The following message is by pastor John Piper. More information from desiring God is available at

W.W.

D. D. desiring God. O.R.G.

One of the most moving moments, some of you will remember it, was that last year we had a Sunday focus on adoption and during was at the offatory they started showing the pictures of the families who've adopted at this church and it went on and on and on I think there must have

been 40 or so during the it's all they had time for and I was absolutely blown away by the accumulated visual effect.

And then I was told by the committee, I think that's about half of them.

So I don't know the number.

I would like to know the number just in our church.

I know this is not just a Bethlehem seminar of what the total is. But I think the reason it moved me is because

God has created here and we would love to see it spread a culture of adoption.

One of the strongest statements that you can make against a culture of abortion or culture of death or a culture that just

uses birth control to say, these kids are just in the way, is to go out of your way to add children to your life.

I mean, kids can show up unexpectedly and kids can show up by a great effort.

If you make a great effort to add a child to your life,

you are making an unbelievably countercultural statement

in a world that just wants to use every means possible to get them out of the way.

I mean, and even when they're born, let's get them out of the way so we can be about our lives.

So it means a great deal to me. so we can be about our lives.

So it means a great deal to me that this church,

God has, for reasons way beyond me,

part of it owing to Rod, thanks for sitting back there Rod, created a culture of adoption where

it's just the thing to do. If you don't adopt him, why aren't you thinking about it?

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