Matthew 24:12-14 gives us the juxtaposition of two surprising things:

1. the love of many will grow cold (v. 12),
2. and the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to all peoples (v. 14).

The end of the age will be a giant glacier of lovelessness, but the gospel will also advance. This implies that someone's love hasn't grown cold. Someone is taking the gospel to the unengaged and unreached. There will be a band of someones who will finish the mission. And then the end will come.

This was John Piper's introduction to a series of lectures on world evangelism given at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1994. The content features the biblical and theological foundations to God's sovereignty in the…

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Thomas Watson:

Confession of sin endears Christ to the soul. If I say I am a sinner, how precious will Christ's blood be to me! After Paul has confessed a body of sin, he breaks forth into a gratulatory triumph for Christ: "I thank God through Jesus Christ" (Romans 7:25).

If a debtor confesses a judgment but the creditor will not exact the debt, instead appointing his own son to pay it, will not the debtor be very thankful? So when he confesses the debt, and that even though we should forever lie in hell we cannot pay it, but that God should appoint his own Son to lay down his blood for the payment of our debt, how is free grace magnified and Jesus Christ eternally loved and admired!

Th…

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Two-minute video from John Piper:

With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 this Sunday, consider these resources from Pastor John:

• A Service of Sorrow, Self-Humbling, and Steady Hope in Our Savior and King, Jesus Christ
• Terrorism, Justice, and Loving Our Enemies
• How Shall We Minister to People After the World Trade Tower Terrorism of September 11, 2001?
• Why I Do Not Say, "God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good"
• Obstacles to the Eternal Life of Muslims
• Where Is God?
• Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ
• "I Will Build My Church" — From All Peoples
• Jesus Christ: The End and Ground of Tolerance
• Lessons from Lisa
• Three 9/11's We Need to Know
• That Great Steel Cross: More Reflections on the Calamity of Sep…

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In this video, Francis Chan shares about how he responds to unanswered prayer:

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Other videos from Francis Chan —

• Do You Feel Distant from God?
• Francis Chan on Making Disciples and Knowing Christ
• Francis Chan's Question on Which Is Worse

There are insidiuos perils to not knowing our sin.

This is the message of Romans 7:7-12 that John Piper expounds in two sermons from 2001, including an explanation of the law and grace, and a practical illustration of our fight against temptation.

Stream or download the sermons, The Importance of Knowing Our Sin and How We Come to Know Sin.

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Recent posts from "Expository Exultation" —

• The Providence of God: Ten-Part Course from John Piper
• Spiritual Warfare and Prayer
• Five Reasons to Memorize Scripture

John Owen:

Labour to know thine own frame and temper; what spirit thou art of; what associates in thy heart Satan hath; where corruption is strong, where grace is weak; what stronghold lust hath in thy natural constitution, and the like. . .

Be acquainted, then, with thine own heart: though it be deep, search it; though it be dark, inquire into it; though it give all its distempers other names than what are their due, believe it not.

Of Temptation, The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, 1850-1853, (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1967), VI, 132, paragraphing mine.

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Recent posts from "They Still Speak" —

• Don't Loiter in That Ditch (Henry Scougal)
• Are You Frustrat…

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In this 12-minute episode of Theology Refresh, Kevin DeYoung discusses the role of the Holy Spirit in our understanding of the Bible and our assurance of salvation.

Stream or download the podcast.

[Subscribe to Theology Refresh through iTunes.]

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Recent Theology Refresh podcasts —

• John Piper on the Gospel and Sanctification (Part 2)
• John Piper on the Gospel and Sanctification (Part 1)
• Francis Chan on the Sovereignty of God

Two-minute video from Pastor John:

Pastor John's message at our upcoming National Conference (Sept 23 - 25) will come from Psalm 67:5, "Let the Peoples Praise You, O God Let All the Peoples Praise You!"

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Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil, for he gives to his beloved in his sleep. (Psalm 127:1-2)

Pastor John from 1980:

I think the main point of these three verses is: "Don't eat the bread of anxious toil." It means just the same thing Jesus meant when he said, "Don't be anxious about what you shall eat."

When we grow up we must all work for our bread. And we can either work nervously, worrying about what men will think of us — and so eat the bread of anxious toil. Or we can work with serenity in…

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