Well, you know, listeners to this podcast will know that John Piper preached through the

entire book of Romans in 225 sermons. Incredible. The series took him eight years and eight

months to complete spanning from the spring of 1998 to the end of 2006. All 225 of those

rich messages are collected together and can be found online under the the series title,

the greatest letter ever written. That's what you want to look for, the greatest letter ever

written. The series is also the most epic John Piper sermon series ever recorded.

And I know many of you have listened to it all and as you do, you'll come across a bunch of

little nuggets along the way, like this clip I want to play for you today, sent in by a listener

to the podcast. And the following sermon pastor John gets into the topic of how do we ensure

that our daily Bible reading discipline is authentic and not wrote. The topic rose in the

series in a sermon title, let love be genuine on Romans 12 verse 9, preached on November 21,

2004. Here's Pastor John. Let's begin with some thoughts here now from Romans about how to read

a text like this in a way that changes us deeply. There are 13 exhortations in just verses 9 to 13.

So suppose you get up in the morning and you've set yourself like a good Christian to read your

Bible before you head off to work. That's a good idea. You should do that. So you've set yourself

maybe to read a few chapters or let's say Romans 12 is included. It may take you three minutes

to read through Romans 12, which means that you give maybe 15 seconds to these 13 commandments,

13 exhortations. Let love be genuine. Have whore what is evil. Hold fast to what is good.

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another and showing honor. Don't be

lost. Sloth will in zeal. Be fervent in the spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient

in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints. Seek to show hospitality.

13 in five verses. You've read them 15 seconds on them. Close your Bible. Pray off to work. How many

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