ownselves, all in us that would make peace with sin, against all lust in ourselves…”
YES!!!
please help me understand: what is the purpose of a sermon jam? i feel bad but i just have a tendency to laugh when i hear one. i feel bad for laughing. i love sermons. i love music. but these things coming together in an espn “jock jams” kind of way seems silly to me. i realize that people spend a lot of time working on this and may consider it there ministry, so i don’t want to dismiss it off hand. it is just hard for me to understand the purpose. thanks for any insight…
I cannot say this song causes me to laugh. I think you may need counseling for that. :-) I simply say, “Sermon jams are where sermonic highlight meets background music. Sermon jams are excellent for the gym, excellent for personal devotion, excellent to share with other listeners less likely to listen to entire sermons, and overall just an excellent way to reach the lost and share the faith.” For me personally, it fosters focused meditation on a particular subject. Hope this helps. T
hmmm…
1) I would listen to this sermon as a whole and be very challenged
2) I would never listen to this kind of music
3) Though I don’t think it is harmful, I don’t know that there is any scriptural warrant for it. The idea of “sermonic highlights” is kind of odd. What makes it a highlight? Is it the most challenging part? The most Spirit empowered part? Do we have warrant for taking the preached Word, picking the parts that we think are the best, and leaving the rest out?
4) To me it is like a “testa-mint”. It is not that the Scripture verse put on the wrapper of a testa-mint is powerless, it is just that most people, including myself, can’t get past the wrapper. In the same way, it is not that the Word of God preached is powerless – I will grant that what Piper is saying is powerful and I need to hear it – I just can’t get past the wrapper.
I won’t say any more because it is simply my opinion and it is not really a big deal. If it is true that sermon jams are an “excellent way to reach the lost and share the faith” then I will just be quiet and keep my personal preference out of it. I really appreciate what you are doing here with this blog (I read daily) and hope that no one has been offended by what I have said. Also, may the gospel be spread even if it is in ways that I am uncomfortable with.
(1) And the jam would be a great compliment to the whole sermon. They are not substitutes for sitting under solid preaching.
(2) Agreed. Me neither. Except when the words edify, I make exceptions.
(3) Logical consistency: A great sermon is a small slice of Scripture, too. Why preach through one book and not another? One passage and not another?
(4) Thank you for your humble and honest response. Sermon jams are not for everyone. I’m aware of this. But it’s a great way to obey Deut. 6:4-9.
Great post as usual spurgeon….always edifying.
I would also like to say thank you for your edifying responses. This is one place on the internet where I know a battle is not going to break out when differing opinions are expressed. It is a safe haven in a way. It is also good to know that this blog stands strongly for orthodox Christian belief and practice, and that you do “go to bat” when the opinions being expressed are contrary to Scripture. Thank you for your thoughtful posts and charitable responses. God bless…
cameo, thank you for these kind comments, my friend! Likewise, thank you for your level-headed and challenging comments. I’ve learned a lot from you — especially in rethinking how I determine “Christian’ bands. Your comments on previous posts challenge me where I need it. Keep it up, it’s good for my soul! Tony
LOVE the Ed Welch and love this blog. As for sermon jams, I like ’em, I guess. But they do make me laugh…a little. :) Because I imagine the preacher grovin’ to the beat. Like Piper is a rapper and preaching like that. :)
Do we know the location of this quote from Ed Welch? Is it from a book or article or sermon?
Thanks,
Steve
Links to some other missionary mind framed ministries; sound hip hop:
These guys are bringing the Gospel into the urban hip hop culture. Within the culture some call it “Lyrical Theology”
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=6c44bc87515f72d07aec
Thanks for the jams. BTW, what 10:31 sermon jam volume is Rick Gamache on?
Dean
[…] Tony is posting exclusive Sermon Jams and the first one classic Piper on War-Like Living from his sermon on Romans 8:10-17. Click here to visit Tony’s site and give a listen. […]
[…] Bene 10.05.07 05Oct07 Piper Sermon Jam – Tony links to a “sermon jam” from Piper on Romans […]
[…] can here the whole ‘jam’ here. If you […]
is there a way to download this audio clip, sermon jam? here or somewhere else? could you send me the file?
This is quite an old thread I see but I’ve been going back and reading a lot of old stuff lately since I am caught up on all the latest blogs. I hope you don’t mind me adding to this.
I must say I am with cameo all the way on this. I love to listen to sermons and lectures and I don’t listen to that kind of music, but I love to listen to good music like Deep Purple and Rush.
I would never combine the two though, and I don’t think I have a right to pick and choose the parts of a preached sermon that people should hear and leave out the parts that I think people don’t need to hear. That is just too subjective.
I guess it’s the short attention spans of this generation that has brought this on.
I load up my mp3 player with sermons daily and the longer they are the better, then I don’t need to be fiddling with it so much. And if I need a break because I’m oveloading my brain with too much information, I can switch to some good tunes like Rush 2112 or Working Man, or one of my many awesome live Deep Purple concerts from my collection that span the past 40 years. This gives me a chance to absorb all the preaching I’ve heard and meditate on it.
You are right. Sermon jams are not for everyone…I loved them from the first time I heard one but I made the mistake of playing them in my car for an older lady from church who was riding with me, she didn’t like them at all….lol, it was an AWK-WARRRD moment. :)